Cathy, you should get these lovelies in PA, I'd think - no? BG - this is what I mean - this butterfly is GORGEOUS, GIRL! We don't get these in the south, no way. Too hot for them here. I love looking at your photos! Susan

oh, how cute! and usually fence lizards are so shy about being handled! guess he decided he wanted warmed up. :). we have scads of anoles & skinks, but don't have fence lizards at our place either. there are some not far from here though. we need to catch a couple and transplant them. problem is in the catching....

I'd recommend Satsuma mandarins. They're better than the "Cuties" often sold at the store. Satsuma is effortless to peel and nearly seedless. The tree can take just a few years to develop flavor though, so don't be put off if the first fruits taste a little bland. Kishu is also a good one. A little tart but very flavorful. The fruit size is very small but that doesn't matter since the skin is effortless to peel off and they're completely seedless, you can pop them right in your mouth. As to answering the question about can you eat Kishu skin, I'm not sure about that. The skin is thin and soft, but I don't think it's quite as edible as a kumquat. The bigger issue would be the white rind that's right underneath the skin, that would probably start giving you a mouthful of something not very pleasant. But it doesn't really matter because, despite the small fruit size the skin is still very loose and very easy to peel off. The reason people are not familiar with these mandarins is they do not have that long of a shelf life, so they are not really commercially viable to distribute to supermarkets. When I was little I used to eat Satsumas off a tree (though I didn't know they were Satsuma at the time, I was just told it was a "tangerine" tree, not really technically correct). The tree must have been at least 25 years old, I can't begin to describe how delicious and perfect they were. The bags of Cuties sold at the supermarket are pretty awful by comparison (the skin is much harder to peel off, inferior flavor, more seeds, not as fresh, slightly different aroma). Fortunately Satsuma does have more cold hardiness than Orange.

Ah, I can't take credit for that! One of the local birders had been hearing it call and spent time searching the area for droppings. He and his wife found it in a spruce tree during one of their outings. However, we have also heard saw-whets on our property, so I keep hoping I will find one! Thanks for the compliments.