None of them look like the old beech with the clearly defined edge of white then pink then purple. The others seem to resemble pink and purple camouflage and pointier than I remember. I actually cannot find any photos on Google images which look right. Maybe it was mis-identified, but definitly a beech. THere are a number of trees in Portland as I recall but I have never seen them in the summer. Copper beech is also abundant. When I lived in OR I regularly haunted the nurseries but mostly for little things since i lived in an apartment. Costco is a great place for peonies. They were in bags for $3 or so for 5 eyes this spring. Nothing rare, but good old standbys. Also this spring I found Gravenstein apple trees offered at a local nursery and Willamette raspberry. I have not seen those here in NY. The airline must have thought I was nuts, packing around dormant raspberries! In April the WSU master gardeners have a plant sale in Puyallup which sounds very interesting. Well, hopefully my mother will find a tree or next time I get out there I will certainly look for it.

Can you tell me what else is in there ie live plants, silk plants so on, and WHAT type of gouramis... gouramis when they mature get territorial (I am glad you have females not males in there, lol)... and often females get more aggressive as they age... as you already know bettas do jump, it's a natural thing when they catch insects in the wild. But she is not suicidal nor is the other fish assisting her... it could be aggression by the one betta towards the other, and she is avoiding her by jumping (escape behavior) and luckily gets stuck to the side as opposed to landing on the floor. Also, fish jump when the water chemistry changes (for the worse) so rule this out by checking everything. Cories btw should be kept in schools... at least 3 for this size tank. (larger school better, but cories need more space to swim about so 3 at least as to not overstock). I'd find another tank for the gouramies. So, she is not jumping intentionally as we know of it, but either jumping for food (but would do this when you come close to feed) (I had one that jumped about 8 inches as she saw me coming towards enclosure to feed her - lucky she was in a huge 50 gallon globe kept 2/3's full, so she would flop back into the water). 1 - check water parameters... 2 - the fish pushing her up probably is being aggressive... females can fight to the death as easily as males (I had a group all sisters, in huge 30 gallon fully planted, and when they matured pecked each other (and if done long enough they get stressed, sick and die) so had to put each into their own tank. I think you might have missed the aggressive behavior, and the "pushing" is actually her chasing biting aggression towards her. She is jumping to avoid if this is so. When my four at first got along, I'd then (as they matured) notice some in hiding, with number one top dog, running after the second strongest (like ducks they will pick on down the line)... they would fight just like males and I was stunned at the eventual ferocity! I could see her just nip at the others face... and I took her out fast - that was that. Gotten along for a while then all changed. Also, if gouramis are in need of space their aggression or even tension can spread to others - all in one tank are affected by the other fish - it spreads. As someone said one on another forum, put a lot of people in an elevator and see how you feel after a while. What looks like lots of space to us, due to each species needs may not be.. both bettas (females included) and gouramis are territory, and in nature are not in such close proximity, but loners unlike schooling fish. (save for breeding, and even then female bettas have even killed males). 3 - gourami (even dwarf) are in too small of a tank, and need a planted tank with enough space for each to claim their own territory. Again, learned this the hard way - 40 gallon with four dwarf blues. At first about one year fine, then each claimed part of the tank, then top dog wore down one (died before I got a clue and did more research on natural biotypes) and had to separate them and it was with tons of plants and wood. Just part of their nature. Can you put some java moss, other floating plants around edges at least.. eventually her scales/slime coat can get damaged (make sure lid is on tight to keep moisture on sides) if she is truly sticking and Flexibacter columnaris bacteria (looks like fungus but deadly) can set in. Even with plants if she is still jumping, eventually it will catch up with her.. they can breathe out of water for a while but if she dries up not good at all. (salt water bath can save her, but need to graduate it up and then back down dose wise slowly over time)... When fish (not bettas or those that catch insects and jump doing so) jump it is most often always an escape response - so try to observe/find out what she is escaping from. You are correct in assuming that this is not healthy for her. (guy on another forum had a small tank with aggressive barbs, fish dying right and left (cowering neons picked off one by one - gee could it be the barbs says he) and even the shrimp tried to escape (natural food for most fish esp those with teeth!) and he would find them crawling out of the tank to escape! No one wanted to be in the small tank (needed at least a 30 and he had them in a ten!) with those nippy barbs! (Not to mention all needed diff water chemistry). He is insisting on keeping what he wants so fish will suffer. Since she is doing this recently and not just during feeding time, something is wrong in her environment. Water chemistry, aggression (and it can come on suddenly after ages). (maybe transfer her water add some plants for security and put her in another tank (with lid) to see if she still does this behavior ) (to reduce stress, cover tank partiall and low to no lights for a while until she settles down)... Also, best to transfer bettas in plastic (like chinese soup tub) container as their tails/fins are one cell layer thin and nets can injure them. Also much less stressful for them (clear easy to do, just float under water and gently scoop them up - I add a bit of moss while taking it out and be careful they jump when stressed - lid on fast! lol) (as you can see many decades of raising bettas/fish with all sorts of experiences, lol). I once put a huge female guppy in another large planted globe with one of those seperated females. When I can back a few minutes later I was aghast to see this great guppy leaping out of the water like a skipped rock (like when as a kid you skim a rock over water, just like that bamm bamm bamm)... the female betta was chasing her down like a madman and she was running and jumping (escape) for her life... fish can be killed very fast by their powerful jaws. I of course ran for a net and took momma guppy out pronto! Try to remember if anything changed before this occurred. Best, let me know how it goes (my email stopped coming ages ago, so sherryazure@yahoo.com or sherryazure@gmail.com). Sherry

