Great pics, and I love to watch the little critters that visit the gardens! I spend hours contorting myself into strange positions to get pictures of the pollinators and other visitors. At first, the bees or butterflies seem skittish when I first appear, but after a few minutes, they seem to get used to this big human creature with a camera. They let me get very close sometimes. Here are a couple of the assorted bees that come to pollinate - Yesterday was very exciting, a female Monarch was alternating between nectaring and laying eggs on the Asclepias tuberosa and incarnata. Here she is nectaring - And here she is laying an egg - Can you spot the butterfly in this picture? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oh, here she is!

Well thank you. I have been hobby hybridizing just about anything I can get my hands on for some years now. I tend to try and get a breeding population for anything that strikes my interest. With deciduous azaleas, well I guess I have eight now- not counting seedlings (which would have easily doubled that number). Mostly all yellows. I grew the seedlings (seeds sown in a pot) under lights first winter and then they were put out for this last winter. I had one turn a real nice purple and it stayed evergreen for the entire winter- which I thought was simply amazing. It didn't drop its leaves until spring when new buds were swelling out. I can't wait to see if this will happen again this winter.

Boy....I must have needed a cry!! I just have one son and it was like walking down memory lane! It was 1st grade that got me. I parked across from the school every morn at first recess for one week and watched. In hiding I thought. The girls in the bank could see my car pulled into the shrub. On the 3rd morn two of them came out with a pass for a week at the local gym and a box of chocolates. That was an oxymoron! Aaaaaaaah, we grow right along with our children. They take a step forward and so do we..so do we. Your children are beautiful.

Oh Luvs they are beautiful. I have always been afraid of dogs, no clue why, but years ago, a neighbor had a retrevier. She was the gentlest dog I ever knew. My youngest daughter use to go up on their porch and lay down with her head on his belly. His breathing would rock her right off to sleep. That dog would not move untill she woke up. I told my husband, if you ever find a dog like that...we can have a dog. Well, when that baby was in high school, he came home on day with a 2 year old retreiver, named Dixie. The dog walked right up to where I was sitting, put her head on my lap, twiched those eybrows as they do and I was smitten!!! Dixie was my best friend for 5 years. We lost her to a car accident right in front of the house. My four grands that are all 13 this year, all had the chance to know and love her. Goldens are the gentlest dogs I have ever seen. Don't know one that is a good guard dog though. We use to joke that Dixie would probably help a burglar carry stuff out on her back! The only way she would have stopped them was to lick them to death!! heehee She did keep the squirrels away from my feeders though. Thanks for starting my day with such wonderful memories!