All your GJ looks even lovelier in the snow(white)! Esp all your cobalt blue ... hope it makes it thru the Winter for you...I left mine out last yr (blue bottle fence) & this yr I've left that cobalt blue hummer feeder (w/cork put in the garage shed)...I'm hoping it will be good...it hangs on a shepherd's hook in the tall grasses out the bedroom window. Love the wind spinners, too...they sure looks pretty in the snow...as does everything...full wheelbarrow, bench, all of it! TFS, Kirk & your photos are beautiful! Jeanne S.

ants are not the problem... the problem is rotting wood ... and the ants are visiting it.. and using it... curing the tree of ants... will not solve the basic problem ... an extremely old tree ... be very leary of any snake oil salesman .. who will take hundreds of dollars.. trying to fix a problem that is unfixable ... only to want more money to remove it later on .... the tree has been topped due to the power lines.. i dont believe anyone here will be happy about that ... someone has a link about how much damage that can do to a tree ... it also has that one gaping wound.. but i cant tell where on the tree that is .... that is unfixable IMHO .... without making an even bigger wound .... now... whether or not this tree will fail soon .. is the basic question .... if it is over hanging the house... and that part is related to the big wound ..... that part should be removed... if it will fall in a manner that will injure someone.. in a storm .. it should be removed .... i would tend to think.. you have a long time to go ... before it is necessary to remove the tree .... if it were me.. i would start a few other trees to provide shade.. and perhaps.. a few years down the line... plan on removing this one .... i doubt.. based solely on the pix.. that it necessary to do it ASAP .... i have seen apples trees at homesteads.. which have been gone for 100 years ... they are ugly trees ... but apples can last forever.. and get really ugly .... one tends to disbelieve they can even remain standing.. lol ... but i am of the opinion.. that it is only going to get worse ... ken

On Mon. I talked to landlord's son, about rent cheque, he said Dad had gone to their newly-purchased cottaqge 80 mi. or so north of Toronto for the weekend, so he was a long way from here ... and how was my driveway? We got only a small amount of snow, being 20+ miles s w of London, so I said that I could see dirt. He came and blew it out on Tues, and I thought that I should have told him not to bother, as I wasn't going anywhere, anyway. On Tues. afternoon I visited neighbour's, we thought that it would be a good idea for me to go home. But, being addicted to internet ... ... when I left their place, I turned north, about a ten mile trip to the main village where I use computer ... the road was good all the way, to I spent time at KT.En route home, I'd wondered about taking a bit longer route home, but found only a short distance of rather heavy going near a farmer's field where the road isn't higher ... but there was space so I drove partly in the other lane, there being minimal traffic on that road. No schools busses running, schools had been closed, in London and north of there. On Wed. my friend whom I'd helped move said that I could get a chest that he was giving me, so I went to town and got it, plus got new tires to replace the one that I had, which were almost as bald as I ... or is it that I was almost as bald as they? Library closed, I went to another, several miles out of my way - sign on door saying due to weather conditions, all libraries closed. But I went to the village where I was Tues. ... that library was open. Landlord arrived early Wed. evening - there'd been a 17-car pile-up about 20 mi. e. of London on the freeway, they had to detour. He was on his way home then, came to see that I was O.K. (my furnace wouldn't start, a week or so ago): he's a really nice guy. Got home safely, last night. I have a shovel in the car, and some extra clothing (but not much food, no candle). Was scheduled for visit this morning with laser clinic where they'd shot foamy irritant into my leg in early fall, and after a couple of weeks I had the embolism, as the lady wanted to check how I am. I've had no discomfort since the day of the embolism, and have been able to do pretty well what I did before. It seems that the hematology doc figures that my leg is clear, so he doesn't figure that the embolism came from there ... and it seems that I had two of them, so one must have been silent for a while. I may be on rat poison for a half year or a year ... or maybe for longer (if I'm still around) ... ... but I hear that if it's under five years, I don't start looking like a rat. So ole joyful hasn't got stuck and is getting along fine. Haven't heard from Iva Mae. ole joyful

We have had the warmest October on record. I was out working in the garden last week in 89 degree weather. Way above normal and not the best fall working weather!! It may also explain why I have more rebloom scapes popping up everywhere. This has never happened with so many daylilies as I am now seeing. Marvelous Madness has been blooming for two weeks on three rebloom scapes. Spacecoast Casino Red had a tall rebloom scape with almost 7 inch blooms-so heavy the scape fell over!! So it was pleasant to come in from my heat sauna to see your dusting of snow!! As Sherry said, a weird season this year. Hope you get your garden work finished!! Kate