Still going through over 20 pgs of small-type print, but I wanted to drop in to clarify a couple of points really fast. 1) DD has no "problems" socially. She tells me often about how people react with disbelief at the fact that 1) she's really smart even though she wears mascara and straightens her hair (quiet laughter on my part here--such a HUGE change from last year!) and 2) she homeschooled up until last year, because she 'seems so normal' (makes her laugh every time). We learned through our years of homeschooling that stereotypes are powerful and can be powerfully misleading, and often say more about the person who's making the assumptions than they do about the person who's being stereotyped. She's made many people reconsider their stereotypes and pigeonholes. It's eerie how quickly and easily she slid into complete comfort at this mega-size school, but I give lots of credit not only to her but to the atmosphere the school creates - so far, people seem to fall over themselves to say sweet, supportive things to each other. She's got a wide circle of social friends and a good tight circle of close friends. She's got no fear at all, and is happy being id'd as a 'music nerd' since the music program at the school is big and high-profile. In fact, the one time some of the 'popular' girls tried to do a 'mean girls' thing to her in science class, she laughed at them and acted it right back at them (at least I did my homework preparing her by having her read all the 'Reviving Ophelia' and Queen Bee' -type books--thanks, Amy!!) so hilariously that they ended up inviting her to their table and have become good friends (I've seen it corroborated when I pick her up from things). Those aren't the kids she prefers to hang out with, but I mention it to show that she's got social skills that people may not associate with the stereotypical 'homeschooler'. Our world-learning wasn't stereotypical, either -- I hardly taught her anything, actually -- I was more like the concierge who found resources to facilitate her exploring her interests, and chauffeur to her various classes/activities. She's also comfortable being in advanced classes, has no problem with it, and she'll be doing AP classes next year and IB after that, and there are always options to take more advanced math at a local CC or state U. My only problem is that she's now letting the institution determine how curious she is about something--if she does enough to meet an assignment, she's done. No more investigating something for its own sake. It's *sad* to watch that really exciting drive in her life extinct itself (or more hopefully, go dormant). Which leads me to 2) A couple of years ago, I started volunteering solidly back in my field, and I'm gearing up to try to find paying work in it, albeit at a much lower level than before. I love what I do, I'm *thrilled* to be back in it, and I'm seriously not a stereotypical 'helicopter' mom. So not. Since she was about 10, I've actually tried not to be too involved, so she can have her own space in her activities. A somewhat extreme example: DD keeps asking me to be an orchestra-mum in the city orchestra she's in (you sit through all rehearsals and do volunteer work), but I just won't do it. The vast majority of those are stage-moms who make my skin crawl--the ones I think I talked about in another thread who seem to think that nonstop bragging is the highest form of conversation, and I don't want to be around them because they feel toxic to me. I want to relate to her orchestra in a positive way without all the drama. So I take her there and pick her up but don't prostrate myself before the altar of the conductor. We did arrange to have DH's company match our donation to this group, though -- the first time an employee had donated to the group at all, which is really strange, considering my DH's company's dominant position in the area. So we give in the way we feel most comfortable without hovering or pushing. I'll let moms who want to do that have the face time with the conductor. So I hope these further details maybe clarify some vaguenesses or misconceptions. I also hope you all know how unbelievably much your thoughts and support, and individual stories you've shared mean to me and my DH. He's reading the printout too and we'll have more specific thoughts later. The folks who come to this forum are gems, every one. And beyond that, the web is phenomenal, and not at all just a replacement for RL relationships; as you have pointed out, it offers opportunities and resources that RL just can't, sometimes. Anyway, I lerve you all : ) (oh, and the Greece thing -- I realize it may sound like she was sitting in a closet coming up with plans for the world, but it was actually for Model UN and is documented in her position papers as Greece's "Environmental Minister" (LOL) from last year. She actively participated in MUN with her resource center's team last year even though she was only an '8th grader', but this year at the huge/high school, MUN is overenrolled, so only Juniors and Seniors actually get to go to the event. There's an example of a very tangible difference in activities/involvements available to homeschoolers and to public schoolers...: ()

Everyone, I just wanted to give you an update on the dwarf alberta spruce you had given me advice about. We blasted them with water and kept them well watered all summer. Here they are this spring! They look happy and green again! The brown patches are almost all gone. We will continue to water them this season. Thank you so much for having responded to my question. I wanted to share with you the fruits of sharing your gardening knowledge! It was so helpful. Thank you again:)!