Summer is here! It was down right hot the last 2 days. I'm shot but survived yesterday. We had about the number of people that we hoped for and made about 1/3 more in donations than what I had for a goal. So all was a success. I will post a few pictures after I upload them. I tried once and got some weird error message that the picture couldn't be copied to my computer. I gave up. We had a busy "family" day today and so the weekend is over. I did get in about 4 hours on Friday and about 5 hours of gardening on Sat. so all wasn't lost. So much to comment on that I won't attempt it tonight. I did think of this email I got recently when I read about Chelone's mum. Sorry things aren't up to snuff. No Nursing Homes for Us No nursing home for us. We are checking into the Holiday Inn! With the average cost for a nursing home care costing $188.00 per day, there is a better way when we get old & feeble. We have already checked on reservations at the Holiday Inn. For a combined long term stay discount and senior discount, it's $49.23 per night. That leaves $138.77 a day for: breakfast, lunch and dinner in any restaurant we want, or room service. Laundry, gratuities and special TV movies. Plus, they provide a swimming pool, a workout room, a lounge and washer-dryer, etc. Most have free toothpaste and razors, and all have free shampoo and soap. $5 worth of tips a day will have the entire staff scrambling to help you. They treat you like a customer, not a patient. There is a city bus stop out front, and seniors ride free. The handicap bus will also pick you up (if you fake a decent limp). To meet other nice people, call a church bus on Sundays. For a change of scenery, take the airport shuttle bus and eat at one of the nice restaurants there. While you're at the airport, fly somewhere. Otherwise, the cash keeps building up. It takes months to get into decent nursing homes. Holiday Inn will take your reservation today. And you are not stuck in one place forever, you can move from Inn to Inn, or even from city to city. Want to see Hawaii? They have a Holiday Inn there too. TV broken? Light bulbs need changing? Need a mattress replaced? No problem. They fix everything, and apologize for the inconvenience. The Inn has a night security person and daily room service. The maid checks to see if you are ok. If not, they will call the undertaker or an ambulance. If you fall and break a hip, Medicare will pay for the hip, and Holiday Inn will upgrade you to a suite for the rest of your life. And no worries about visits from family. They will always be glad to find you, and probably check in for a few days mini-vacation. The grand kids can use the pool. What more can you ask for? So, when we reach that golden age, we'll face it with a grin. Just forward all our email to: us@Holiday.Inn Night all Michelle

I like the shape of the vase... and I like the fish! I miss having my aquarium set up... I have a 20 gallon high with all the equipment, just sitting out in the garage... I got it as a Christmas present a few years ago, and since we moved, haven't had the chance to set it up and fill it with fish. Our next move should be our last, and I plan to set it up and enjoy it's peaceful bubbling and swimming fish, once again. Watching an aquarium is very relaxing... the sound of the water bubbling through the filters, and the little schools of fish darting back and forth... I always loved having an aquarium. I love that little Buddha! He always looks so cute sitting with your bulbs! I'm very interested in being a part of the Edensbulbs order, Soultan... I've just sent you an email!

Yes .. this is true .. on a process level there are differences but still wound closure can be very complete leaving only a relatively minute "scar" and along with included branch wood below the surface still sound and intact. Cavities are not the norm but the result of poorly planned wounds or inadvertant wounding encountered as the tree grows under less then ideal conditions. Ofcourse nothing is 100 % ... but trees move slowly. As a japanese gardener who wishes to manipulate trees it would seem to be of benafit to understand how to work with the trees system ... in some respects Shigo was a bit "rigid" in his tree work .. his original goal was working with trees for lumber straight trees with little defects .. many arborist I work with are also rigid. There is a trend against manipulating plant materials as if it can't be done in a sound manner. Topping we all know is bad for a tree but some have suggested pollarding as not good for a tree .. one arborist well respected locally used to point out the difference between topping and well planned pollarding .. a pruning art he called it .. but later perhaps under pressure from the days dogma .. has avoided mentioning pollarding at all .. kinda a taboo subject in a crowd of arborist these days. Can we manipulate plant materials and still have a sound tree given we understand the trees biology /growth ect..?? To what extent ? Is a bonsai tree biologicaly stable as a "textbook" well pruned Oak ? Are Japanese gardens biologicaly sound ? Good Day ...

Mclarke, marijuana growing. Some guy bought the house new but didn't move in. He'd come here every couple of days. He kept the place up, mowed the lawn, weeded and so on. The neighbors said he was a nice guy and the perfect neighbor, never any noise or anything. Then one day the feds came and hauled out many, many marijuana plants -- apparently there were plants in every room! Now mind you, this is a decent middle class suburban neighborhood, with the accent on "neighbor" not on "hood." :) The neighbors never saw the owner again. Anita, then it stood vacant for several years. When the government (I guess?) finally sold it, they sold it to the people who were here before me, for 11 years. They were a young couple, and they had two darling little boys while they were here, so I think they were a happy, loving young family. The man was a carpenter so he did some cool things to the house, put a lot of love into it. Anyway, I feel just fine here. I think this house has great vibes. The neighbors always laugh when they tell me about its former occupant. Of course, it would have been an even happier place if the the feds had left the plants here -- haha! But don't look at me -- I'm not growing anything more exciting than a philodendren.