Lol - often my biggest temptations are for things where I don't have catalogs! I managed to stop at bulbs for this fall - 10 daffodils, 20 drumstick alliums, & 5 allium 'Firmament'. In the meantime, I reorganized things so I no longer have space to add much more in my existing borders! I am down to space for one rose, and no peonies! Dh and I decided that I will wait until we put in the fence, and then I can order a bunch of roses and peonies for along the fence line. Of course, I may need to wait for the new shed for some of those, since the current shed shades part of where I want to put new stuff.

The birds in my yard have been pretty active lately too. The chickadee chicks that were nesting in a small birdhouse hanging from my crape myrtle just left the nest but before then I would hear them cheeping everytime I walked past the trees. It was funny to watch the parents follow me and fuss every time they saw me walking near their nest. My parents got to watch the chickadee chicks that were nesting in their summer kitchen take their first flight and leave the nest. One day last week I saw a medium sized woodpecker, several bluebirds, mocking birds, and cardinals all gathered on the power lines by my house. Wasn't sure why such a wide range of birds were all gathered together until I saw them taking turns beating up a couple large crows. I assume that means that all of them are nesting in the area. The mockingbirds have also been harrassing the pair of red-shouldered hawks that live in the area and like stake out my front yard. At night I get to listen to the barred owls calling back and forth. I haven't seen them yet but my parents who live next door see them in their front yard in the live oaks on a nearly nightly basis. Those owls sound like a bunch of demented monkeys when they really get going! John, that is a really neat picture of those parrots!

The wild parakeet population in the Tampa Bay area (which was HUGE, as you recall) has declined to almost nothing. No one knows for sure why. But since they were naturalized escapees who don't belong in that area, perhaps they finally just died out. They WERE amazing to see, but they also displaced a lot of native birds who couldn't compete with them for nesting spots. I was surprised to find out that they were almost gone, as usually exotics are nearly indestructible. I don't think there's been a decline in the Quakers, for instance. Curious! Marcia

Tom, I'm so new to Zone 10 and to this plant, so I don't really know, but if it takes well to being trained into a standard, and takes well to becoming a hedge, I suspect you can do whatever you want with it. Send me your address again (I know you've sent me seeds, but I would by lying if I said I could find your address.) I'll send you some seeds. I have mine in front of the tomato bed, which I'm wondering about. Either it's good, because the tree attracts pollinators and they go on to pollinate my tomatoes. Or the tree distracts pollinators and they ignore my tomatoes. Who knows? The tree is there now, and there's nowhere else to put the tomatoes... so I live with what I have and enjoy it for what it is. And I'm sorry Denise. If you've got too many, well, maybe you can give them away? And honestly, they may not be as vigorous up there. Maybe? Who knows. And Ginny, mine don't ever get frozen. I'm so far south, that's the least of my worries. But I suspect they'll behave differently with a freeze. S