Hi JG, It's good to hear from you again, JG. Please forgive me for referring to your "Extreme Roll" zinnias as "Extreme Curl". The word "roll" is much more appropriate for the geometry of their petals than the word "curl". I should have referred back to your messages instead of relying on my memory. Let's have a drum roll for Extreme Roll. Maybe that can serve as a mnemonic for me. "I've got a number of Extreme Roll progeny coming up..it will probably be some time before I see any flowers or can show any photos! And there, I am optimistic... " I am very hopeful that you will get some more Extreme Roll specimens. I have never seen a zinnia like them and, because they are so unique, their flowers have a magical look. I hope they get a permanent place in zinniadom. "I'm finding, too that the topsoil I had in those bags is a terrible absorbant for water...I'll take my garden soil over that any time! Water actually rolls off the growing mixes, too, when they are hot and dry. I wonder why some sort of wetting agent isn't added!" I wonder, too. I have a bag of Peat Moss that I had intended to use for inside gardening, but when it gets dry, it is just like you described. Water sets on top of it in beads. It takes forever for it to absorb the water. I'm going to give up on it and incorporate it in some outdoor garden soil. There is a small flower bed at the front of the house that I think I will incorporate it into, along with a dose of fill sand. I think that Miracle-Gro is advertising some growing mixes that are kind of foolproof, and I think they also have some of those water absorbing crystals and the mix also kind of expands when it gets watered. And it may have a plant-friendly wetting agent. The TV ads for it look kind of enticing. It probably costs too much to use on a large scale, but I can see how it would be appropriate for small high-value flower beds. I am building another compost pile. Weeds and lawn clippings are an almost inexhaustible source of organic matter in this rural environment. Well rotted compost and sand are two of my favorite soil amendments. I mentioned a plant friendly wetting agent. Obviously there are such things. In the past I have used small amounts of Dawn dishwashing detergent in some of my foliar sprays. I am not sure of the chemistry of Dawn, but I have seen them using it to wash oil slicks off of waterfowl, so it is at least "bird friendly". However, some detergents are phytotoxic to plants. Some detergents can act as herbicides. I suppose I should do some experiments with Dawn on zinnias. I currently have some Tween 20 and Tween 80 that I have used in my indoor gardening. They are food grade, so hopefully they are safe to use. But I haven't done experiments with them to determine at what levels they might be phytotoxic. "I finally watered the plants two days ago in anticipation of this very hot spell. I've been conservative with the water because we are on a well. On average, the plants are about 5-6" high now with some trying to put out buds. This is the worst gardening season I have ever seen! " Same here. I have been using a lawn sprinkler on my zinnia patch to keep it from "burning up". And we have a rural well, too, and it will "run dry". When I see the water pressure starting to drop off, I turn off the sprinkler. The well recovers in a few hours. But this heat wave is going to be a continual problem for our well capacity. This close-up of a trumpet-petal recombinant shows the petals in some detail. It is a single bloom, and single zinnias are usually culls for me. But I am keeping this one around because it has an unusual "look". The petals remind me a bit of pitcher plants. That little beetle peeking out of a pitcher petal confirms that this is not a carnivorous plant. I do wonder, though, if a variation of this flower form could develop nutrient absorption capabilities that could produce a carnivorous strain of zinnias. Admittedly, that would be a real "stretch". But zinnias continue to surprise me with their odd variations. ZM (not associated with any product or vendor mentioned or linked)

Hi Eduarda, I agree that Sept. is a wonderful time to visit the Cape. But try to go between Mon - Thurs. because it's still mighty crowded on the weekends. There is a Cranberry Festival in Harwich which might be fun(around the second week in Sept. I think). There are probably other local festivals happening too. If you go to the Cape, you MUST visit Nantucket were your countrymen played a major role in the prosperity of that beautiful little island. (the official line is that the Portuguese were wonderful seamen and sought after to work on the whaling ships, but we all know they were brought here to make their incredibly delicious bread!!!) You will need to take a ferry to Nantucket, so educate yourself about this before you go. I provided a link below but there are other good sites, I'm sure. (scroll UP when you use the link). Martha's Vineyard is nice too. That's all I can think of for now! Hugs, Patti Here is a link that might be useful: Nantucket ferry

Gee when it's 52 degrees here and you still see nuts in shorts. Oops I mean people in shorts. The snow is coming by noon today but usually we start 2 hours earlier than they say or don't get any at all. Hubby was hunting his long underwear this morning and I told him they were in the wash. Well they are...and he found a pair of old white ones. Sent for the Cooking Light magazine - they sent me an offer I could not refuse - $10 for a year. Here is a recipe I found in my recipe box yesterday. Will need to try some of the recipes I keep. This one sounds good. Hearty beef barley soup 2 t oil 20 baby carrots - chopped (or 2 medium - chopped) 1 large onion - chopped 2 celery stalks - chopped 2 t minced garlic (note I buy this in a jar) 1 14 ounce can ff chicken broth 1 " " " " beef broth 3 cups water 3/4 cup quick (10 minute cook time) barley if you use regular barley cook it seperately to package directions except for the last 10 minutes 1 package (1 pound) already cooked beef tips in gravy Heat oil in Dutch Oven (If you don't have one saute vegs in skillet and then add to larger pot) Add veggies and onion until they start to soften (about 2 minutes) Add garlic, both cans of broth and water stir Add barley and beef and gravy, simmer until barley is tender. 201 calories 6 servings

Lost my first post. The Chinese characters are grayed out today. Margaret's was good. I love the goulash. Ron did not care for the special, beef rouladen. He said it wasn't bad, just not memorable. But we brought home the jeager snitzle (I'm not sure of spelling). It is breaded pork cutlet with mushroom gravy. The new owner is Polish. Don't know how the menu will change. It started to rain as soon as we got on the highway to Tulsa. I hate the highways anyway, let alone while raining. Larry, I hope you feel better! You too Danny! And Kim. Dang y'all, there's not enough of us for all this illness. Nancy, the birds sound like geese. Snow geese would be white. White pelicans have black under their wings. Sandhill cranes...there were a bunch at the Great Salt Plains, but most have moved south. H/J, spring pictures appreciated. I need to go, Ron is fidgeting.