Having a business myself, i understand the mindset of hoping and trying to make things work until you finally have to admit that you are just not able to fulfil that order, in time, with the proper quality / quantity. Especially if you care about a reputation for quality, these decisions are not made lightly. If they had planned to take the money, or even intended to keep it for as long as possible, you would still be fighting over getting it back....

Well...I have narrowed those pretty white, blue, lilac wildflowers down to wild phlox or dame's rocket...They are so pretty I think I will try to get some seeds and throw them around my Ozarks home when I get back. People here warn about the dame's rocket saying they are "invasive weeds" but I think they are too pretty to be so bad...Hope the Conservation Dept doesn't crack down on me after I get home... Don't worry, Christie -- I am loving my time here, but the longer I am away, the more hubby and I feel that the Ozarks is where we really belong...Just miss it too much! Yes...I do hang around the Pennsylvania site and learn a lot there...that's where I got the clue about the dame's rocket/wild pholx.... There are some hydrangeas in the yard that are budding now...Am really looking forward to seeing these "established" guys bloom, though I don't know when they will...especially since the ones I planted last year from Wayside Gardens is still getting established back home...I got a couple of blooms off of them but am thinking this year they should take off better. People here have some really pretty sundrops in their yards...makes me feel good tht I put some in last year. They are beautiful!! Take care all...Mary

I live in lower mid Michigan, and although I seldom see bluebirds in winter, I hear them all thru the winter. They normally are flying over at about the length of a football field up into the air. They have 2 different calls, so once I learned them, I can mimic them and occasionally get one to drop down a little to check out who or what is calling. I run a heated bird bath and will see them at the bath maybe twice a winter. We have a starter orchard and I have seen the blues gather in groups in the orchard in the fall. We had a drag out summer here. as I noticed that some robins raised 4 broods, a bluebird pair raised 3 broods, and although I can't prove it, I think a couple of tree swallow pairs had 2 broods. It wasn't all that hot, but the rains were timely which helped the insect and worm supply.

I think they're Japanese beetles. They have infested my rose of sharon flowers, mostly eating the flowers before they open up. I don't like to spray them with dangerous poisons, because I've seen birds hanging around the trees, and I don't want them to get sick from eating poisoned bugs. You can get Japanese beetle traps at the hardware store that are supposed to work really well, but they sure don't make nice garden decorations! I've tried spraying them with a mixture of water and dishwashing liquid. They really hate it and I have a lot more flowers blooming.