try your county soil conservation or AG office.. i am sure they will offer a brochure with many suggestions suited to your locale ... once you have that list.. then perhaps we could help you pick from that ... ANYTHING that berries for bird usage is a POTENTIAL invasive nightmare ... and that i why i would start with the local experts ... since they know what is not good for your area ... [presumably .. it is the government.. lol ...] ken

Oh how your post makes my heart quiver! I just now completed an email to my uncle Patrick up in Sweet Home, Oregon. The fruit that grows wild there will never be matched by this Arizona desert, but then Oregon's growing season cannot compete with Arizona's. I am a transplanted Oregonian, and as such can never find enough green here to satisfy my soul, but my garden here in Gilbert is the envy of all my relatives up there in the wet, green state. Just this summer I took 20 some pounds of tomatoes and a cantalope, and two giant onions on the plane to Portland, which I distributed to appreciative uncles, aunts, and Mom upon my arrival. You will find that there are lots of great things to grow here for your daughter to go out in the garden and browse upon. We have had great success with strawberries and grapes of three varieties, and you can't beat growing your own pomegranites, which flourish here. The citrus is wonderful, and we enjoy peaches, plums, nectarines, apricots, apples, and we are trying for some good pears, although to date we have only grown oriental ones akin to small cannonballs and practically inedible. I was glad to see in responses to your post that blackberries will grow here. I tried some years back, but didn't have much luck, and I just LOVE 'em. The wine I made from them in Sweet Home 20 years ago was so good my mouth waters just thinking of them! And up there they grow EVERYWHERE. I am sure you will love gardening in this desert state, especially since you are blessed with a big lot. Be sure to set aside enough room for a big garden, you will be glad you did. Send me an email via GardenWeb and I will send you a few pictures of what grows here. You will be amazed!

You'll either need to submit an improved description or some pictures, if you'd like a good ID. What is the size and shape of the critter? Is it mobile? Where are the 'eggs' located and what is their size and shape?

I have picked at Pine Tree Apple Orchard for Strawberries. I didn't get there until the end of the season (last day maybe), so they were small but the kids loved the wagon ride out. They have lots of apples in the fall but all pre picked. Natura Farms (also known as North Star) in Scandia on Manning (Hwy 15) 2 miles south of Hwy 95. We did this this year. We picked (me and my 6 year old son and 3 year old daugther) 28 pounds in 1.5 hours (on top of what they ate). The kids were drenched in berry juice as they ate most of what they picked. They are an all organic farm and have pick your own everything, currants, blueberries raspberries, rhubarb, even roma tomatoes! I highly recommend them. Their strawberries were going to go fast (mold from the rain) since they couldn't spray with anything. He said if they get a little bit of mold in the patch it spreads quickly. But it was awesome when I was there. They were open as late as you wanted! Literally across the street they had strawberries too (don't know the name). I didn't pick there, but I had picked the blueberries last year from this one. They were very good, they had raspberries too, but we ran out of time. As for apples and raspberries whistling well farm in Afton (next to afton apple orchard was family run, not touristized, chickens running around, pick your own (hard to find with apples). They had fresh honey too. Links: http://farms.2havefun.com/minnesota.shtml www.pickyourown.org/MN.htmhttp://www2.mda.state.mn.us/webapp/mngrown/mngrown_default.jsp Holly