Morning!! Margo, it's not as bad to take care of as people think. I think because its bigger, its pretty self sufficient. I do need to get in it every month or so and weed. My water plants reproduce so quickly they would cover the whole top if I didn't. What's nice is I put all the pulled ones in a wheelbarrow and bring them down to the veggie garden. Pile them up and let them dry. I about a week they are bone dry. So dry they crumble! I use them for fertilizer. I don't know if its the pond water, fish waste or what but those plants work almost like miracle grow ;) Shirley, we have a Master Gardener's plant swap usually every year here around Mother's Day. I say usually, cause this year we didn't have one? I was so busy at the time, never asked why, and till you just mentioned it forgot all about it :) My fair swap has been growing a little every year by 1 or 2 people. :) A lot of the same people come every year once they get hooked. The like the variety of different things I bring every year. What's awesome is that it all comes from the gw. :) The seed swaps in the fall produce nice little babies for my swap. This year I tried a bunch of Dianthus.... I have Ipswitch, Black Adder, Yellow something I can't remember, Black Magic, Fire Witch...as you can see I got most of these from the Halloween swap last year :) I also have some different Althea's that I can't remember right now, lol. The turtle is officially done. He's not a fancy turtle, but, he does look cute. ;) The kids are so excited I hope he wins. Taylor was looking through the entry list for ecology classes. She's entering photography, art (painting and sculpture), sewing, flower arranging (gee, wonder where she's gonna get those?), and house plant arrangement. I have 1 house plant in my house. Taylor's zebra plant. This thing has produced 8 babies! She took my tea cup planter and planted them around in it. She then used one of my old spoons and stuck it in. Made a tea bag tag to tie to the spoon, " Taylor's Tea" It came out so cute! Billy is entering art. He made the most beautiful pastel drawing of a fish this year in kindergarten. It won an honorable mention at the school art show. I framed it. He's also entering the house plant arrangement too. We didn't have any house plants for him, but, we did have some hen's and chicks. So yesterday we got a pair of his old sneakers, washed them, and filled them with hen's and chicks. They are so cute!! Little blue sketchers!! So adorable!! My neighbor saw them when she was walking her dog and asked if they were going to be at the plant swap...lol! I have to get a photo of them. Have a great day!! vina Here's a weird one...found this double gaillardia. It looks like a science experiment gone wrong, lol.

A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES by Deborah Harkness I tried to begin this book last year and didn't like the idea of vampires.....however after reading the reviews on her trilogy I gave it another try and am enjoying it. I'm not a lover of vampire stories at all and have to admit that I skipped the sections describing how he kills the stag . But the general story line is interesting. I've also read and really enjoyed the Angelus trilogy ( although the third book is not out yet) by Jon Steele . THE WATCHERS ANGEL CITY

sheilaaus122 - While I was struggling with the first chapter of The Sound and the Fury I did look online to find out just what the hell I was reading. That definitely helped. It was still a challenge but once I understood who the characters were it all made much more sense. I suppose a "real reader" would just plow through and try to figure it out themselves. I didn't mind my cheat and I think it also explains, in part at least, why the book was not well received when published but praised later. Finish the book. You are so close. I have no plans to read anything else by Faulkner. ;-) BTW - When I showed DH what I was reading his reaction was: "The only good thing I can say about Faulkner is that it's not Dickens." haha He's right. Sort of. I'd certainly pick up another Faulkner before anything by Dickens.

Maybe you two, Carol and Blondie, can be co-hosts of the new thread. I do think you are correct, Blondie, that this thread has been extremely photo heavy, and houzz has to store the data. When they reach a limit in storage, then no more pics. Just guessing on this. Carol, my brain is filled with endless trivia. Because we have so little precipitation here, I'm very interested in rainfall in different areas. We haven't had a drop since May, I believe. Blondie, I'll bet your son had a blast on the day trip. Your all day party sounds like fun, too. I wanted to tell you how much I love that last round of rose and hydrangea photos you posted--I did get to see those. Jubilee Celebration is so beautiful. I've been wanting that one, but have run out of room. Got to get it next year, anyway, after seeing yours. Va Joh, I'm finally seeing all of your lovely roses and hydrangea tree. Kristine took the words out of my keyboard--yes, what is the gorgeous pale pink rose above the hydrangea? Love it. See you all on the new thread. Diane