Oh, Kathy, yes Ma'am! I would love Diane to start me a Rose D'Or! The Gardenia rose is really growing. It has three 7 ft. long branches now. I am going to get a cattle panel at the farm center to build me an arch for it. I will set sturdy posts on the four corners and hope that supports the lovely monster. I can't wait for it to bloom. The other roses you guys sent me cuttings of are growing really well too. Unbelievably, they all rooted and bloomed last year - the first year! Poor little things had big blooms but were only 8-12 inches tall. Kathy, I can send you some lilac plants to try. Plant them where they have room to grow. They fast moderately fast and eventually can reach up to ten feet, unless you keep them cut back. They bloom on new wood, so after they finish blooming, cut them back immediately, else you will not have blooms the next year. The bushes spread, but not rampantly. The blooms are up to ten inch bouquets on the tip of each branch. So, more branches, more blooms! I give mine manure feedings each summer and then give them a dose of wood ashes (or potash) in late winter or early spring to encourage blooms. They don't require watering (after they become established the first year) unless there is a drought. I throw the dog poo under mine and they seem to like it. Good use for dog poo. :) They can be trimmed up into a small tree. There is no other fragrance like a lilac, so I cannot compare it to anything else, but it is super sweet and unforgettable. Monarchs love them and will frequent them and lay their eggs on or near them. Many other butterflies love them as well. They are a favorite perch for colorful birds. I don't know what variety of cherry my trees are. They grow into either small trees or large bushes - about ten-fifteen ft. tall. The cherries are tiny, bright red and sour. They make great jam, but too little for pies, since they are mostly seed. The darned Cardinals eat them faster than I can pick them. The birds even eat the blooms, darn them! They are snow white and right now humming with honey bees. They make lots of little trees around them. I keep digging them up and moving them over. Maybe if I get enough of them, I will have enough cherries for me AND the birds to share. :) Thinman, the locals around here are all a twitter right now with "shroom hunting"...and target practice. :( Oh, boy. I found a lot of Morels last year and one was as big as a grapefruit, I kid you not. Up in Tulsa, they have several grassroots groups (friends) who meet every spring and go out on hunts. I think that would be fun, but could be dangerous if every spies the same mushroom and dives for it. People might even go ballistic on you. Aaaaa! I found several disturbed places up in the woods, so think the deer beat me to them. Blast it! Oh well, they NEED them more than I do. I just WANT them. ~Annie

In our turn of the century house, we found a 1902 penny in a bedroom wall. We also found a newspaper clipping from I think the 1980's inside the wall of a shoddy addition to the kitchen. In the attic we found a mailer tube with curtain rods the homeowner had ordered from Sears -- I forget what year it was but the postage on it was something like 5 cents. But the real gem we have is a book that a local gave to us. The original homeowner (the wife) -- her dad had given her mom a book before they were ever married - the inscription is dated 1877 -- the book has come full circle back to this house. We also have another book that belonged to the original homeowner -- it's a dictionary, but she tucked some clippings into it and jotted down birthdates inside the back cover and made other random notes in it. They are both gems to have and it's neat that they came back to this house in a very random manner. Someone gave us a box of old books because we turned one of the rooms into a library. It was just random luck of the draw that two of those books had ties to this house. It was meant to be.

Yes, I was sure, someone would recognize her. Now, anyone know the lady at the top of the table? I don't remember her at all. Left to right: Rita/OKwriter, Stacy/grinchgut, Flamey, mystery person, Dottie, me, Patti, Jillzey This was in 2003. Moni

Trail marker tree or similar? I've Ash trees in my woods bent over from windfalls then new shoot grows up from there. Looks like the bent part has been cut off a while back and been closing up somewhat.