We got over two inches which is enough that the mulch delivery turned into a near disaster as the aged dumptruck could barely make it up our paved hill in first gear, and couldn't make it to the back yard. Soil was too wet and truck wasn't strong enough. So I have three separate piles of steaming cooked mushroom mulch. Bet I know where the deer will be sleeping for the next couple of weeks.

Jean is in an older neighborhood above the football stadium. I'm worried about Ione who is out on the flat land near Lebanon. Florence Alabama had a huge slug of water come down stream (Shoal Creek) from Tennessee and the marina our boat WAS in broke loose and got stuck under the US 27 bridges over Shoal Creek Lary drove down to help at where the marina used to be early this am after we had a call that it had torn loose. There was no problem going to Chattanooga and then west because the storm sped up (My roses got 3.06" of rain in 36 hours in two slugs.) The link below takes you to a link...four piers broke loose, not two. That newspaper somewhere also has a slide show up of the piers (several of which are still stuck under the bridges). Here is a link that might be useful: A video from way to the south of Nashville

Northern Kentucky (the southern Cincy suburbs) has a more Midwestern "feel" than the rest of the state, which is definitely culturally "southern" in demeanor. Climatologically, statewide is more a transistion zone. Winters are definitely cold in comparison to say, GA or AL. In fact they're about as cold as south Jersey or even NYC which is not considered "south" at all! Realistically, although your average winters in KY are warmer than mine by some 8 - 10 degrees, your absolute coldest are in line with what we've had here in Akron, OH (which was recently REclassified from zone 5b to 6) which is why you no longer see as many southern magnolias in Lexington or Louisville! Driving from OH to GA down I-75...you notice that KY vegetation pretty much mirrors Ohio except for all the kudzu along the roadsides which starts appearing south of Lexington. In TN it starts looking more Southern and moreso as you get to GA and see all the southern pines start to dominate. KY isn't the only state without a definite classification. WV is similar-rural-southern in culture but more transitional in climate. Ohio is considered Midwest but is too hilly to really be compared to Kansas or Nebraska.

Hey, everybody, sorry I've been late responding. Thought Marianne might post something. I was off work Monday and Tuesday and don't have internet access at home anymore. Then our power went out at work yesterday with the storms. Anyway, everything went really well Saturday. We were dreading the cold temps, but the caretaker at Rock Castle, Tom, generously offered us the run of the vistors' center. I'm a naturalist in many ways, but God bless central heating. We had a much better turnout than we expected, given the weather. We were all heartbroken, as I'm sure thousands of people have been, about losing some treasures to the cold temps. But Mother Nature is a great teacher. About the swap: Five people showed up after having heard about our swap on Garden Web, three of the master gardeners who maintain Rock Castle, a few other people that I lost track of and can't honestly tell you where they came from, (I'll have to consult our sign up sheets later) and the five of us who put the swap together, plus several of our respective family members and friends. I was afraid we'd wear out our welcome at Rock Castle, but Tom said he's looking forward to hosting our spring and fall swaps every year! We had a really good plant selection. I got some great stuff, we donated several plants to Rock Castle. Mostly, though, we had a blast. Everybody said they'd come back in the spring and fall and we hope to keep building the group. We are definitely planning on expanding to include a pot luck this fall and may add a speaker at some point. Those of you who missed the event, we definitely understand and look forward to seeing you this fall. We have a tentative date for the fall swap of Oct 20th. The 13th is already spoken for at Rock Castle, but if they have a cancellation, Tom promised he'd let us know. I'm planning on coming to the river for the MTPS in May, and am really looking forward to it. We have the perennial sale this Sat. at the fairgrounds in Nashville, and the herb sale on the 21st! Always something to look forward to. Thanks again for all the help an interest we've gotten from everyone!! Here is a link that might be useful: Perrennial Plant Sale info