First off your roses look beautiful! So you must be doing it right. I don't recommend covering them. Covers, in my opinion, just ask for things to mold inside. In particular in the spring when the weather fluctuates so much and it's usually rainy. The roses get damp and the temps go up and, bingo, you've got mold in there because the covering holds the moisture in so the roses can't dry off. Just a good thick layer of mulch at the base should be enough. Even with coverings you're going to get winter die back. It can't be helped. But by leaving the canes open to the air they'll be able to fight off fungus and mold better. Good air circulation around and through your roses is important year round to keep diseases at bay. As far as fertilizing and dead heading, if you're using a fast acting water soluble fertilizer like Miracle Grow you can continue to fertilize them. You don't want to put down a heavy dose of organics or any kind of slow release fertilizer though. And go ahead and deadhead right up until they go dormant. I assure you that even if you stopped doing so in August they wouldn't go dormant. The roses will continue to grow and bloom until the first hard freeze anyway. As long as the weather is good and there is sufficient daylight they'll grow. Yes, you may lose some of that new growth over the winter but I feel it's more important that they go into winter healthy and growing than half starved and covered in hips that they're trying to ripen but never will. Something I think is important too is water. We sometimes slack off on watering in the fall but that can be a big mistake. The roses need to be well hydrated going into winter. So if the weather is good keep watering them right up to the time you put them to bed. And don't rush into doing that too soon. You have to wait for Mother Nature to make the first move and she doesn't always read the dates on the calendar. Wait until you've had several hard frosts and the ground is beginning to freeze before you do any winter protection. Putting winter mulch on too early can cause several types of problems from inviting critters to nest in it (and munch on them all winter like the rabbits did to mine one year) to cases of rose canker or gall. I used to put mine down around Halloween. Then it moved back to right around Thanksgiving. Now I'm not doing it until the first week of December. The weather has been changing and has pushed back my winterizing time significantly. And that last question is easy to answer. I used to beat myself up about those huge, bloomiforous bushes too. Why don't mine look like that? Until I finally realized that a lot of those gorgeous pictures you see are from wonderful rose growers who live in WARM climates! Their growing season is much longer than ours, some of them year round, and they don't suffer winter cane die back every year. The roses get much bigger and fuller and bloom more. But they have their down times too. Not from cold but from heat! A lot of the really warm climate growers have no roses in June/July/ August (when our roses are at their best) because it's too scorching hot and the roses shut down and go dormant then. But their plants do always get taller, bushier and have abundant blooms when the weather is good. The biggest advice I can give you is relax! Enjoy your roses and don't fret so much about them. You'll be surprised how resilient and forgiving they are. Besides being gorgeous!

I am going to have to give up soda completely, I felt so awful. It finally went away around 2:30 but after that I had the worst headache I think I have ever had. It was awful. I am drinking a huge bottle water today and I have a yogurt for my treat! It's just not worth taking that chance agian.

Wildchild-I didn't realize Jannie used a flour tortilla.Missed that little detail.LOL Not all enchiladas are made with corn tortillas.One of our favorite Mexican restaurants makes their green beef enchiladas with thin flour tortillas and they are delicious and definitely not a burrito!LOL I make them sometimes with flour tortillas if I can find the smaller thin ones.I also make my fried tacos with flour tortillas.I always make some of each because some of my family prefer the corn and some the flour. Liz-Chimichangas! That is what my 9 year old DGS always gets when we eat at a Mexican food place. We ate at a place last month in OK that they had never eaten at before and he ordered one.I'll swear it was a foot long!LOL When they brought him the plate he looked at his mom and his eyes got real big like "WOW".He ate every bit of it though.LOL

Whats the last thing you said out loud? I can't remember exactly. I think I told Zelda, my little dog, to shut up because she was barking at the meter reader and then she came to me and I petted her and said, "You're a good girl." What kind of lunchmeat is your favorite? Ham What is your favorite Mexican food? Just about any of it...and it changes from time to time...right now, crispy chicken tacos. Which one would you like to have italian meatloaf or meatball sandwhich? Meatball sandwich. Have a great Wednesday!! You too, Marilyn.