My duh! moment is that I planted some of that Trombone Squash that Ralph was promoting so heavily last year (brought some to the swaps, chatted it up here on GW). Everyone told me to expect a big vine. Everyone mentioned that it grew more like a gourd than a summer squash but everyone loved its flavor and its vine borer resistance. So I planted some. Now my yard is big (just over one acre) but the garden is tiny (the size of two living rooms). In that garden I grow a row of just about everything you can imagine and by this time of year it is very hard for me to squeeze in between the tomato cages and pepper plants without being ensnared in the kiwi vine or tripping over the cucumbers. So I made a simple fence like trellis hoping it would be strong enough to support some trombone vines. I sowed. They sprouted. I thinned. They thrived but stayed small for a week or so and then they took off!!!!!!!!!! I have finally resorted to snipping off the growing tips on the vines but I don't think even that will slow them down. I spend just as much time in the garden trimming other plants and moving things around just to make room for this monster (I yanked all but one of the babies). It is loaded with blossoms so I expect a good crop, but still... if I had listened I could have planned better. Oh, and I doubt aphids are the reason for your million bell disaster. Plants grown in greenhouses can suffer greatly with aphids but once they are put outside in the cruel cruel world of eat or be eaten their numbers tend to stay under control. I get big infestations in the early spring but by this time of year I hardly see any - but then I never spray and my yard is full of bugs (both good and bad). Oh, and if you plant million bells in the ground they are reliable perennials here - only needed minor protection during the really cold weather.

Moni, Oh, well, that's how it goes here. By the time it dries out, the wind will be blowing too hard to spray. It is hard to get the weather we need on the specific day we need it, isn't it? Dawn

My husband's trunk smelled bad for several days - I finally found the source, a "runaway carton of yogurt". It had loosed itself from the grocery bag, about 5 days before that. My dad hopped in the car one time more than 40 years ago, drove himself to the bus station, left the car there ALL DAY, came back to the car 10 hours later, drove it back to where we were staying at the time. The next MORNING, he couldn't find his house keys. THEY WERE ON TOP OF THE CAR AND HAD BEEN THERE FOR THE ENTIRE DAY AND NIGHT - he had put them on top of the car before he went to the bus station, no one took them at the parking lot or at place we were staying that night. He said, that would NEVER happen today, someone would steal your keys!!! DonnaR/CA

Leslie...Mines not done at all...When they were going through the ads and decided to go check out to see if anyone was there....That was it. Criss's husband went out first and called back...they grabbed all the warm clothes and left. He just came back for a little propane heater that Jeff had out in our shed...and I sent them a huge jug of hot choc. So....my mess will wait until tomorrow. Since I was planning on going all day tomorrow...I'll now have time to clean it up. patti