Elaine, No that is a red Amaranth in a friend's garden that gets really big. There are celosias that get really big. I got seeds from a trader over the winter for one that looks like Pink Flamingo on steroids. Most of the big celosias are old heirlooms. The newer ones companies come out with are shorter bedding varieties. Remy

Thank you bitterwort! I noticed today with all the ice melted outside, that now there are many more all over around the basil plant, the pot, and the ground all around it. Plus if you look in the pic you can see that the one looks as if it is coming out of the seed pod that fell off the plant. Darn, I was really starting to hope I had salamander eggs, lol. Thank you very much! Daniella

Your right Roselee. We were priveledged to see it! Of course you should have seen my oldest daughters eyes roll when I told her to come look at the bee. Geez, Mom, you want us to look at ANOTHER bug? LOL. She has gotten to that age where she is almost too hip to watch bugs. Of course, once she started watching it, she thought it was pretty cool. We are currently watching a black swallowtail caterpillar. It's a full grown catepillar now and we feel like it won't be long before it goes into it's pupa stage. My only regret is that my camera was broken a couple months ago! Rebecca

I was lucky enough to inherit my grandparents house and as I have been reading through this thread. It got me think about all the things I found there, most of it wasn't new to us but some of it was. -My grandfather was a commercial fisherman so I found licenses for him & every member of his crew. Various documents related to fishing in foreign waters. The bamboo poles they used, glass net balls, hooks, net needles for mending a net, catch records, etc. -The affidavit my great grandfather signed when his daughter (my grandmother) married someone (my grandfather) who wasn't yet a citizen & thier marriage license from the early 20's. -War ration books with the stamps in them, the really funny thing is that my grandfather's height kept changing over the years, from 6'0 to 6'3! -War damage insurance policies issued by the federal government. Our house is near several bases so apperently the government insured their home, & probably the whole neighborhood, from damage either from an invading enemy or from defending from an enemy attack. -Booklets for traveling through Europe after the war while the Marshall Plan was still in effect. My grandmother had a lot of family in Europe (we still do) so they were probably planning a trip back . Propaganda pamphlets from the American government about being quite in public places & just generally being careful because of "spies". -Various newspaper articles & scrap books form the 1930's to 1940's. A letter from one of my grandfathers to his mother that was heavily censored by the War Dept. because he was serving in the Pacific. I remember one of my great uncles (his brother) telling me that for a few years the family didn't know where grandpa was while his ship was in the Pacific. I still have his pea coat & wear it when it's cold enough. -One of my great uncles Korean War era army uniform & ID bracelet. -Coins from all over the world. -A Disney war bond issued to my mother (she was born in 1939). - A letter dated 1953 from the County Assessor that explained they would begin issuing Assessor Parcel Number for every property. A letter from the post office dated about the same time introducing the zip code system! Phone bills form the '40's & 50's were the phone number had a location exchange like "bayview123" -Antique silk velvet bedspreads that were hand painted with Rococo pastoral scenes. They were backed with canvas and weighted a ton. I couldn't image actually sleeping under them with out being crushed! -Match books with a picture of my mom when she was in her early 20's. I asked her about them & she said she would write her phone number inside & give them to guys she liked! A HUGE box of her shoes from the 50's & 60's, along with the coordinating hats, gloves & purses. -A black beaded "flapper" slip that must go over an other dress, because it is way to sheer & way to short to wear alone -The remnants of the living room curtains, I hadn't seen them in over 30 years. My grandmother must have been saving them for rags (whose grandmother didn't do that!) -Immigration paper work for one of my grandfathers and for my maternal great grandparents. -Some really beautiful handkerchiefs, including a silk one embroidered with a R which would have belong to one of my great grandmothers. -Letters from various family members in Europe and possibly a great aunt who lived in Massachusetts. I'll have to do some research on that branch of our tree. -My mother's first communion vail. A beautiful sterling silver rosary, the beads are open filagree work. Judging by the marks, I think it is from South America. -My grandmothers salt & pepper shaker collection. There was one set the was just the head & upper chest of a guy, but he's not wearing a shirt! An other really tiny set shaped like pineapple grenades or maybe just pineapples it's kind of hard to tell because they are so small. And so, so much more On a different note Burden, those marks might just be the "signature" of the carpenter. One of my grandfathers liked to do wood work and he would always sign the stuff he built, and his tools with a specific design.