Rocky is HOME!!! thanks everyone. Melinda sent him home with goodies, so, this afternoon when the ice cleared I went into town Rocky was waiting and as usual he claimed to be starving. Melinda sent him home with goodies We opened the Hershey's gold bar and shared that right away. Rocky declared that a fine snack but he's looking for MORE so I'll use the pecans in his chocolate chip cookies and try to sneak the pistacios away for myself. Prizes are already enroute to Ruth , Debbie and Susan. Should arrive soon and I'm throwing one in for Melinda too. A special thanks for being a good sport through the delay and detour. Now I'm off to feed this hungry squirrel Thanks again ladies. As usual , with the flying squirrel, there are always surprises along the way

That’s an excellent order of operations outline that your pro Diana has posted here. I would screenshot that and save it for future reference. It really helps then (when you get an idea you’d like), to slot it in under one of those steps. Otherwise it’s all too easy to get very off track and distracted by every little suggestion on here… which is exactly what will happen.

I think the simple act of uttering the words ”Thank you” for a simple courtesy extended to me by a perfect stranger shows civility and respect. Their act of thoughtfulness to a stranger (me) provides a pleasant spot in my day and I do expect some kind of acknowledgement from the person I thanked - a verbal reply or simply a quick smile. I do make a special effort to thank a child or younger person who has done something for me - held a door, picked up a dropped item etc. I also make an effort to extend these small courtesies to strangers and also to people who have provided exemplary customer service to me in the course of ’just doing the job they’re being paid for’. It takes so little effort to behave politely and make another person’s day just a bit brighter.

Jim, You got hit hard. Hope damage is minimal and something you can fix yourself. All the threatening weather just fizzled out....maybe .15" of rain, that's all. If tomorrow's predictions hold, ~.50" more of rain. That's barely .more than a half inch of total rain. Glad I watered the roses good and heavy on the 4 th. With temps in the upper 90'sF. for daily highs for a week now, I kept watering like crazy. Highs are predicted to be 10 degrees cooler this week coming. Still hot, highs in the mid 80'sF......the hose will still get a good workout. Judi, Please give True Sincerity time to grow on you. It will. The color change from just opening to full open is drastic. It bleaches out, no question, but the petals are cast iron, no crisping or wilting, even in the excessive heat of this past week. The final color before petal drop is a pale pink with faint etchings of red at the petal edges. It's nothing like the richer muted yellow centers with Deep pink edges. A true chameleon flower. It retains its cup shape pretty good. Mine keeps making candelabra canes with ~12 buds per cluster. Have I sold you to enjoy the quirky color change and appreciate its strong positives? Hope I did! It's a monstrously strong grower....no give in it. On the other hand, there are so many roses you can grow because of your zone 8, and minimal to no black spot issue, roses that I can only dream about growing. Therefore, you devoting space to a rose that you have qualms about needs some decision making about keeping it. I understand your position entirely! Moses.