honalee, We love Shelties too. I love the names you gave them. How cute!! Right now, we have a male Sable Rough-coat Collie (Angus McColly), a large English Shepherd, black with sable (Sheppie) and a female Bluetick Coonhound (Bonnie Belle). Lots of fun and games on our place from them! All were adopted. We adopted the boys and Bonnie adopted us! :) My DH liked your pictures of your DH with the Shelties. We plan to go for smaller breeds eventually. He wants Shelties; I want Corgis. :) Our dogs are so big. In this tiny cottage, it is congested traffic 24/7. You literally have to step over the furry bodies to get from room to room. :) And when they all get excited and rowdy, watch out and grab hold of something to anchor yourself! :) All sweet pups though and very loyal. We sure enjoy them and love them. Our 12 remaining cats tolerate them, because "dogs are handy when you need a warm body to cuddle up with...so I guess they are good for something", or so the cats seem to regard the dogs :) I started Little Brother on Clindamyacin two days ago. He seems somewhat better, although still running a fever and feels cold. His stomach is very tender when touched. You have to lift him carefully or he cries out in pain. He is using the potty box and drinking a tiny bit of water. He acts like he is sick to his stomach, but is not vomiting anymore. That is good. The medicine is staying down him. He started making "biscuits" on his bed this morning and purring again. :) I rubbed a little bit of tuna broth on his gums and let him lick it off so he wouldn't get choked. Keeping him warm and comfy and giving him lots of loves. That's about all we can do. Thanks for the hugs and well wishes everyone. ~Annie

OK , its official, I am anxious over my Plumbago. I planted it right before the first VERY EARLY unlooked for freeze. I think it was making tiny green earlier this spring, but then we got the VERY LATE unlooked for freeze and bye bye green shoot.. I just dug it up and scratched a brittle twig below soil line and YAY it is green! My Mexican honeysuckle is in the same dead looking boat but it has made an ever so tiny appearance. I was apprehensive of a ammonia ciliata that was advertised as liking the caliche flat limestone marl in habitat here in Travis county. Well I had some habitat for it and it is dead sun and unfriendly as all get out. It has sent up three stalks and is putting on some blooms. I was hovering like a worried crow over a barren patch of gravel mulch where there might be a subtererenian silver leafed ironweed from the Big Bend. We did have a wet winter and I was worried that it might have been too wet for this new species that says "For Western Gardens only". I am on the wet side of that no mater how much I moan and groan about how dry it is here. I think I see something but I also have seeds volunteering in the area. I am chanting to myself. " I will not dig it up, that is like picking at a scab"

I do have a device on my tank, well one of the two lol. The one that does not have the device is the one on my loves office, and he lets it run out before saying anything. The new tank on my side of the house gave me the message to make the order. But it was a matter of 5-7 business days- so either Friday or after the weekend of Monday or Tues. I had the bad luck of falling into the end of Tuesday to be scheduled. Propane got delivered this morning and everything is running fine again. It was nice to see my usual friendly propane guy :) We have been using the baseboard heaters for almost a decade before finally getting a new furnace last fall for my side of the house. So a few days to cover while awaiting a fill wasn't too bad, the snow timing just sucked, lol. And that would have been fine except the snow blower not starting was a bummer.

That sounds like an adventure - glad to hear you kept your power! Thanks for the description of your experience and you made a valiant effort to get to London. The Guardian article says Newton's apple tree didnt make it :( I've been to London just once and long to go back for the culture! There was so much going on, just pop in for a concert at St. Martin's in the Fields, next night catch Twelfth Night at a small theater - again, so vibrant! We have an opera company here in Anchorage with very dedicated and passionate people - it is so appreciated in our small city. What was the opera you were headed to? I hope you'll get to go soon.