seysonn What if Johnny sends you 30 packs of seeds, including everything on your wish list. Would you send them back, use them (the ones you like) or trash them. Where's the fun in only getting 6 packs- you get to pick and choose what you would like to grow next year. My first year I got like 35 packs of seeds. I used most since I wanted to try some new varieties. I sent in 130 packages- anywhere from 3-5 bags of the same variety, 31 different varieties, about 20 seeds per pack. From mild to Habanero hot for everyone to enjoy and grow out. I don't expect back 130 packs of seeds. I would venture to say that this year Johnny will be sending out more seed packs, split up among all participants, from what I am seeing so far. This post was edited by RonnyB123 on Tue, Oct 28, 14 at 22:38

Very nice! The subtle pattern on that fabric is perfect! It echoes their patterns nicely! I really like that yellowy one on the left. It is so intriguing! it appears to have great depth. I also have an amethyst geode somewhere. . . my brothers got it for me for a present once. I'm not up on all the terminology though. What is a nodule? I was also interested in rocks from a VERY young age (not as far away for me) =), and I used to collect them all whenever my parents would take me for a walk. Even common gravel was interesting to me. I have always taken long walks on beaches every year when my family would go camping to look for interesting rocks, so I have rocks from half-way across Canada. Haven't been to the east coast yet, but when I do, you can bet I will come back with some rocks. =) I found a rock once that I believe to be a geode. Someday I will get it cut open to see. It is perfectly egg-shaped, and half of the outer crust was broken off when I found it. There is also a chance that it is a fossilized dinosaur egg, I guess, but it would have to be one of the smaller dinos. I also used to break rocks open by smashing them with a larger rock, to see what was inside. You find lots of cool stuff that way! Lots of glitter and stripes and stuff that wasn't on the outside of the rock. One thing I've always wanted but never got was a rock tumbler. Someday. . . =)

Lars it seems there is no one chart which describes the temperatures accurately here as there is such a difference from one end of the island to another. The south is much warmer and Santa Cruz - the capital city about a half hour drive from here on the east coast - has another temperature range again. Here's the official temps for Santa Cruz from the Spanish Office of the Environment: Coldest month Dec....mean temperature is 66.2 F. (19C) Warmest month Aug.....mean temp is 77F. (25C) Yearly mean temp is 70.16 F. (21.2C) That's taken from a study 1971 to 2000. Another range of temperatures comes from the north airport - Los Rodeos, and still another from the top of the volcano area. Sufficient to say that it's shirtsleeve weather during the day most of the year - except when it rains, or if you're hiking up on top of the mountain when there's snow LOL. One of my ex-work colleagues in Ibiza lived for years in Costa Rica and her sons now live permanently in San Jose. She told many stories of her interesting life there. One of my cousin's sons has also settled somewhere in Costa Rica. I hear many Canadians have retired there because of the beautiful climate and peaceful life. Lars if you like hiking then this is hikers' paradise. Our German friends love coming here and spending many days climbing all around the ravines and the volcanic area. There are many hiking groups here which organize and transport folks with buses to the main starting points for hikes from the easiest to those reserved for experienced alpine climbers. It is a common daily sight to see people walking around wearing German hiking shoes, shorts, walking poles and knapsacks. They will have just come off a bus after having been somewhere up in the mountains. The large older crater area at the base of the volcano is called "Las Cañadas" and it has an amazing lunar-like landscape, part of which was used in filming the original Planet of the Apes. You can see plenty of images of that on this Google image link. Teide is the name of the volcano. There was a cable car which ran nearly to the top which may still be in operation. My brother once took it and walked right up to the existing crater where it was hot, and the air was thin. Another beautiful hike is to the mountain hamlet of Masca. (Click to enlarge the photo at top left corner.) There the roads are so steep that I am nervous even driving in a car. There's a very steep hike from there down to the sea, where a small boat will pick up the hikers, but it's really for only the most experienced mountain climbers. Needless to say I haven't done that myself but I love to see the photos LOL. Ilisa I think everyone is feeling the cold right now even in Europe. A friend just e-mailed me that it's -0.4F in Munich, Germany right now ! Guess I shouldn't complain when I have to wear an extra sweater at night ! SharonCb

Hi everyone. Lars - Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful pictures with us. I'm always interested in seeing how these interesting plants are grown in different countries, especially with "in habitat pictures" which give you such a great clue as to what conditions we need to emulate when trying to grow these various plants in our own environment. I think the $20 park entry fee was very reasonable when you consider the cost of the upkeep for the care of the plants and birds within the park, and I just wish I was able to go to such a place. I did however visit a "Bird Park" in Bali almost twenty years ago and found that a great experience as there were many birds and plants I had never before seen her in Australia. I think we all need to realise that although sometimes the costs seems a bit much, when you consider the cost of feeding the birds and the maintenance of the grounds, it's a small price to pay for the enjoyment you get in return. Debby - You say, "I wish I had been interested bird and plants when I visited Mexico City in 1973" and I agree, you probably would have seen much more had you been looking for these things on that occasion. It's never been a problem for me as ever since I was a small child I've been fortunate to be able to indulge my interest in all things to do with "Mother Nature", and as far back as I can remember, we have always had some sorts of animals, birds or unusual plants in our yard. As I grew older I became interested in a range of different things such as breeding birds, fish, frogs and growing ferns, orchids and now bromeliads; this has resulted in our yard now looking more like a small nature park. To his day at age 76 I'm still feeding many different types of native birds twice daily and we have permanent inhabitants such as skinks, a blue-tongue lizard and frogs and I’m still fortunate to be able to indulge in my pet hobby of bromeliad growing. Below are a few pic's of our back yard and some of our visiting feathered friends. Random shots of our back yard Kookaburras and magpies getting some meat "tasters" Rainbow Lorikeets waiting for dinner Kookaburras lined up waiting for their dinner Rainbow Lorikeets descending on the food dish An escapee from someone's aviary who dropped in for dinner one day All the best, Nev.