To be specific... today I am doing as little as possible due to the heat and my now premature old age, thanks to gardening. After ambitiously creating all new big flower beds around our house and yards, moving MANY tons of compost and mulch into these beautiful sweeping mounded beds, I realize too late that I was a short-sighted fool, since each summer my wife goes away for a month to visit her So California family. I realize too late that NOW I won't be able to go to my lake and drink beer with my brother, because all this beautiful new flora needs watering every day in this oppressive summer heat. Good bye Old Milwaukee and fishing. Hello hostas and coneflowers, plus hundreds of other perennials. I can ostensibly hide soaker hoses under the mulch and use those watering timers I bought last year... but it seems a bit risky to rush into another project when it's 95 degrees. Now when I go to our little neighborhood grocery store, all the nice ladies working there gather to make fun of me, and (baiting me) ask how my wife has been treating me through all my insanely ambitious garden and home projects that I have underway? I tell them that I pretend to be working but that I'm doing nothing more than softly singing negro spirituals and avoiding her. Now don't get me wrong about my wife of 37 years. We started dating when 16 years old, and I love her in a way that's sound as any forever bond or steely weld. I just wish she'd retire before 60 like me. She's a too organized 2nd grade teacher, and I'm a very bad boy it seems. As a result, she keeps putting my name on the refrigerator. Women... I swear they are fussier than an orchid at times, and meaner than a weed. Our yards now look fantastic and have commercial landscape lights... but Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen. jim Palmer

Plantmaven- Your garden pictures are so beautiful...but that little bird is just charming :) Gardenweed- Your peonies are lovely. We have some that came with the place that look very similar...and they have a nice fragrance. Thyme- Your garden is so pretty! I'm looking forward to seeing all your new veggies, next summer. Freezengirl- I do have Walker's Low catmint. It's in the kitchen garden. For some reason, the barn kitties leave it alone out there, but when I try to plant it closer to the house...disaster! LOL That's one reason I have so much lavender. Wren-garden, I have my blueberries mixed in with everything else, but I don't put acid on my soil, either. If you decide you need to add acid, then they'll look great with azaleas, rhodedendrons and hydrangeas (if you like the blue ones). I don't grow any of these (the first two are poisonous to horses) but I'm pretty sure they all like acid soil. Think about what else would grow under/with pine trees. As for deer...they can be a challenge, but ours are so darn cute, we try to make the garden work with them, rather than trying to get rid of them. I've read all deer are different, depending on where you live, how many they are (how hungry they are) and if there are so many...they just devastate everything. That being said, we've had good luck with butterfly bushes, lavender, catmint, bee balm, daisies, coneflowers, cosmos, marigolds, zinnias, peonies, daffodils, lilacs, plum trees, clematis, columbine, pansies, and mints. Hope that helps your sister, a bit :)

Booberry, that recipe came from Rick Rodgers, via Readinglady. MThey make a "thumbprint" kind of savory cookie with centers filled with Habanero Gold, they're amazing! Jenn, canning is easy, as long as you use recipes that can be canned safely and things that only need a hot water bath. This year I've done hot pepper jellies, smoky chipotle catsup (thanks Katiec!), pickled jalapenos, salsa, habanero/peach hot sauce, chipotle lime marinade for lamb or chicken, all with a hot water bath. Just yell if you need help! Annie

I think I've had this dip, it was pretty good. here's a recipe I found; Recipe from Vicki Angelo of Yorktown, Va. Prep Time: 15 min Total Time: 1/2 day 1 packet of unflavored gelatin 1 bunch of scallion onions 3 stalks of celery hearts 1 cup of mayonnaise 1 package of cream cheese 1 can of small shrimp ( drained ) 1 cup of hot water 1 can of cream of chicken mushroom soup ( Campbell's ) 1. In double boiler put cream cheese, cream of chicken mushroom soup, and mayonnaise together and blend till melted. Chop celery and scallions in small pieces and stir into cream cheese and mayonnaise. 2. Now take one packet of the unflavored gelatin and one cup of hot water and mix in bowl till diluted. Take pot off double boiler and set aside till it cools a tad. Then add the diluted unflavored gelatin into mixture and pour into any mold you desire. Takes about 5 to 6 hours to set. Better if over night. Enjoy, and keep another close by. They tend to disappear fast. Great on any kind of cracker and delicious on small rye, and pumperknickel bread in the deli section. Yield: I am a piggy Wrong gal to ask, LOL about 20 servings as a snack Comments: So addicting... Here is a link that might be useful: shrimp dip