It is a strange bloom season. MA, with cool temps and very little if any sun for the entire month of June. July starts and we have a couple of days with sun and then Bingo back to cool temps and pouring, pouring rain. Plants blooming? Not much in that department for sure and my WS seedlings have been stunted at the tiny, tiny stage. Course the store bought ones that my neighbor bought, look more dead than alive after all this rain and cool temps and no sun. So what makes the gardens strange this year? For the last couple of years have noticed my well established hostas, no names for them, just divisions of a neighbor's 25 years ago, have gotten their flower spikes earlier and earlier every year. Usually I don't see them till August and it takes till almost Thanksgiving to get the seed pods ripe. This year they where growing in June and starting to bloom before July 4th. Last year and the year before it is July when the stems started and blooms in July. Hydrangeas are starting to bloom before the 4th of July, not mid July on. Daffodils bloomed late, crocus where late, snow in summer where no blooms. Iris where early and didn't last as long. To top it off, the 4 legged critters are busier than usual. Exceptionally busy rabbits all over the place, very bold, actually digging nests and birthing offspring right in the middle of flower beds under perennial dianthus. Squirrels see to be collecting nuts early and they are on the ground early and the infestation of the neighborhood groundhogs seem to be very, very confused. They are either demolishing the gardens or just sitting outside a fenced in area and just doing nothing. And to make everything worse, the deer that we normally see only in the winter, feeding on my rhodies and my neighbor's spreading yews are having a feast on my hosta leaves, hosta stems and the daylilies. In 29 years, I have never had deer around in the summer and they've never touched anything except the rhodies and the neighbor's spreading yews and that's in the winter only with snow on the ground. Fran

I've had my betta for almost 9 months. When I got him, he wouldn't eat, and the pet store told me he was probably anorexic because of missed feedings from his previous owner, so I got him betta treats and he loves them. He's always very happy, approaches the glass when he sees me, is relatively active, and recognizes the feed jar so swims toward me when he sees it. It's been about 4 days now since I've seen him eat anything, treat or pellet. He's swimming around a little less than usual too. He's not interested when I move the feed jars, and he doesn't approach the glass. I thought he may be bored or need a water change, so I changed his water and his plant about 4 hours ago. Now he's moving a little more but has been flaring almost the entire time since the water change, still is not interested in food whatsoever, and almost seems slightly distended right in front of his 2nd ventral fin, maybe a little dull in that area as well. He has been moved to and from my dorm room 3 times in the last month: thanksgiving break, back, and now back home, but the not eating began before the move today. Any ideas? Could he just be stressed? Should I be worried?

Does the center look normal, Gonzer? Not damaged in any way? I dunno. In my experience the pups on fosteriana and its hybrids often come in sets of three, usually all on one side of the plant. You might get more if the central growing point got put out of business, but 7 at once is pretty unusual.

heres some pictures. I don't know what im doing but there the first 4 on the top of the album. Some indoor tomatoes in 5 gallon buckets (about 5 to 7 flowers depending which plant) and that box I built, showing the 8 inch bolt installed w/ a washer (sitting on top of the box) and a seperate piece laying next to it, to show what I used inside the box. that seperate piece fits underneath the lights supporting them w/ that bolt threaded through it. I can turn that to adjust the height of the lights.. but like I said it was just a "try it" thing, its pretty warm and bright in there even all the way up. theres reflective aluminum type tape all inside the box. "Nashua" tape from (i don't want this linked so ill mis-spell it) Hom* Depo *t. Then the others are just the budding pablano and piquillo and the taller De Arbol. As far as I can tell the de arbol's just have that length to them and grow a bit differently, kind of gangly looking till around the time they get fruit. They'll need a new pot someday here. thanks for looking. Here is a link that might be useful: peppers