I had one case of RRD about Sept 2009, on a very tall mini (5 ft tall, so big for a mini). The bush looked odd in June, so I cut the odd cane off at the ground. However, the new growth looked weird and I dug the entire bush out in early Sept, plus three nearby rosebushes (2 HT and 1 miniflora). I dug deep and got their roots also. I wrote a letter and sent the key diseased canes to Dr. Jim Amrine at West Va. Univ. (by Fed Ex). Dr. Amrine confirmed it was RRD. He said it probably blew in from a highway that is about 3 miles from my house, that has woods growing around on either side. To Henry, I am not sure how he checked for RRD - sometimes by looking thru a microscope and seeing a dead mite; otherwise that he is knowledgeable of the symptoms - feathery, light green leaves, many needle-like thorns, thick stems, reddish growth and performed a visual inspection; or perhaps by another method. Fortunately, I have not had RRD since then. I planted petunias and garlic chives in the rosebed. (Farmers alternate crops.) This fall (2 years later), I transplanted micromini roses from a garden that was getting waterlogged just this year. So the micromini roses may make it or not. But they are 6 inches tall, so far. They do not have RRD, at least. They have 18" wire fences around them to protect them from rabbits and a raccoon. Also, to apply Round-Up so it does not affect neighboring plants, cut or saw a branch of the plant to be removed and paint concentrated Round-Up on the open cut with a paintbrush. For a big bush to be removed, make 2 or 3 cuts and paint those. Lastly, the MD Ag Extension Service does not care. I tried to report the RRD, but no one would take my report. Dr. Amrine made a note with his records.

i'm pretty sure HAARP can not be species specific and nearly all of the birds were red-wing blackbirds or a subspecies. it's something specific to those birds & specific to those fish... fireworks please LOL i'm an educated person LOL those birds do not fly in the middle of the night lol. when 'officials' start saying stuff like that it makes me 1. want to see their intellectual credentials 2. disbelieve and laugh at all of their conclusions lol. this will get lost in the news of wed just like the missile fired off the west coast story did...and we never find out the truth because everyone just goes on. just like the 'officials' would like lol. if i lived in arkansas thou i'd be very concerned about what happened to those birds, the fish not so much as that is explainable and right now there are some serious issues w/ birds elsewhere on the planet. ~ liz

Moni...and Flamingo...I'm not sure, but I may be visiting close to your necks of the woods. I'm going to see one brother in Springdale, if he can't make it to Mom's in Heber. I may go to Denton, TX, if that brother can't get time to come to Heber. If you see this in the next couple of hours, email me through My Page and I'll send you my phone numbers. Nita, from the sound of the weather I might be better off joining your caravan to Florida. If not, I think Nita may have my phone number. Anyone that has it is free to email it to anyone that wants it. I'd be tickled pink to meet everyone. OT (Nita made me think of this, LOL) - Do you folks know the Purple Martins (!!!) are already back in Florida? Mine won't be here until late April, or early May.

Lyfia, For younger kids, a group lesson usually works well. They have the advantage of being able to watch other kids learn and it tends to be more fun for them as well. If a child has special needs, or is likely to learn faster or slower than their peers, then a private lesson would be helpful. But in general they enjoy the camaraderie of other kids. That said, a private lesson with a good children's instructor can be a fabulous experience - for both parties usually! Definitely do not teach your daughter. That's a total no-no. Pro instructors have a million ways of explaining and demonstrating things, can keep kids happy, and won't get frustrated if things get off to a slow start. I always cringe when I see parents teaching kids, and even more so when husbands try to teach wives (total facepalm - as they harp on totally irrelevant "failings" of their spouses technique!). As a random aside, I recently had a gentleman ski up to me and a female client, and offer us his unsolicited suggestion to help us be better skiers (which had the added bonus of being totally incorrect). Somehow he missed the fact that I was in uniform? But I didn't let on. The guy was really proud of himself. We found the whole thing to be both astonishing and hilarious. Mtn, when do you need to commit to the location for this trip? In all honesty, I would be gun shy about the location and the snowpack. But if you can decide in say, December, you'll have a chance to see if the drought pattern has persisted, or if it has changed. It's very sad, and it must be just crushing their ski industry, not to mention the whole natural environment of the region.