Congrats on the fledging and the second nesting. I am very anxious for the fledging of our nestlings, because it will be our first successful fledging. I'm also bummed that we will most likely be on vacation when they fledge: we are leaving for a week starting on the 11th, and today is their 8th or 9th day. I have no idea if they will stick around or not...hopefully I can atleast see them once when we get back just to be sure that they made it and are safe. Maybe mine will fledge late so I get to see them, however it is very doubtful since it is late in the season and I'm providing mealworms; I'm really just hoping for healthy fledglings. I think my TRES will be fledging today or tomorrow. I have been seeing heads poking out and hearing a lot of wing-flapping.

I was excited to shop for a new fridge for our new home build, until I actually started shopping. My current fridge is a GE Profile SXS in white and will be relegated to the garage at the new house. It has served us well but I need SS counter depth and I want a built in look - no ice/water in the door and no SXS. I love the sub zero and it fits well with my cheffy aesthetic and mindset. But, out of the budget at 9K. Leibehrr is very nice and a good alternative but again too spendy at 5K. Also, we would have to modify the upper cabinets to install a taller fridge. Too many other things yet to purchase with our new house build. But definitely the look and function I am going for. I also wanted a single door but not readily available in counter depth and freestanding models. I actually considered a fridge only single door model(love all the space for the fresh foods I cook with) and could live with a freezer in the garage, but living in the central CA Valley, we would miss the ice. Then I thought we could install an ice maker in the kitchen but again, the cost factor and uncertainty of where we would install it - it is a new house but not custom and we would have to retrofit it somewhere in the kitchen(BTW if anyone has done that please chime in....) I narrowed it down to the KA, Jenn Air and Viking SS CD French door models with internal water dispenser. They are essentially the same inside - all made by Whirlpool - with minor differences including the handles and the KA and Viking have removable liners on the door bins. Viking is the cheapest at our appliance dealer($2899) and I like the looks of it with the pro handles. Jenn Air is $3249 with $300 rebate and KA pro handle style is $3199. Viking carries a 3 year warranty which is very good since we tend not to purchase extended warranties. We will be moving in the end of December and need to decide and buy a refrigerator soon. I appreciate all the information I get on this site!

I would suggest yes it's too optimistic. They have large thin leaves that transpire a lot of water in sun, and on a hot day they go limp, not attractive to my eye. If they aren't given enough water, the leaves of big-leaf hydrangeas (H. macrophylla) brown around the edges, but they don't like soggy soil. So it's easiest to give them afternoon shade and morning sun which allows them enough sun to bloom but is less stressful a growing situation. Be aware that as far as I can tell, the Cityline Hydrangeas only bloom on the previous year's wood, so if there's a harsh winter or a late frost, they won't bloom at all for that year unless you have protected them. Someone may correct me as to whether they bloom on current year wood, but usually when they do, it is well-advertised, and since I haven't seen any references to reblooming, I've avoided this series since I always lose the previous year's growth.

That is a beautifully colored/patterned bloom! I hope you can keep it alive and doing well. You've not posted pics of the entire plant. Is it in a clear pot so you can see the root growth? As long as leaves are healthy/firm and roots look good, I too might be tempted to allow it to continue blooming. But if the roots and leaves show stress I'd say cut the inflorescence. You don't want to lose the plant. I'm often presented with a plant with limp leaves and asked to please save it because it has beautiful blooms. I've had one such plant now going on four months and finally it's growing about six new roots and two healthy leaves, but ever so slowly. She'll be lucky, her plant should survive and will probably spike this coming fall. Another I was trying to save for her was too far gone....I told her to dispose of it and buy another.