Hi all, I haven't been on this site in ages! I am into genealogy now and spend way too many hours on those sites. However, I have been out in the yard the last couple of weeks - finally letting my husband cut back way overgrown areas and trying to see if we can redesign some areas. I have had three overwintering chrysalis emerge. Two were Giant Swallowtails and one was a Spicebush. Have seen a couple other Spicebush males around and a female did lay some eggs but I think they were duds. Sulphurs are around and my Polydamas are back. Saw a couple of Tigers around the yard for a few days too. Tom - did you have a good year for wintering hummers? I had two adult males banded in Jan. and an immature male that hung around all winter too. Still have one adult male who is still molting but I am not sure if its one of my banded ones or not. I don't think so. And there is an adult male that stopped by for a couple days now, guess he is migrating through. I have Goldfinches now and have had some surprises this winter. Parulas and an Orchard Oriole came through. We have a pair of Red Shouldered Hawks nesting in an oak tree in the next door neighbors yard. The male is having a good time roosting on people's cars if they have racks on the hoods. He likes to jump from one car to the next if two are parked in the same driveway. We think he likes sun roofs too. Guess he can see himself. Last spring we had a pair nest in one of our trees. They hatched two babies but one died. Evidently, the mother disappeared and the father tried to care for the one baby. Eventually he stopped feeding the fledging and we ended up feeding it raw chicken tenders as directed by a friend from Audubon. It stayed around long enough that it would come every day for lunch and dinner, landing in the same spot in the tree. After a while it went to once a day then every couple of days and then he disappeared. We knew it could hunt on its own as it would bring lizards and mice to the same tree and sit and eat. Sorry I got off track. Good to see Miss Sherry and tdogmom are still here too. Hi to everyone else too! Mary

Thank you again everyone for the kind words. :) Where am I going to put all of these ? That certainly is the $64,000.00 question !!! I counted yesterday: 31 different types in pots 3 of those pots are Andrew 33 pots total 3 different types in the ground 3 Elegans (stationary, not moving them) 2 Wide Brim 1 Tiny Tears 5 NOID in ground 3 clump #1 3 clump #2 1 ½ clump #3 1 mature mini no ID 1 mature mini no ID TONS of Elegans seedlings we dug up out of the front bed and put in the back. That is all the hosta on the property. So I have about 31 places to find for all the new additions. This does not include the 40+ I have still “to order” on my wishlist. As of today 7/29/12 I have only one bed clear. Initially I feel like I want to panic . . . but the flip side (for me at least) is I am not necessarily in any hurry to get them in the ground. I would almost prefer to let them get a few years in pots where I can coddle them and take my time finding just the right spot. So, in theory I believe I have enough room for them all (plus more) but it may be a good long time before they get placed in a permanent position. When I started this project I knew it would be a long hard road to beautification. My goal is to work with as much already existing in the ground as feasibly possible. I will be ripping out a lot of established shrubs and moving existing perennials, but more so to rearrange and start over. There is an existing design that was originally landscaped into the yard, so I will be working with that and adjusting lines and height as needed. But for the most part I am settled into a very long project with no real agenda. I will of course keep you all updated as to any progress that is made. This year though is rather uneventful since I am still in the process of amending and clearing out the first bed so that I can be ready for a spring planting. Here are some glamour shots of “The Jungle”. This first one is a pic of me in the process of clearing out the first bed. These were all taken in early June. And here is basically the jist of what it looked like before I mowed it all to the ground . . . The next grouping are of the section of yard that leads up to the side porch. This I don't think ever had anything planted in it. There is a bed separating the two sections of the front yard so you can't get to this part without going around the house and coming off the side porch. The Hosta in the picture are of seedling Elegans and one of my MIL NOID. It is still too young and neglected to pitch here for proper ID. So all in all I def have enough space to keep me plenty busy for a very long time. Plus we are having an arborist come out in the winter and trim a few trees that desperately need it as well as remove a few that are too close to the house. So there will still be a nice canopy but I will have a lot more light coming through starting in 2013 and that is also something I am going to keep my eye on for plant placement. Thanks as always for looking and reading, Ludi

Oh, you guys are all so kind! Linda (doucanoe) I'll check my email next. Thank you! LindaC, you are so sweet to offer. I have cable internet, is that fast enough? AnnT, I'd be so indebted to you if I could get another copy of your cookbooks. I don't want any of you to tie up your computer or go to a lot of time and trouble. I forgot that I've saved several recipes on that feature "My Clippings" so I'm good for some stuff. I think I have Ann's scone recipe there. I'll have to go look. Thanks again for everyone's kindness! It looks like I'll end up with even more wonderful recipes. Sally

I read this on a site from the UK. "A common reaction to this is to reduce the amount of detergent in the wash, but bizarrely, and counter-intuitively, washing machine detergent contains anti foaming agents so using too little can ironically cause too much foam due to a lack of these agents. The most common cause of excess foam is using too much detergent, but as described above, too little can also cause excess foaming so the important thing is to use the right amount as suggested by the detergent manufacturer, which is determined by the hardness of your water and the level of soiling."