Thank you for your kind comments..it's great to be back! And Cait...It's sooo good to see you too! I just got really busy for awhile...but I will be posting a lot more real soon! I miss seeing and reading everyones ideas. I have so much creativity and artistic feelings right now..you all might get sick of me posting..LOL..I'll be posting here..and on trash to treasure.

Jkayd - You are right. Scarecrow is like its own firework. Chris and Mantis - Cool Hand Luke is nowhere near its height of 40 inches here. I would say the scapes are 27-28 inches here for both last year and this year. But most everything is shorter than it should be this year. It's also missing that great lateral branching it had last year. Debra This post was edited by shive on Sat, Jul 5, 14 at 9:22

It rained nicely in the afternoon yesterday, thundered a bunch, of course after I had watered!!! But no lightning, so that was a plus. I was online for a while, but started a new book about birds, and must have missed your post, Cricket. Hope you day was fine, not too much work to keep the family happy, and lots of help with the cleanup. There were fireworks going off all over the place which I could hear, not see. My new lawn mower arrived today, and I put it together before breakfast, since there is a heat advisory for some reason....just the usual ole 90+ but about 100% humidity. There was a smoky haze early in the morning, but the hosta were all perky with the cool temps from the night time. When it is about 76 at night, it is as cool as it will get from now until October first. At least then.

Eleni by Nicholas Gage and Cavafy's wise poem ITHAKA - my contributions Despite being involved in a terrible tragedy there - I remember my days lived in Greece with some sweet longing As you set out for Ithaka hope your road is a long one, full of adventure, full of discovery. Laistrygonians, Cyclops, angry Poseidon - don't be afraid of them: you'll never find things like that one on your way as long as you keep your thoughts raised high, as long as a rare excitement stirs your spirit and your body. Laistrygonians, Cyclops, wild Poseidon - you won't encounter them unless you bring them along inside your soul, unless your soul sets them up in front of you. Hope your road is a long one. May there be many summer mornings when, with what pleasure, what joy, you enter harbours you're seeing for the first time; may you stop at Phoenician trading stations to buy fine things, mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony, sensual perfumes of every kind - as many sensual perfumes as you can; and may you visit many Egyptian cities to learn and go on learning from their scholars. Keep Ithaka always in your mind. Arriving there is what you're destined for. But don't hurry the journey at all. Better if it lasts for years, so you're old by the time you reach the island, wealthy with all you've gained on the way, not expecting Ithaka to make you rich. Ithaka gave you the marvellous journey. Without her you wouldn't have set out. She has nothing left to give you now. And if you find her poor, Ithaka won't have fooled you. Wise as you will have become, so full of experience, you'll have understood by then what these Ithakas mean Constantine P. Cavafy