For cool wet West Virginia I was looking for both hardy and disease resistant trees when I got started. In most cases it seemed to be either/or. I have a Reliance and a Contender and a Harrow Beauty and a few others including some seedlings. One of those seedlings is the best of any of them so far, and I'd really like to have it grafted. Anyway, Reliance here has ripened about July 15 to 23 for six consecutive years. Contender only set fruit one year before being set back severely by borers. Its ripening date (for tree ripened fruit) was July 28 to August 5 - definitely later than Reliance, and right along with Harrow Beauty. For me, Reliance has been as disease resistant as Harrow Beauty or more so. Its fruit was of excellent quality the first few years, but this last year its flavor was lacking and it had less color. Still not bad though. The tree is still vigorously growing. The 'Contender' tree was purchased from Cummins Nursery in NY, grafted on to Halford. The 'Harrow Beauty' was purchased from Adams County Nursery and was grafted onto Baily. The 'Reliance' was from Stark Bros and they said it was grafted onto "seedling" rootstock. Peaches have done surprisingly well for me here in the mountains, but I put a lot of work into preparing the planting location. I really believe nutrition is the most important key to healthy productive trees. I may have more to say about 'Madison' and 'Intrepid' in the future. Here is a link that might be useful: Last year's report

I live in Lovettsville, VA, which is in Loudoun County. We are considered "Northern Virginia" and are just outside of Washington, DC. I grew up in Fairfax County, which is even closer to DC than where I live now. I feel lucky to have grown up near DC and try not to take it for granted. It's still pretty amazing driving over the bridge and seeing a view of all the memorials from the car.

It surprisingly went down near us the past day or two. But we all know how the "supply/demand" affects prices. If we "demand" less, the price will go down... Though I'm NOT by any means trying to down play the crisis it puts many of us in when these prices get so out of control, it IS all good for the environent... It's my hope that this is a condition/habit that we all try to maintain in good times, as well as bad. We should NEVER, for the good of us all, ever be this dependent on foreign supplies (oil).

Ha. My Ex actually linked up with SM at a daycare where my children were going. He left me for her, and actually it was humorous to see her thinking she knew more about raising children than I did. He, after divorcing me, married her, and she was their stepmom. And actually I did see after I got over my anger that she was a pretty good person. Eleven years later she left my ex by moving in with and finally marrying his ex best friend. My Ex was livid, of course. Ha Ha. I could have used that to the hilt. It was sad to me to watch SM try to have a relationship with our children, and my Ex and now also her Ex also tried to stop that relationship with everything in his being. I was now the one who held all the power. I could have blown her out of the water. And you know what, many people told me here is the biatch who stole your husband pay her back. It was actually one of my daughters' friends who said to me, SM is really trying hard here, give her some slack. That statement made me think. And the friend was right. It did make sense. There was no reason why I should stand in the way of a relationship simply because my Ex moved on, or was forced to move on. I have been married to my second husband for 15 years now, a marriage that I think will go on until we die. My EX is now into his third marriage, and now what I say to my girls is this. Your dad's new wife is in fact your stepmother, but it isn't the same this time for you. They are 20 now. And yes first SM, and her mom and her dad and her sisters and all their children have special times with "my" kids, and none of them wanted to say goodbye. I say you are all more than welcome because that is what my girls want. Is it hard? You bet you it is hard. It is likely the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. But when you have kids it isn't about you anymore is it.