A pre-dawn foliage tour of Marian's Ozarks has been a most pleasant way to start my Saturday. It's beautiful! There are two Ginkos in the park I pass daily on my way to and from work. One is a female and last year I collected some of the fruit to get a whiff of it. It smelled vaguely of vomit, as I recall, but wasn't overpowering. Anyway, they are still sporting their yellow finery but should do the "drop" thing in a week/two. I CAN tell you, however, that because of the fruit fewer and fewer female trees are being planted and that trend is now causing alarm with respect to the loss of genetic diversity within the species. Interesting how "housekeeping" can affect a tree as ancient as a Ginko, huh? Snakes don't bother me too much, either, Marian. I do the "squeal and dance" if I'm startled by one, but invariably have to have a looky-see and will quite often pick it up to have a closer look and remind myself that they really are pretty harmless. Although the Timber Rattler CAN range into this area the odds of encountering one are pretty meagre. The way I see it, they're here for a reason, too, and there's plenty of room for both of us on the Compound. Live and let live is our motto. Thanks again for the lovely tour, what a treat. :)

I winter sowed for the first time last year and couldn't believe that it actually worked. I am sold on the idea of sowing in the winter and have started to collect milk containers. Besides it saves $'s on the electric bill for the greenhouse. NEED SEEDS? I have posted the above seed exchange in the round robbin exchange already if anyone is interested in joining. Sign-ups are until October 31st. Thanks! Ellie

Refinements for these rules: Orphan's Table: Extra plants that we want to share without a trade will go onto an "Orphan's Table", which is to be left untouched until the door prizes are drawn. When you collect your door prize, you can go to the Orphan's Table & pick one item or two, depending on the number of plants donated. When everyone has picked one or two items, we'll start over. Don't Take, Wait Until It's Offered: I cannot stress this strongly enough. Do not take *anything*, even if you see your name on a box or a plant. It isn't yours until the person who brought the item hands it to you, at which time you hand your trade to him or her. This is the only way for traders to be sure that they don't lose control of their items before they know that they're happy with the item they're to receive in trade. If you're trading an azalea for an ivy, & you've brought a 5 gallon azalea & your trading partner has brought a 4" pot of ivy & you don't think that's equitable, you can decline the trade. If anyone takes something without permission, that person will be asked to leave. One more "suggestion", but it's a *strong* suggestion: Post your haves before you post your wants & before you ask a trader for something they've posted. & the flip side to that is, of course, if someone asks for something & you can't find what they've offered, *ask* before you agree to bring them something. We are all free, of course, to give our plants away *if we want to* (something like informed consent), but that doesn't excuse taking advantage of someone's generosity. As was mentioned on a thread last spring, you can always bring cookies; Wal-Mart sells every variety under the sun!

Hi Marti, To be honest, I've been so focused on my "side" of the trades that I have forgotten. I love asters and if you have one for me, I will love it. I'm so sorry that you aren't coming, but do understand about hubby's and projects. The trick is to get your hubby involved and bring him with you :-). I hope Sylvia's coming in a vehicle large enough for your brug because I don't want to bring it back home :-) Anyway, happy home improvements! Can you send your hubby over to help scape the rest of the popcorn off my ceilings? Just joking :-) I can't paint my walls or redo the floors until we get the ceiling done also and we need a kick start on it. Pam