Looking in my 2007-2008 winter-sow database I sowed Heuchera on 12/22 and I had germination by 4/6. They weren't really slow to germinate but growth rate was VERY slow. By the time I transplanted them into individual containers to grow on they were still extremely tiny to work with. I didn't even get them planted into the garden until late September. Here is some pictures of progress; remember they started germination on April 6th! May 24th same day they were transplanted to these pots: June 12th June 26th November 6th

I have been to Galapagos twice - the first time on a cruise ship and the second on a smaller boat of 16 passengers. The first thing that I would say is that choose carefully the month you go - as the islands are on the equator they do not have a traditional summer and winter but at certain times, such as Easter (the first time we went) it is extremely hot and you are walking about on very arid islands with the sun beating down. Our second visit was in June which was much more pleasant weather-wise but still warm. I understand that around August it can be quite cool, overcast and foggy. Although the facilities are somewhat cramped I prefer the smaller vessels,because to visit the various islands you have to go in a small landing craft(panga)and with 100 or so people on a cruise ship, so much more time is spent getting everyone on and off as compared to the smaller vessels. Most of the landings are wet landings so it is a good idea to wear Tevas or other wet-dry type shoes and your bottom half often gets wet so those rapid drying shorts are a good idea. You would not want to walk around the islands in a bathing suit as there would be serious risk of sun burn - you need a shirt, shorts, hat and good sunglasses. Also plenty of sunscreen and perhaps insect repellent although we did not need this. One or two landings are dryish such as at Bartoleme and here you will climb up the mountain for a spectacular view, so sneakers with good grip soles would be useful here, as you are walking in quite deep volcanic ash in places. We did not need any sweaters at all but you will need warm clothes if you are spending time in Quito etc. We think the must see islands are Hood(Espaniola) and Tower(Genovesa) - Red, Blue Footed and Masked Boobies. Waved Albatross also nest on Hood. You will see the Galapagos Penguin from the panga at Bartoleme. Depending on the length of your cruise-if it is longer, you will go to Isobella and Fernandina and on Fernandina will see Flightless Cormorants. On Santa Cruz make sure you visit the Darwin Research Center where you will see all the different types of tortoise and make sure you go on the bus trip to the highlands where you will see the most huge tortoises imaginable in the wild - we also saw a wild one on Isabella. There are sea lions everywhere and they are very unafraid and friendly -these are related to the California sea lions and not the sea lions found in the Falkland Islands which are very unfriendly. Fur seals are not as easy to see.You will see Land Iguanas on Santa Cruz and Plaza and Marine Iguanas on many islands. We are not into diving or snorkeling but those who did said it was fabulous, but remember the water is cold because of the Humboldt Current. I think the diving was quite a pricey affair but all the gear was provided. One girl from Japan had a small underwater camera which was a neat idea. Remember that the Galapagos Islands are very regimented for visitors- each boat is allowed on and must be off the islands at specified times and you must stay on the walking tracks- this obviously is to protect the animals and birds. You will be quite amazed at first at how tame all the creatures are - you can be within inches of birds and they do not fly away' they just look at you - it is a photographer's paradise. If you are interested in photography a 1-400mm zoom lens is quite useful. I would recommend that you see the 2007 DVD "Galapagos- the islands that changed the world" before you go. An excellent book about the wildlife is "Wildlife of the Galapagos" by Julian Fitter et al. A good general guide is "Travelers Guide to the Galapagos Islands" by Barry Boyce 2004. Please ask if you have any further questions. I hope this helps. If you are spending any time in Ecuador and are interested in birds I can suggest a few places. The Botanical(Orchid) Garden in Quito is small but very nice. If you enjoy Galapagos,I would like to suggest the Falkland Islands for a future trip- simply fabulous! Bon Voyage.

Jean Advantage and most of the grub insecticides have the same ingredient(Imidacloprid). What my vet was telling me since he knows I am against putting things in my yard that could harm anything is that the same chemical was being used therefore I could have less worry about spreading the grub killer on the area my pets use. My vet knows I will look up anything he tells me before it goes in or on or around my pets. I do not use Advantage because it does not prevent the eggs from hatching but use Frontline Plus. Since many fleas are carried into the house from outside on pant legs and shoes it is important to treat the approaches and lawn for fleas. I have also used Bio Halt which at the time was sold as containing bt's. It worked when the grass was wet but not in dry conditions. If you could keep lawn area moistened to keep it active it might work. I am extra careful because about 20 years ago I killed my dog Walter because of fleas. He developed kidney failure after I over applied all kinds of flea medication both to him and his surrounding areas. He was such a wonderful pet that when he started developing problems he used the kitties litter box instead of telling us he needed to go out. The morning of the first snow when I saw the blood on the snow I lost it. By that time the only thing my vet could do with his advanced kidney problem was to tell us to love him and gave a kidney diet to Walter. He passed away the following spring. Since then I always do research before I use any chemical. Here is a link that might be useful: Flea med ingredient.

Well the good news is that the plumbers showed up bright and early today to try to get started on the re-working. They soon discovered they needed a part or something and have headed to Lowes so who knows when they will be back. To give a bit more detail : When we saw the plumbing initially in the soffits a few weeks back we were alarmed. The contract was re-worded to include relocating a whole bunch of plumbing but to be honest plumbing terms are like Greek to us so we were still concerned. We cut several more holes (large ones) and had the contractor come over and look in them and say that what he was seeing was covered in the price he had quoted us. We actually did this 2 or 3 times before signing the contract just to be sure he saw all that needed to be done. He also had the plumber(the same one who is doing the work) come look at it before we signed the contract. However there is some wording in the conrtact that says that if plumbing issues are discovered that could not be viewed through the holes it could result in increased charges. This wording is what now scares me and now sounds too vague. I guess I will have to wait and see how today goes. When they were looking at it and the contractor came over to help solve the problems yesterday he made no mention to us about it costing us more but we didn't ask either. I was afraid to open up the possibility with him. By the way, they are already back. That was the shortest trip to Lowes I have experienced. I hope they got what they needed. Here we go!