Their "trill" is an accurate description of their sound. Don't be surprised if you find a few that appear to drown. It's a fact of their existence; they go into a sort of death grip and hold one another too long sometimes. My skimmer box is a popular place for the toads on colder nights and bright days. I checked and had about thirty in the box today. They make their way out at some time. After they lay their eggs you'll see their slimmy eggs lines, that's what I call 'em, strung through the water from side to side. In a month or so tadpoles emerge and grow bigger and bigger. Tadpoles will swim around for a few weeks it seems until one or two bright afternoons you'll see all these little toads popping around on the edges of the water garden. They just seem to make their way out -- I have a rock edge on most of my garden. Most will not be seen again. Every so often I'll turn over a rock or open the skimmer's cover in the summer and see a young toad. They grow pretty fast through our long summers here in Kansas. They're obviously feasting on insects that are abundant -- a good thing for any garden.

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!

Thanks so much for all the advice and opinions! I think the inspiration kitchen listed her granite as white spring, which is similar to bianco romano but lighter. So that's why I was focusing on the bianco romano, but I'm wondering if white spring is the same as valley white or really close at least. I think my cabinets read pretty white....maybe the cream countertops and definitely creamy island are making them look more that way along with the lighting? I found another kitchen in the same paint for comparison. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47/darth_paul/10-21-08-5.jpg found from this thread http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg060818003773.html I did take a pic of the granite next to a white door that they had there. I do like the honed, but I think I've fallen out of love with it of late. I have 3 kiddos, and I think at first I was looking for granite to look like marble or soapstone, and now I just want it to look like granite, if that makes sense. The jet mist I looked at was polished, and I think it makes the swirliness look much deeper. I still do really like that stone, so I won't make a decision for sure yet. Here are a couple different pics. thanks again for everyone's help!

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...