I just stumbled upon this forum and have read the above posts. I am linked with a turtle adoption agency and it is best for the turtles to eat in water. I do not find it a dumb idea to separate your pond since it is as large as it is. Sliders do need 10 gals of water per inch of shell and should be fenced in to prevent coons and other such animals from eating them and once they arrive they may eat the fish asd well. The best food for a slider is pellets containing much calcium the fish pellets lack the protien and nutrients they need. Their shells are vulnerable and need strenthened with thte calcium. If you raise an aaquatic turtle from a baby on pellets they usually don't bother your fish or plant. The plants contain nutrients they need as well as a natural food source. I suggest adding some to the turtle side if you create one. Sliders are not native to the area and a pet one being released is cruel and will not be likey to survive. For those of you wishing to obtain a turtle I suggest petfinder.com and emailing matts adoption. There are so many in need of homes and chances are good to get a baby to raise how you would like. I wish all of you the best of luck with your ponds, plants, turtles, and fish. I just hope I was able to shine some light on your dilemas. If you guys need any advice with your turtles you can email me at hallieeakin@yahoo.com.

Gee thanks JB :-) The tin man was made by my late FIL for his little girl so we find a place front and center for it in our garden :-) Plus she's a huge WizOz fan, in fact if it's on I have to leave the room because she knows every word :-(

iris, thank you so much. My little camera has a tough time capturing red, especially darker reds. I had Falstaff on my list for a long time but just recently I finally got one and as I said, these are the first blooms. Having said that, I will tell you already that I absolutely love it. I think the best way to describe it is to compare it to my 4 other red Austins, each of which I like for different reasons. The Dark Lady is considerably lighter in color with more deep pink magenta like undertones although it is still definitely red. It opens much quicker into that blousy look and then blows within a couple of days, maybe four days tops. About 4' away is my LD Braithwaite which is bright red, also very blousy but lasts for days and days. Far and away one of my absolute favorites and if not for her lack of fragrance, she'd be my #1. Falstaff is more on the order of The Prince and WS2000 when it comes to the fragrance and the tightness of the bloom. Colorwise, I would place it right between those two. The actual color is much deeper than my pics. Premature as it may seem to make a judgment so fast, I am impressed with it enough thus far not to be surprised if I end up favoring it over LDB. It's planted right in front of her and both are loaded with buds so I'm thinking I'll have a chance to compare real soon :-)

I had Abe when I lived in Edmonton (zone 3). It survived over 3 winters, but gradually got smaller and smaller until it died. But I remember that I absolutely loved it. It was my first non-hardy rose, and totally got me hooked on the tender roses. Now that all my roses are potted, I'm going to overwinter my roses in the garage. Seeing your pics made me determined to get Abe again. Thanks!! Talk about gorgeous pics of Abe. Gahhhh... drool.... Carol