Actually, there are a couple of temperate zone Dioscorea species that are hardy to about Zone 5. I have the Chinese Mountain Yam, which some sources label as D. batatas and others give a different specific name. Whatever it's called, it is fully hardy here, and makes a lot of white aerial tubers in late summer that are about the size of a nickle and taste basically like a slightly less starchy white potato. I like to gather them up and boil them whole and make them into potato salad -- my couple of vines usually yield up to 2 quarts of them. I did try digging up a small, self-sown one once, and it had a very small tuber, about 1 inch in diameter and 8 to 10 inches long. Never tried digging into the older ones, as both are planted on trellises in flower beds and I don't want to disturb them. Oikos, Raintree, and Sand Mountain Herb Farm all sell starts of this plant. Here is what Oikos has to say about them: Here is a link that might be useful: Oikos Tree Crops link about Chinese Mountain Yam

Hi Perk try this site http://www.wintersworld.net/ it has alot of native clipart Here is a link that might be useful: Winters World

Clip Art Guy, please stop posting here! You need to read the Garden Web rules and regulations. Luvs

I'm new to this board as well. I am looking for ideas to downsize our stuff. It is so hard. I tend to want to save DD's too small dress for a cousin who lives an hour away and won't fit into it for 4 years. I pile, bag, save things only to find that recipients are overwhelmed with things and are not always willing to take on stuff they might need in a few years. It's a NOW world. Anyway, I feel I am always in put away / tidy mode and I can't progress to actual cleaning. I spray a little windex, throw down comet in the bathroom, laundy, cook, and dishes and that's about it. My swifter wet jet is a godsend. 24 hours in a day and 100 hours of chores to do. As for hobbies, I think they are very worthwhile (even though I don't have much time now for my top 10, or even top 3 thanks to full time job and mother to 2 busy gals). I gave up one craft that I very much enjoyed because I found it tiresome to constantly have to hunt down materials to make a new project exactly like the one I made last year. Also, I often spent alot more $ on my craft project than I could have bought a ready made for. Granted, I would have some extra materials, but not enough, so the buying cycle continued. I have noticed that people without hobbies, whether its music, exercise, art, crafts, wood work, genealogy, etc. are bored people and this multiplies as you age. So often, I see people who could easily retire continue to work just so they'll have something to do. I think that's sad.