Thank you, Laura... such wonderful sentiments! :-) Our weather has been crazy, too... but we half expected it. Last year, we were already laying out soaker hoses and starting to water...and this year, we've gotten so much rain that we're completely saturated! We're just now able to get in and cut grass, and talk about tall! It's hard on the mowers, I'm sure, but what can you do?! If it's grass, it has to be kept mowed at least semi-regularly... and if it's garden beds, they must be kept weeded or the grasses, thistles and other nasties take over! So, we're darned if we do and darned if we don't! Mother's Day was nice... calls from my kids, and the husband made a nice dinner... while I spent the day relaxing, for the most part. There are certain chores that must be done regardless of what day it is, like cleaning and feeding dogs and other animals, but that's no big deal... I have it down to a science! ;-) I finally got the old guy to help me get photos off my camera, so I thought I'd share a few this morning... Here's a mama and her twins... My very best mouser... I call her Vixen! The next generation of excellent mousers... one of Vixen's 3 little ones... Walking from the shade garden area toward the new rose arbor... A young Peony Tree in the dappled shade garden... notice the rambler rose runners everywhere on the ground! Closeup of the flower from the Peony Tree... Another Peony Tree in the front yard... north side... And this is a Trillium that opened white and is turning a pale pink shade. It's among a patch of purple flowered hybrid Trillium I planted several years ago... you can see the mottled leaves of the hybrid... I didn't plant the white one, though... And finally, the first of the Irises are starting! I hope you enjoyed a walk around the yards with me... stick around as all the roses begin blooming and other perennials begin to color the gardens a wonderful rainbow of scented color! Thanks, Al... I can finally view Youtube, but the monitor I'm using has no sound on board... for a girl with a technological genius as a husband, I'm always the last to get upgraded! Would you believe I'm still using Windows XP?! I desperately need an upgrade to Windows 7, which should be coming shortly... when he has time to upgrade me. :-) It's kind of like being the plumber with the leaky toilet handle that sticks, or the barber that doesn't have time to cut his own hair... when you're in the business, you're last in line! :-) It looks to be another gorgeous day... sunny and hot with strong humidity... I may spend some time weeding and edging today, instead of killing myself cutting grass! Hope everyone has a lovely day! And... Happy Gardening!

Ok y'all! So the Photography presentation last Firday night went fine. I had fun doing it. I would say there were only about a dozen ladies there but all seemed to enjoy themselves. After I did my presentation I scrolled through all my 214 (yes, I know--a Lot of photos) and talked just about every one! I'm long winded. BUT, I was in my MOMENT. As I went though I shared with them about the rocks I name. There were a couple that I hadn't officially named and they helped me with another name for one....Penguin Rock. To me it looks like a podium-they showed me a penguin. :-) I think they had fun thinking about it. IT was kind of like we were all laying on the grass looking up to the sky to see what formations the clouds were making! My whole intent was to get people to see the greater beauty and peace in nature all around us--even the small things! It's so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life. I knew I did that for at least two of the ladies there. OK, so the Fair Photos. I went last Sunday there to the Fair. Out of the 9 I entered 1 won 3rd place. The one that won was my poppy photo. It was interesting as I viewed all the photos. A lot were good especially the ones that won. But then sometimes I couldn't figure out what the judges were looking for. I know they want a photo to "pop" and the poppies did in color. They have volunteers there who watch the building and make sure the photos are monitored. I spoke with one of the gals there and it just happened to be Kay Hendrickson, one of our local photographer/artists. She is known for her poppy photos. I think she said they received about 1800 photos this year. So, anyways, just want to say Thank You to all for your encouragement and specific comments. I'm still taking pictures and have some set for next year! :-) Hope all is well in your lives. That loved ones and you are in good health and spirits! Love, Jules

hey, we're all going there sometime......the someONE is gone......sorry if i offended you.....my brother sent it to me to try and get me to quit smoking, thought i'd pass it on. hopefully i'll be planted somewhere nice.....won't be offended if someone uses me as an example......:)

James, I guess when you've been around GW for a long time like I have (since the late 90's), off topic is just a normal sequence. If you go to some of the really old posts that are still alive, you'll see a lot of them veered off, but then somebody new came on and asked a question and that got the thread back on track. I personally, don't mind a thread going off topic at all. I do feel it makes it more interesting. If you'll notice, the suggestions and comments forum is missing now. It's been missing for a long time, because all anybody did was to complain about one thing or another. I think we all need to understand that our words are just words. There's no voice, no fluctuation, no body language to go along with what we're saying. Anymore, if I feel somebody is saying something totally inappropriate, I ask for clarification. They either come back and don't explain it correctly and I know my first instinct was correct, or they come back and apologize for not wording it correctly in the first place. I'm guilty of that myself! I've been in a hurry and just written something quick and to the point, but not using the correct words. And not thinking of how somebody else might take my words. The old saying about sticks and stones....but words do hurt our feelings. All of our feelings. I do come back and apologize though for not wording it like I should have. I have seen so many people come and go, I forget that not everybody has been hanging around as long as I have! I don't browse over to the discussions side in any of the forums. I have fun talking and chatting within the threads in the forum, be it on topic or off topic. I don't plan on changing where I post. There's already way too many forums anymore here at GW, I honestly don't understand the problem when a thread goes off topic. I've heard people complain about posts in the forum that are off topic, but not when a thread goes off topic. Finally, lovefornature, please don't go anywhere. James has explained his thinking in what he said and somewhere in there, I'm sure is an apology for not being clear. There's always going to be somebody who doesn't like something about GW, be it some of the people, the posts or the way the conversation goes. I acknowledge what James is saying, but I don't agree. Not at all. The finch thread is your thread and it can go any way you want it to go. If you want it to go back on topic because somebody objects, then veer it back. If you don't care, then the person who objects can choose not to read it anymore and they can start a new post on whatever they choose. It's when people get too picky and complain, that a lot of people choose to go elsewhere. Then GW slows way down and becomes somewhat boring because of the lack of posts and conversations within the thread. I don't know about anybody else, but when I call a friend for a specific reason, we always end up talking about a lot of other things. Same way in the threads. If my question is answered, then really, what difference does it make that now the conversation has gone off from I initially called for? Or asked in a thread? Hmm...I said finally already up there, but I guess it wasn't really my final thought. This is though.....and again to James, I don't feel you stepped on any toes. There are no hard and fast rules here at GW except for arguing. That isn't tolerated. Off topic threads however, are entirely different and if you don't want to read them, then move on to the next post. I've done that when a subject grabs my attention, but it isn't what I thought it was...so I either hit the back button or the "Return to".....and go find another post to read. If this whole forum was taken up with things not relating to birds, then I understand, but it isn't.