it's so very easy to get to the park i wouldn't worry with it, john. or you could use tyndall's idea. "tj's shindig" may get a few lookers wantin' some pig, though! :) glad you'll be able to truely enjoy the food this go round. course there may not be much left for anyone else.... nan, i think it's an awesome idea to put our 'handles' on the back. i'm doing it with my stuff. i know i asked trina some ?'s about plants of hers i got last fall. just got the avocadoes today for the guac. they are really, really hard. cross your collective fingers they ripen to the point i can use them sat. i may have to do a chunky kind if they aren't soft enough.

It's a White Marked Tussock moth. I figured it was some type of tussock moth. It turns into a drab moth but the caterpillar is so cool. That bush that took over is a Bush Clover (Lespedeza thunbergii). I got it as a little stick at a plant swap 2 years ago. The thing got huge! It was a much more manageable size last year. It had even been eaten almost to the ground by the deer twice earlier this season so I'm really surprised that it got so big. It does attract lots of butterflies and bees and it stays in bloom for a fairly long time. I just wish it wasn't so big. It dies to the ground over the winter. I'm going to see if I can dig any up once it dies back.

Jenn, My weekend television (and as far as I know, my backyard) was "alien" free! LOL Judith, Glad you're feeling up to posting a little. Sorry to hear you've probably decided to not build a pond. Right now since it's below freezing I dread going out to do any work on my ponds, but come warmer weather I'll sure enjoy the benefits. Gagesgranny, Some type of cover is the best way to protect the babies. I have used the black plastic bird & deer netting in the past, but only in the winter to stop leaves. Looks like it will be become a more permanant fixture around here. Sue, I don't understand the banning of koi and not goldfish in a lot of places as I thought one was as potentially as much a hazard as the other, but I'm no expert either. I read about the koi being seized from a restaurant and was also happy to read they had been given back to the owner. My goldfish are just as special to me as my koi are so both are fun to have.

luvmytbear, are you reading the posts people are putting up here for you? If I understand correctly, the Disney World trip was already planned before you decided on a Barbados wedding. Even if it wasn't, it is harder than you think to reschedule, especially for a large group, and more important, I think mammavan makes an excellent point about the perspective of the others. Read it carefully and try to see their point of view. Look how many posters made the observation that (without special circumstances) a destination wedding says "we value a fancy setting more than we value your presence." You can have a destination wedding. For that matter, you can refuse to send thank you notes. You can cut your sister out of your wedding party. You can put "cash please" on the invitations. You can invite the cousin you like but not his brother. You can have a reception with music that everyone but you and your pals hates. You can do whatever you want! It's Your Special Day!!!!! But you can't insist that everyone feel the way you want them to feel about it. Your new family feels excluded -- well, they are. Trying to explain to them that they should prefer to spend their money and vacation time on YOUR idea of a vacation, not theirs, is not going to work. As Talley Sue wisely points out, your family probably feels pretty much the same way about this plan; they are just being better sports and more polite about it. Consider that their disappointment means that it is important to THEM to share your wedding with you -- I doubt you would want them to feel relieved, not disappointed, that they can't come. Your original question was: "Is it wrong to just go with our plans? Or should we try to do something local so that his family won't alienate him? I feel so torn!" Well, although it would solve some problems to have the wedding locally and save Barbados for the honeymoon, it definitely isn't "wrong" to go ahead with your Barbados plans. What would be wrong would be to refuse to accept that some people will feel hurt, to insist that they see it your way, to dismiss their plans for a family Disney World trip, and to blame THEM for making YOU feel guilty. If you feel guilty, maybe it's because you really aren't as comfortable with your choice as you wish you were. I'm sorry this sounds so harsh. Having a destination wedding is not a crime. It's disappointing, but not unforgivable! Your future relationship is what's important, not the wedding. You won't ruin it by going to Barbados, but you might by trying to tell everyone else that their feelings are unimportant and that they are cheap and hypocritical. Just do it and let them get over it. Oh -- and if anyone in the famiy someday has a destination wedding, I don't care if it's on MARS -- GO! :-)