Micke, wishing you guys a lort of snow this year, so you guys can break in that new sleigh your mom has.

Tina, I'm so glad to hear that everyone is o.k. I did not know about the airbags and the jet fuel. Maybe I should move my seat back a few inches so I don't get my neck broken in case I ever get in an accident. Hmmmmm.... something to think about.
I can't wait to see your fur babies. How is the little mom doing? Is she being protective?

Erica, nice to see you getting back on your feet. I just love the picture of your full moon on halloween.LOL

Mariann, good luck on your tests, hope everything works out for the best. Isn't it great to get a surprise package, I got mine last tuesday. Just like christmas on a monthly basis.

Our weather is still in the 70 but a cool front is moving in tonight with frost advisory. Guess, I will be busy moving all my plants in when the boys come home from school. DH informed me today that he has to go to St Paul in a couple of weeks. I feel sorry for him, my southern boy is not used to snow, ice or any other cold weather. I got a funny look from him when I mentioned that he better take some long johns.... he had no idea what I was talking about. This is going to be an interesting trip.
Well, I better get back outside to collect some more seeds and start bringing in my little pots of flowers that I can actually lift by myself. I'll check back later to see if Tina posted her pic's yet.

BLAH! I'm sinking into my winter depression and it's only October. I hate COLD!!!! I got very lucky today. Every town in my county and the county next to mine got pummelled by a snowstorm today except me. Woo hoo. We are about 1/2 our from Buffalo and we didn't get a drop of snow here. They are all without power and I heard one out of 2 trees are down or damaged. They don't even know if they'll have enough water to last through the night. They're talking about power being out until at least Tuesday. The National Guard is here now and they're calling this a disaster area.

I don't know how I managed to escape this one. DH is out of town, too, so I'm very grateful!

It's been really COLD here! 30* at night, and sooo windy, chilly during the day 40*! We did have snow for two days, very light but managed to dust everything with a light layer and everything sort of wilted. I do have a few flowers that seem untouched and are still blooming? Everything in my garden froze. I picked green tomatoes yesterday for an hour. I'm not even sure they are good. They seem to be solid. I didn't expect the snow so early. We broke a record for the earliest snowfall.

Nice to see Everyone chatting again, keep posting!

Ooops, I totally forgot about the tomatoes...

After I read Julie's post I went outside to get the rest of my cherry tomatos(only one plant left). To my surprise, the plant was pulled out and the ripe tomatos were half eaten?????? What animal would or could do that? Squirel? They have been real active in my yard and I have to watch my bulbs real close, otherwise they dig them up and plant them elsewhere or eat them. Has this happened to anyone else? I am still scratching my head over this.

Drum role please..................................

Presendting the "heavenly Seven" ;-)

Mommy and babies

The runt! (ain't he so cute!!!)

Cow baby and socks

Mutt and Jeff LoL

and last but NOT least
Heifer and Lard Butt ;-)

I can't leave Sissy out. She would get jealous :-)

I can just hear you all ohhhhhhhhhhhhhing and ahhhhhhhhing ;-)
Mommy is doing great. She is an excellent mommy.
I gave her a break tongiht and help 4 babes while 3 ate, and then exchanged them, smiles.

Thought I would put a few of my other favorites here too and share with you all.

My daughter is the one with shorter hair. THe other one is my "adopted" loL, daughter, Heidi. Aren't they so pretty :-)

My little hummingbird friend

My last bloom on my Plum Crazy Hibiscus

Pale creamy pink hardy hibiscus

Candy lily

Another Candy lily

another pic of the creamy pink hubiscus

Black eyed susans w/ Doubledecker Echinacea

Phlox w/ Double Kwanzo Daylily

Morning Glory w/ campsis radicans vine

Well, I better stop here or this page will never load up.
Hope you all enjoy.
Will be back tomorrow (or later today, however you want to look at it, LoL)
and catch up with everyone.

Good night all -
Tina

Ohhhhhhhh Tina, all of them are just adorable. There is no way I could just pick one if I had to, I would take them all. Your girls and your flowers are beautiful also. I can't wait to go outside and check in my garden to see what survived overnight. It is 38 here now and just a little to cold for me. We had our air on the whole time until last night when I could finally open the windows. Looks like I will be switching to heat today. I better get moving here, got a big shopping day ahead of me and a mile long list of things to do. Will check in later.

