Yup, I've got a couple of mature ones and a couple more on the way. The fruit ripens here in early to mid August. It's about the size of a small tart cherry, but is more of a football or teardrop shape than round. It has a single, small pit in the middle, which is it's only drawback -- tedious to pit them. The flavor is excellent cooked, IMO -- it tastes like a mix of tart cherry and cranberry. It makes a wonderful cranberry type sauce if cooked the same way. It also makes a very nice jam, syrup, or preserves. I also like to put them in with apples to make pie or crisp. They also can be dried into a product that is virtually indistinguishable in flavor from the "Craisins" sold in the grocery store, although mine are not as soft, since the commercial ones are treated with something (I think vegetable oil and glycerine) to keep them soft. The bush is hardy, attractive, and easy to grow. It is one of the very first things to bloom, actually before the forsythia blooms by a few days. The foliage is somewhat glossy, and it does get a little bit of fall color, although not the most brilliant fall show by any means. The flower buds that form in the late summer add interest in the winter. Mine are too astringent to eat raw unless they are dead ripe and very soft. Birds don't seem to eat them. I think that there may be some named clones that have fruit that is more palatable out of hand. Mine are just from seed -- I started with one, and the rest are it's progeny. I think this is another fruit with a lot of potential. The only down side is the somewhat tedious pit. The method I found to do this easily is to pick over and wash the fruit, then put it in a large kettle with just a little bit of water, and boil/steam for about 10 minutes. This makes the fruit mushy-soft. I then put the fruit into a colander with small holes, and mush the pulp through the holes with the back of a spoon, leaving the pits behind. This yields a pretty large volume of bright burgundy-red pulp and a relatively small volume of pit -- at least they're not virtually all pit or seed like some wild types of true Prunus cherries.

I think it's an Achillea ptarmica. I have Achillea ptarmica 'Angel's Breath' with leaves like that. My blooms are fully double, though.

Hi Lisa, Frogs and toads come and go without rhyme or reason. Try not to take it personally. ;) Just keep doing what you're doing and they'll be back....if only for a short time. What kind of pond do you have? Do you have lots of cover around for them? Do you have snakes? Sometimes there's just a normal variation in nature. I, too, haven't had as many green frogs as usual, but next year will probably be better.

Mary, My BF would love to hear you say they are nice. After about 3 days he got tired of helping me find "natural" rocks in the woods and hauling them home. He came in the house and said, "Come out to the truck. I have something for you." It was 2 tons of garnet rock!! The Barton Garnet Mine is not too far from here and garnet rock is available at most of the places that sell stone. Most of them just sort of sparkle a little but in some you can really see the garnet. The pond area doesn't look like a natural woodland pond (which was my original goal), but I love it. Thanks for the compliments. Anne