Thank you, Laura... such wonderful sentiments! :-) Our weather has been crazy, too... but we half expected it. Last year, we were already laying out soaker hoses and starting to water...and this year, we've gotten so much rain that we're completely saturated! We're just now able to get in and cut grass, and talk about tall! It's hard on the mowers, I'm sure, but what can you do?! If it's grass, it has to be kept mowed at least semi-regularly... and if it's garden beds, they must be kept weeded or the grasses, thistles and other nasties take over! So, we're darned if we do and darned if we don't! Mother's Day was nice... calls from my kids, and the husband made a nice dinner... while I spent the day relaxing, for the most part. There are certain chores that must be done regardless of what day it is, like cleaning and feeding dogs and other animals, but that's no big deal... I have it down to a science! ;-) I finally got the old guy to help me get photos off my camera, so I thought I'd share a few this morning... Here's a mama and her twins... My very best mouser... I call her Vixen! The next generation of excellent mousers... one of Vixen's 3 little ones... Walking from the shade garden area toward the new rose arbor... A young Peony Tree in the dappled shade garden... notice the rambler rose runners everywhere on the ground! Closeup of the flower from the Peony Tree... Another Peony Tree in the front yard... north side... And this is a Trillium that opened white and is turning a pale pink shade. It's among a patch of purple flowered hybrid Trillium I planted several years ago... you can see the mottled leaves of the hybrid... I didn't plant the white one, though... And finally, the first of the Irises are starting! I hope you enjoyed a walk around the yards with me... stick around as all the roses begin blooming and other perennials begin to color the gardens a wonderful rainbow of scented color! Thanks, Al... I can finally view Youtube, but the monitor I'm using has no sound on board... for a girl with a technological genius as a husband, I'm always the last to get upgraded! Would you believe I'm still using Windows XP?! I desperately need an upgrade to Windows 7, which should be coming shortly... when he has time to upgrade me. :-) It's kind of like being the plumber with the leaky toilet handle that sticks, or the barber that doesn't have time to cut his own hair... when you're in the business, you're last in line! :-) It looks to be another gorgeous day... sunny and hot with strong humidity... I may spend some time weeding and edging today, instead of killing myself cutting grass! Hope everyone has a lovely day! And... Happy Gardening!

"...And just what does this have to do with ORGANIC GARDENING" Seriously? "The 2001 Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) is one of the major achievements growing out of the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992. Signatories agreed to phase out and limit production of 12 POPs, long-lived toxic chemicals that cause biological havoc as they bioaccumulateÂcollect and concentrateÂin the food chain. The treaty outlines key principles for a less toxic world, including the prevention of new toxic, persistent, and bioaccumulative chemicals; reduction of existing ones; and substitution with less dangerous materials. The challenge at Johannesburg and beyond is to further apply the principles of prevention, reduction, and substitution to all toxic chemicals." Without Rio '92, organic gardeners would be lightyears behind where we are now. Here is a link that might be useful: From Rio to Johannesburg: Reducing the Use of Toxic Chemicals Advances Health and Sustainable Development

Linda, how cute is that? Can you imagine a 4-year old knowing the word "technology"? Wow--send that child to Harvard!! P.S. Do you have a new grandbaby yet? I've been off and on here--DH health problems and then computer crashed and sent me off to Best Buy for a new one!

Yeah! That's him! I wondered why it's so hard to hail a cab in NYC! LOL