Thanks! It's always exciting for me when the orchids give me some feedback that I'm doing something right. :-)

This is the first time I have done this, mostly because I picked up each and every plant as I moved them. They got repotted, checked for bugs and snails, divided and cataloged. For big healthy plants I did not count the leaves, just guessed to the nearest 10 but for iffy plants who seemed to be just hanging in there, I accurately counted. I hope it will give me a better idea how they are doing in their new surroundings. If 6 month from now they still have the same number of leaves, a different location, more or less water etc will be tried. Remains to be seen if it has a practical benefit. Nick

The photos were wonderful. I read the comments at the bottom and there was some controversy as to whether they were enhanced. I don't know that much about the technical wonders of Photo Shop but you'd think if they were being considered for an award by National Geographic then even if they were improved upon then it must not bother the magazine. I'd love to have some of those matted and framed. They are just outstanding. Maire

But I didn't know this novel couldn't be spoiled, so I just now read the thread. I listened to the unabridged version, so my response may be a tad bit unlike others. I didn't see the spelling of many names and so missed a number of clues. On the other hand, Zachry's tale, when read by a professional performer, was absolutely lovely. The cadences of the language was delightful. I had no struggle to get into his story. I loved and I hated this book. I was charmed by the first half of Adam's tale and was amused by our composer's struggle. I hated, hated, hated the Luisa Rey story. But that should surprise no one. I am a nuclear engineer who has spent 25 years doing safety analysis, risk assessments, and environmental assessments. I get very tired of those who do not understand that in a modern economy ignoring safety is short-term, very short-term, thinking and just stupid. (Just ask Merck - Looks like their liability on Vioxx is going to be in the tens of billions ultimately.) Rant over. I began to enjoy the story for a simple tale of murder and may-hem. I also began at that point to realize that Mitchell was using differing styles to tell his stories and to become intrigued in trying to figure out exactly what that meant. During the Ghastly Ordeal, I began to realize that struggles to get home, even when we have no home, was a running theme throughout the book. Safe haven perhaps being a better term. Cavendish certainly had a struggle to get safely out of London to his safe haven in the north. Then he had the struggle to return home. Luisa's young neighbor risked the jump across balconies to get to the safe haven of her apartment. Luisa herself was frequently in need of a safe haven. The youngster ultimately found his new safe home. Luisa found her place in life. Adam was, of course, going home. His Maoriori friend no longer had a home. Frobusher had been kicked out of his home and was looking for another. Was his suicide in part because he no longer had any place to go? Sonmi's home was taken away from her and her interim home wasn't exactly a home. (Was that portion of her story an homage to the students struggling to improve their prospects who practically live at the university or library, played off against those who are just there because Dad said they have to go? Always was that way, always will be?) Later we see her as she escapes to a safe haven, and then as she prepares for her version of Paradise, which of course, wasn't. Zachry is already in what most of us consider Paradise. Is home to him the place where the family plaques reside? Is his story paradise lost and then perhaps regained? He lives long enough to know his grandchildren which is an improvement over his previous home. We have a bridge and a crossing of water in all the tales, don't we? Wonder what exactly that means? I'm big with the individualist thing, but I'm also aware that individuals survive longer in groups...