I'm in Texas too and summer is just gearing up, with temps in the mid to upper nineties during the day and barely getting below 80 at nighttime. I have one hybrid tea that's a year old (I think it is Chicago Peace) and two baby Austins, Evelyn and Abrahan Darby. Evelyn is in the ground and Abe is in a pot, waiting for me to get his bed ready. The HT is suffering badly in the heat. I have to water it at least twice a week and make sure the mulch is piled thick around its base. Its last blooms are bedraggled, crisp, and totally bleached. Evelyn, on the other hand, had been sitting in her new spot for about 2 months doing nothing visible. But once the temps starting hitting 90, she exploded in new growth and has even put out three buds in the last couple weeks. She doesn't get as much sun as I expected her to - I planted her near a tall crape myrtle and forgot how leafy they get - so perhaps she welcomes the break from the scorching temperatures. Abraham isn't doing much, and that's ok - he's still getting used to his new pot. But since he's so similar to Evelyn, I expect that he'll do just fine this summer.

Hi Jeelii..I'd love to come along on your tornado hunt. Cool. It'd be like the Wizard of Oz. Since we're inexperienced, (you too, Mike) would love hunting a 1 mile wind, though we'd probably end up in Oz..LOL. As for Walgreens, why in the world do they need so many stores? They're everywhere. And to knock down a sound building only to rebuild makes NO sense. I think they're trying to outdo CVS..I've heard CVS has numerous stores, too, but not many around here..there's two in a 30 mile radius. Walgreens, on the other hand, are located every mile..What's going to happen if people start shopping elsewhere? Especially when you hear there are inexpensive pharmacies. Because of our insurance, we haven't any choice but to use Walgreens for prescriptions, (HMO) but not all insurance companies are not like mine. What irks me is the old, family-owned pharmacies are gone..there were two in Brookfield, they'd been around forever. Once since the early 1900's. They had pics on the walls of their Grand Opening..newspaper articles regarding house-bound ppl who couldn't get out and had their meds delivered to their house..Can you imagine Walgreens doing that? NOT. I sympathize with you..They sure don't construct buildings like the old days..that had to hurt watching 100 yr old and older buildings being torn down. Sturdy old buildings to boot. That's horrible. Progress my a&&!! Sorry, but this topic upsets my stomach. At least they preserved some old buildings. A similar thing almost happened here..They were going to knock down the original RR building, but the community declined, voted against it, so they decided to keep it. Talk about historic. The RR building is a lovely, charming old place, though some say it's haunted. :) I'm like you..prefer old buildings to modern..in fact, I detest new office buildings that look like they reach the clouds, windows don't open, and buildings sometimes look like they're leaning..no way.. Same with old homes, big, old homes..they're charming and ornate. It seems since the 60's or 70's, modern buildings/homes popped up everywhere.. I surely hope you find the FE..HD used to sell it, but because of summer they're focusing on annuals/perrenials, have little indoor stuff. We went to 4 stores before finding Vermiculite, the last had 1 bag left.. Are u afraid to order online? There are several nurseries that sell FE..I used to fear providing info over the net, but w/Paypal, I feel safe. If you can't find it locally, try online..I'll help you look if you need assistance. If your citrus/plants have scale, the sooner you spray the better..plant bugs are like rabbits..LOL. They breed and before you know it, you have an infested plant/s. Hey Mike. I've been sooo busy working outside, between rain storms, lol. Many plants need repotting. Besides citrus, I'm also into AV's and succulents, and Palms..LOL.. I got a Travellers Palm on Ebay, going to plant in the garden. Though it's not a palm, it's related to Bird of Paradise. I think Musa, banana too, I'm curious what size it'll be by autumn. Hey know what I did? One of my citrus died over winter. I saved the rootstock which is quite healthy..then planted in the yard..going to mulch in autumn. I did this before and the stock lived more than 4 yrs..some idiot stepped and broke it one winter..after that it never grew. If you have room, why not try it? Mike, I agree about storms not destroying complete towns..You should have seen it here two Sundays ago..What a mess!! And we didnt have a tornado, so I can only imagine how it'd have been if we did. When I think of islands, my fantasy doesn't involve Super malls..That's horrible. Sure, ppl need shopping areas, but nowhere near as many that are being built. The only advantage is, more stores equal jobs. I'm sure there are many w/o work. Other than that I see no logical reason..in the meantime, trees are chopped, and wild life have no where to go.. Wow, you bred birds, too..Great..Did you hand-feed? My male, Mystic, a white-face pied, is 10 yrs old..This week alone, I discard 4 eggs..I hate doing it, feel guilty, but people aren't buying pets like they did. I have 4 birds now, don't need more. Also, more birds means less attention