How fast is a mole? (or a vole, perhaps?) Not fast enough to outrun a well-placed shovel strike when one just happen to be in the right place at the right time with the right garden tool in hand when one emerges from it's hole or is seen forming that weird raised tunnel just below the surface of the soil. By the way, I do not think you saw a mole, but a vole. A mole is an insectavore, eating some nasty bugs like grubs as well as the earthworms some gardeners have come to love. It will not eat your plants or their roots. And it will not tunnel to the surface. A vole will, however. A mole looks like a furry sausage with a long, hairless snout and a vole looks kind of like a plump mouse, a mouse that has been gorging itself on your plants. The interesting things about voles is that there are two types, the meadow vole comes above ground to chew on your plants and the pine vole will nibble on the roots from below. Can't say I care for either. Wayne

Randy, it's just another way of saying I wimped out. Ingrid, Enchantress' first blooms balled pretty badly. Maybe it was thrips or temps or her being a baby in the pot. This flush is doing better, but I don't think I saw the finish of that flower. Souv de Francois Gaulain balled, too. It was not a good first flush really. JBS has not looked anything like she did last year. Her flowers were bigger and deeper pink in the centers last year. The second flush is about silver dollar size. Mrs B R Cant is starting her second flush, and they're normal buds and flowers but not as many so far. Ya know what Forrest Gump said about the box of chocolates? Well, that's been my garden so far. Even Louis Philippe is still balling. He never did that last year. Bermuda Spice looks terrible and has the tiniest flowers. Don't know what's going on but this year is different. Mme C Testout was about the only normal one. She just sailed through. And Souv de la Malmaison has been gorgeous. I just got 2 SdlM's in February and also the climber. I just put one bush in the ground today. Her flowers are wonderful. Oh, and Niles Cochet and Gen Gallieni were planted today as well. And I got soaker hoses down in two areas. It's been a very productive vacation. Didn't get the front feeding & mulching finished, but I got a lot of annuals/perennials in. Sherry

Hi Charlene, I mulch my veggies (plants and seeds) with grass clippings from when I cut the grass right after I plant them to help conserve water. I just put a thick layer in a ring around each plant or spread a layer over each row when I'm seeding. Every week when I cut the grass I add more to the garden and eventually have the whole thing covered which makes it much cleaner to walk and work in. Since grass is fine the stuff on the bottom keeps decomposing and adding organic matter to improve the soil. If you have annual weed grasses growing in your lawn you might wind up with grass seedlings coming up all over the garden, but I've never had a problem with ordinary turf grass (bluegrass), even though my grass is producing seed like mad right now. In fall when everything is done I turn over the soil and the remaining grass gets mixed in and decomposes the rest of the way over winter giving me better soil for the next year. Bark or other wood mulch would work too to help with the water conservation, but it takes much longer to decompose if it gets worked into the soil, so you might wind up with a lot of "lumps!" Also, if a LOT of wood mulch winds up mixed into the soil, you could wind up with too little nitrogen in the soil---decomposing matter temporarily binds up the nitrogen in the soil (making it unavailable to the plants) until the decomposition is complete. Should that happen you could always feed with a high nitrogen fertilizer, or, to prevent that problem, you could rake the bark or wood chips back off of the soil at the end of the season rather than mixing it into the soil. There's not enough decomposition going on from wood or any mulch just laying on top of the soil to affect the nitrogen levels. If you decide to use a bagged wood mulch, I just bought several bags of small bark chips for around my perennials and the best price I found was 3/$10 at Lowes. Now for the BIG question! Are WE going to survive this summer? If it's this hot already, I don't even want to think about what it's going to be like in July and August! Happy gardening---and--- stay cool, Skybird

I'll ditto what OP said, it's not nearly as bad as I'd feared. So much depends on what you do leading up to the test. I'd read a few tips that were helpful: I'd read that some good foods to eat the day or two prior to starting the "cocktail" include: Scrambled egg whites, dry white toast, green tea, grilled chicken breast, plain baked potato, lemon Italian ice, apple or white grape juice, graham crackers, baked fish, rice, banana, plain bagel, coffee with sugar only, Lemon or lime Jell-O, Chicken noodle soup, crackers, Beef or chicken broth, ginger ale. Avoid fats, dairy products and high fiber foods. Use a straw to drink the "magic cocktail" and put it as far back in your mouth or throat as you can in order to avoid tasting it. I had to drink my 32 oz. Gatorade & Miralax mixture 8 oz every 10-15 minutes. Set the timer as the time goes by fast. Don't answer the phone :) Also, keep some vaseline with the tp as the cleaning out period can create a sore bottom. The people at the clinic are very aware it's a sensitive procedure and that modesty is an issue. At no time did I ever feel exposed or uncomfortable. The staff was terrific. I remember being asked to roll on my side and then don't recall anything until waking up 30-40 minutes later.