Carol, I think it's wonderful that you're starting a butterfly garden. I think that they need our help. Yes, it does seem that the Latin names are used pretty much on the butterfly forum and I was intimidated too when I first joined, but after awhile I started learning those Latin names too. So now I'm one of those Latin nerds. lol I don't know nearly as many as some people do but do know some. They don't use them to impress people but to different between the plants so there's no misunderstanding what plants should be planted to attract a certain kind of butterfly. For example, there are different kinds of blue vervain and if they'd just say that someone should get blue vervain for a host plant for the Common Buckeye, the person they're telling that to might get Verbena bonariensis (a great nectar plant but not a host plant) instead of getting Verbena hostata, which is a host plant for that kind of butterfly caterpillar. Another example is rue. Rue isn't just rue! lol If you want to have the one that's a host plant for Giant Swallowtails and Black Swallowtails, get the one that is Ruta graveolens. There are many different kinds of rue; e.g. meadow rue, and that's not a host plant. Okay, class dismissed. Haha. At first I didn't understand why they used Latin names on the butterfly forum, but after reading awhile, then I knew why. I bet you'll learn some too after awhile. After you read a lot of posts, they started sinking in my head; I wasn't even consciously trying to learn them. Anyhoo...I hope those names don't chase you away from the forum. I've learned so much there and also here. Yep, Wafer Ash (Ptelea trifoliata), also known as Hoptree, is a tree that is a host plant for the Giant Swallowtail. I can't say that I could identify a wafer ash offhand, but from reading about it, it sounds like a desireable tree since it attracts the butterflies, and I also remember reading that it has fragrant flowers and only gets about 20 feet tall. I just looked up what zones it can grow in and it said 4-9, so you're good. I had bought my seeds from Prairie Moon Nursery. I'm pretty sure those other trees I mentioned would also grow where you are at. You probably won't find pipevine at any of the stores. I got mine from Sunlight Gardens. Just as with the other plants, there are different kinds of pipevine. Mine is Aristolochia macrophylla. A good thing to do if you're interested in attracting butterflies to your place is to go to www.butterfliesandmoths.org and look up your state and county to see which ones were reported being there. The website has their host plants listed and also nectar plants that they like to go to. Like you, we've been removing scrub trees from here and replacing them with nice trees (the ones I mentioned). I could go on and one about what to plant for which kind of butterfly, but I'm probably already sounding like a commercial for the butterflies. Being that this is the wintersowing forum, I'd better shut up now. Ha. Sorry, but I get carried away about them just like I do about plants, and that's why I have close to 100 containers sitting outside that I've wintersown (is it sowed or sown?) Best of luck with things and if you ever have any questions about butterflies, just email me. yomamab2002 at yahoo dot com Cathy

This year, the first year, I grew Early Girl, Yellow Pear, Patio, and Husky Cherry Red in 5-gallon buckets. I harvested one ripe tomato from each of the Early Girl and the Patio plants in the last week of May and first Week of June. The Patio produced about 20-25 tomatoes, most of which were unimpressive. The Early Girl has produced and is still producing, but the taste is only somewhat better than the ones at the grocery store. The Yellow Pear and Husky Cherry are both producing ok, considering the EB, pests, beginner learning curve, limited sun, etc. The Yellow Pear is very mild. I don't mind it but I won't grow it next year because the taste isn't my favorite and it is a beast size-wise. The Husky Cherry toms are actually quite tasty, so I might grow one, but it has a hard time with EB. I have one Celebrity that I planted in early June that I haven't harvested from yet. I try to stay with small-fruited prolific varieties because of my limited sun. Next year I'll probably plant Husky Cherry and Celebrity depending on how it does. Based on some of the recommendations here I'd like to try Sun Gold or Sun Sugar. I'm also intrigued by Tumbling Tom.

Susan, yes DH (age 58) has the same waist plus maybe an inch. These two photos were taken last July and November. July we spent four days in San Diego where he was in the Navy. The Nov pic was taken on Thanksgiving. I have to add that he plays tennis twice a day, six days a week and coaches high school tennis three mornings a week. On the day he doesn't play tennis, he and a couple friends ride their bicycles 25 miles. Jodi-

Nicole, that is just plain showin' off! LOL No, really it is great capture. A Pelican in flight is impressive and 2 pelicans in flight is off the charts.