Morning, Purple & Marquest. Okay, a third plant to consider.. ") Btw, I've never heard of Zephyranthes. Heck, can't even pronounce it. lol. Okay, just Googled, and by gosh, I think you're right. Purp, yes, the plant has thin, strap-like leaves. Gotta check Zeph's care now, and change the name on my photo pages. Thank you gals... Marquest, your Amy is definately an original..before culivars came about??? You can tell its old by the flower. Different than any around today. Same applies to ancient Christmas Cactus..Ever seen the flowers? Grimes..Many here on GW use PB. My pics are on Flickr, so I can't help, but I'm certain someone will explain how to download so you can post pics....especially since you started this thread. lol. SJ...WOW, now thats some tree AND green house!!! Wish mine was as large as yours. My dinky 8x12 looks like a closet compared to yours. lol. Filled w/mealy..How terrible!!! I'm against chemical insecticides, but if you want to rid those awful pests, perhaps you should use systemic Bayer. Many swear it kills mealy and other insects. Your Ficus is too beautiful to have mealy. When did you notice mealybug? Are you not worried your other plants, 'which are gorgeous,' will catch mealy? I've tossed a good number of plans when I couldn't rid mealy..I didn't use Bayer or any other chemicals... Sprayed and wiped with Rubbing Alcohol, but it didn't work. Love your palms..WOW! Impressive. Toni

Ah! That makes sense. These birds certainly achieve an impressive intensity when they're focusing on the water. I almost trod on a green heron at this same pond a few years ago. It was standing on the edge of the concrete bridge and was so focused it didn't see or hear me coming. In turn, I was scanning the far bank of the pond and didn't look down. I probably posted that picture here, back then, Thanks, Dave Here is a link that might be useful: Encounter from a few years back.

Lukki, such a great idea for a post - thank you! This post got me to finally set up a Flickr account to be able to post pics, somethinhg I've meant to do for a long time. So, here's my motley crew, who keep my life interesting, oh-so-busy and never, ever a 'normal day'. The matriarch is a Siamese mix, Annie, who at 20 years is still going strong, despite failing eyesight and being nearly stone deaf. I've had her since she adopted us at about 6 weeks old. My beloved Chow Chih Nu, who lost her battle with lymphoma cancer at 13 (one of the hardest times of my life) - 2 years later and I still miss her every day. She was a treasured member of the family for 13 years. In memory of Chih Nu, a year ago we adopted Tuscon, a BMC, rescued from the kill list from a high kill shelter - this is her at 4 mos, curled up in a cat bed. And a recent picture of her at 14 mos., in a rare calm moment (she's a tremendously high energy girl!) So high energy, in fact, we decided she needed a 'sister' to romp with, so a couple of months ago we adopted 4 mos old Sierra, a Chow pup. This is her doing her impersonation of a calm puppy - trust me, it's just an act! These two have to qualify as the world's worst garden dogs - it's amazing the damage they've done to my garden while romping at full speed! But, hey - they're also sweet, loving and true clowns that make me laugh daily, so I look at it this way - now there's no reason to not hire out the mulching, because there's nothing the yard guys can do to my plants that these two haven't already done! And then there's my Yellow Naped Amazon, Coqui - he's at the very center of the universe, just ask him and he'll confirm it! He's 10 years old now, and I've had him since he was 6 mos old - he really, truly does think he's in charge, and is often heard telling the pups to 'stop, stop' when they're barking or romping in the family room. The final furred/feathered member of the family is Aradia, my 16 year old Persian mix. It's impossible to take a good picture of her because she walks right up to the lens, even of a phone. She's been battling hyperthroidism for the past 2 years, and even with twice daily doses of thyroid meds has dropped from 16 lbs down to about 4.5 lbs. Think of the "Grisabella, the Glamour Cat' song from Cats and that's a good description of my poor Rady-girl. She knows she's still beautiful, and so do we. So, that's my merry band of hooligans - the Koi don't count in this because they stay nicely in their ponds and are only demanding at feeding time. :-)

Ice cave testI am home and catching up on everyone and want to try posting a picture Lavender- so sorry to hear about Mandy. MissyMoo also sorry for your loss and anyone that I missed. CampHappy- sounds like fun! I am so glad everyone is enjoying this post Test on pictures - not sure any are successful, so might need to edit Fourth try- ok, I give up on PB for now - will have to read the hosta post in gardens to figure this out but here is another cave with DH inside from my iphoto Pancake Bay Ice cave 2014