we pay to the parents. I'm quite fond of my birds, especially Mystic. He's jealous to begin with..LOL What sizse eggs do finches have? What color? I always wanted a canary, but never got one. The males, pure yellow, are gorgeous. Still, my male tiels sing Andy Griffith and Jingle Bells. They try talking..Mystic's son, Sparkle says HI..lol.. Before birds, I bred fish..all types, live and egg bearers..My favorite were Bettas..they're beautiful, especially males. Also bred Jack Dempseys, Angels, Guppies, and many others..After moving to the burbs, I lost contacts at pet stores, so gave it up..I kept the remaining fish till they went to fishy heaven. Including 2 huge Oscars and a 5lb cat fish..can't spell it, something like Pletcosomus. I only add Peat to plants that prefer acidic soil..but it's mix with other mediums. I remember about 10 yrs ago, when plants were sent through the mail or while shopping at local nurseries, all plants were potted in peat. Nurseries got away with it because they kept sprinkler systems running every 15-20 mins thoughout the day. (over tropicals, not succulents) Pots didn't have saucers and water dripped on the ground. All I know is, plants were beautiful. We who live in cold, dry climates can't get away with that. Then again, IMO, I honestly believe most plants need black soil for nutrients. I don't have the time to water 300 possibly 400 plants every 2-3 days. Not to mention fertilize more than I do now..It takes 3-4 days to fert, Superthrive and ES..forget it..LOL. It sounds like you saw some wonderful sites and nature on the islands..you are sooo lucky. It's ashame about the Palms though..maybe pollution is the problem. But why would islands like PR have polltion? Are there a lot of cars? Factories? Too bad you couldn't bring Coral home..LOL You saw nudiest? LOL..Where, walking down the street or at the beach? No, I can honestly say, I"M NO nudiest..LOL. In this day and age, w/all the perverts, I'm afraid to wear shorts and tank top. I dont know what you mean about the 1st grade thing? You've never beem to my website? My pics on there..you tell me how old I am..LOL..women do NOT reveal their ages.. Mike, don't toss your Clivias..you didn't, did you? Please tell me you didnt? Even if every leaf burned, and needs removing, with care they should produce new growth. When I first got the gh, I set my oldest clivia out there..one winter night, the coldest night of the year, the darn heater went out..Many Clivia leaves died. I brought in the house, vowed never to set outside..it's grown new leaves and huge. So, don't give up. Remove dead foliage, add Superthive..because it's stressed, add 10 drops per gallon of water..Keep in medium light the rest of the year. I guarantee it'll grow in.. I love talking to you too..We really have to hunt down tornados one day though..LOL.. Have you bought any new citrus? Binion, buy a Meyer's or Ponderosa..they're fairly easy to grow, and fruit year round. Especially Meyer's. These two are my favorites. I prefer standards to dwarfs, but confined to pots, it makes no difference as far as size..Kumquat is also another ever-blooming/fruiting plant.. Thank God your inlaws home wasn't hit by the storm..Wow..bet it was windy since the tornado was 4 miles away..did you get to see it? LOL Binion, what exactly is the US Green Building Council? It sounds like an environment program..yes, I agree it's going to be a long time before, like you say, things move in the right direction. The EPA's been around how many years, and although they've accomplished quite a bit, our air/water needs a LOT more work before it's breathable and drinkable. Trucks alone put out black, stinky smoke..not to mention all the vechicles on the roads. Stacks let out a good amount of smoke, too. Black is the worse. I attended an EPA test in Sprigfield. Got one wrong out of 50 questions. Not bad, huh? LOL More and more trees are being chopped down. Soon, it's going to be illegal to grow greenery the way things are heading..it seems that way. What many call progress, I call damnation. So much needs fixing..gas prices for one..I feel for the next president..he's got some job ahead of him, whomever he may be. We'll know soon enough. Maybe the Amish know something we don't..(S) I hope your agency rights the world again, though it's going to be rough. So many people are apathetic; they don't care about anything. How many times do you see ppl toss trash out of their cars? Or worse, people dumping car ashtrays in parking lots..that's disgusting!! Talking about this reminds me of an email I got yesterday. It regarded stopping dog fights. There are actual sites that discuss all the money that can be made by training dogs to fight. There was a picture of two dogs in battle..one dog had blood all over his face..Oh God, it was sad..The link led to a guy who is involved with dog fighting..he boasts about all the money he's made by raising vicious dogs..What the hell is wrong with people? Who wants to watch and bet on dogs ripping each other apart? Sorry, didnt mean to rant, especially since it's a citrus forum, but talking about the environment led me to think of the email. Let's stick with plants, maybe look for tornados..:) I think most plant people are compassionate and want to save the environemnt..Toni Let's get together..

