Here's Western-y poetics for ya..... Snakeweed, Shindagger, Horsecrippler, Dogweed, Cowblinder, Rattlesnake Master, Flameflower, Scullcap, Starvation Cactus, Antelope Horns, Mosquito Grass (or Skeeter Grass if you're a real hick), Barometer Bush, Rabbitbush, Winterfat, Mormon Tea, Indian Blanket, Mexican Hats, Scrambled Eggs, Texas Yellow Star, Locoweed, Bitterweed, Scorpion Flower, Devil's Claw, Navajo Tea, Prince's Plume, Leadplant, Indian Tobacco, Desert Spoon, Beargrass, Soap Tree Yucca, Buckwheat, Firewheel, Deergrass. Beargrass and of course Sitting Bull Falls Cardinal Flower. Its not really poetry but its a bit of brief story telling. I'm not in the horticulture or nursery business so unless I need to specify or pin a species down for some reason I use the vernacular, some people frown on this. I do look them up when necessary. Semi-arid, wide skies & flat windy landscapes sounds like it would be perfect for many of the natives around here. What kind of soil, I'm interpreting that you are saying there is a lot of natural peat? BTW, wantanamara is in a primo-de-la-primo spot for native plants-- the Texas Hill Country-- the place is famous for their natives. They've got the Lady Bird Johnson Native Plant Demonstration Gardens and everything. Lady Bird did more for stirring up interest in natives than anyone else I know of. Our highway wildflower plantings, among other things, show her influence. Each year I collect gobs of seeds stored in several ziploc bulk sized baggies with various SW & prairie natives to keep my populations in check since I have more limited space than some lucky people I could mention. If I lived on an acreage, I'd just let them fall. I'd be glad to to send them later in the year for fall sowing, I try to pass them along to anyone really interested in naturalizing natives. Most are easy, low growing & long blooming making them good for naturalizing with reliable color. This post was edited by TexasRanger10 on Thu, May 8, 14 at 18:20

All kinds of things eat caterpillars. They are sort of the bunnies of the insect world. Spiders, stinkbugs, assassin bugs, wasps, birds, mice, ladybug and green lacewing larvae, and probably a whole host of other things we haven't observed yet. Yesterday, I watched a pipevine swallowtail caterpillar high tailing it down a vine. Following it was a jumping spider. I have never seen a caterpillar move so fast! The spider was safely and humanely removed to another area. Anyhow, many of us use floral picks to keep plant material fresh. You could try that. Each of us has our preferred method for raising caterpillars and there are a lot. It just takes time for you to find the method that works for you. Each year it may be different based on what you are raising, what plants you have to work with, what the weather is like, and how much time you have. Good luck, Elisabeth

The raspberry instructions are fine; the two-year-old canes can be pruned anytime after they have been harvested. although if there are a lot of green leaves remaining, that can benefit the planting. For erect blackberries such as Apache and Ouachita, your pruning summary above is standard. It is intended to create a plant that requires little or no support from a stake or trellis, that is why the laterals are pruned so short. I don't know what "Tie the pruned canes to your fencing" means with respect to blackberry training. Perhaps you meant trellis. With this pruning style, the most that would be needed is one central stake per clump of canes. This pruning method means you will be relying on a large number of canes to generate a large crop. Otherwise blackberries can be allowed to run wild, they will form fruit all along the length of the lateral no matter how long it gets. Most people do not need or want that many berries. It may be well into June or even July before your canes are tall enough here to prune; let them get one or two feet taller than your target height so that the top is sturdy enough to bear laterals. You can certainly do the thinning in spring if sprouts are numerous. Let them get big enough so that the stronger ones become apparent.

Hi a2gemini. I don't feel like I am in the home stretch. I moved out on 3/4/11 and am still not home. I cannot believe you already know which sink you are getting, so far before your reno have started. That's great planning on your part. I agree with you that the soap dispenser on the right doesn't sound like a good plan, because the ledge is there. I was just wondering if it is possible that it is not as bad as we are envisioning. I figured a Blanco Cascade owner with this setup, or even just one who uses the basket side the way we plan to, would be able to set me straight once and for all. If the dispenser is put on the right, it would be right over the basket because there has to be room left between the faucet and the dispenser, especially if it is a single handle faucet with the lever on the right. There is usually an average of around 8" - center to center - between faucet and soap dispenser, I think. There isn't any more room on that side to play with. I haven't even seen my faucet hole in the counter as yet, but I will look at it and try to picture it all. I bought the KWC Primo soap dispenser, after it was recommended here, and after beating my head against a brick wall about the Grohe finishes and the Grohe soap dispenser issues and reviews. I haven't yet compared the finish of my faucet with the finish of the soap dispenser, but hope to do that ASAP - I just got the dispenser yesterday and the faucet is at the site. My faucet is the Grohe Minta in the Supersteel finish and the soap dispenser for the kitchen is the KWC Primo in the Splendure Stainless finish. (I bought the KWC Primo in Chrome for my laundry room - the faucet there will be chrome). Although the bottle on the KWC is huge - 15oz I think, I also ordered NeverMT for both dispensers. I will be happy to share whatever I learn once I get in the groove and really start using these babies on a daily basis, so feel free to nudge me to see if I am back home before you get to crunch time.