Jodi...They're more like 4.5"....so I guess matilijas are bigger!!!! WOW! Do the matilijas have stickers? If they don't....then they are FAR superior!!!! lol :0)

Jasdip, I live way out in the country, on a dirt road. I used to say I had no visible neighbors, but then someone bought the property across from me and took down all the trees (there were many) between us. Then he lit the place up like a prison yard at night. They're not even in residence most of the time, but the lights are. You have my sympathy. Thanks to the never-ending work on my roof and the ever-growing piles of old shingles, I have no access to my irises. Many are visible--and beautiful--but I can't get close enough to deadhead them or even smell them. (Scented irises are a favorite of mine.) So here's a few from last year. Screenplay (left) and Odyssey: Let's Dance: Perfect Pitch: High Point: Blushing Rose:

Mammoth tusk for sale in a gem shop, spotted last week. $12K. With a "hold/sold" sign on it.

Years ago, when my eldest was still little and my youngest not yet born, I was in Sydney on business when I saw this in a shop window as I was walking back to my hotel from a dinner. I ran in between meetings the next day to buy him and have him shipped home. Sometime after I left the shop, someone tied a handwritten manila tag on his leg. It didn't say "sold" or "Mtnrdredux" or anything you might expect. It said "this horse is going to New York" ... as if he were going on a trip! I loved the tag and kept it on him, until one day a helpful cleaning person snipped it off and threw it out. 😞 The whole family loves him. My SS has twins now, and we look forward to them using it when they visit!