I am fascinated with Geology. I collect rocks too. When I was a little girl, I went for the weekend with my cousin's family to their cabin up in Yucca Valley. We went rock hunting in a lava flow. It all seemed to be the same type of black lava rock for a mile or more. Occassionally I would find a nice piece of Pumice stone [Lava (foam) rock that floats on water]. As I made my way over one lavaflow ridge, the lava changed to a dark brown color and then I spotted something very special - a big chunk of dark chocolate colored lava with quartz crystals on one side! It was beautiful! Here in Oklahoma, several hundred thousands years ago a volcano erupted in eastern Colorado. It was said to be one of those Megga volcanoes. It threw magma and debris for hundreds of miles, perhaps thousands of miles. There is a big flow of lava in the NW part of the state and another flow in the southwest in the Wichita Mountains. I found large balls of what appeared to be hardened mudballs or sandstone balls, perfectly round balls of stone. They were all about the size of cannon balls and very, very heavy, indicating an iron composition. Upon cracking one open, it split cleanly and revealed the inside was completely crystaline, with crystal slivers all radiating from the center. It is amazing how far a volcano can throw material.. It can also be carried long distances by water. I live hundreds of miles from where any known volcanic material is located in the state, and yet I have found pieces of volcanic glass and Flint stone buried in my yard. I live on a high ridge. The nearest river is about 12 miles from here and several hundred feet lower. So how did the Volcanic glass and pieces of black Flint get here? Was it blasted through the air as volcanic missles or did it get washed here by the river thousands of years ago? ~ Annie sweetannie4u And....Thanks for the birthday wish, Edna.

Thanks. When we bought the house last year there were 2 peach treas that the previous owners planted about 3 years ago. Those are pretty close to the house and they don't have flowers on them yet. I wonder if the seeds blew down the hill and grew the 2 we saw today about 200 yards away? I will be keeping an eye on them. I looked up Redbud and what a pretty tree! I'm from Ohio and our tree is the buckeye. It isn't pretty and cleaning them up out of your yard is a huge chore! They have been known to break a few lawnmowers. They also hurt like heck if you step on one without shoes.

The silk tree is also called a mimosa. I have tons of them...they keep dropping seeds and seedlings pop up all over the place. I would not plant one anywhere except far away from any part of the yard you want to keep up and groomed.

" No tree is going to survive inside like that for long unless it has greenhouse conditions which is highly unlikely. " False!! These are common houseplants and if given the proper care, they can live inside for many years. They don't require a greenhouse! The photos are a bit far away to show enough detail but the first looks to be Ficus benjamina and the second either a Shefflera or Pachira (money tree). They could be silk as well but look a bit too real for that.