Dave: Thanks for the update - it is encouraging and a relief. I was concerned about the loss of leaves so early in the season. When a hurricane or TS comes through, it strips the leaves from trees but this happens later in the season. I used to worry but the trees come back, often stronger than before. In September, a tropical storm hit and stripped the leaves off the persimmons that grow in beach sand, added more than a foot of sand around the trunks - and turned the fruit ripe. The orange fruit hung on the leafless tree like Christmas balls. I took this photo the next day; That persimmon has grown at least 2 feet since the storm. Re: water bills. Thankfully, I have a crock well for watering. We built a rainwater catchment system for the house - water quality is excellent and the water is free. I found the device you recommended. My husband invents new things and improves old things. He may be able to make a similar device that will do the trick. Thanks for the progress report and advice. You had a rough time last year but if all your trees survived, all is well. Pam

Good Evening to All of You, Back home and lots to do as always but need to get away sometimes. I enjoyed reading all your posts but have to agree with Luvs. I'm feeling sad and sick with the loss of Anj's little neighbor girl. Can't imagine being without my GD who is 4. She is the LIGHT of my LIFE and then some. Losing a child is a tough thing to handle and all I can say is time does help heal. It's been 33 years since we lost our son and it's hard for me to see others have to go through this. Anj, come on up and I'll not only airbrush your nails but will apply the acrylic. Do you want colored tips or french with a different color smile line or just french? haha You are so busy with the kids and it's great that you are going back to camp and being the photographer. Nice memories from our childhood huh. Makes me reminise while sitting here. We started GD in swimming lessons for 4 weeks last week and she's excited that she can float and breath under water while swimming. So fun to hear the excitement when she's done with her lesson and she's so hungry. Normally she doesn't eat much. I got to take her the first day so it was great to visit with our phone customers while waiting. DD happened to go to a pool where one little one is 3 and was jumping off the high dive. She was so impressed that she ask the mom who taught her to swim and it was one of our customers who also just started a preschool. She has taught school for years and decided several years ago to put in a pool at her home instead of renting someone else's. I have't had the time to just visit so was really behind on what was going on in her life. All of her four children have been top graduates and so it's to bad DG already has a preschool that she loves. Luvs, your nails shouldn't be real thin after having acrylics on. Some nails are more sensitive with exposure. However if they are you can help them by applying a few coats of clear until they are use to being exposed again. A couple of weeks should do it. I applied acrylic to DD toes for the summer and she loves them. I have mine airbrushed french with NIKE designs. Luvs, what will you do in Vegas while visiting? Are you taking the motorhome on this trip? I hope some year we will be able to go have more fun like that. Let us hear from you as soon as you have a computer available. Belle, sounds like you did the right thing by talking with the dad and telling him like it is. I think you get more respect when your honest and up front with whoever. You Go Girl!!! By the way your donuts are broadies here in MT.LOL Do you say soda or pop? How about the rest of you? My DH always says pop and DD says soda. I think DS says beer.LOL Cuz I'm not sure he doesn't use both when refering to that drink. Must be hard to have so many neighbors now. Did you subdivide or was it others? We still own the 100 acres by us for this reason. Don't know what will happen if the other 5 siblings ever want to sell at once. But we're prepared if it's only 2 or 3 who want out. Belle, sure enjoyed your tray and Luvs, trash can. Need to get to bed so I'll check in later this week. Punk