Wow, Laura! That's quite a collection of Plumies you've got, there! They're beautiful! Your yard is just gorgeous! The palm trees give it such a nice tropical feel! Your pictures make me want to move south! :-) I was curious about the Plumie seeds and their growth because I do a little hobby pollinating with my bulbs, and also with some of the Daylilies we have in the gardens. Yes, you answered my questions. The Hippeastrum seed pods can also be loaded with seeds. Since I grow them indoors, for the most part, I have control of the crosses made, and I can harvest the pods at the moment they're ready to crack open. The fun part is seeing the results of the various crosses! The color combination of that cat pot and the Thanksgiving Cactus is so eye catching! I just love it! I wish I could say that this was our farm, but it's actually owned by friends of ours. We're the caretakers. The woman and her husband are retired, and her husband isn't in the greatest of health, so we were "hired" to come down and be live-in estate caretakers. It works out well for all of us. My husband does all the mechanical and technical work, and I do the gardening, yard work, and help take care of all the animals. As long as I eat right, and am able to adequately stifle the pain, the lupus isn't so bad. I don't have a choice, so there's no sense in crying about it... and I've always believed that life is what you make it. If you want to be unhappy and complain about life, it's easy to sit around and be depressed. But there's so much to be thankful for, and so much enjoyment to be had out of life, that it doesn't make much sense to lament the things we can't control. Laura, you wouldn't believe the string of bad luck we've had... we joke about being followed around by a black cloud that keeps raining on our parade. My husband was partially disabled in an industrial accident, I was diagnosed with lupus, we lost our home to a fire and couldn't rebuild, and to top it off, we were both passengers in a bad auto accident that left us both with permanent injuries. Life gives you lemons, you have a choice... you can either suck on a sour lemon, or you can get busy and make lemon meringue pie... we chose pie! No one said life would be easy or perfect... so, you do the best you can with what you've got. It's that simple. So, living here and caretaking the farm is perfect for us. We make our own schedules, working around the animals, and we do as much as we can do. If we need time to rest, we've got it... or if I feel sick, there's someone else to help with chores... so it works out great! Gosh, what I wouldn't give to have a small lap pool or a hot tub! Talk about being good for the bones! You must get a lot of great exercise swimming! That's one of the most fun ways to keep in shape, I think! I love swimming! As for protein shakes... my husband spent his youth involved in martial arts and competing, and he studied nutrition as part of it all... most of what's on the market isn't truly complete. Through his research, he found two companies that he feels confident in recommending. One is Optimum Nutrition, and the other is Champion Nutrition. He gets the Optimum Nutrition meal replacement mix for me, in double chocolate flavor. It mixes up incredibly thick, and I honestly do not feel hungry in between shakes. It actually seems to help me feel better, and I have Greek yogurt and fruits and vegetables as snacks. Cheating occurs as soon as Thanksgiving arrives... I can be healthy and fit all summer, and then we get together with family for the Holidays, and I blow it all by eating cookies and fudge and all the foods everyone brings out for Thanksgiving and Christmas... but who can resist? :-) Not I! Anyway... your pictures are wonderful, Laura! And I'm glad I can inspire you with enthusiasm! Like Al says, enthusiasm is contagious, and it spreads... and besides, what we give comes back to us... so it's always better to give smiles and happiness! :-) I can't wait to see Al's yard this coming year, too! His plant arrangements are glorious, and his yard always look like a showplace! I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's growing skill this spring and summer! We're a diverse group from all areas of the US, so the different plants we choose to grow and the environments we grow in are all so interesting! Chores call... I hope everyone has a great day! Happy Gardening!

I went to aol search and typed in "hummingbird screen savers".... here are a few to try. good luck http://www.billybear4kids.com/animal/hummers/ss/hummer-ss.html http://www.nearfamous.com/Pages/HBScreenSaverImages.html

Avast scans full time so no need to set up a time for a scan which is why they don't really have that option, the screen saver scan is just a simple way to do an added scan if you choose to it is not by default you have to set it to do that. Being the always on demand scanner it is, it scans everything as it happens, email, webpages, opening programs and docs etc, everything is scanned prior to opening, downloading, so doing any other scans is just a habit for most people who had other AV products that required those type scans. That is one of the reasons I prefer it. I do scan any thing I plug into my usb ports or from outside sources with a right click. Yes I agree zep totally up to user preference and what works with that particular system.

It looks like I'm going to be the first one to own up to letting my pets ruin my financial future. I don't know why other people do it, but I do it because I love & adore my pets & I don't love money. I also choose to have monthly donations to "doctors without borders" & "greenpeace" deducted from my bank account, because I also love other people of all nationalities, & the planet, & I don't love money. I have a very reasonable annual income, but I drive a second hand car, wear mostly second hand or chain store clothing, & have mostly second hand furniture. I don't have organized holidays away from home, don't drink, gamble, smoke or go out to entertainment activites. Why? Because I love the things I can do with my money if I don't waste it on meaningless crap. My three teenagers DO love meaningless crap in the forms of surf label clothing, going out, i-pods, laptops, & mind blowing expensive sneakers. (o.k., I do use the macintosh laptop a fair bit) And I fund all this silliness because I love & adore my kids & it seems to give them a lot of meaningful pleasure. No, I'm not some dried up old lesbian or an old maid who wouldn't know how to have a good time if I won ten billion dollars. In my 20's I earned & spent a lot of money & lived the "champagne & caviar" materialistic lifestyle. Yes, it can be fun. But for me, it was hollow. I'm happily married to a man who also values the simple things in life. Canoeing on a remote river at sunset, throwing a stick on a lonely beach for our nine dogs, riding through the bush at sunrise, these are the things that make my life worthwhile. Things that don't cost money, because the more you consume, the less you live. Our nine dogs provide more than friendship & company for me. They are my THERAPY every single day. They're my mates, & I willingly undertake the challenge to love them as much as they love me. It's a big challenge, because they would die for me without a second thought. Am I serious? Yes. Am I mad? Probably. But you only get as much love as you give in this world, & I make a point of loving everything that I can. The dogs are by far the easiest & the reciprocity is a joy.