Regarding your first question, birds got too many of my blackberries last year, and I discovered that just throwing bird netting over the berries creates a tangled mess that still doesn't give great protection. So, this year I built a bird screen using PVC tubing over rebar as posts. I then used fittings to connect the ends of the posts to horizontal pieces of PVC tubing, creating a rectangular frame, which I covered with bird netting. With the netting raised over the berries, I can keep the birds out without getting everything tangled up. I pinned down the edges of the netting at the sides and back so birds won't hop under it. Then, for the front, I attached the bottom edge of the net to two long pieces of PVC pipe and used them as weights to hold the front down. When I want to go in, I just lift up the pipe in front and duck under. I can also roll the netting up around the front pipes, hang it from some clips that I attached to the top front part of the frame, and leave it open when the flowers are in bloom so that the bees can get in to pollinate them. The whole thing cost about $60 at Home Depot and took about an hour and a half to build. If I can figure out how to attach pictures here, I can post a photo so you can see what I mean. Regarding your second question, my Darrows have primocanes up, but you're in a different zone than I am and I don't have any experience with Kiowa, so I can't help much. Good luck! Rob

This post has been so fun to read. I am with a few of you who say you don't have hobbies, you have obsessions...definitely describes me. I have so many interests that I can never do all of them so rotate through them (not intentionally, I just get bored and have to move to the next interest frequently). am usually active in 3-4 of them at a time. I have been told more than once that I was born in the wrong century. Some that have always been with me and I regular go back too: Gardening- all of it. I can't remember any time not having some level of garden from the time I was big enough to walk. I love daylilies, roses, iris, herbs, veggies, hybridizing, flowering shrubs, landscaping, annuals, houseplants, native plants. I helped my parents plant & weed their veggie gardens when I was 3 yr old, helped my mom start her tomatoes & squash in the window, and at 15 taught her to enjoy growing flowers instead of only food. I take breaks from it sometimes cutting back to just a few things for several years and then..wham...I'm in it 10 times more than last time. Knitting, crochet, spinning & dying yarns. another one that has been a lifetimer. My mom taught me to knit when I was 4 and grandmother taught me to crochet at 6. I taught myself how to design my own sweaters and eventually took classes to learn how to spin/dye. Garden Photography- another life long love. I picked up my first camera at age 5 and my first picture was of my dog sitting in front of my bed of nasturtiums. I've been published a few times. Most notable the cover of a book about the history of an island my great-grandparents helped to settle. Scrapbooking- this is an on-again-off-again love. Obsessive when its on. Ditto with all kinds of other arts & crafts. Reading- I love historical fiction, especially by Christian authors. I also love "how too" and research subjects- learning is a passion. Church- Well maybe not a hobby but it leads to some. I've been active in my church even preaching a sermon to two and singing on the worship team. Geneology & historical research. This is really my mom's hobby but I'm her chief backup archivist & research assistant. Tech- well I do this for a living but I explore online communities on my own time. Cooking- this is also a necessity because I have children with food allergies. I bake all our breads, make my own mixes, and cook from scratch a lot. I make a lot of my own recipes. I also can & freeze our fruits & veggies. Outdoors- I love camping, fishing, hiking, travel to new places, exploring nature & manmade wonders, native plants. a lot of these are on hietus while the kids get a little bigger and able to join. In years past I was an expert seamstress, marksman on a rifle team, raised rabbits & ducks, and a number of other things that have not lasted the test of time.

Wow! What I'm seeing here is incredible! pattyxlynn, The elephant backsides are incredible, and something that not many people would think of doing. czarinalex, I agree - don't downplay your beading; it's tiny precise work that takes great vision and patience. I have NO idea why my font has just changed to bold, as I haven't selected bold, but I can't change it. Yayagal, the painting and the sculpture are both incredible! What a thrill to see the things people are doing/have done! pamghatten, I garden, too. Now it's mostly weeding, as I have hundreds of perennials, and edging the beds. I should be out there now, as it's almost sunny and 68 degrees, but I have started needle felting a chipmunk, and I'll garden tomorrow! I just hope it turns out better than the fox I tried yesterday...I need to make his ears shorter but don't relish that task...

2Many, my DH looooves mushrooms and eats them as one of his primary proteins. The dish I made is just something I conjured up by hap chance one night and it quickly became my DH’s favorite. I saute the sliced creminis along with a diced onion and garlic to taste. When browned, I set that aside in a bowl and toss a healthy portion of frozen stir fry veggies (from Costco again) in the pan. I toss them until they’re half way thawed, add the mushroom mix back along with some PF Changs Mongolian BBQ cooking sauce and a bit of water. Mix it up good and let it cook until the veggies are soft but not over cooked and serve it over rice. The mixed veggies have carrots, broccoli, summer squash, red bell pepper, green beans and a few other goodies. It’s a great healthy one dish meal, that I have no name for! LOL