Thank you everybody! I am smiling with all your nice happy comments..:) Edna I cant spell it but I will try.. Hemnocallis varigata..lol I am way off..Somebody please help me... Edna I will send you one! hahah I found something you like...Woot woot Edna.... Sorry I cant spell... I also have a special begonia we bought at the master gardener sale here for you for helping me start in the varigata brug department..It is a surprize.... I need your addy please... I am not sure of the name of spike still doing research on him... He is fun along with Duke that Carol sent me Lucy :) She has great plummeria cuttings.. Florida peeps please be safe in that terrible storm coming your way.. You are in my prayers.... Thank you everyone We love all your garden pics too.... Barb and AL LOL He is hanging over my shoulder....Belly laugh cracking up

We live in a suburb of Toronto on a 1/4 acre. This is our first year observing the birds so I can't identify all of them yet, but so far the ones we can identify are cardinals, mourning doves, robins, chickadees, sparrows, woodpeckers, finches, grackles, starlings, plus one tiny owl last Halloween. More exciting for me has been the family of raccoons who nest in our silver maple. The tree is right beside the patio where I sit on warm nights. Last summer, Mama raccoon was so used to me sitting there that she didn't mind my observing her leading her four babies down the tree, one at a time, about five feet away from me! One of her daughters stayed with her this year and they spent some time wintering in my garage (I made a bed for them). Here's a pic of last year's baby... There seems to be a wildlife freeway through our yard. In addition to the raccoons, we get visits from opossum and skunk who walk by the patio on a regular basis. Can't wait to see them again this year!

How cool is that wild horse? My husband teases me about the wildlife I get to encounter while I'm out in the field. So far I've encountered river otter, beaver, mink, fox, rabbits, deer, elk, bear, peacocks, wild turkeys, bald eagles, nutira (giant water rats!), raccoons, skunk, possums, blue heron and loads of amphibians and snakes. I've been fortunate NOT to see any cougar-I think that would scare me more than the bear! Not to mention the usual livestock plus a bit more unusual, including llamas, alpacas and even a couple of camel. It's a lot of fun to see wildlife up close in nature. I have mixed emotions about seeing deer and other wild animals in neighborhoods. Development has encroached on their territory so people get impacted by them. I always tell rural landowners who want to build on their lots to be prepared to forget about having flowers and fish ponds. I met a guy who put in a $75,000 koi pond and stocked it with dozens of koi that cost several thousand dollars-only to find the raccoons and heron had a buffet while he was gone for the weekend.

Oh Rick, I would take ten feet of billowing snow over freezing rain anytime. We got no more than 10 inches though---is it just us or is this winter kind of warm? It's less than 10 feet from the ground, Tyler but I'm half that tall lol And I already disassembled the ladder I made to build the roof. I meant to put an additional support post inside but we've been getting nothing but rain so I didn't bother. Alrighty, Martin. if you ever need a place to stay in the northeastern coast of the New World, the pergola is yours! You'll be amongst my haworthias and other plants besides. A mantis hatched in there last summer, maybe there will be another. Pagan