Tony, I don't whether I should say congrats for all of the Monarchs you have in your yard or give you my sympathies. ;-) I know it's hard to ignore them, but it sounds like you've worked that out too. A person almost has to if he/she wants to get anything else done. Sure, it upsets me knowing that most of the ones that I let outside probably won't make it, but it upsets me even more if my gardens and other things are being neglected because of not having enough time to do it all. Maybe I shouldn't say it, but it gets to the point where I resent raising them, and then I know it's time to back off. I also have American Lady cats outside on the pussytoes and Pearly Everlastings. When they come through, they really lay a bunch of eggs. I raised them other years, but I'm like you and leaving them outside this year. I just want to concentrate on these RA cats for now since it's the first time for them. It's been raining pretty often here too and it's hard to get out to do things in the garden like I really want to do. My hubby got out to till today but it's really not dry enough. Our tomatoes and peppers are in but the red beets still need to be planted. That saying really is true that if you want to live off of a garden, you practically have to live in it! We don't really live off of ours but between the butterfly gardens and the veggie garden, it takes up a lot of time. I'm sure you know what I mean! I guess it keeps us out of trouble. :) Cathy

Hi Richie/Abi here. My hubs Gary tried soapmaking one year for his Christmas craft project. I think he got his ideas from a book from the library. He wound up making and giving these great soap rounds with loofah in them. He bought the soap supplies from a craft store like AC Moore. (check their class schedules, they may offer a class). My mother and grandmother used to make soap every year for laundry washing and housecleaning! They taught me how. It involves rendering pounds of animal fat and combining with LYE and a lot of cooking. It smelled horrid and hurt like the dickens if you got splashed. They always cooked it outside on a fire. I always begged to be sent to summer camp that week. The stuff sure did get stains out though. /Abi

katlan, I've made this so many times and it's so easy and so good! 1 lb Jimmy Dean Pork Sausage ***used sage 1 box Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild Rice (Fast Cook Recipe) I used the oriiginal cause WalMart was out of the other 1 12 oz bag PictSweet Seasoning Blend (onions, celery, peppers) 1 can Cream of Mushroom soup 1 c. Shredded Cheddar Cheese (divided) Directions Prepare rice as directed on box (do not add butter or oil). While simmering, brown pork sausage with frozen vegetables (or use 1 c. each fresh chopped onion and green pepper & 1/4 c. celery). Drain when sausage is no longer pink and veggies are softened. Combine sausage mixture with soup, 3/4 c. shredded cheese and rice. Spread in 9X13, **used a smaller pan, greased glass pan and top with remaining 1/4 c. shredded cheese. Bake 30 min at 350

I'd agree on Ligustrum for the top two. But is the third definitely from the same plant? Or just a look alike. The leaves on number 3, although opposite, are arranged differently. They're not all in one plane.