Cameron, I have deers coming in my gardens all the time. On occasion the yearlings or fawns may snip a bud to try them but discover there's better pickings and leave them alone for Phlox Paniculata or Campanulas. The adult deers never eat the Echs. I tried something this year to deter them after a young gentleman suggested it at our garden meeting in winter. He said that 'Bounce' fabric softener kept them away. I took some sheets and cut into small ribbons and tied them to the stems of the Phlox close to the tips. As they grew I would move the ribbons up, replacing them if the scent had gone. Did about three stems per plant. Since doing this in late June the deers have not gone after the Phlox. They have gone after the Hostas so I know they are still here (they come at night). The Phlox are about to bloom which will be a true test. I've tried Tree Guard, Irish Soap, a garlic spray, etc. If this works, I just have to figure out how to inconspicuously place Bounce on Hostas. :O) Sorry Echinaceamaniac for stealing a bit of your post... Your flowers are truly beautiful! I can see why everyone likes the last one the best. Gorgeous! You'll do well winter sowing your seeds. I have so many from winter sowing last year I had to create another holding bed to plant them in. (I wait to see what they look like before placing them in the gardens.) Looking good!

Jay, I don't know what's happening in the rest of Oklahoma, but here at our house, very light rain started falling around 3:45 a.m. when the temperature was 36 degrees. Then, as the temperature fell, the rain transitioned, first and briefly to freezing rain, then to sleet which fell for a while, and then to snow, which has been falling for about an hour-and-a-half. Within the last 5 minutes, the flakes have become huge but also have smaller ice pellets mixed in with them. Our temperatures have been hanging right around and just below freezing all morning. The thermometer on the front porch has dropped from 33 degrees, which is what it was when the snow started falling, to 30 degrees, where it has remained for the last 55 minutes. Tim drove home from work in it this morning, but the temps had stayed higher than initially expected in Dallas, so they were getting rain only and nothing frozen. Of course, the further north he drove the worse the weather became. Overall, our forecast is for slightly colder weather and a little more precip over the next couple of days than initially forecast. However, since the freezing rain was very brief, we don't seem to be in danger of having power outages, which is always my primary concern with weather like this. We are likely to lose internet service at some point. The deer are out there eating the deer corn and the wild birds are eating the seed I put out late yesterday evening. The fact that they came out to eat in the snow tells me they think it will last a while. Generally, they stay under cover and wait for the snow to end and then come to the feeding area to eat. I have coffee in the big thermos bottles and a pot of ham bean soup bubbling away on the stove, so I'm ready to feed the firefighters if we have calls today, except I still need to whip up a couple of batches of corn bread muffins to go with the soup. It is going to be a long, boring stretch of cold days, but it certainly won't be as bad as last year's winter weather that wouldn't end. And, as long as the internet and satellite TV are working, we can at least amuse ourselves with them. The snow is pretty, but after about 3 days without sunshine I start getting cabin fever. We had sunshine in great abundance yesterday, so I shouldn't start feeling sun-deprived for another couple of days. Dawn

Good morning! I too try to visualize people and it rarely, if ever, works out. it is nice to put faces to names. Shirley, still thinking of you and keeping you in my prayers. i know that's your daughter, brittney and dawson -- who are the others (inquiring nosey minds want to know) and as for your mom, you never know what the next roommate may be, perhaps you can hold off on the move until you see what comes in LOL, however, I think I'd want to be with my own and her secrets kept!!!! annie your dogs are beautiful, as are you. my aunt and uncle, for as long as i can remember, were the first home for service dogs until they were ready to go into training. they had several different dogs from what i recall. sorry about your lizzie...i know how hard it is to lose a beloved pet. my next dog is going to be a shepherd, but it's been decided that we will only have one dog at a time now, so I have to wait my turn. (we'll see) i made an anniversary cake for a group i belong to, it was our 7 year anniversary so i made this massive cake. i filled it with alternating layers of buttercream and lemon curd, and dang, if it was not tasty. I was able to take a slice home for the family to taste and seriously wish there had been more leftover, would have made a nice breakfast!!!! a real nice combination, even though it started out that i was going to use raspberry as well...i just couldn't get enough to cook them down to make a nice sauce/filling. it's still so cold and seems to be staying that way until at least next week, when it's supposed to go to the high 40's, with rain. by then, i'll think it's summer. this cold is bone chilling and of course, they are calling for more snow. we haven't got much of it, but.....this year it is bothering me like mad! i shouldn't complain, there are parts of the country that are in the negatives, so i'll just keep my mouth shut on this subject any further! so whose left to post their pic? come out. come out whereever you are! speaking of which, jeanne, how are those triplets of late? is mary ellen still a part of this group? i feel like i haven't seen her in a long time...maybe since she became a grandmom, or right before that? hae a nice thursday! maryanne

Floral, thanks for the compliment. When I moved here 5 years ago slugs were a massive problem. Every time it rained the ground would be covered with them. I used pellets quite heavily the first year and it has reduced considerably over the intervening years. I still use pellets but the population has been substantially reduced and I can even grow them in the ground with very little damage. Dave