since they are carrying it, maybe that nifty Diervilla Cool Splash is going to enter the mainstream nursery trade this year. lots of new things. best, mindy http://www.northeastnursery.com/plants/nitrees.html Here is a link that might be useful: new shrubs/trees 2011 NE Nursery

A friend (the librarian) sent me this info this morning on Amelia Earhart. "I love the name Amelia. As I was listening to the news yesterday and NOT READING I heard that on a uninhibited island, bones from a human finger, a pre-war bottle and a woman's compact was discovered. Now, they are thinking that perhaps Amelia survived the crash and may have died from lack of water. They also found fish bones and clam shells that were lined up to maybe catch rain water for drinking." Kathy G in MI

Update: Mary, I reread the part about the Greenland Norse in Diamond's book Collapse, and this time picked up on something that I must have forgotten previously. Apparently there had been at least four waves of Native American hunter-gatherers who preceded the Inuit who came and went from Greenland because of similar climate vacillation that the Norse eventually experienced. The Norse did encounter native peoples at some point but it is not completely clear if the Skraelings were proto-Inuit or Inuit. Unfortunately these meetings did not go well and the Norse inclination to bellicosity certainly didn't help. Diamond speculates -- plausibly, I think -- that the surviving Norse of Western Settlement fled to the Eastern Settlement, but the Eastern Settlement had its own problems and would have been overwhelmed by the migrants. (The names Western/West Settlement and Eastern/East Settlement are used by different historians.) Yes, "ancient ones" is the most common euphemistic meaning of Anasazi. Another is "old-time strangers." However, I looked it up and found that Anasazi is a Navajo word meaning "ancient enemies," sometimes enhanced with other uncomplimentary adjectives from the Navajo language. The guides at Mesa Verde give a little speech to visitors who don't know any better than to refer to the cliff-dwellers as Anasazi, but they, the guides, will not be saying it and they encourage others to refrain from it as well. However, I don't think the word will go away in common usage any time soon. Have you read Charles C. Mann's 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus? Among many things that I was not aware of: The Amazon rainforest is largely the result of intentional plantings by pre-Columbian natives, perhaps beginning thousands of years ago. It's a giant orchard! The "Indians" of North and South America (perhaps Mesoamerica as well) deliberately set fire to the plains grasses and forest undergrowth as part of their "land management." What texts are you using in your American West study? I'm always curious!

Thanks to everyone for your comments. Today my husband and I spoke with 2 types of builders: one big box + custom and one independent and very flexible with allowances with the offer to get us better pricing on things we found on our own. We then spoke with a local architect that finalizes our plans and bids the work out to contractors. He earns his commission on the sale price of the house. We found all of them through Houzz Professionals and received responses from each one right away. With our lot we are fortunate not to be in a flood zone and builders are accustomed to extra "strapping", but no big concern or discussion on that topic. Interesting comment on the Cost Plus contracts. My RA told me directly in a meeting that Builders make their margins on appliances and finishes..at the time I interpreted that as "you wouldn't want them not to make money on the build". The other builders and architect said that there indeed are independent builders that will build on the Island (Amelia is really a northern extension of Jacksonville and on the Southern border of Georgia-not at all remote or isolated). Conclusion: When faced with a series of inconsistent feedback I know the truth is somewhere in the middle. I rather enjoy reading between the lines and sorting through the motivations behind different opinions from different people. Not saying anyone is lying, but we are being very thoughtful, observant, asking questions and researching the hell out of this project to make sure it is mutually beneficial to all parties. Other comments are welcome!!