lol Bob. Elizabeth roflmao that is funny and probably more fitting for these times. MJ thanks...that was a special moment and I did make one just now. My I would be out taking pictures ALL the time lol. This morning I thought how nice it would be if now a blue jay would show up and pose for a picture. A short while later low and behold there was one on the pecan tree. BUT:..I opened the door and the noise made him take off. Kristy it is a feeder. The squirls hang on it on top with their feet...head down and eat from it too lol I DO need to get a house for them. But the neighbor has a real big one. ......NO it is a SHE roflmao Sounds like it is hardy and will be ok. Oh your yard will be even prettier come spring....the gazebo will look very gorgeous! Lucy

Sandy, I believe you are correct, that it is "The Laugher", or Charadra deridens. I thank you and Sherry for the lookups. I googled images on line and the little face looks the same as the 'Laugher'. I wonder if he hitched a ride in on a Butterfly Bush I bought yesterday? I watered the plant well after placing it on the deck and the watering might have caused him to move off of it. Since I didn't know what he would eat, I put him down in the garden last night. I hope he finds something he can eat as he was so sweet. Yes, Susan, that little face was just precious. It reminds me of the faces of the little white seal pups with the big eyes. Susan, my redrings are doing fine so far, except for one baby. It dried out in the top, then the leaves slowly dried up and fell off. The little stem is now drying out. I can't see a wound on the stem so I don't know what might have happened. I'll look for it next spring, hoping the roots will survive. Even though I had several RedRing flower heads, not one seed pod was produced! It blooms the earliest of all the milkweeds I've tried to grow, maybe there aren't enough pollenizers around that early in the spring. This might be part of the reason it is declining in the wild. Although, come to think of it, the wild one I found two years ago was blooming later in the summer but it looked like it had been mowed down at some point so maybe it was a second growth I found. I'm so nervous to mess around very much with the RedRing MW; just trying to keep hands off and let nature take care, although I do check them over each day. It is such a pretty plant; hope we can get some more growing and producing seed. I did have one baby actually bloom this year so I'm hopeful it will produce several flower heads next season, along with the wild one. Last year the wild one only put up one stalk (if I'm remembering correctly) and this year it put up four stalks and all had several flower heads, just no seed pod. Do you have RedRing growing in your garden? Mary

Did you ever think about creeping Phlox or that type of groundcover? Creeping phlox grows like crazy and fills in quickly. It also comes in so many different colored blooms! Even types of creeping Thyme could work well. My mother had thyme all over an embankment and it spread like crazy. Both of those plants don't have deep root systems and sort of float on top of the ground, they do not climb at all. Lilies and irises will work well, once they fill in. I have a section of embankment that I'm trying to cover with daylilies, but they still need mulch around them since they are just not filling in fast enough. Now my old fasioned ditch lilies have filled in tremendously, although they do get really tall. Lilies do need cut back at some point. Perriwinkle is a good groundcover too. My parents had that everywhere when I was a kid. It does not climb and can grow just about anywhere. If you ever need to rake dead leaves out of it, its very tolerant to abuse and doesn't get tangled in your rake the way ivies do, and you end up pulling out as much ivy as you do fallen leaves! Research ground covers, there are so many varieties, some evergreen shrub types and some are herbs, like thyme or lambs ear. I'm sure that you'll fine something to suit your situation.

Turn the duvet inside out and put your hands in the inside corners (which are really the exterior corners that you now have inside). Grab the corners of the comforter, and shake the duvet down over the comforter. I usually stand on the bed to do this since there is no way to hold it high enough otherwise! You will have it right side out at this point. I know it sounds ridiculous, but it works-just don't let DH or kids see you-they'll think you are nuts, but it is much easier and effective than trying to stuff the comforter in the duvet cover. I also bought a duvet for a regular comforter when I redecorated one bedroom and did not want to buy another down comforter for that room. This method works for that one as well.