Wow! You girls have all been so busy! I was away all this week on business (yuck ick uck -- no fun) and when I arrived home of course I had to check in with my Hortiholic Friends. I can't believe all the stuff that happened! Puppies, boo-boos (glad everyone is okay), gorgeous garden photos, and gorgeous kids! (Tina -- your daughter is so beautiful -- what amazing eyes she has!) It is so nice to be part of such a fabulous "family." I feel like I have lots of sisters...

Guess what was waiting for me in the mail when I got home last night? You guessed it -- my wonderful box from my wonderful secret pal! All I can say is WOW! What great taste you have. I love love love love love every single goody. Let me try to remember everything: a really beautiful Jacob's ladder (Polemonium)for my shade garden; a great bar of "Lemon-Scrub" soap for gardeners (which I am ) and chefs (which I strive to be), Napa Valley Grape potpourri --which I already put in a big dish, and placed a pillar candle in the middle -- some astilbe and cardinal flower seeds, a pair of whimsical goblin planter stakes (just my style) and a spectacular sheet of autumn-colored glass mosaic tiles which I can't wait to use in a mosaic project. Thank you, pal -- you are just the best.

I am off to northern PA for a "leaf-peeping" train trip this afternoon. I think the fall leaves are at their peak color. I am planning to take lots of pix -- if any turn out I will post.

Bye for now...

Oh Tina those puppies are so adorable.
You were right about this page not loading very fast. It was worth the wait though.
Have a great day,
Mariann

I have to share a pic of my Son Paul. I love the black/white look. I hope it comes out ok.

Deb

And of Sarah my Daugher..(the one with the dark hair/dark eyes)

They did the graphics (best friends forever for life) LOL..

Deb

They did turn out, yay..
Paul's 19 and Sarah's 14.

I'm not sure what the extra "F" is for in best friends forever for life? I'll have to ask! Hmm? It better be a typo error.

Tina,
Thanks for sharing the pics of your Daughter, She really is so pretty! Don't they grow up sooo quickly?!

Deb

Gorgeous kids Debby! They do grow up fast. I can't believe that my first born is 14 years old and knows how to drive!
I can't believe that my baby is 9. WOW!, nince years since I've had my last baby. Thats just so hard to believe. SOmetimes it seems like yesterday, and others it seems like forever ago.
Does your son still live at home? If not, how hard was it letting him go?
I'm not looking forward to that day, nope nope nope

My son James (almost 13)

Caleb (being a cowgirl, LoL)

and my baby, Lain (who can NEVER take a serious pic)

and I can't believe that I am actually going to post this because I am NOT photogentic (sp?)
Rick had just gotten home from work, so you'll have to excuse his attire, LoL

Debbya, now I get it LOL!! took me a while, guess you can tell my kids are not teens yet.
Tina, he looks like a rock star! my hubby has one of those too, but because of his job he has to keep it trimmed, he wants to shave it, but over my dead body, he has the hair on top of his head short enough, needs to leave his face alone! hey he can tell me how he wants me to wear my hair, (long and straight) I should at least have some say over the hair on his face!

LoL Micke -
It's funny you say that, because Rick has been in rock bands his entire life!
He use to have long hair, until about 2 years ago. He grew it out a bit this past summer, but then we wacked it off again.

Tina

I forgot (my airhead gene kicked in for a few minutes)
you guys all have such georgeous (sp) children, and Tina you lied to us, there is no way you are any older then what? maybe 23- 24? admit it, Caleb is your sister.

Paul still lives at home and has no plans of ever moving out, that's a little scary, LOL. He's a manager at a local tire company, plus has a very expensive hobby, car racing. He has three cars, and is constantly working on one of them! I'm not sure I'll ever have an empty nest.

Sarah is 14 going on 30. Hopefully, this will be a short lived phase.

Deb

tina, the pups are so precious. which ones are females? i already picked my favs, but need to know the sex.
great pix of your kids - such wonderful smiles. your flowers look great too. and i never pictured you to look the way you do. darn, i was soooooooooooooooo far off and i'm still laughing at myself.

micke, you crack me up about the hair. i'd have to take scissors to that chin hair flap on rick while he was sleeping LOL either that, or braid it.

debby, your children are beautiful. wow, race cars. nice hobby. it certainly will attract a wide assortment of girl/groupies, if not now down the road - watch out! oh and the extra "f" in bffffl is NOT a typo.

my monitor is acting goofy. like it's turning itself off for a few seconds every so often. it just started after a new update installation.

