Just a few thoughts, which I am sure are redundant but here goes... 1 - I can't see location but make sure you keep any woody mulches well away from your house. AZ termites are nasty (Lived in PHX for 5 years and I remember the horror stories!) 2 - Natural mulch is what you want, it breaks down and helps your soil. Second best, I'd guess, is chipped rubber product, the white sort, since it will hold moisture and reflect heat. If you do decorative gravel...well I'd say don't. Even white gravel will add heat to your soil in AZ. Plus in order to stop the rock from working its way into your soil you need landscape fabric which adds a whole new level of ugh to tilling etc next year. Plus when monsoon season hits the stuff will often float and if you have any hilliness on your property you will spend a fair bit of time raking it back into place... Just a few thoughts...

Hi christie, I'm in central Indiana. It was getting sort of dark when I went back and its wings were closed. The color wasn't on the outside wings. I think they were sort of gray, but I couldn't see any markings. The circles I'm referring to were small and some were filled with orange, and some with yellow. Most of the backwings and margins of the top wings were filled with these circles of color, but toward the body, it became all brown.

Nancy, I hate it that you lost your OC. That one was a first bloom I think. I am sure I have more on Photobucket..OC isn't too expensive now so maybe you could get her again or maybe you could trade for her..that's kinda what I did. Well, actually, I didn't..A couple of years ago I posted a "daylilies for postage" when I was so cluttered and Linda wanted some. She paid the postage and I sent her several. This was her payback, I think. She sent me a couple more too and some seeds and some coneflower seeds.. Chris, check out the " 2 wins" I just posted. There is a near white there but it has a little gold edge..Bet you'll like it though....Do you have Victorian Lace?...Ellie

Maybe a Common Grackle? Right now I'm hearing them making a lot of chit..chit.. sounds, alternating with a sort of creaking. Claire