Thank you, Susan! You are so sweet. I'm glad my website is beneficial. The best book I've found is "The Life Cycle of Butterflies". Today, I did a butterfly talk at a local nursery. It was for kids. I put on my camouflage pants, and Monarch Teacher Network Questionmark shirt. I told the kids I was a "butterfly rancher" and "small game hunter". We had fun! I had eggs, just hatched caterpillars, BIG caterpillars, and pupae. And I had 3 just eclosed Pipevine Swallowtail butterflies. Yesterday, a friend's granddaughter brought her 5 Painted Lady butterflies that she raised from a kit to release in the butterfly garden. We also had a good time hunting for eggs and caterpillars. I was honored that she wanted to release her butterfles in my garden. As you can tell, I'm enjoying life minus the stress of selling plants at the market. I'll be in OKC next Thursday. I'm planning on visiting you. I'll call you. I hope to get to your place fairly early--before the heat sets in. I'm meeting cousins for lunch. Sandy

Gary I know what you mean. I had russet mites last year, they suck the life out of your plants. It was late last season that I finally ID them as russet mites. These guys thrive in hot and dry conditions. Last year in Santa Clara Ca. we had just that type of summer. Along with that I'm stingy with my watering, so its a recipe for disaster if I'm not prepared. I got this stuff from peaceful valley thats called cropguard, its a botanical insect repellent. I will surely be applying this stuff foilar every two weeks. Damon

An easy first step to narrow down your choices is to find pictures of kitchens you love, which should help you get an idea of the overall look and feel you hope to achieve. Not all materials are available in every color, so picking a color will likely reduce your options (light or dark, busy or monotone, cold or warm?). What does the rest of your kitchen look like? Countertops should fit in with the overall picture. Budget is likely the next big factor. Then there are other priorities, like how you need your countertops to function for you, and whether or not you're into protecting the environment, keeping-up-with-the-Jones', or worried about resale value. If you like new gadgets, you might want to consider newer countertop materials, like glass-composite, paperstone, customizable-concrete or kirei board. So much of this is personal. I was raised not to put hot pans on the counter or to cut on the counter, so I don't mind butcherblock, laminate or Corian/solid-surface. Others don't want a counter they can't use as a hot-pad or cutting board. Laminate gets a bad rap on GW, but it's still pretty common and well-liked in my region; my mother and aunt both get compliments on their new laminate countertops, and Senator13's kitchen is proof that it can be well-done. Stones are popular now, but I personally dislike cold counters (plus attractive options were out of budget and my cabinets couldn't handle the weight). I believe I've seen worries about maintenance mentioned when discussing butcherblock, stones, solid-surface, glass-composite, concrete and even stainless countertops, so look into the potential maintenance of your pick and decide if it's something you can handle. If you're worried about resale or keeping up with the Jones's, check out what countertops your neighbors or comps have installed. And if the environment is a concern, there have been various articles debating the environmental impact of different countertop materials (from sustainability, to life-cycle, to energy consumption). I installed butcherblock countertops to replace my old purple laminate, and I LOVE my kitchen now! Applying the Waterlox was time-consuming (multiple coats, with 24 hours between coats), but it was worth it to have beautiful, warm countertops that are also water and stain-resistant. I do worry about the butcherblock slightly more than I did with laminate, though. Laminate was a consideration and was even easier to care for, but there was the issue with how to make the underside of the overhang into the living room attractive. Budget was a huge consideration for us, but if I get to do another kitchen, I'll definitely consider stainless steel (cold, but functional and IMO attractive) and the various solid-surface options (love Corian Raincloud). Here is a link that might be useful: Green Countertops - trends in eco-friendly surfaces

Jeri, I see. Well there's Purple Splash, it's way less full, but it's the same colors. It is by Carruth, so who knows what might've happened to those varieties. It's a shame, such a great color combo! Which reminds me, I had thought about how pretty a rose with purple and yellow in the same bloom would look. Not clashing bright colors, maybe a soft yellow and a dark purple, or pale yellow and lavender. I wanted to breed a rose like that for a time and had written down some ideas for crosses. But if that were possible I think it'd already exist. I think maybe, being complimentary colors the pigments would just blend and make something like, yellow and pink stripes, for example. Beth, okay, that's 3 strikes, I'll get the orange one instead, if anything. I don't ever feed my roses, actually. I want to have only varieties that do well just with the nutrients from rain water and maybe compost. So I guess this is a no-no. Thanks, girls!