Good morning all, Well there is a white coating of frost on the lawns on the hill across the street but it looks like most of the plants here escaped by a thread. I was so tired last night we ordered a small pizza for dinner. You know, I didnt even really like it and it used to be my favorite food and then I got heartburn when I went to bed. Well, I havent had a problem with heartburn for four years so now I really have no desire to eat any pizza again. Today is going to be another heavy cutting back and disassembling the pots day here. Doug was such a peach yesterday and helped me dump the old soil out of the pots then he washed them out and put them away in the shed. That saved me a ton of time. Im hoping I can lure him out to help me again today. Im in a quandary as to whether or not Im going to save my original Abutilon pictum Thompsonii. The trunk on it is about the size of my thumb and is going to be enormous next year if I keep it over. Will I or wont I? Do I need a variegated abutilon that size? Im having a real problem throwing away all those potential nice looking cuttings. Im telling you, Im hopeless. Today is going to be worse when I start really cutting back my large fuchsias. Sue, bummer about your cold. Ive used the Zicam rapidmelts the last couple years and Ive never been sick longer than a week. I hope you get better really soon. So now where the heck are you going to put another Japanese Maple? You are too funny. Advice please, Ive got that JM Viridis that I bought with you last spring. Well it was in that pot on the patio and I need to find a place to plant it in the ground. Where do you think that would look good and do well here? ~~ BTW I think that is absolutely terrific that Tom thinks its a shame that the patio garden disappears. I think he is enjoying the gardens more than he lets on. LOL ~~ So next year that banana will get to the top of the garage you think? Just in time for the Conservancy tour? Eden, just love the apple orchard pics from yesterday. So much fun with the littles. So maybe you can get someone to snap your pic with Bella sometime? ~~ Sorry about your foot. If that doesnt get better really soon you should have it looked at. My mother actually broke a bone in her foot once and didnt even remember how it happened. Just woke up with a sore foot one day. Hope it heals up soon. Norma, LOL about Bob admiring landscaping with large rocks in it. Our guys certainly are good sports arent they? ~~ RE beer, I only like it when the day is really hot and Ive been working outside in the heat and at the end of a day an iced cold, I mean frigid cold beer is the very best thing on the planet. ~~ RE the phormiums after hearing Bugs story I decided that it was a great phormium conspiracy. Ill bet we arent the only ones who were lured into buying phormiums yesterday. So Saucy, how long are you going to have to take care of the annoying, snoring dog? Brenda! 11Ws!!! Wow, I thought I had large feet. Im just a size 10 medium. Interesting factoid, my feet used to be a double wide but have gotten smaller since I lost weight. It is so nice to be able to fit into a medium width shoe now. ~~ Id love to come out and have a ride on your combine! Kathy, I googled the fuchsia gall mite!!!! OMG that is just terrible! Thank heavens we dont have that horrible thing here. They just ruin your plants. I did read about one person who was able to save her plants by spraying with SEvin on a four day schedule for three weeks. So once you eradicate the mites can you get new fuchsia and they will stay free of the pests? Id be devastated. So Marie, I laughed so hard when I read your post about buying the huge phormium! I have NO idea how to winter it over but we can share our experiences this cold season. What kind did you get? Ill have to get a pic of mine with the pink stripes. It really is a pretty plant and Im thinking Im going to put it on the landing on the stairs to the second floor. ~~ So what are you going to do with all that eggplant? Im still drooling over that grilled eggplant Mary fixed for us when we visited. Speaking of Mary, I sure hope she is doing well with her camp out! ~~ Just love all the photos of the farm especially the on of the sun streaming through the fog. Lovely! Wendy your brug photograph is beautiful! You are a tease though, we can only see small glimpses of your garden behind it. Id love to see more of your gardens. Is that a Ligularia Brit Marie Crawford I see peeking under the flower? ~~ The house was 61 degrees this AM here too. We still havent turned the heat on either. The longer we can put it off the better. Martie, how great to hear that Rich has gotten work locally! Poor guy with the dental work. I have such a phobia about dentists just hearing about three hours in a dentist chair gives me the heebie jeebies. So maybe you both can come up for our February party in 07? ~~ You rock lady! A Pendleton suit and sweater for $10.00! Woohoo! Hi Michelle, Im looking forward to seeing some fall pics of your gardens??? ~~ Did you finish painting the house yesterday? And last but not least for our northern Idyllers HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I checked the delivery confirmation # for Michelle's package and it stated it was delivered. Hopefully she will confirm soon. Thanks Jeanne for an awesome swap. We are still looking for someone to take January. I hope Maryanne, Remy, Margaret and some others in our group are ok, haven't heard from them in awhile. Jan. Feb. hazelnutbunny Mar. Apr. micyrey May mellen June brittneysgran July veeja11 Aug. Sept. Oct. flowergirl34 Nov. Dec. Jeanne, Margaret, Margo, Jen, Faye, Annie, Remy & Maryanne....step up and take a month if you can. I know we have more members than this but can't think right now of everyone. Shirley

