Well I'm in Michigan near the wedding ring on the mitten, so i'm in chill world..as for planting trees this time of year..i'd have to dig through a foot of snow..not going to happen. I have planted hundreds of trees on our property, it has gone from barren to nearly totally forested..in the 38 years we have lived here..and i plant more trees every year. I tried the trees from the county before, they aren't very good quality and the prices aren't that great here.. we do a lot of transplanting from our area..we live near a state land, and when the county grades the sides of the road they cut deep back into the edges of the woods and then they push them back toward the road, every year. We go in the spring and see what seedlings are in that loose soil at the edges of the road..we have transplanted from those (they'll die anyway if they aren't salvaged) hundreds of black spruck, red and white pine, canadian hemlock, maples, even found a few rare white spruce ..which is not a normal find in those situations. also occasionally we will pull up a tree that is growing at the base of a full grown tree, a 1 or 2 year old seedling, as it won't make it that close to the adult tree..but we are careful to not take things that are in protected areas..we have some that we can salvage from our own woods too, that are where they shouldn't be growing,and we do buy some trees, mostly fruit and berrie that we don't have native around here and some shade trees that are more beautiful than needed..like the pretty red leaf maple i bought 2 years ago and have smack in the center of my front property.. last year I bought about 15 fruit trees, and planted them all over my property, i had lost my orchards 6 years before and i've been putting in fruit trees every year since..and i will again this year..i have some ordered already as well as nut and berry trees and shrubs.. we put i a pond a few years ago and it is pretty barren around it..and i'm going to put things around it like elderberries and winterberries, and some trees and other shrubs too..i have put in a few things in the past few years already. this year my BIG projects garden wise are to completely redo a garden/orchard area in our rear which is 48 x 48 '..and has a few fruit trees i put in last year, some asparagus, rhubarb, horseradish and a few herbs and flowers..and some grapevines..but otherwise it is nearly barren..it was poorly maintained soil there..and it needs a lot of work also plan to work on the woods..project # 2

I will never forget, going to the eye doctor one time. They had young kids doing the tests that are required before you see the doc. Simple put your chin here, and wait for a puff of air, that kind of thing. Well the one kid said, our machine must not be working well, I cannot get a good reading on your eyes. That night I landed in ER with horrible chest pains and blood pressure out of site. I was in my 20's back then. If the kiddo at the eye center would have told the doc that he could not get a read on my eyes, it would have sent me to the ER right then. It was my blood pressure giving him a bad reading, not the machine. I will never forget that day. Keep a close check on your optics. It can also be a diagnosis for something else going wrong. Trin

Hello everyone! I've joined in on the alphabet threads over in Roses for a few years now and last year I started an Iris alphabet... alphabet posts are great fun and a great way to brighten up the winter. This is my first year growing daylilies and I'll definitely be lurking - I'm very excited for all of your beautiful photos! What a great way to nurture the addiction! :)

I love your cut, Ida Claire! My hair is probably most like the one Peppapoodle posted -- kind of between that and Yayagal's. My style may shift a bit as I am looking for a new stylist -- and I'm thinking of letting it get a bit longer in back for fall and winter, but as it is now, I towel dry it and brush it into shape -- let it air dry while I get dressed and then give it a quick dry just sweeping the sides back with the brush and using a round brush on the top and bangs if needed -- usually more as it grows out. Optimal would probably be a cut every 3-4 weeks, but a good cut can take me 4-6 weeks with a little extra effort. I have gone 6-8 weeks, but that has had more to do with trying to let it get a little longer to change the shape a bit or avoiding looking for a new stylist, which I really hate, If I am stretching between cuts, I might use a little mousse on the top and bangs to hold the shape when they get heavier.