Well, of course, my monarch mama finally got around to laying eggs and several babies hatched, but I'm optimistic. The new forecast is for 34, and we're usually a few degrees warmer here in this densely populated area. Plus, the plant they are on is up against the south wall, so it takes in heat during the day and lets it out at night. I hope my little fellas make it. If not, that's Mother Nature for you. Next year, I'm going to save myself the aggravation and whack all the tropical milkweed back in August. I was just trying to get some seeds this year, which worked, if they don't freeze too.

If it ain't one thing it's another. My back has gone out and I'm just praying I can get all the plants in by tomorrow night. The tomatoes will just have to be covered and take their chances, because I can't lift 5 gallon pots, that's for sure. I'll probably get my neighbor to help me, or maybe I'll just let them go. I seem to be doomed not to have tomatoes do well here, so I should just cover them and be done with it. The Cherokee Purple is blooming, though, but I did get two little suckers off of it when I was pruning it, and they're rooting in water, so if it dies, it dies.

I really should not worry so much about these damned plants. It's just that in this horrible political climate and with all that's going on in the world, this is the only thing I have any control over, so when I lose control of that, it's like losing something important.