Shore, Ha! I guess gardening can get you into more than one 'sticky' situation? And thanks for the Bday wishes! If anyone is really planning on growing all of these, well, lets just say there better be some pictures forthcoming this summer. :)

Thanks everybody! I meant to start answering you guys on Saturday, but got way-layed; then Sunday spent the day trying to finish up some more of the photo-tweaking and that took ALL day. Then, it had let up raining a bit, so I went out and took more pics of what still looked decent. That added over 100 more to be tweaked. Geez. I'm kinda glad it rained all day today so I couldn't get out to take pics today!! LOL Carol, you are so right about us needing summer. We need that sunlight to get out of the winter funk! I do take Vitamin D plus lots of other supplements. As far as a bush shot of NIGHT OWL goes... unfortunately there's not a whole lot to see! It's a whimpy twiggy thing that only puts out a bloom every so often, and certainly isn't much of a climber. I think mine is barely 3ft tall after 3yrs. Jackie, I can understand rain into June, but freezing cold temps is just too weird. Hmm... my VEILCHENBLAU doesn't look like it's going to do much. It had a handful of blooms awhile ago, but I think it's done. I never did get around to deadheading it or fertilizing it. Lyn, I know what you mean about those spring grasses and other weeds. I've been putting off doing several beds that are overgrown. But then with this weather, it's been really hard to even try to get to them! And you're right, the forecast looks good for the rest of this week... FINALLY!! Bustopher, my CHARLES AUSTIN doesn't repeat all that great. I may get two really good flushes. But the blooms are usually really pretty and a lot of them. Connie, sorry your roses were all crispy for your daughter's wedding. That must've been really disappointing. But at least you had the florist roses. I hope the wedding was wonderful! Kay, KUROSHINJU is a great rose. I got mine from Hortico many yrs ago, and I believe they may still offer it. It's always got gorgeous velvety dark black-red blooms on it. The plant averages about 3-4ft wide and 4-5ft tall. Ya know, I don't remember ever checking the scent on it. I'll have to try to remember to do so after the rain is done. Ingrid, this dog we got is turning out to be a royal pain in the butt. I had no hand in picking her this time. My husband and younger son picked her. I wanted to wait a bit, but they felt she was such a great dog, they didn't want to pass her up. She can be a very funny dog, but being a border collie mix, she's rather high maintenance. I just wanted a dog to keep the deer out of the yard. She's become more of a pain than the deer. I just came home to find a rug all shredded in the front walkway. I could care less about the rug, but she makes such a mess and digs up the gravel in the walkways. The people at the pound said she was about 1 1/2yr old, but my son thinks she was younger. I know it takes time for them to grow out of stuff like this. Maybe once the weather is better my husband will take her for walks and do some things with her. Right now it's just hard to do anything. She probably has cabin fever just like we do!! Seil, you're absolutely right. Everything just takes time. But sometimes I just get impatient. I'm getting too old for this crap!! LOL Kathy, no kidding about the dang fungus. Looking at the garden yesterday, I see more powdery mildew than I've seen since we moved here 11yrs ago. And I'll be danged if I didn't see some frickin' RUST on a few roses. I used to never get rust, except on the grassy weeds. Yuck... The new camera may have come with some Photoshop program, but I can't download it onto my computer due to having the Lenix program UBUNTU loaded instead. It uses other programs not made by Microsoft. The GIMP program is very much like Photoshop, but it's just slow. But, my son says it just could be my old computer. I have a Sony system that was waaaay superior to anything that came out at the time. It's now almost 9yrs old. I want to get a new computer, but just can't right now. Gotta finish paying off some home repairs and car tires, and the friggin' roses I bought this winter. Then, my husband wants to either fix his POC (piece of crap) old motorcycle, or get a new one. That's not cheap. And the younger son needs dental work and we don't have insurance for him.... it just goes on.... Thanks guys for the compliments and encouragement. Sorry that I didn't answer everyone individually. I'll try to post some more pics in the Gallery later on....

Great pics, All! Claire, I am happy to hear that the Butter Buns have returned to Plymouth! Mine are enjoying the suet but I still seem to have only two. I am also seeing what I think my be a Pine Warbler. I have seen them before but always closer to the end of the PFW season, closer to spring. I have not been able to get a good picture of it yet but I am trying. Oh...I did see a brown creeper yesterday, the first in two years! I was so excited, just wish it had been a count day... Has anyone noticed what time the birds leave your feeders in the afternoon? Right now, the end of January, I know that almost all activity at the feeders will come to an end by *about* 3:00. I will still see cardinals and some doves beyond that point, but not many chickadees, titmouse, finches, juncos, etc. We still have good light, the temps have not yet started to drop but the birds are gone. Have they had enough, are they full? Is it just me? I also notice lots and lots of activity just before a storm. The birds will eat and eat and eat, but the next day there will be very little activity. Very interesting to see. Obviously, the birds are smarter than me. sooey

Aw - too bad your folks did that. I remember coming to the dinner table in tears; I'd been reading Grapes of Wrath, I was 11, and it was just way too much for me. My dad took it from me and asked me to wait a bit before I went back for it. It helped calm me a bit and gave us a chance to talk. Then he let me finish it. I don't think they ever censored anything I read. I remember reading a book about Pompei, but I was older. Very unsettling, but even more so as an adult when I got to see the remains at the Naples Archaeology Museum, and of course seeing Pompei itself. Wow.