Kim, great news on getting your Kimo! Or maybe we should call it the KIM-o LOL!!! How are your other cuttings doing? Any new developments? Jen, it really is so fascinating to me to see the differences in all of the seedlings. They show individual characteristics very early on. Thanks so much for the offer on the pots! I'm seriously worried about my seedlings though. If I don't get this under control I won't have any seedlings left to re-pot. *SIGH* I'm going to have to try Spinosad, the soap just isn't doing enough. I found more thrips on the seedlings even though I'm treating them more often than I probably should. While I was busy getting bitten by a fire ant I even found a thrip on my toe. They have deformed my Mardi Gras seedlings so bad I'm not sure they're even worth saving. These seedlings should be MUCH bigger and much less deformed. This is only a FRACTION of the damage to my seedlings, it's really bad. This is the one that had the super light colored, almost white leaves. Look at the 3 weird light colored leaves that popped out, and so close together. All the seedlings really want to grow, and try to in between thrips! So, I just don't know, I think the Spinosad seems like the best option to get them under control. It doesn't kill beneficial bugs and kills the bad ones when they ingest it instead of having to make contact. Jen, it's supposed to kill caterpillars too. It's considered organic. Has anyone used this?

ohiomom, sounds nice. This was a couple tents behind a railroad sation, LOL. No ambiance, but I had fun :) Lucky, Kathleen, you have many markets at your disposal. I haven't been out east in a while and the way it's going, we're going to have to wait until spring! yes, San, this is the place. Was a lot of fun. Wish I found it sooner, the corn was fantastic, best I've had. Can't remember the name but it was not Silver King. Terri, there's one last donut left, hopefully for my morning coffee but highly doubtful :) earthlydelights, LOL, a granny cart would have been perfect, but I have no room in my frig for it all! I microwaved the cauliflower and the water turned a beautiful shade of purple, then I sauted it with some orange tomatoes. It was good. Cool color. Tomorrow I'll make some carrots. It'll be some very colorful dinners the next few nights!

I have made jar lamps in the past. A fisherman's lamp I used bobbers in the jar and decorated the lampshade accordingly. A golfer's lamp I put practice balls in. My son's lamp I put wooden blocks that spelled his name. I made a kitchen one with dried apples and oranges and put in some small cookie cutters. My MIL collect Coke things and I wrapped some foam balls in Coke material and put those in the base. Other ideas...seashells, buttons, wooden spools wrapped with a piece of plaid material or any country print, glass marbles, you could just change it out seasonally as well. Good luck.

Musaburo!! Always great to see you here!!! Good points.. I do agree that climate plays a huge role and I can see it in my trees when they are coming out of dormancy here on the east coast. When I see an early inflo, I'm torn because I know it could potentially not mature and or not have the coloration that a late inflo would produce... A good example is my Kapalua. It stays inside my great room all winter because I can't move the huge container from where I have the sliding doors. It's just to big. This tree has always produced early inflos in the early spring / late winter and usually the inflos will abort. Some do stay on the tree like this year and as of today, they are growing with the leaves finally appearing as well.. This is a late tree to leaf out for me.. ( One of the last to leaf in the spring ) I do believe its the light factor in my house along with consistent heat to aid in the early appearance of inflos) this variety has always been late for the leaves to emerge. We also have to remember the early inflos are being produced from the branch from last year and at the earliest part of the tree waking up it will push these if they were forming before dormancy last season.. Kapalua is the only tree that I have that will produce inflos on most of the branches when waking.... I can't keep it cool during the winter because its in the family room. So the first hint of more sunlight along with it having heat all winter( 68-70 degrees) it wants to wake up and push inflos that were wanting to emerge... This is the best example I have of a tree going into a semi dormant state and keeping active at the same time. A few friends in Southern California would mention about the loss of inflos due to the " May Gray" and " June Gloom" when the sun is absent for a while... I have found that cuttings from mature wood are the best for rooting verses green wood cuttings, but I haven't noticed any blooms that are smaller unless its a known variety for having smaller blooms.. Look at grafts.. They are producing the same size blooms and can be from mature wood as well as green wood and can be from smaller cuttings.. So size of the cutting? Good question.... Very interesting.. Laura