I had an interesting situation at our house. Bought a flower planter and left it on our front porch about chest high off the porch. I saw a bird's nest appear a couple weeks later but never saw a bird so I tossed the nest into the bushes to mulch. Then I saw the flowers were trampled and looked to see why and found 3 Robin's eggs in the flower bed. I used utensils to retrieve the nest from the bushes and carefully laid the 3 eggs into the nest. All the while the mama Robin was squawking at me. I checked and saw the bird returned to the nest and was doing some tidying up. Then low and behold she reclaimed the nest. Later that same day I saw 4 eggs as she apparently had one in reserve. She is nesting nicely now and we can't wait to see her little hatchlings come to life. I did handle the nest by hand at first when I tossed it but who knows if the bird cared. It makes sense that birds don't have a sense of smell.

Hi all, Those are gorgeous radishes! Pats on the back to all for hard work done and to be done! I've had all the cool season/cole crops in for a while now with frost blankets on them many nights. The wintersown broccoli and cabbage starts I planted out about a month ago were so tiny I thought they might not make it but now they are the same size as the six pack of store bought cauliflower starts (that were three times the size)! We've been eating spinach, lettuce, parsley and cilantro from the garden for a while now :) This is the first year since living in this house that I haven't devoted all of my gardening time to the veggie garden...I've planted lots of pots and wine barrels around our property with colorful flowers and grasses-makes such a difference! A new flower bed in the front with daylilies, daisies, groundcover oregano, and mums (everything listed so far is from the current or previous swaps!), two store bought clematis, and few ornamental grasses. A xeric bed at the back of the house with grasses, catmints, penstemon, agastache, artemisia (again most of these things were saved in a temporary bed from previous or the current swap!). Fun! I'm finally catching the flower bug. Wondered when it would happen! I have a lot to do with the new raised beds we've added to the vegetable gardens. With two babies I've got to be patient and just do what I can do ;) Charlene

Evening All! It was the same here, Tuesday, Margo, overcast and windy but the wind wasn't bitterly cold, which was a welcome change. My mini daffs are starting to bloom! The crocuses are still going strong. And I too am still tired. Bummer! I was reading back thro the posts on this thread and way back at the beginning of this swap, I promised to keep the Robin's flight plan posted. You may have noticed, I haven't done that! So here it is, a little late, and I'll try my best to keep it updated! I sent to Peggy in Washington; Peggy sent it on to Heidi in Nebraska; Heidi mailed it on to Annie in California; Annie mailed it to Ruth in Texas; Ruth sent it flying to Melinda in Arkansas; Melinda just sent it to Diane/Moonfire; Diane sends it to Jeanne/sandlapper_rose in South Carolina; Jeanne sends it to Alana/poisondartfrog in Kentucky; Alana sends it to Robin in Virginia; Robin sends it to Vina/flowergirl134 in New York; Vina sends it to Janine/Jaynine in Connecticut; Janine sends it to Suzanne/hibiscusfan in Ohio; Suzanne sends it to Margo/smitties in Ohio; and Margo will send it to Katie in Mississippi, who will send the completed poem back to me! Hope I didn't skip anyone! Have a great day tomorrow! Shirley!

Tammy (ShelbyRayMom) Thank you so very much for the goodie box i received today. everything arrived in excellent condition, well rooted and labeled so i would know what was what. You sent me what you called aloe "babies" -- wow, more like teenagers. nice plants, there's enough of these guys to put them all in separate pots. I have one tiny one that i have been growing forever but it refuses to grow. now that it has company, maybe it will stand a chance! a christmas cactus and a blue agave. i have never had either of these succulents and look forward to having them as a part of my indoor garden. i'll keep them potted up and outside for the summer, but they will be indoor plants once the season ends. what a nice addition. an air plant -- i have some research to do on this. sounds quite interesting. tammy, you hope i like garlic? LMAO. we are garlic-aholics here. my son would put it on/in his cereal if i would let him. we use it like other people use salt and pepper. it's pretty much a "vegetable" here. lol the circle journal. wow, what an amazing thing. i have never seen anything like it. i am one of 5 sisters (2 brothers) and each of us is on a new journey at this point in our lives -- life,job, house, health, kid changes, etc. i am going to start this and pass it on to each sister and keep it going. what a great way to keep us connected. i love this idea and i love the fact that you sent it to me. i so appreciate it. Tammy, again thank you for everything you sent me. it is all so appreciated and i look forward to enjoying all the special things you chose for me. i especially want to thank you for your birthday wishes and your thoughts. i know you have had so much to deal with in the last few weeks and i should not have been a thought, but you did anyway, and i hold that dear to my heart. i'm off to "journal". with gratitude, earthly