Isn't it funny how many different ideas are out there? I heard one meteorologist say it won't be warm like last year and that there will be some swings back and forth between warmish and very cold. Also better chances for precip. Depending on the time of the temps and the precip., we could get a little something! I don't want anything crazy, but I sure do enjoy a day or two that really feels like winter. And one or two snow days off of school would thrill me to no end! All we can do is wait and see. A friend of mine said her grandmother said when the hollies and other berry-producers make a heavy crop of berries, it is supposed to be a wintery year. Our neighbors' holly bushes are drooping over with berries! Has anyone else seen any old-timey signs of a warm or cool winter?

Ah I wish my possum had stuck around. I fed him part of my ham sandwich, well I left it on the floor for him, and it (and he) were gone the next morning, never to return. As far as unwelcome furry guests, I do seek to control the numbers of the mice in the barn, via passive/aggressive predator measures, despite the fact that I consider white-footed field mice to be one of the cutest creatures on the planet. Cats, snakes, and weasels are all enlistees in my rodent control volunteer army. There are only a few specimens of wildlife that I relentlessly exterminate. Hornets and wasps top the list and I shoot for a zero population of these stinging insects every summer. They are followed by the fleas, ticks, and internal parasites that seek to victimize myself and my family, both two and four footed. These particular unwelcome insects, arachnids, and nematodes are the only pests to provoke me into chemical warfare, as my general rule is to shun pesticides and herbicides. If my house sparrows had left with the blackbirds, they would have been no problem. Not that my blackbirds leave, they are full time residents each summer. I would have welcomed raptor sparrow predation, but I've never seen a hawk touch ground here, although they frequently circle overhead above the woods. They probably have a collective memory of being shot at unfortunately, and seek prey in distant meadows away from human habitation. The rapidly multiplying plague of house sparrows that descended on my property, bent on colonization, was something I liken to a swarm of locusts. I've never seen anything like it. I now understand why they have so many enemies, and I am generally very tolerant of invasive wildlife. I even like feral pigeons! Then there are those pests who have bested me. I sadly concede defeat to the red lily beetle. (RIP my beautiful tiger lilies.) I also see no reasonable means of eradicating the Japanese beetles, now that they have found me. Instead I am planting only those flowers this year that seemed to have resistance to the beetles last year, and giving up on those that were a sought after delicacy. Thankfully my perennials are among those with resistance, so none have become casualties. Turning to non-pests, "my" pair of tufted titmice are checking out last year's nest in my barn, thinking about refurbishing it I guess. They're next to impossible to photograph, as is their partially hidden nest up in the rafters.

Kind of funny story - a couple of years ago the guy across the street trotted over to show me this mysterious worm he found on his tomato plant. He wondered if it was something very rare because he had never even heard of a worm with horns and perhaps UCONN might be interested in having this specimen and maybe, just maybe, he had discovered something that could be beneficial to some plants here in tobacco valley and he could breed them and make money! He said there were many of them on his three patio tomato plants. "Whatta ya think, Jane? Should I put it in a jar?" I asked to see it in my gloved hand and as this guy was envisioning $50 bills, the silly worm reared it's head with horns and mouth seeking something to bite. I dropped it on the driveway and with a flash of my right foot, the mysterious money-making dream shrank into a bite-less green blob as my neighbor went into one of the most shocked and crestfallen expressions I'd seen in a while. I told him he had lost the horn worm lottery and to go home and squish all the others. I have a feeling that my reputation as a nice neighbor lady turned into tough old broad that day in the driveway. Squish 'em, Pixie, Squish 'em - unless you're going into the horn worm raising business. Jane (aka Hard Hearted Hannah)

Lots of great info Manuel! I'm in the Tampa area now. All of my large trees are in the Keys, but I brought my small ones up here. Many didn't fare too well this winter. I guess they didn't like being uprooted from in the ground in October. However, the rest are doing very well so far in the Gritty. The summer rains do have me a bit concerned but that is an issue whether they are in Gritty Mix or soil. The only time that doesn't concern me is when they are in the ground in fast draining soil. I wish I had used screen in the bottom too. That mix pours out those holes of some of my pots but it's slowing down now. It does drain super fast BUT, don't let it fool you. The mix that is amongst the stem and root area stays wetter than you think. I know this because a couple of mine came out of the mix and it was dry on the sides, wet about 2-3" from the bottom and wet right in the center where the trunk and roots were. Once the roots spread out more, this is probably not the case but right after re-potting and or root pruning, it stays fairly damp. My Mr. Ambassador was doing well when I re-potted it a couple of months ago, then it rotted. This one had been in the same pot since summer of 2011 and had lots of roots. Perhaps it is just fussy about having it's roots messed with, who knows, but that one and Heart of Gold did rot after put in the Gritty Mix. Mr. Ambassador had not come out of dormancy yet and only showed tiny claws. I feel I should have waited to re-pot it when it was more active. Perhaps that played a part in it. Same thing with Heart of Gold so maybe something was going on with them or maybe they are both late to wake up but the other ones that were slow to wake up are in Gritty and are now waking up and doing well...so far! Indeed this was a mild winter, and I hope this winter is the same. I'm still going to bring all of them into the garage, on pallets with a heater and humidifier this year. On days when it's about 65-70 I open the garage door and let them get fresh air. Not looking forward to moving them all in the winter. I'm not used to this. In the Keys it is never an issue. 50 is a really cold night down there and it never phases them.