erica, nice flowers. what family of plants/flowers do brugs belong to? once of these days maybe i'll try them.

i have my grandbaby today and tomorrow while her parents are away -- camping the crazies...it's REAL cold!. i fall in love a little more every time i'm with her. she's just so precious and so pleasant. i had all intentions of repotting house plants and getting them in today, but i blew it off for more important things. they can wait - they're all covered so i'll hope for the best. besides, we are supposed to have 60's weather in the week to come, so there's time.

be well all, stay warm
maryanne/earthly

bfffl? LMFAO - hahahaha

Hectic weekend here everyone.Whatever happened to no work on Sunday??LOL Thought I'd better pop on in to get caught up.My you guys have been busy!!Wow great Pics Everyone! I enjoyed seeing pics of your lovely families Tina and Deb : )

Tina,Your puppies are real sweeties! I wanna hold em and pet em Look soft as butter : ) Nancy

Gotta Run....Have a Great Sunday All! : ) Nancy

Ok, first manyyyyy questions, LoL

#1. What does bffffl stand for?

#2. Micke, You lies allot? LoL "and Tina you lied to us, there is no way you are any older then what? maybe 23- 24? admit it, Caleb is your sister." OR just give nice comments to those who REALLY need it? HA!

#3. How DID you picture me earthly? (Do I dare ask?) I Can't believe I even posted that! What was I thinking?

I am looking for my wedding pic to post. You all will laugh because everyone! says we look like we've just walked out of a Whitesnake video! LoL Totally 80's, even though we didn't get married until 97. I had been married preiously, and and wasn't so sure about this whole marriage bit, so, yes, when you see the pic, you will realize that I am 7 months pregnant with my last child, LoL.
I use to weigh 105 lbs soaking wet. Then I got sick (thats a whole other story in itself)and ended up being put on Prednizone ( a steroid), Viaxx, 3 different sleepng pills, blah, blah, blah. Short end is that within 12 days, I had gained 17 lbs. And when all said and done, I ended up at a lowsy 140. I only weighed 114lbs when I had Lain, 117 when I had James, and 122 when I had Caleb. So, needless to say, I feel like the good year blimp!
I yo-yo within 10 pounds all the time.
OK, enough of my rambling..........

I had a million more questions, but I have 3 kids with millions of questions of their own at the moment, grrrrrrrr....

Earthly - the females are the brown spotted one, the black one with a half grey head, and the one with 4 white feet.
The rest are little boys.

Erica - I hope you are feeling better, much better. Lets work out a trade with the brugs!

Kristen - Glad you are back home!

Julie - you crack me up! LoL

galium - Hope all is well with you hun.

Nancy - The pups are as soft as butter. I love to cuddle with them. Want to come and visit! You aren't too far away :-)

Bogartbaby - You sound like us folks in Iowa, a/c one day, furnace the next. Crazy isn't it!

Sue - Has your temps broke yet? I will gladly send some "chill" your way ;-)

Debby - Did you find out what that extra "f" stands for? I'll have a "heads up" if I see it here, LoL.
Are you still having chilly days and COLD nights?

OK, going back over to the other thread to post who has received so far. OH yeah! LoL, I started a new thread so those still on dial up and post without having to wait a million years for the page to load!

Look forward to hearing from you all this week!
It's great to see us all chit chatting.

Love and hugs,
Tina

Tina,

Did you really not figure out the "f" or are you joking? Poor Deb, lol. And BTW, even standing behind your DH I can tell you are NO blimp. And you look almost exactly as I pictured you, isn't that funny.

Now I can't believe I'm posting this because I look like crap with my hair pulled back but here goes:

And here are the girls looking ever so dramatic last halloween:

BFFFFL = Best F-----' Friends Forever For Life.

my contribution to the thread for right now! lol

Ah...... I wondered if that wasn't what it stood for, but with todays "slang", these kids come up with some doosies! LoL

Heidi calls her butt a butukie
CAleb calls her butt a ghetto butukie, LoL

earthly, when you gonna post pics of that baby?
I still wanna know what you had me pictured as (I think) LoL

Later taters
Tina

OK, Are you all ready for "Bad Hair 80's"?

