Lookin good butterfly. I finally have a hyacinth bloom as well, or at least what's left of one after a sudden heavy downpour earlier. They don't seem to do that well for me...they live & bloom but do not thrive and multiply as others report. I'd blame it on the weird weather this year but it's been same for repeated years. I enjoy them tho so I keep replacing them. My first lily bloom of the year appeared July 4th just as we were leaving for 10 days:( Now that I to attribute to the season, all things being equal. My first bloom last year was on Easter. Thanks for posting an update. Love the froggie. ~digger

There may be significant environmental problems caused by using rat poison to get rid of voles. I don't know what the best solution is, but there is this definite disadvantage of using common rat poison. I've heard there are environmental friendly poisons that won't kill vole predators (birds of prey, cats, etc), but I'm not sure what these are. Maybe someone on here has researched this? There is also products called blockers that are soil additives that keep the voles from tunneling around a plant planted with this stuff mixed in with the soil. This would work for a few plants, but wouldn't be feesable for a whole yard. Then, there's the cats down at the pound that could always use a good home.

Thanks Cleo and ChefMark, Chefmark....do you mean Murphysboro?? Couldn't find a Murphy, but I did find Ava. Never realized it was there. No, I generally answer to my middle name, Joyce, but Ava is my legal 1st name. So on legal documents, the ones that require SS#, they don't give a hoot what your middle name is, just 1st name, middle initial. Hence, Ava J... Avajay. Head north on Rt. 51. I'm in Centralia. I guess that makes us neighbors, kinda. And thanks, but no, I have about 27 plants at last count, most inside not yet hardened off, and 4 outside (2 inground, 2 in 5-gal buckets.)Pleasure to make your acquaintance. If you're a chef, I want the perfect recipe for fried green tomatoes, if you would be so kind. Cleo, thanks so much for the pics. If I understand my reading correctly, one of the uses of buried containers is to slowly release the water to the roots, so they have a steady supply, rather than intermittent moisture, which can result in cracking of the fruit. Nothing wrong with your way at all, I think it's more of a quick-release weekly kind of thing, which some folks do with a PVC pipe buried next to each plant so water is delivered directly to roots. What if I do this.... I put several pin-holes, or fewer small nail-holes on the sides of the jug. After placing in ground, I fill holes with the native soil mixed with vermiculite to reduce the clogging factor, or wrap a strip of black landscape cloth around the jug, which will probably have the same effect. I won't cut out the top, just put some small holes in the lid to prevent the vaccuum effect from releasing the water. OR...and it's a big or...NOT putting holes in the lid. You've seen those infomercials about that houseplant watering globe, it's a glass globe with a long glass tube...fill the globe with water and insert the pointy end into the soil. The vaccuum effect keeps the water from travelling downward into the soil, until the soil gets below a certain moisture level, at which point oxygen (or just air) is released upward into the globe, releasing more water, as needed. Not tried it myself, but the premise makes sense. Maybe the jugs in the ground could be utilised the same way. Whaddya think?? (Ava)Joyce

Thanks to everyone! It's probably a ground-dwelling wasp or bee, since there's nothing around the holes. I tend to leave wasp nests and bee hives alone unless they are directly next to a door to the house. My mother painted the eaves of our house one summer, painting around the wasp nests and talking to them (telling them that she wasn't going to hurt them) and didn't get stung. I helped with my church's youth mission trip to the Appalachian Mountains this summer. My group helped to replace the tin roof for a WWII vet. He has wasp nests in the walls of the house and some under the roof. The wasps left us alone until we came WAY too close to their nests and they may have still left us alone but the kids attacked with wasp spray. With that history, I'm leaving the wasps and bees alone if at all possible!