Hey FBB: Don't feel bad, it happens to me to a varying extent every year. My extols me to hill the corn every year. She thinks that it will produce more prop roots thereby minimizing the lodging. I agree with her about causing greater prop root formation but, still I get blowdown. The reasons I don't like hilling: 1) it is alot of physical work 2) it doesn't seem to stop the lodging 3) I have to flatten the hills back out in the fall (more work). However, this year, in order to reduce the labor I used my tiller to loosen about an inch of soil on both sides of each row and hilled the plants with the easy to move soil. It made hills about 8" tall around the plants. We had 3" of rain wind and pea sized hail Monday evening over a 2 hour period and my corn is still standing. HURRAY! I'm looking forward to picking standing like a homo sapiens rather than a gorilla this year. There may be another benefit to hilling. For the 1st time ever, I have corn root worms. Having the extra roots that formed from hilling may have saved me from serious losses from the worm s the plants may have grew new roots faster than the worms could kill them. About 5% of my plants fell over and shriveled which is how I discovered the (very late in the season) worms.

Frogs, I wish I could hear them. Well maybe I should rephrase that. I would not mind hearing a few frogs. When we lived on the farm we had one of the large ponds pretty close to the house. Well it would get so loud you honestly felt like you were going to loose your mind. There were so many. We finally had some high school boys who went frogging. It was funny at the time. Not many people we had talked to had ever eaten frog legs. Me I don't eat meat. But some do like them. Any way we had to have them do that for a couple of years to get the population back under control. My picture window would vibrate I kid you not. If the compost has trash in it I don't think I will go get any. I am wanting this for around all my new plants and such. If I had not already had all that dirt hauled in last fall it might be an option. Bonnie

Tam, I don't mind at all - after all, I copied it from someone else. At the time I received it, I was just reaching a point in my life when I, too, was realizing that each day is a one-of-a-kind moment and needs to be savored. Gene, I agree that falling leaves can give us feelings of nostalgia. Ah, but that fallen leaf does return - just in a different form next time around. Instead of a leaf, picture it in your mind as food for next spring's flower, or part of the energy needed to form a drop of rain. I like to think of myself that way, too....Ummm...wonder what I will become next time around? :) Wasn't today just wonderful? Gerry

Not now, its too hot (not to mention sticky) and I don't want to water over there on that dry hill dragging the hose through grasses, besides I'm still thinking it through and really what I want is low stuff so late afternoon sun will come through to back light the bluestems. The only good thing is we still have lots of wind. I planted all those recent Bluestem I ordered from SRG along that side on my side, the other side where I'm clearing and planting tough stuff in is his negected side. It keeps getting thinned over time. I have a weekend planned to clip suckers and more privet, poison in hand. I've never seen such suckering trees as hackberry trees. Salvia greggii is a good fit and so far I've planted about 17 or more of them. Russian Sage is good too and I plan for more of those too. I may put some Pine Muhly in a section, I found it will take dappled sun and morning sun and sit in shade all afternoon & still look good with blooms. It blocks weeds good too & I have lots of volunteers which transplant real easy. I filled a whole section with it in the part that gets shaded earlier. Surprising. Too bad about the tall rudbeckia, they'd look good in that field & I was hoping to find a good home, they form tubers which transplant successfully, very successfully I might add. The size of the flowers blow me away, they are downright phallic not to put too fine a point on it. HUGE clumps of cabbagy large light blue leaves so its pretty in or out of bloom. Massed clumps here and there--it'd really be nice, if I only had space...... I think I might have lost the butterscotch Mexican. He hasn't shown up yet, just mahogany in that area where he came up. Rats. I'll save you all the seeds when I deadhead them this fall. A bagful with your name on them. By the way, I planted lots of seeds from the Texas grass sage you sent me and I have them planted among grasses. I think that will look good come fall. I love that plant, its airy. I'm into 'airy' right now if you haven't noticed. I got 4 white guara for the same reason.