Carol, I suspect you're right in thinking the rain got the onions because 6" of rain in two separate rainfalls shortly after I planted onions and potatoes got almost of them in the main garden, but not in the Peter Rabbit garden, which is at a higher elevation. The damage to my garden has mostly stopped since I sprayed with Bt last week, but I continue to find and squish an enormous amount of cutworms wherever I go. I'll be bringing you an Indigo Rose, Ildi and Matt's Wild Cherry to the swap so save room for those. Jay, Your plants will be toasty warm tomorrow with a forecast like that. They actually lowered our forecast high for tomorrow from 87 to 85, which might help a bit with the lettuce and snap peas, but probably not enough. Susan, Juliet probably is not a true grape, but there's not necessarily a category it falls into easily, so when it first came out people didn't know what to call it---so they called it a grape. I've noticed some newer tomatoes with about the same size and shape being called cherry roma types, although if they aren't dry paste-types, then that seems like a misnomer as well. You have to understand that when Santa came out it was truly revolutionary and hugely popular because it tasted so good and people loved it so much. So, every tomato breeder in the world was trying to breed the next "Santa" and I think Juliet likely came out of those efforts, as did a bunch of other hybrids that have come and quickly gone because their skin was too thick or their flavor too poor. I haven't tasted a grepe yet that's as good as Santa, and think maybe I never will. It is kind of like SunGold---many have tried to breed the "next" SunGold, but haven't come up with one yet that equals it or surpasses it. When it happens, I think it will be with one of the non-commercial crosses being done by folks aiming for flavor, versus commercially-bred ones where flavor is only one of their goals. Carol, To me, Juliet is just a bigger version of Red Jelly Bean, so if you've grown Jelly Bean, just imagine it larger. I dislike the thick skin on Juliet and Jelly Bean, but if you're raising them for dehydrating, it is irrlevant because that toughens the skin anyway. Paula, That was too cold and too close for comfort. Carol, I can answer that one for my earth sister and hope she won't mind that I do so. Paula's seed-starting efforts were side-tracked by her father's death and all the resulting time she has spent dealing with his estate. I'm bringing her a nice big batch of varieties I selected out for her and put into larger containers so they could get a bit bigger before she puts them in the ground. We're hoping that with large transplants going into her garden at the tail end of the recommended planting dates, she'll still get tomatoes at about the same time as usual. Susan, It was chilly here this morning too--only 47, but tomorrow should be a lot better. I'm not excited about tomorrow's high temps. Dawn

Very odd things happening with my houses this year. I had bluebirds in one house that laid 5 eggs. For the most part I try to stay away so they don't get spooked. In this case the next time I checked there was one fledgling that I saw but he didn't seem ready to fly away yet. But when I checked 2 days later there were no babies or eggs. The nest was empty. This box was protected with the mesh on the opening. I'm hoping time just flew by and the brood hatched and fledged in my absence! Will the parents start a new brood in the same nest or should I clean the box out for them to start over? I had another box that had activity, 5 eggs layed and a week later no eggs or babies. I fear they were killed since it was an old house from last year and it did not have the protective metal mesh at the opening. I have a nest nearby with the mesh protection. I kept checking and there was no activity or eggs. Then suddenly there was one egg!! I assumed the mom would lay more. I checked for 2 days, still only one egg. The third day the egg hatched with a tiny bald with a little fuzz baby bird. I kept watching from a distance and I did not see the male or female going into the house. I skipped looking inside the box today. I wanted to stay totally away. Tomorrow I will check again. I hope the little guy is okay.... Is it unusual for a female to lay only one egg? I'm thinking that perhaps the pair that were in the other box moved to this box when a predator got their other eggs..... Thus only one last egg to lay??? The box with the one egg is about 20 feet from the empty box. Perhaps this is part of that brood? Can the mom or dad move an egg or did she just lay it in a different box?? I have another box about 100 feet from that one protected with the mesh that some sparrows have taken over. They have built a nest and hang out in front of it on the mesh opening and on top of it but no eggs for well over a month. Perhaps they are the culprits that got the 5 bluebird eggs. Very strange that they built a nest and aren't using it. I know they will build several, one as a decoy or to give the female a choice, but I don't see that they've done that unless they are planning to take over the bluebird box. I will be keeping a watch on that....

Yes. Bluebirds love mealworms! But the important thing to remember is that you only have to put out a very small amount every day. I usually put out 5 or 6 mealworms in the morning and 5 or 6 mealworms in the late afternoon. Bluebirds catch on very fast and they will soon figure out your general schedule. When I walk out to where I put the mealworms, the bluebirds often flutter around in the trees above or they'll perch very close to me (they know its "meal time" ("mealworm time"). If you're quick with your camera, this can be a good time to get some pictures. Below is one of mine. I even have a short video of a bluebird in a snowstorm waiting for mealtime. You can view it at BluebirdsPlus

I like cats, but if it was up to me, I wouldn't have them, or only have an indoor one. But, we have livestock and chickens, which means livestock and chicken feed, which means mice and rats. I tell you, if you don't have a at least one cat those varmints will take you out. We lost our last cat to old age, and within two weeks the rats were back tunneling under the barn. I couldn't believe that one cat kept them out that well. So, my mom found 2 little kittens under her building and I said I needed more cats and I took them. They are great mousers, but they also kill everything else. We feed them well, so they are not hungry. They are just hunters. So I'm just going to try and make my bluebird boxes better set up and hope for better luck next year.