Here are a few more from today to tantalize you! Conquest Quay Sparticus Adorned is probably my favorite purple. Not as fancy as others, but a real workshorse - unbothered by aphids or thrips. ATLANTA FRINGE BENEFIT AGE OF AQUARIUS and UNINHIBITED trying to hold hands in the Circle Bed. LACE SAMPLER backed by HERBGIRLS CHERRY MOONSHINE DENA MARIE'S SISTER TRUE NORTH Debra

Thank you for asking. In the fall it is when the snakes begin traveling back to their winter dens from parts far away (and in the spring, of course, it is when the snakes leave their dens and begin traveling to parts far away). Snakes overwinter in the same den year after year and some of them will travel several miles in the fall to return to their dens. Migrations mostly happen in central states like Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas, and Kentucky and places farther north where snakes spend their winters in large communal dens in bluff. Farther south snakes can den almost anywhere (a stump, a rodent hole, etc.) and thus they don't den in large concentrations. In some places if you are between a denning bluff on one side and good habitat on the other you can walk along and actually see the snakes migrating. The snakes will all be coming from the flats and heading to the bluffs and all will be on the move in the same direction. On a good day during peak migration you might see as many as 50 to 60 different snakes in a three hour walk. On a more typical day during the peak migration you might see from 12 to 25 snakes in three hours. At the early and late ends of the migration (which lasts for about 2 months) you might see just 4 or 5 snakes. It's really a neat thing to observe!

I am not a fan of snakes, any kind...Just last Sun. I looked out on the back porch and there was a huge, 6' long, snake...The 2 feral cats were "guarding" this thing and I was afraid it might bit them...DH was gone for the day and most of the neighborhood men were away, but I did get 1 fellow, who came and took a look and decided to get another fellow...The 2nd fellow came down the street looking like the great white hunter with a rifle slung over his shoulder..They tried to catch it and where going to put it in the woods but when it got into the sun, they noticed, it was a Diamond Back Rattler..There was no way, he was going to let that thing go and he did shoot it.. I had them put it in a box because my DH would never have believed me..That evening, we had everyone in the neighborhood coming to take a peek at our new pet..I just hope he didn't have relatived in the area that might come looking for him..... But, we do have good snakes in the area, not a lot but every once in a while, you'll see them sunning themselves and you let them alone but this was not a good one.....

I remember last December here where we hit several days of single digit, sometimes teens, days and negative nights. Then Winter held on and Spring was very late. Maybe three years ago we had record snowfall. Usually we get snow and then our normal is for the higher coastal temps to melt most of the snow before the next storm comes. That year temps stayed so low all winter that little of the snow melted. People born and raised here said they had never seen such snow accumulation. Winter feels healthy here, and I love it. (Full disclosure: From the perspective of somebody who grew up in Alabama!) It could be that things are more erratic, but we definitely experience Winter!