We got our rain! Looks like a pretty good amount. Everything is thoroughly soaked. Amazing how much good the rain can do for plants. Glenda, You have had much cooler night temps then we have had. It has been in the high 90s during the day and high 80s at night. At 1 o'clock in the morning the temps would still be in the mid to upper 80s. Awful. Cameron, I am so sorry about your weather. I know the last time I flew to SC to see my daughter, I couldn't believe how brown everything was from Atlanta to SC. It was an olive green. I have never seen the South like that. The lakes were down really far and some almost dried up! I could see columns of smoke rising from the fires burning here and there all over. This must be the fourth or fifth year for you guys to be in drought conditions, huh? Man! We had a ten year drought and it was devastating. Nearly broke the banks because the farmers had no crops and the ranchers were having to sell off their livestock because there there was no hay to feed them. All the cattle ponds had dried up. This year, all the rain and precip. we got in winter and this spring really made the difference. The trees were able to get moisture further down in the ground, so the plants closer to the surface are not having to compete with them for whatever there is near the surface. I have had to water every day through this Heat Wave, but everything is doing pretty good, considering this early hot weather. The only exception being the veggie garden - insects ruined my cool weather crops. But even the areas further out where I never water look good. The garden phlox are the first to indicate drought. When they shrivel up, I know we are in drought. It's still very overcast and gray out, so we might get more rain. Hope this heat wave and drought ends for everyone... and moves on up to Washington where they could use a little heat and drying out. BTW, has anyone heard from MeMo lately. She blew out her knee(s?) trying to move plants and do things she shouldn't be doing by herself. She doesn't have one person to help her when or how she needs it the most. Wondering if she is in the hospital. Oh dear! I am just heartsick for her over her beautiful cottage garden plans. She worked so hard at designing it and digging those beds and her veggie garden. Then digging up her plants out on the ranch and transplanting them, mulching them, babying them along, only to be told it would all have to be dug out. And to make matters worse, this all happened right when the heat wave hit. Good grief! I would have been devastated. I worry about her. ~Annie

Me too -- HUGE smile! Your challahs are so gorgeous, loves2! Wow -- I am going to aim for yours next week. We only do a four-strand braid; I'm going to have to look up how to do a six-strand because yours are so beautiful! (ours only used three cups of flour but is long and skinny because for the strands I left Challah ben Challah up to his own devices) I wonder if our challah is wiggly because of my youngest on my back ... or maybe it's because we like reptiles! It's really because a four year-old helped me OOPS! I mean I helped my four year-old transfer it onto the cookie sheet. (just a standard cookie sheet, but on the diagonal) Your husband has some good eyes! Yes, those ovens are Gaggenau but they're 30" wide (their new models). They're not steam ovens. I really, really like them. I hated paying for them! But I really like them. I LOVE the side-opening door. I LOVE how quickly they heat and how quickly (and quietly) they cool down. I love how cool the doors stay. I love how when the oven is on, the interior light is on the whole time -- no fiddling with the "light on" "light off" button. I love how large the glass is (how big the viewing area). But, I think the convection is just so-so -- areas cook faster than others and I still have to turn the cookie sheets. And I think it's crap that these expensive ovens don't come with full-extension gliding racks (or whatever they're called) like other much less expensive ovens do (Electrolux comes to mind). Yes, I am Tacky McTacky to keep bringing up the cost but I can't help it -- other than our cabinetry, they were the most expensive thing in our kitchen. And I had to think long and hard (and on and on -- my husband is part-saint to have brooked my hand-wringing) about getting them. But, whenever we talk about our kitchen one of our absolute favorite things is those side-opening ovens. So, I guess that's what we paid for! How do you like your ovens? (Miele, right?) I am so sorry if I am getting you confused with someone else, but I think I recall when your kitchen was being installed your wondering if you'd made the right choice for your oven. ??? That's not quite it, but I can't get the specifics straight. I want to tell you, your posts about your kitchen really influenced my planning. You were the first person I read who talked about zones and how it would impact you with your children (I mean impact in a good way). My kiddos are so little so I didn't know enough to envision what it might be like with older children (and hopefully more of them!). I took your experiences to heart, I really did. Thank you so much for all your forthright feedback!

Thanks everyone. It's so nice to have people to share my birding events with. Sue, I'm happy you're getting to enjoy the cardinals, too. They also relish the black oil sunflower seed, but then, so do the grackles. I'm fortunate in that I have very few grackles; right now I have 2-4 of them hanging around but I don't see them often. There are more here for a week or so during the spring and fall migrations. I take the BOSS and suet feeders down at those time. Lynn D, after Ms. Cardinal left, I called my Auntie in Arkansas to tell her about the sighting. As we were talking on the phone I could hear her cardinals singing the "purty purty purty" song. HappyTime CA...once "my" cardinals are established (I might as well dream big!) you'll just have to take a road trip and come out to visit them. Stick around Jaime LA. "We'll" get you hooked! If you could come out and watch just one nest check with the tiny Purple Martin hatchlings, you'd be a goner for sure! LOL NodakGal...You're welcome to come for "tea!" It's Lipton's finest, but I guess you can tell I did get wild and added some fresh lemon zest! Peg MN...When I was a child there was a large holly shrub next to my north-facing bedroom window. One year a cardinal pair made thier nest there. It was in the perfect place for me to be able to watch them from just a few inches away. They didn't seem to mind me peering through the window's sheer curtains.

Leslie, what a beatuiful family! Don't worry about Jayden until after his hearing test. He may just not be ready to talk. We worried about my nephew for a few years. He'll be six next month. Now we can't shut him up! For him, he had two sisters, that were fifteen and seventeen when he was born. They did all the talking for him. They never shut up, either! He never needed to talk. Now they've both moved out in the last couple of years and what a difference! Something that might help is, when you ask him if he wants something, ask in a way that requires an answer. Don't ask if he wants some milk. Ask him if he wants a drink. If he answers yes in his usual way, then ask what he wants. Don't give him the answer in the question. Find something that he's REALLY interested in. Evan's thing is animals of all kinds. He even knew stuff his preschool teacher didn't. She didn't believe him when he corrected her about where one lived. He went home and told his parents what she had said, they went online and printed the info for him to take to school the next time. He is one smart little boy, and Jayden is too. He'll be talking in no time, then you'll wish he was quiet again! Tami