Interesting link gb - I didn't know there was an easy way to tell male from female. But what I meant about color is less subtle than that - you can see another butterfly to the right of the orange one in that last pictue. The colors on the one on the right run from a pale yellowish color to orange. I'm more used to seeing monarchs like that than ones that are some solidly orange. We're about to take the dogs for a walk by the lake, near one of the points whre the butterflies depart to cross the lake. We're hoping there will be a lot of them there....

Hey Maryl:These Butterflys are really pretty at night.They are Fiber-Optic lights that just outlines the wings of the Butterflys and the Body of them.and they change colors, too.ha,The Police officer is probably right about the lights alomg the walkway lighting it up for thiefs to find your front door.No one can get close to my front door with out me knowing it, as I have a ghome sitting off to the side, that has a motion sensor in it,and most times,you dont have to walk in front of it,and it talks and pretty loud too..I have seen people come up on my porch and that Ghome says some thing like "I wish I could come inside for awhile, but mother says no"and they jump and start looking around, trying to figure out WHO said that,Thet are really confused when they cant figure out where it came from. Jean

Just wanted to address the picture (my pics) issue really quickly. I have often been accused of over-sharing on the internet. I live on a corner lot, so anyone who frequents this forum could probably drive by and recognize my garden. If a pedophile is lurking here, they could see my kids and perhaps figure out where I live. That does concern me somewhat, but I watch my kids like a hawk, and I think that a true pedophile has many more extensive and disgusting sources of phtos than my baby butt garden pics. I can't help but share pics of my garden and my kids, they are my biggest sources of pride and I just love to share. I know I am naive but I feel in my heart that most if not all gardeners are good folks. I trust this forum and I feel safe here. As for my grow list: I am going to try to grow Nematode Resistant plants when possible. I am scaling back this year as far as varieties for this reason. I am currently on a seed hunt for: Pole Beans: Poamoho or Alabama No 1 Bush Beans Monoa Wonder or Harvester Lima Bean Nemagreen Bell pepper charleston belle or carolina wonder Wando Peas My herbs, lettuces, spinach etc don't seem affected by RKN so I will again grow tons of them. I hope to grow around 20 Nematode resistant tomatoes (assorted). I cannot find any nematode resistant cucs, squash, or soybeans, so I am unsure what I will do for those or if I will just skip them this year. I'd also love to grow carrots and beets but last year both were a complete failure (tiny stunted crop). Jo

My gardening buddy covered his entire garden in screening overhead and all sides. It's supported on a wooden frame, with latching doors for access. His space is about 50 by 30 now, he's added on over the years. I pretty much confine myself to the greenhouse to deal with the critters and late/early freezes so prevalent here. Still, I think my last really good growing year was back in 2003! Every year the gardening bug hits us and we keep trying once again for that bumper crop, LOL. Hope this is your year! -Ed