"Fall weather" doesn't seem to start here until November ... sigh I'm going to run the dirt as paint protector theory by my dh. He's always fussing at me about my car being dirty.lol natvtxn, I read in the bamboo muhly post about your dil's accident. I'm glad they are ok!! Did the person that caused the accident stick around or keep going?

I used it once so far and was pretty impressed. I just bought a brand new "Black" Prius and knowing how easily black will show scratches I thought one less step involving wiping and creating swirls would help. It did work well but as suggested, working in shade helps since it's still possible for water to dry on the car in the sun before the final rinse which is the part that prevents spotting. Hopefully this will cut down the amount of polishing I'll be doing in the future.

I'm not sure how the euthanasia of a horse with a broken leg equates with the dark side or cruelty of anything. Every year around this time PETA looks for something to grasp at to rant against horse racing. I guess this year a horse with a broken leg was the best they could find. Horses break legs in the pasture, the arena and elsewhere. The compassionate thing to do is to euthanize them. In most cases the treatment is much more cruel to a horse than death. There are good and bad trainers/caretakers/owners in many areas of the equestrian world, not just horse racing. There is a lot of cruelty going on at a lot of poorly run rescues. I was recently told of a heartbreaking tale ( with a happy ending) of a local family who retired their horse to a "rescue". They had visions of their beloved animal living out it's life in horsey nirvana. When they went to visit they barely recognized their horse it was in such bad shape. It had been put to out pasture with an established feral herd where it was bullied, denied food etc. Little to no human contact for this gentle family horse. Its coat was a mess, it was showing ribs and it had bites from other horses. The lady who told me of the story was part of a team that went to re-rescue said horse. The horse is now working as a kid's therapy horse. Singling out horse racing is easy because as Forster noted few who criticize the sport have never stepped foot into a barn, spoke to the trainers or caregivers. Most have never even attended a race. But horse racing is cruel because it was printed in some rag. Yes horse racing needs to be carefully regulated as with any other sport. But if horse racing is cruel to horses that are bred to run, than how about things parents and grandparents proudly put their kids in? Ballet, figure skating, hockey,motocross,gymnastics, sking, snowboarding, surfing, football, baseball, soccer all have risks of injury. Should we label those activities cruel as well? Or do we take the common sense stance of making them as safe as possible within reason?

I've cut plants way back down by the street and they recover very fast so those will probably be fine. I especially like those annual gaillardia along with Desert Marigold, Blackfoot Daisy, Flame Flower, Helianthus annum because these plants are in for the long haul and bloom from spring, through summer heat and into fall without stopping. Its the into summer heat part that makes them especially good. If someone wanted to plant a meadow or prairie garden in the city without creating a mess like people talk about with prairie gardens, I can't see how they would with these growing along with the classic prairie grasses. These are all low growing and well behaved. That little Kansas Four O'clock blooms all summer into fall too. Did your seeds take hold? I've got them coming up here and there all over my property (exploding pods). Its OK since they are only about 3" tall. Plains Penstemon blooms all summer too. I've got two that volunteered last year but they are still small. Lobeleaf copper mallow is another long bloomer, spring to fall. Its tall but I can't imagine anyone calling it thuggish or overwhelming and its no flopper. Lots of stiff stems covered in blue foliage & orange blooms currently. For some reason some stems break at the base especially in spring. Maybe the wind that snaps them? I have 3 seedlings and am hoping to get another red blooming one. The only thing is, the plant takes up a big space which I am always short of but I did plant one down on the H. Strip. I let one Mentzelia decapetata come up last year. Same exact spot as last time. Its growing a tall center stem now and should be blooming in a month or so. Did yours make it? I finally figured out I've got a Pink Yucca that is a different kind than H. 'parviflora'. I I.D.ed as H. campanulata the other night. Its larger in every respect, has a bloom stalk that's practically as tall as me with flowers that are more yellow but not like the yellow blooming Hesperaloe. I got the seeds from a huge cluster growing at Will Rogers Park some years back. I think I sent you some but can't remember. The night blooming type hasn't bloomed for me yet but it did defy the zone limit. I think its hardier than they say. *CORRECTION: That H. campanulata bloom stalk is 8 feet tall, I just measured it. The leaves are almost double the height of H. parviflora. I saw the first hummingbird of the season on it yesterday.