Nice picture, and very helpful, too. It indicates what I thought. The indigenous people of the area have a colloquialism that describes these towers...pile 'o rocks. Visitors, tourists, and seasonal folks to and of the area refer to them in their own languages...art. The structures in the picture appear to be above the high water mark, and therefore might be considered a more permanent feature of the beach, were it not for the non-indigenous species, Rockpilus destructus, that frequents the waters edge. A 2-legged species of unknown origin, these creatures prey upon the creations of the unwitting artisan or visitor, having not the ability to see and walk by in wonder and admiration. Rather, their propensity is to reak havoc upon the rocks. They can frequently be found in the local bars after the sun retires. Below the high water mark, Neptunes own frequently see to it that the efforts of the day are wrought asunder below the waves, to be reconstructed another day...and the cycle continues. Materials for these creations are locally available on the beach or in shallow waters. They come in a variety of sizes, shapes and colors, but all seem to share similar traits...rounded and flat, or simply flat and rounded, and then of course, there's the ever popular round...or flat...whichever....

Hi everybody! Thanks for trying to help with the identification. I am new to growing hippeastrum, so pls forgive me if I posted the pictures in a wrong thread. Like Maria wrote, it has been called with so many names over the Internet. For the time being, I will stick to the name Puniceum. The orange ones (about 30 bulbs or so) were given to me by my neighbour. The red ones were purchased from a local nursery (3 clumps which has a total of about 45 bulbs, pretty heavy offsetters! Aren't they?). I have plenty of them growing on the ground in my front yard. Sure, I will take pictures the next time they bloom. Maria, both the orange and the red one has about 4" flower size. The orange one has about 18" scape, whereas the red one has about 12" scape. However, I observe that the size of the flowers and the length of the scapes depend on the 'before bloom care'. Hatta

Hi Molie, ahh...more water envy. Great pictures of a great bird! My suggestions for bird guides: In paperback, I like 'The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America' which Claire recommended to me a few years ago. I like Sibley's very much because it shows drawings of birds with their changing plumage at various stages of development. That one feature of Sibley's Guide has helped me often. (but I still confuse little brown birds) When out in the field looking for eagles, ospreys and everything else the Connecticut River offers, I bring my iPod Touch because it fits in a shirt pocket and I loaded it with two apps from the iTunes Store - 'iBird North' and 'The Ultimate Audubon New England Field Guide'. If you wanted one app for your iPhone for the sake of portability, I suggest the Audubon NE Guide because it offers birds, mammals, fish, plants,butterflies, spiders & insects, wildflowers, trees, seashells, and the natural history of New England. Plus, it has multiple voices of most birds and animals,their ranges, etc. It is the most complete guide I've seen, and the pictures and sounds are crystal clear throughout each category. The iTunes App Store lists it as"Audubon Nature New England", if you're interested. "5 Top Bird Guides for iPhone" Jane

Thanks, Dee. Yes, that's it. Haha on the height. When you gave it to me, it was just about our height. I had to tilt it across the back seat and open the window for it to fit in my car. Then, on the trip home, it was raining harder, so I closed the window... on the tallest branch....wasn't thinking. Now, it's just below 5 feet tall. It's still beautiful with so much more flowers this year. Plus, the bees like the flowers! molie, the Hellebore and Oenothera 'Siskyou' and doing great. The Hellebore bloomed earlier this year with burgundy flowers! I didn't take a picture....don't know why. The Oenothera smells so wonderful. -Tina