Northspruce...ROFL..I thought the same thing about the "domestic help"...Very interesting...I'll remember to use DW...beacuse she is dear and like all of the spouses, thinks' I've lost my mind about gardning...oh, she loves the finished product...but thinks I'm nuts..(a debatable topic) Why I like this forum....there is a spirit about those of you in the far north I don't see elsewhere...I can't explain, sorta frontierish but more like resourceful..self reliant and innovative......I'd take the summers if I could do without the winters...then again, today I got bitten by fire ants, a real problem in the south...and every time it happens I SWEAR I'm moving to say...ORegon? Certainly not far north...but a 2 day trip away perhaps to Souther Canada... Anyway, I hope some of you continue to put up pics...I really enjly them. I spent all day planting things I got on sale for $1 at Lowe's, Salvia Greggii, some other salvia's, Tennessee coneflowers, and even some sad looking zinnia's...a good snip, some fertilizer, and they'll be blooming in 2 weeks...sure was hot today....90's...I';ll make you a deal,,I'll send up some warm if you'll send a bit of cool...of course, when the cool weather gets here, it means you guys are under snow...so I'll be patient! Sierra...batting eyelashes is no fair and against the rules!!!! ( even my daugher's now figured that one out...."Daddy"...flash flash....oh, the camera thing....shame on me, I have an nice (now old and not enough pixels) video with a still feature, I lost the download cord, so there it sits...so now I use an Easyshare 3.1 MP, bought it for my daughter...works for the most part.....and very handy...I'd like something that is simple to use, easy to download, and no fooling around with photo editing programs....and some good closeups.....and I just can't imagine what it looks like when cars go by....

You wanted my thoughts on your home well here they are...OMG, when can I move in with you? LOL What a beautiful home you have! Geesh, if I had to do anything and I don't think that you really need anything, I guess I would maybe tone down the kitchen by adding a lite touch of a wash to the walls. Boy, your home is beautiful. This would just give it more demention. I love the colours you have picked. They compliment each other so well. I have added a site that you could check out some ideas. I don't know if you know her or not but I refer to her books all the time. Go to www.debbietravis.com. Then go to Room or Technique. You can get a lot of ideas here. And she shows you how to apply them to your home. Hope this helps a bit. Please let us know what you have done and keep us up to date on the pictures. I love the kitchen windows. Looks like a ranch type judging by the fence I see out the window. Just BEAUTIFUL...where is this lovely home of yours? Just being nosey! LOL Good Luck...not that you will need it. :0) Penny Here is a link that might be useful: faux painting

Hi everyone. Carol, your run-of-the-mill Neoregelia 'Morado' (Your words not mine) is a very desirable brom and worthy of a place in any collection; I don't have it myself, but I wish I did. When I looked it up one the Bromeliad Cultivar Register I can see it also responds to different growing conditions and the amount of light it's grown under. See: http://registry.bsi.org/?genus=NEOREGELIA&id=5907#5907 When you eventually remove the pups it would be worth experimenting with different light levels by trying them in different areas of your garden (But not full noonday summer sun) I think you will be surprised at the variation in the colours even in your own yard. It was bred from two parents one of which is a species and the other a hybrid (Neo, carolinae x Neo. 'Painted Lady') which will both change a lot in colour depending on the amount of light provided as you can see by the pictures of Neoregelia carolinae below (copied from the internet) which are clearly very different in colour. If you open this link: http://registry.bsi.org/?genus=NEOREGELIA&id=6185#6185 you will also see what the Neo. 'Painted Lady' is capable of and your plant of Neo. 'Morado', like all hybrids would have inherited some of these traits from its parents, so it would be interesting to see how much variation there is. All the best, Nev

So sorry for you! The product I've been using that seems to do the trick is "Rabbit and Groundhog Out," by the same company that makes "Deer Out." The former has everything that's in Deer Out, plus even more stuff. So far it has worked for me. There's no rhyme or reason for why deer choose particular plants. Maybe they're walking through your place not with a target in mind, but they're just strolling. And then they go, "What the hey, that looks tasty." Again, sorry for your loss.