I saw my first Junco last week. I am hoping that I'll see more. I have seeing White Crown sparrow lately, too. The gold finches (no longer gold) seemed to have come back from where-ever they had gone. I am hoping to see some American Tree Sparrow next. They are the most common birds in my yard during last winter. Now that it's cold enough, I put up my modified suet feeder (with a tail extender attachment). The woodpecker found it within 5 min. Unfortunately I haven't been able to make the Red Belly woodpecker that comes infrequently to come more often. How long do the ducks stay? I thought they have left by now with the water staring to freeze, but a large group seems to come in the morning to raid the feeders. I am hoping that they leave before more of the Junco comes back. I can't keep anything in the ground feeder. Paul

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.

PJPII is one of my top 10 favorite roses to grow. My Artistry is prob 25+ years old and last summer was its best year. Sweetness does good, but thrips mess up blooms seems like half of season. Gemini is one of my favorites, but I don’t have any luck growing it and I’ve tried multiple times. Some roses are meant to be admired from afar. SWEETNESS around May 24th this year. I don’t recall it ever being that loaded. I almost shovel pruned it earlier because the thrips damage to the blooms throughout the past years, but it had robust growth this spring and I just couldn’t remove it.

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.