froggy, why not take the "glass is half full" view of this? An ecotourism approach would serve to make more people aware of the importance of ecological restoration projects. Participants would learn how restoration is done and where it is done; they would learn some interesting facts about the plants and animals involved, and they could come away with a better understanding of the importance of this work and the need for funding. As a result, the professionals would have more opportunites and therefore be better paid. Back in 1988, my husband and I went to an outing sponsored by the local Nature Conservancy chapter. At that time, I was unaware of ecological restoration. As a result of that simple half-day walk in the woods, the following has evolved: 1. I became a volunteer at the site. 2. I took several classes, including a series of restoration classes taught by Steve Packard. 3. My husband and I eventually bought property with some natural areas worthy of restoration. 4. The payoff to froggy - we have hired some professionals to assist us! 5. I have become a board member of a local environmental group. While restoration work does need to be overseen by someone who understands what they are doing, I think there are a lot of opportunities to train volunteers on specific tasks and then use them. Consider this: start the day with breakfast and a lecture on buckthorn - why it is a problem, what it looks like, how to control it. Then out to a wooded area for a few hours of buckthorn removal. After a lunch break, the group moves on to another wooded area that has been cleared of buckthorn, and they see the end results of their morning's work. That evening, a lecture by a rep of a non-profit group that supports such restoration efforts. This would be along the lines of educating the participants as to the group's mission, not a blatant pitch for dollars, but of course the appropriate info would be in their packets. Substitute your local ecosystem and restoration problem accordingly. Some of those people will leave and become supporters of the cause, and eventually more professionals will be hired. Some of the people will go home and find similar projects in their own back yard, and still increase the opportunities for professionals. The more the word is spread, the better. Yes, there is a seasonality factor. But remember, tulip time in Holland is big, as is cherry blossom time in Washington. No one makes those trips in August. Seasonality does not mean it can't work; it just has to be scheduled. V.

Hey Folks, just got home and finished my chicken dinner. It's 8:17PM Gee Wizz were did the day go? kms2, Yes, a Chapter would consit of PSA members in good standing with the rules of the PSA. Benefits from sales at events would go towards the Houston based PSA in support. This can also attract new supporters to the website and have local and national articles on Plumeria. If I read exactly, doesn't Naples Botanical Gardens have a kindered relation with the PSA? I noticed this one the PSA website? Maybe what I'm searching for is 100 miles south of me? I feel a more centralized location for Florida would be Orlando. I know here in Bradenton (right on the coast) south of Tampa, I have access to the Palma Sola Botanical Gardens complete with a plumeria garden. Plenty of area for out door sales and a real nice pavilion recreation hall. The possibilities are endless. I bet if I called Florida Colors, Brad's Buds & Blooms, The Mad Plumerian and a few others they'd be in on it. At least start out with a once a year sale and event. I met a Roger Galle and wife from the Gulf Coast Plumeria Society last weekend and I mostly just listened to what he had to say. I do know that the GCPS is inactive at this point. I don't see it coming back. All I can say is...Open minds say more than open mouths, so my mind was open and learned a lot. My thoughts go to all of the Florida Growers who are in it for a business and a way to help support their sales and add new customers if they choose. I'm sure there are many talented growers with tips and ideas enough to share at the events. I would have my work cut out for me, but why not? First things first, research, ask questions and listen & take good notes and make next April a deadline/goal. Mahalo Nui ( Thank you very much ) Stuart

My earliest US ancestor came from Wales to the Virginia Colony on the SW side of Chesapeake Bay in ca 1735. From there, with the Dodson(s), they removed ca 1750 to what is now Pittsylvania Co, VA. My ancestor established a 420 acre plantation. I suppose his reason for coming to the colonies was agricultural, and a chance to acquire land. My Franklin ancestor (of my Dad's Mother) came to the colonies for a very different reason. He lived in Acton, England and saw his father hanged for being a Presbyterian. He made up his mind that Acton was not the place for him and left for the colonies hoping to establish a life for himself and wife and children. They were literally penniless upon arrival. They arrived in Boston in the 1700s. He first tried making a living with candle making and found that was not adequate. During the Rev. war, a British Officer brought a wounded conscript Scotsman, Hugh McCoy, to the house of my Franklins (who were now in New Jersey) to recuperate. Hugh McCoy did recover, caught the eye of his benefactor's daughter, and refused to sign up again when his term expired. Daughter and Hugh marries and Hugh now stays in contact with his new family. (This is the only Scot that I can verify in my line.) Near the end of the Revolutionary War, my Franklins, and Hugh McCoy, removed to Burke Co, NC using land warrants from the French and Indian Was and the Revolutionary War to buy land in N.C. After 6 children were birthed, Hugh supposed that he had some property coming to him in Scot,and. He takes passage on a ship. He and the ship is never heard from again. It is supposed the ship was lost at sea. These Franklins move through Boone Gap into Kentucky and thence onward to settle in Franklin Co. TN. One of Hugh's children married a John Brown. It is this couple who came to Illinois in 1828 when the southern portion of Illinois opened for settlement. They produced my Grandmother.

Lisa, I have dug a lot of roses up over the years, and only in one rose could I definitively see that it had gone own root. This was about 5-6 years ago and involved an Evelyn growing on the side of a slope where the deer would not leave her alone. She had been planted by the landscapers when we first moved here. As I started digging, I could see that there were now two Evelyns, both big and shooting out roots sideways and straight down. Maybe some Dr Huey persisted, but it was not evident to me, and the second E was very much on her own roots and separate from the first. The ground had become like cement as it ways does around here, and the roots just wouldn't quit. I had wanted to transplant this "rose", but finally I was forced to excavate a moon crater--or something similar. It was necessary to hack off a lot of roots, too, and no Huey ever tried to come up in this area. I was unhappy to toss the two E's in the garbage, but at that point I didn't care. I might note that this dig was way worse than the 2017 digging up of a giant PAoK, if you can imagine. Diane