I'm sitting on the fence - it seems too large to not have gotten chlorophyll by now, but OTOH it was completely hidden from light (just) by top dressing, so, ladies, I don't know what to think, other than think it's for the birds, this succulent business. A Clark's nutcracker couple, one feeding and one guarding its mate from the magpie, who nobody likes, not me, not the dog, not even other magpies Stellar's jay, our provincial bird Northern flicker Interesting, eh? The two Gasteria main plants are repotted, I'm happy to repot. Trimmed roots, sifted top dressing, clean pots, these plants are living the life.

Hi, I know this thread has been around for a long time, but I hope some of the posters are still around. I have a 1200 sq ft "meadow" in RI that is 5 years old. I started it by tilling out lawn grass that hadn't been watered for the previous 5 years - i.e. dead, weedy grass. I now know that tilling was a bad idea, but it was suggested by a local landscape architect. What is done is done. The first couple years were spectacular with both annuals and perrenials started from a "new england" meadow mix (no grasses). The next year I was pregnant, and the next I was chasing the baby around, so the meadow got neglected. It is now more weeds than flowers. Last year I added a few dozen Little Bluestem and Sideoats Grama transplants. I have no idea if they are still there, because I couldn't find them among the weeds! I know I can start over, but would rather not. The survivors are sweet william, blue lupine, tickseed coreopsis, rudbeckia, purple coneflower, and shasta daisy. I like all of these but the daisies - they really pushed a lot of other plants out last year. All of these plants have done well, creating more and/or bigger clumps, so I'd rather not just throw them away. The meadow is also in the front yard in a suburban setting. Black plastic or roundup for a year isn't going to go over well with the neighbors, especially after the great display of the last few years. rayallen mentioned "repairing" a few sections each year, but I have some questions about that. My meadow is much smaller than yours, so my section(s) would also be smaller. How can I keep the weeds and other desired plants from invading the "repair" section which has now been cleared? Won't that section just get reseeded with weeds at the end of the season? I would like to plant a mix of grass and flowers in these sections. I'm willing to spend a moderate amount on plants or seed and am also set up to start seeds in flats overwintering-style or under lights. I will be contacting the New England wildflower society for some advice on what to plant. The idea of working on a section at a time is appealing. I'm a serious gardener, but also a working mom (and I also have a cottage garden, rose garden and vegetable garden). I spend most of my free time in the summer in the garden, but it is max 15-18 hrs/week, often less than 10. I'm willing to spend the time, but want more assurance that it won't be wasted. If the section ends up just the same as the rest the next year, it obviously isn't worth it. Any advice or ideas most welcome! Thanks.

A Clark's Nutcracker, also a member of the corvid family.

Beautiful pictures! Yes, they are sandhill cranes. Whooping cranes, along with being very rare, are almost entirely white, with mainly black wing tips visible in flight. Their migration patterns seem to be more responsive to local weather conditions than is the case with other birds. Here in NM, there is a huge wintering site for these cranes at Bosque del Apache NWR, but their numbers there fluctuate regularly in response to storms or warm periods. For them, an easy daylong flight of a couple hundred miles can mean the difference between nasty winter conditions, and nice mild overwintering grounds. This is exactly the case for the cranes at Monte Vista, CO and the Middle Rio Grande Valley in NM. The former is used by the birds in the fall, while the latter is good all winter!