This morning our dog woke us up at 5:30 am-she hears the birds singing outdoors, and is utterly convinced that its time to go for a walk. Our lakes are free of ice, the lawns are green, and the daffodils are blooming. So, we are having spring at last! We're not ready for butterflies yet, and I haven't seen any bees. But we have lots of ducks, including coots, grebes, buffleheads, and even a few loons. Most of these are migrating through, although there are Canada geese and Mallard ducks that spend the entire year with us. The city collected tons of snow, and dumped it in a marsh located between UW Hospital and Lake Mendota. The pile is so high that bets are being taken as to when it finally melts away. I might go see it, but prolly not....We had over 100 inches of snow this winter, a record, and I lost track of how many hours I spent keeping our sidewalks clear.

Hi All, Not much going one here, just work, cleaning, etc. boring stuff. It will be exciting this week though. I'm going to a beer tasting/education on Tues. I have a web site meeting on Thurs. On Friday I'm going to Gardenscape which is the Rochester garden show I attend every year. It is a really nice one! I will also be working it too for the Rock Garden Society. Dottie, Congrats on the grandson! Lol, about getting over excited about the sprouts. Lettuce, broccoli family plants, and violas are very tough and can handle light freezes when they are babies. So you can take the lids off, but if it is going to dip really low like you said, you will need to re-cap them. Marie, I'm glad to hear of the good news!! Do we all have the wrong address now? lol. Your bloom is gorgeous! 4 years, you are a patient woman. Jeanne, Are those pics of flowers blooming now with your garden critters? If so I'm very jealous! Here's my stab at Carol's questions. 1. I have a statue overlooking my garden what is it ? gargoyle - I have one out front for Gary so I'll guess the same 2. I have several statues and faces of my favorite animal in my gardens what is it any how many do I have ? Wolves 10 3. my no tresspassing sign says violaters will be shot, survivors will be _____ ______? Shot Again 4. a critter climbs my fence and eats my cat food every night. what is it ? Raccoon 5. I have a critter key holder in my garden. what is the critter ? Frog 6. I have 9 windchimes 4 are ? butterflies 7. 1 is wolf 8.1. is ? frog 9 1 is ? abstract Talk to you all later, Remy

Lancaster city is a nice small city...while I live in a much more rural area, I do get in town frequently. The buildings are very nice architecturally if you like that. Queen street has quite a few nice stores in a walking district...hand blown glass, childrens boutiques, vintage clothing and accessories, anitiques, coffee shops. Additionally you can visit Central Market, the Quilt and textile museum (amazing and very old quilts), Science factory, Lancaster Arts museum. Come on the weekend and attend First Fridays and visit the many art galleries. Catch the symphony, a show at the Fulton Opera/Theatre, a minor league Barnstormers baseball game. Visit Rock Ford plantation (built in 1749, home of General Hand), Visit home of James Buchanan (our 15th president) 2 lovely plaes to stay in the city are the brand new Marriot Convention center (BEAUTIFUL!). They very creatively maintained the original facade of an historic Watt and Shand building as well as preserving several very unique aspects within the building as well - inside there is a glass enclosure around a foundatation and cesspool of Thaddeus Stevens home and is a working archialogical site. The Marriot is downtown and you can walk to almost anything I mentioned above. The other really nice hotel is the Lancaster Arts Hotel. It is still in the city, but a little further away from walking district. It is a converted tobacco warehouse and very nice. The restaraunt on site gets all their ingredients from local farmers. I can go on and on an I missing so many wonderful things...other nice places I never get tired of: The Cloister in Ephrata, Landis Valley Museum, walking around Lititz. Visiting Greeen Dragon farmers market on Friday (maybe tonight!) or Roots market on Tuesdays. Pa Renaissance Faire in Manheim. I only occasionally go to Intercourse, Bird-in-Hand, etc (usually on my way to Target! lol) I live here, I have friends that are Amish...their lifestyle while unique and seemingly tranquil...well it's just part of my everyday life and I am used to it. I have eaten dinner, attended weddings, and auctions with both Amish and Mennonite friends. Lancaster county is extremely diverse and offers so much! I am blessed to be here.

I may be there myself in a week depending on many things. Lancaster County in PA is full of covered bridges. All over the US, these wooden structures are disappearing and most that are standing today have been extensively rebuilt or are replicas. That's to be expected of a wood structure that's been sitting outside for over hundred years. But what is important is, was the repair faithful to the original design? Reboarding the superstructure and flooring might be considered minor, or maintence repair. However, tinkering with the support frame is major. When you find a truly old bridge, photogaph it! It may not be there next year. I know of two bridges that I have photographed that are now destroyed: One in Madison Co, IA and another in Parke Co, IN. I found several brides in upper Vermont and New Hampshire that were for show only. They looked great and still carried traffic, but when I examined underneath the bridge, the full story emerged. The small towns in the northern part of these two states do not have sufficient budget to repair these bridges to bring them up to today's required loads, yet at the same time they desired to retain the "look and feel" of the bridge. Tourist trade is a factor. I found how they solved this problem. Under the old bridge was another bridge, the one supporting the loads. The highway department had installed the load bearing parts of a modern bridge made of steel H-beams. The wood bridge became merely decoration sitting on steel beams - sort of took away the nostalga. So, take your cameras and document the bridges. In my opinion, there are two times in the year when these old bridges have the most photo appeal, and that is in the fall when the leaves turn and after a fresh snowfall in the winter. The lousiest time is late winter and early spring with no greenry of snow cover. Summer pictures can be great too; You have to be more selective and creatiive with composition.