well this morning I got up and the bigger clown loach is hiding too. He/She was not that way inclined before. Maybe it is out of fish sympathy. haha yah right. We just traded it our near foot-long pleco yesterday for a much smaller one so maybe the new maid scared this clown into hiding. But I can't find them ANYWHERE and this loach isn't all that small either. Must have dug itself into the gravel right at the base of one of the tank furniture, behind it. The bigger pleco is up for first degree murder (or would it be second?) because my large silver dollar died from stress and head injuries as a direct result of being viciously chased. The perpetrator is now tank mate to, among other things, a pugnacious 'lobster'.

Hi Tommy, Welcome to the Oklahoma Gardening Forum. I think you're going to like our community of gardeners. We have all ranges of experience levels here, and we have lots of fun sharing knowledge, ideas, experiences, etc. Don't be afraid to ask questions because the only dumb question is the one that's not asked. Jay is being too kind when he refers to me as an 'elite gardener'. I don't think of myself in that way at all. I'm just an old dirt gardener who loves to grow plants of all kinds....and I'd rather be outside playing in the dirt than doing just about anything else. If I am an 'elite' gardener, then so is Jay and so are at least a couple dozen more of the folks here....and probably more than that. Spring is almost here and I encourage you to stop sitting on the edge of the pool and just jump right in. The absolute best way to learn how to garden is to start doing it. You could build a small raised bed....say something 4' x 8'....in just a few hours and have it ready to plant in early April when the temps are warm enough to allow us to plant warm-season crops. In a 4' x 8 bed you could have a couple of tomato plants, a couple of pepper plants and either herbs or bush beans or a squash plant on a trellis. Starting small like that allows you to gain a little experience and prepare you for gardening on a larger scale in the future. If I were a new gardener, I'd buy Barbara Pleasant's brand new book, which I've linked below. It is THE book I wish I'd had when I got married, bought a home and started my very first veggie garden without my Dad's help back in the early 1980s. I quickly learned that gardening on my own without him was SO much harder than helping him in his garden....and I found out I didn't know nearly as much as I thought I did. If I'd had this book, I could have sliced a few years off the learning curve. I already have this book and have read it cover to cover once and have re-read selected portions a couple of times. I just think it is the most helpful book I've ever seen for new veggie gardeners....and even as a gardener with many years of experience, I've discovered this book is full of ideas and planting plans that I want to try as I continue the constant task of enlarging my vegetable gardening space. This year, we'll be using the bag garden idea from Barbara's book to help our almost 3-year-old granddaughter start her own little veggie garden. If you have the time and space to put in a larger garden this year, there's a great article on the Mother Earth News website by Rosalind Creasy detailing how she raised over $700 worth of organic veggies in a 100 square foot bed. It is very interesting and shows what is possible in a relatively small space. Once again, welcome. I'm so glad you're joining us here. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: My Favorite New Vegetable Book

Best of luck to you. Seattle is marvelous.

Glad you are having a good time. I love blood pudding. Actually they also call it black pudding. It taste like sausage. At least try one bite just to say you did. I love pub grub too. My first DH was from Belfast and I've been to Ireland 4 times. It really is very green. My DD's cousin now lives in England but was home for a visit a couple of week ago. He posted pictures on facebook. Made me want to hop a plane for a visit. Linda