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Wow! I can't believe how big she is getting! What a baby doll!

your hair looks fine tina, what are you thinking? i was wondering why you were standing that way then i remembered "hello lain" LOL!!! tina, tell me the names of the dogs that are females, i can't tell which one has all four white feet, can't see them all. so 1100 miles huh? when you deliver them, are you coming alone or is this a family trip i need to be prepared. how big do you think these dogs will get?

julie, what a beautiful family. and what are you complaining about looking like crap. are you another one without a mirror in your house? the girls are just adorable - regular and royalty :)

i apologize. i did resize that picture but i don't know what happened. i also don't know what happened to everything i wrote. it might have sounded better the first time.

isn't she just so gorgeous? i can't get enough, i'm intoxicated with her, she's so pleasant, wakes up happy, gives great kisses and just is such a joy to be with. babies, God really knew what He was doing. makes me think maybe i should have another one before it gets too late. at least there would be a second heir to the throne and maybe i'll get it right this time around being older and wiser and all that.

tina, i just pictured you different, that's all.

B"F"FFFL, (LMAO)
maryanne

wi

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well, they are tiny, but you can click on them.
I am just learning, so please have patience w/me!

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My sister and her husband own a dairy farm. I took this pic. in the barn while they were milking. She was actually giving the cow an injection under it's tail. The pic's a little dark but there it is......
Mariann

ROTF......"Got Milk"

This is great looking at all the pics!

I plan to go take come pics in the next day or two of all the foliage change. I have two spots in particular that I want to get before all the leaves fall. I will post them this weekend some time.

Keep the pics coming!

Tina

I'll go outside too and take some pics before it's too late. It's so rainy and dreary lately. Rain is expected for the next several days. Luckily, I have so many violets/streptocarpus blooming indoors to look at!

Tray of Streps..

More streps..

"Tiger" a dinner sized plate violet

One more bloomer..

A "Silverglade" from South Africa

Deb

One more tray of streps..

Tray of "Mama" leaves

And finally... Toby!

Wow Deb, what do you do with all those cuttings?

Here's another farm picture. Calves don't normally drink from their mothers. In this case the calf refused to drink from a bottle. My sister didn't have any choice but to give her to her mom. Sweet.
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Mariann
Have a great day

WOW!!! Deb, those are so beautiful! It must be so awesome to be able to wake up to all those lovelies every morning.
Do you do anything special with your AV leaves? I have two left out of all the ones you've sent me that have rootes. No babies yet, but they are firm in the soil. I put the leaves I got from you today in the brightest window I have, hoping they like it better there.

What is the best way to root hindo rope hoyas? Te lasts cuttings and leaves I got from you, I rooted the longer pieces in water, and stuck the leaves in potting soil. They are looking really good. The sweetheart leaf is definitely rooted, but no new growth yet. The other leaf has a new leaf on it and looks happy!
Do you want to do a house plant cutting swap with me before it gets too cold to send? I will go into more detail in an e-mail, LoL. In a rambling mood again I suppose. :-)Thank you for posting all the great pics!!! Feel free to post more...please!

Mariann - Why don't the calves usually eat from the mother? My FIL raises cattle and they never have to bottle feed.
I love calves. They are so gentle and sweet. Thanks for posting the pic!

Going to the other thread now.

Tina :-)

WOW Deb,You have "ALOT" of plants!They are all Gorgeous too!!Sorta puts my little operation to shame.Post more pics.I just Love them all!! If any of you ever decide you want to do a houseplant cutting swap count me in.Hint.. Hint..Nothing like inviting myself to the party huh? : )

Oh Mariann,That is just the cutest calf! I wanna hug him. He looks so soft.Like Tinas puppies.Brings back great memories for me.Thanks for posting the pic : )

I will check in tomorrow to see more pics.
Hugs All!! Nancy

You never let 'milk' calves drink from mama, they always bottle feed those, unless as she is showing you, one refuses the bottle, Dairy Farmers used to keep milk goats around for that very reason (well maybe not ALL dairy farmers, but the ones I was around did)
My cousin used to have a Dairy farm too, but I was a little girl when he had it, I think the reason they don't let them drink is because they are milking these cows to sell the milk, correct me if I am wrong Mariann?

Well DUH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Yes, having a Ditzy moment here)
Thank you Micke :-)

Oh, btw, Deb - Toby is very cool! "King of the Castle" :-)

Nancy, I would love to do a houseplant trade with ya!!!!