konrad: Thanks. I've noticed quite a few red-tails sitting in trees on the side of Route 1 in Chester County, PA (Route 1 is a 4-lane lightly used road here). The hawks stare into the grass median, and when they see something, they are quite focused on their prey. In fact, I had to slow down to miss one that was flying into the median. Claire: I remember reading a post here about bluebirds going to a window to ask for food. That was when I first started watching the birds. Well, I thought it was someone's imagination--until I realized it wasn't. There was a time when a mother mockingbird kept screaming at me until I chased a cat from near her nest. When I was feeding the birds regularly, the white-throats, upon seeing me, would jump up from the brush, land in the bushes, and sing to me. Probably the most amusing was when the male and female red-bellied woodpeckers--whom I always call red and rosie--landed in a tree on the side of the house and started shouting at me. I looked at the feeder with mixed nuts and saw it was empty. Once I filled it with their mixed nuts (they like the white ones and always search for them), they left me alone and ate their nuts. Here is something you may wish to try with mockingbirds. While in the yard, I may discover a mockingbird nest by observing the parents repeatedly going towards the same general area. The parents will first land on a nearby branch and look at me. This is where I must obey their rule. When the parent looks at me, I must turn away from the parent. I usually turn my back to them. Then, the parent heads for the nest and I hear the happy chirp of the chicks being fed. I don't know if this is a learned mockingbird trait or if it is instinct. However, the parent will fly away unless I look away while they go to the nest. I've been obeying their rule for years now.

get out your atlases for this one. Or just dial up google maps-that's what I do. Friday night the newlyweds spent in Mitchell, OR. Saturday, they rode to Redmond. We decided that on Sunday, DH and I would drive down from Portland to Sisters and meet them there, because they were planning on climbing the McKenzie Pass-5325 feet-and a lot of tight switchbacks on the way up and even tighter on the way down. The trailer would not only be a weight, but a safety hazard on the tight, steep climb and descent. Portland to Sisters is about 2.5 hours, the second part mostly through the Willamette State Forest. As DH said, it was a 70 mile calendar shot. Absolutely stunning scenery. Sisters is an arty little town-reminds me of Cape May, NJ-lots of cute little shops in a cute little town with cute buildings in a pretty setting. (Cynical R Us-but I'd move there in a heartbeat.) We met the kids right outside of town, driving past them one way, then the other, then finally seeing them on the opposite side of the road waving and yelling. (I hadn't had any tea.) We loaded the trailer into the rental SUV, fed them a quick breakfast from the cute little bakery, and off they rode. Although the Appalachians had steeper slopes, and the Rockies were longer sustained climbs resulting in much higher altitudes, this would probably be their most challenging individual climb due to the switchbacks and the lack of shoulder--cyclists (and there are lots of them) ride in the car lane because the roadside edges end in nothingness and a straight shot down. The plan was we would follow in a couple hours and find them on the way up, give them water and food, then continue up and over and wait for them at the bottom. DH and I perused the cute little town for a while, hit the used book shop (two Elizabethan-era mysteries from a new-to-me author) had lunch, bought the water, gator ade and sandwiches as requested, succumbed to the cute little ice cream shoppe, then set off on our climb up the pass. It was tough to drive, much less pedal. DH complained that he wasn't seeing any of the scenery because he daren't take his eyes off the road for a second. I was busy watching the road ahead for the kids, with the occasional glance down over the cliffs........ We got to the summit without having seen them. As we pulled into the parking area, I heard "what kept you, you with 4 wheels and a motor?" They had made amazing time without the 70 pounds dragging them down and achieved their goal of beating us to the summit. There is an observatory at the top which looks out over the scenery, including the lava fields, many mountains with famous names, and a lake. Breathtaking. After visual appreciation time and a tailgate for the kids, DH and I took off down the mountain ahead of them. it was harder than going up-a route drawn by Zorro. Speed limits of 20 mph that drivers actually respected. No passing. We got to the pull-over at the bottom and pulled over (natch) to...