Been too busy to even think about Hippies, except today when I am hiding out in my office from the 100 degree heat. (Normal here is about 65!) Then there is my oldest son's wedding on Aug 29th that we are doing the flowers for 3 hours from home, and a new GOrdon puppy finally going ot join the family in about 2 weeks. I love summer but this is rediculous! Hopefully after Sept starts I can just garden and play with my son's puppy, Xi'an. By then my girlfriend should be recovering and have her thyroid medication level sorted out, no more travel for hubby until Nov, and the weather will moderate. And maybe by then my Australian Amaryllis will decide to root and grow!

Thanks for the comments everyone! Happy, yes the glass was a lot of work! Some of the pieces were so tiny that by the time I got them wrapped with copper foil you could barely see the glass so I would have to use an exacto knife and trim the copper. I'm happy with how it turned out though. Lynne, are you asking about the plants the butterflies are on? If so, the Gulf Frit is on pink penta "Starburst" and there are dune sunflowers in the background. The zebra longwing is on purple porterweed. ~Betsy

Lucky you for watermelons. I started mine from seeds indoors back in April. It took until the end of June to start growng. I have 12 plants, half of which are seedless. Because I used to get animals (mostly possums) who would chew into the sides of melons, especially cantaloupe, I decided to make a contraption. This device uses a motion sensing flood light array which also turns on a low ultrasonic niose that most animals hate be near. Its worked very well so far, and I occaisonally move it to confuse them. As to canatloupe and musk, you can freeze cubes of it, but they will not be as firm as fresh. Suggest that when you cube them, that you also dip in acorbic acid to help prevent darkening. Watermelon isn't going to hold up to freezing however. Ever pickle watermelon rinds? The watremelon will last unopened in the fridge a couple of weeks. To determine when they are ripe and ready to pick look at the stems on either side of the melon stem and see if these show up as a tan color. Musks will release easily from their stems. For squash storage (usually hard skin), a dip in a mild bleach and water solution will kill of surface mold, and reduce early spoilage. Even though these have hard skins, they still bruise easily. You can also freeze squash. Now, what do I do with 4 bushels of apples, that are all ready to pick.

Luvs, I get lots of dishes from our local Goodwill As-Is Store. I don't know if they have these elsewhere, but this one is across the back alley from the fancier Goodwill and I think just gets its overflow. They pile (and I mean pile) merchandise on tables and in dumpster-like bins. Usually, though, they stack the dishes (not always). Dishes are 25¢ apiece. Otherwise, I get my things from charity rummage sales (cheap prices) and a few from yard sales and other thrift stores. I rarely buy new; that's why I don't have "real" sets. I DID buy a set of Keltcraft 'Ivy' on ShopGoodwill once (the most I ever paid for dishes, about $130). -Magpie