What a nice treat to see all the interesting foliage, you guys. I'm afraid the thread will hit its limit before I have the camera out to photograph some things that aren't at least 3 wks. behind the season. Eden, your garden must've inspired your screen name for it is, in fact, a backyard eden! I love the Astilboides, mine are not faring so well and will likely be relocated when time allows, but for now they're hanging in there. ;) Marian, I love the native fern and the bird's foot violet. I have a special fondness for the stalwart natives that shrug off the vagaries of seasonal weather blips and contentedly keep working away at their "jobs". The ferns here are at waist height (3') and are still quite stiffy and tightly configured. It will take another few weeks before they begin to relax and fall "open" more. The last of the little ephemeral spring flowers that carpet the floor of the woods under them are beginning to finish up their assignments for this year. :) I discovered 2 Liatris that were in Vegetable World and was told to plant them "somewhere". I've added them to the newly neatened area by the mouth of the driveway, along with 2 abused Perovskia that have lived in pots for pushing 3 yrs. now. It's the same area that now sports the serpentine display of the variEgated Miscanthus, "Strictus". It's the best sun I can offer anything on the Compound. I diligently mended the deck canopy and the torn screen panel yesterday while listening to Frank Sinatra. Vera joined me through the window that's been designated their official entrance to the Salon: She promptly decided to curl up on the screen panel I needed to mend. Here she is in "hunting mode": I have high hopes to get the canopy water-proofed this afternoon, possibly for installion on Thursday or Friday. Not sure about that. It will really start to feel as though summer will be here then. And then it will be time to finally replace the 4 awnings that shield the windows on the south side of the house. I miss their cheery presence and will really miss their contribution to interior comfort in the coming months. The helpmeet worked in Vegetable World yesterday. It all looks very organized and clean right now (except the fence and the beds he's going to re-side this year). I have been told that there will be lettuce and radishes aplenty for Camp, Early Girl tomatoes and fresh basil. That should help with provisioning. I will try to get some shots of his hard work this afternoon. In all, it was a very pleasant day for all on the Compound. "C'mon in, the water's great!": Time to go fix things, you guys. Have a fun day.

Julie - don't neglect any neck exercises you may have been given to do. Your neck muscles probably deteriorated over the time you were in the collar and you'll need to strengthen them again. In the first months after my first surgery my head felt like a bowling ball supported by a wet noodle! (Some neck muscles were cut as part of the surgery.) I still do exercises daily to be able to support my head properly. So don't get carried away - do your PT! I keep forgetting to say ... Ei - when I get old/decrepit and need residential care, I want a place like where you work! It sounds like a great place both to work and to live. (Do they have a facility in Canada?!) Candy - I have debated with myself about the color of the shed trim. At this point I'm planning on leaving it white since there's a fair bit of white around the shed (hydrangeas, Persicaria etc.) and the general color theme of the backyard is green and white. If the wall color ends up dark enough, the white trim then might look like a child's drawing of a house floating on the green background :-) If it doesn't work out that way, we can always paint it next year. I'm a bit more optimistic that the shed color might not turn out too bad. Randy didn't get a chance today to put on the final coat but did paint a test strip so we could see how much it differs from the pale primer. It looks like this: So it might be dark enough/olive-y enough. But the door color may need changing since it's shifted more to the blue tones. It'll be a few days before the painting gets finished. Rain in the forecast tomorrow - plus it's colonoscopy day for Randy tomorrow! Things are looking up for Vyvyan. But she's looking a bit pale still. We gave her some fertilizer a day or two ago but I think some Epsom salts might be in order too. Does that sound right to you GB? The nursery you were talking about GB - is that Lost Horizons or somewhere else? If somewhere else, where? It sounds like somewhere I might like to check out too....

I looked and looked until I found my camera to take pictures again, I have given up on my cell phone. Everyone who has tried to help me says I need to take it to the Frontier Store for help. Anyway, Annie I loved all my bird goodies. Annie sent: Penguin Socks (Clever-Just in time for the Holidays) Cardinal - Kitchen Towels (Cardinals are my fav.) Feather earrings-thanks Gift card for seeds-I find much pleasure looking for seeds on line so this will be fun! Thank you Annie, sorry the post office gave me such a fit over this pkg. The funny thing is they had another pkg there for me from Oct. Yes Oct. Upon opening it I found it was from Susan. Sorry Susan I never knew it was there. It was filled with chocolates, thank you so much. They sure are good. Shirley

I've been reading waaaaaaay back to the beginning to see what I missed. I missed some gems! I can't believe the bear activity you all have. In NH we had an occasional experience, but they stayed very hidden. They're practically house guests for you all! I have seen more foxes this year than in the past years combined, probably. It's Foxaloooza around here. Gregg, I LOVE all the baseball teams. That's hysterical! That's a very bird-friendly yard. Coronum, congratulations on the Evening Grosbeak. I know that was an exciting day. The pictures are beautiful! I've got some hummers and am trying to keep those feeders clean. Need to refresh the bird feeders. But, the big news is we have a nest, no ID on the bird yet but the beak is curved, with four babies which is placed far too accessible to the cats. I can't believe they've lasted this long. I check periodically and for a while was afraid the parents had been eaten, but they eventually showed up. They built the nest about 4 feet off the ground in a rhododendron that is sparse on one side, making the nest very easy to see.