Hugs, huga and more hugs :-))Tina

Micke is right about bottle feeding calves. Dairy cow's milk means money. They do pump some of the milk off the mom and give it to the calf. That particular cow is a Brown Swiss. The calves are so sweet.
I took a pic. of a hot air balloon from my back yard. I'll post it when I get my film developed.
Deb that is some propagation going on there. Beautiful.
Have a great day,
Mariann

I thought I would post some color since it is so dreary and grey here today. Hope you all enjoy :-)

Morning Glory on pergola

Daylily "High on Purple"

Candy Lily

Yellow Spidery Daylily (forgot its name)

Phlox "David" and another candy lily

"Plum Crazy" Hibiscus

Daylilys that the names have escaped me this morning:

Daylily "Strawberry Candy" I think!

More phlox

Have a good day all!
Tina

very nice tina, save me some of that phlox if you will. i was going to get some from my mom's, but i weeded so well over there, i must have ripped all but a small piece of it and i didn't want to take that. i'm not much for the spider type daylilies, but i like the orange looking one in the group whose names escapes you. i fell in love with morning glories this year, they are fascinating flowers, at least the ones i have planted. whatever the weather or time of day, they are always different. they were still blooming in the dark yesterday.

be well,
maryanne

Nancy,
I'm an obsessive violet/plant collector. That's the reason for sooo many plants. I love trading, and collecting. I purchased a computer program (First class) and use it as a database to ID violets. You can usually ID a violet by the bloom color, leaf description. Leaves come in so many varieties, girl, boy, round, ovate, serrated, longafolia, etc. A collection can build very rapidly. It starts out wanting a few..just ONE of a trailing variety, mini, semi-mini, micro mini, a couple of standards and the next thing you know..a wasp variety, a variegated and then it's just too late, you realize that you have way too many! And just have to give in! LOL..

Our weather is awful. Cold and chilly! 26* last night. I would gladly do a couple of houseplant trades, but don't think anything would survive a trip. Especially, if it sits in an unheated post office truck.

Talk later!

Deb

is the yellow spidery looking one called 'kindly light'?
'Just plum happy'or 'Merle Kent' on the next one?
no clue on the next two.
strawberry candy looks right.
can you tell I love to play guess that daylily?
probuably not right but love to guess all the same!!

Micke,You are much better at playing "guess the daylily" than I am!If i don't have the tag with picture in front of me I am a real mess! LOL

Deb,I am fast becoming very addicted to all of the gessies and houseplants in general.I just Love Em'. I have always had alot of plants over the years but this has definitely become an obsession! LOL Someone gave me a few av babies a while back and I have purchased many many more.My collection just keeps growing and growing and Lately I have noticed my DH groaning and groaning evertime I walk in the door with another box of them.(come to think of it...it does seem like my house is getting smaller) Just might have to add on another plant room.DH would just Love that!
You know I was wondering how they would ship this time of year.Thanks for the heads up.I sure would hate to see them freeze during shipping.Talk about a heartbreaker. : ( Maybe we can do a trade in the spring.
Well I better quit my gabbing and get to bed.
Hugs,Nancy

Thought you girls (especially in the South) would enjoy these pics I took during a train ride in North Central PA. This is one of the oldest trains still running -- it's called the Oil City & Titusville Railroad and it travels alongside the river. I was hoping that the leaves would be a little more colorful, but it's still pretty.

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Great pics Kristen! Just beautiful. I wanted to go out and get some pics this past weekend, but just never had the time.

Micke - I'll have to go hunt down the notebook and see if those are indeed some of the daylilies I have, LoL.
Maybe I should post all my "I forgot" or "tags washed off" daylilies, smiles!

Deb - Thanks to you, LoL, I am now addicted to AVs. Can't get enough. Gesneriads (sp?) of all kinds actually. Thank you for the pamplet (sp?) Deb. I learned quite a bit from that. You should see my cuttings ghetto, HA! I have anything I can get my hands on rooting. Will help to make the winter go by quicker. That and WSing. Washed some jugs out this weekend. My poor kitchen looks like a greenhouse at the moment. Too much to do, and not enough time to do it in.........argh!!!

Marryanne - Consider the phlox yours. I have enough from all of them to share I do believe. I want to get some more of the variegated varieties. I have seeds for Red Ridinghood that I am going to WS this year. Hope they bloom true.

Well, off ot the garden to get some bulbs in before the winds decide to carry me away.

Keep the pics coming!!!!

Tina

Deb and Tina -- What kind of camera do you each have? I am very impressed by the clarity of your pictures. I want to start "HINTING" to my DH Mark for a new digital camera for Christmas and I would welcome suggestions.

Speaking of DH, I thought you all would enjoy this picture of us at a recent fundraiser for the American Heart Associaton. The theme was RED.