Hi guys, Thank you for all your input! Ken, Great advice on the labeling - much appreciated. Wish I had found this forum before planting the last batch but will do so going forward. OK to answer your questions, (dont think it is a fatsia. it does have leaves similar to a hedera) I did order a bunch of trees. I am including the list below. It is a long list but a few can be easily removed I think based on comments already made. Could it have been a gift from a bird? possibly... How sure am I they are evergreen - well not a hundred percent sure as they germinated just before winter and have been growing steadily since. (Would think they would shed or stop growing over winter but they carried on only at a slower rate) What i find most baffling is that the leaves were initially oval and now the new ones have changed... list of possibilities: Name: ACER circinatum > _____________ > Name: ACER cissifolium > _____________ > Name: ACER ginnala 'Flame' dw > _____________ > Name: ACER grandidentatum > _____________ > Name: ACER japonicum 'Aconitifolium' > _____________ > Name: ACER macrophyllum > _____________ > Name: ACER palmatum 'Aka Shigitatsu Sawa' > _____________ > Name: ACER palmatum 'Omurayama' Dry > _____________ > Name: ACER palmatum 'Osakazuki' > _____________ > Name: ACER saccharum Northern w > _____________ > Name: ACER saccharum Northern w > _____________ > Name: ACER saccharum Northern w > _____________ > Name: AMELANCHIER arborea db > _____________ > Name: CERCIS canadensis 'Alba' > _____________ > Name: CERCIS canadensis - Southern > _____________ > Name: CERCIS chinensis > _____________ > Name: CERCIS occidentalis > _____________ > Name: CHAENOMELES japonica > _____________ > Name: CHILOPSIS linearis > _____________ > Name: DAPHNE mezereum > _____________ > Name: DAVIDIA involucrata > _____________ > Name: HALESIA carolina > _____________ > Name: HALESIA diptera > _____________ > Name: MAGNOLIA acuminata db > _____________ > Name: MAGNOLIA denudata > _____________ > Name: MAGNOLIA grandiflora > _____________ > Name: MAGNOLIA liliiflora > _____________ > Name: MAGNOLIA sieboldii > _____________ > Name: MAGNOLIA virginiana Northern > _____________ > Name: POPULUS tremuloides > _____________ > Name: PRUNUS glandulosa > _____________ > Name: QUERCUS agrifolia > _____________ > Name: QUERCUS alba > _____________ > Name: QUERCUS falcata 'Pagodifolia' > _____________ > Name: QUERCUS georgiana > _____________ > Name: QUERCUS kelloggii > _____________ > Name: QUERCUS macrocarpa Northern > _____________ > Name: QUERCUS palustris > _____________ > Name: QUERCUS robur > _____________ > Name: QUERCUS rubra > _____________ > Name: RHODODENDRON yedoense 'Poukhanense' > _____________ > Name: SORBUS domestica

David, at least you are staying out of that other exotic Asian dove location, "This site is for consenting adults only and should only be accessed by adults over the age of 21." Or did you? I'm not sure if there is any "native" plant invasive in my yard or garden. Amongst the dozens of weeds, they're all from the "old world" (& then there's your Russian olive). I don't have a good excuse for the pleasure I had at learning that the black locust trees are considered invasive in western Europe. The islands are terribly impacted but we're told that the development of so many useful domestic species is a result of the size and diversity of the Eurasian landmass. The Suez canal or not, Africa is a part of that same landmass. Over in the tomato forum, Carolyn linked to an article on genetic diversity. The authors' idea was that one of the reasons for problems of low resistance to pests in the older varieties was that the tomato gene pool was isolated in Europe by limited importation of tomato seed centuries ago. Utilizing new strains from South America in plant breeding wasn't undertaken until the 1950's. Genes from resistant varieties were very successfully made use of after that. Also, hybrid vigor is significant in those older crosses. Seems like it sometimes takes the people of the old world to take what is here and then give it back to us in a more appreciated form. The Russell lupin is an example but I'm not sure what the people or fauna of New Zealand think of the lupin invading acres of land there. Or, what they think about the American wild turkey or California Valley quail, for that matter. I believe you make some use of the German brown trout and where'd these Chinese ring-neck pheasants come from? The wild turkey is around here in what must be record numbers. I doubt if it was ever here prehistorically. With global warming, maybe we'll get that lesser goldfinch up here. But, will the Bohemian waxwing still come south from Canada every Winter? Oh, gosh. I'd fly away myself out of sheer nervousness but where would I go? Steve's digits

OOh, this reminds me we still have to go to our lawyer to sign an amended will. We switched guardians for out two youngest from my bil to my oldest son. I should do that before I open the box. Would it be a good idea to have the dog sniff it out first? Should I worry about the mail carrier, after all she is a nice lady. Oh, what to do, what to do. Maybe have a fresh raw steak handy and ready to throw in another direction while I run with the plants.

I love your birding equipment reviews! I also saw the spotting scope/cameras advertised in Wildird, but I've not yet taken the time to "scope out the scopes" to compare their photo quality with regular DSLRs. As expensive as lenses are, the scope/camera combo should save photographers thousands of dollars, if the quality is comparable.