I did have one coup yesterday, worth months of work and thousands of dollars... I pled my case to the Psychology department and they told me I could sub one class for the other. One less semester. I was I couldn't do that and it was to be Dec 2009 graduation. Back to May! Yea!

It doesn't need to be freezing - temps right around approx 40 are chilly enough to work as moist chill. I'll have a lot of winter nights in the upper 30's, days around 50ish or a little above...seems to average out and the seeds all sprout.

Mantis, Spanish Fiesta does well enough here. I have it planted in several locations. While it's not the fastest increaser, the scapes are tall, bud count is good and it blooms reliably. Thanks for the welcome back, it has been quite a stretch since the last time I was posting here regularly. Linda

Moni, I've never seen possums eat plastic or rubber or other bizarre stuff, but that doesn't mean they don't....I always keep my Crocs inside the house, so I haven't had a chance to see which varmint would eat them. The possums do like to climb the porch pillars, take down the hummingbird feeders and drink all the nectar. Maybe they are using the nectar from our feeders to wash down the shoes that they ate at someone else's house. Coons drink the nectar too, but they are not as polite. The possums drink the nectar but leave the feeders intact. The coons tear the feeders apart and scatter the pieces in the flower beds. Gene, Stick with us, and you'll hear even more strange and unusual stuff over time....it is incredible what we see out there in our yards and gardens. I've seen birds and animals I never thought I'd see here, even allowing for the fact that I am in a rural area with abundant wildlife. Dawn