I'm going to say our summer was an 8 in this area, losing points for a very wet May/June and, and then it quit raining and I did have to water late July/early August (and I hate watering). If we continue with this nice weather in September, I'll have to raise my score to a 9. Overall the plants performed very well. I had little bug problems aside from something chewing up some chokecherries, and powdery mildew only on a couple of Monkshood that seem to be afflicted to matter what the weather. Yes, mosquitoes and wood ticks were bad for a time, but it seems they always are here. There were lots of butterflies and dragon flies, too. Oh yeah, there was my bird problem on the ornamental wheats - I guess I have to take a point off for that. We had little in the way of extreme weather - some heavy rains but no hail, not much wind (relatively - it seems like it's always windy here so when it's not, you notice). Enough heat to make my broomcorn bloom like mad and Castor Beans are now about 9 feet tall (and still growing, LOL), but only a couple of uncomfortably hot days. I'm working half as much as I did the last couple of years - I have had more time in the garden so have not felt so rushed and was able to enjoy it more. I've made some decisions about the yard and types of plants I really want to grow, and have started to make changes in that direction. Today I noticed the ash trees have started to turn colour. Oh, that reminds me. +2 points for the fact that neither the Green Ash trees, nor the Manitoba Maple trees (and I have both in the yard) produced any seeds. I went and checked my neighbors trees - no seeds on them either. Could it be - next year no Maple or Ash seedlings to deal with? Wow, what will I do with myself without those millions of things to weed out of the beds?

Thanks Wayne. Dave, if I had thought about it, I would have. Sorry bout that. I may go back Saturday or Sunday, and if I do, I'll find a nice for you. I bought a couple of feeders for the two that I have now, and the larger snake immediately wolfed his down. I was a little surprised that a newly aquired wild-caught snake would be so ready, but I figure he hasnt eaten since October. I waited two weeks also, just to make sure he was nice and hungry. The other one, however, is turning out to be a picky eater. He barely showed any interest in his mouse, even when I cut open the brain. About an hour later he shed (which made his colors look even better), so I thought maybe thats why he didnt want to eat, so I tried a few more times, but he wouldnt even look at the mouse. Guess I'll try again in a week. Oh yeah, I'm planning a trip to Kankakee and Vermillion counties to try to add prairie kings, bulls, and fox snakes to my lifelist on either the 21st or 28th of May (probably the 28th) so if you have time, we should meet up. I didnt realize that I was only 75 miles from those places.

music-yay that you are in and that they turned a cheek for you while you were homeless. Stressful! It looks fantastic. So do you play the piano? j-it started after babies. It was my only 'me' time - my sanity. And it had to occur at 5 a.m. so I could be back home before dh went to work. That was about all I had. Now I use it to also exercise the dog (multi-task) and center myself for the day. Reflect on what has transpired, what lies ahead. And I have seen some gorgeous sky's that most people sleep through. ;) I hear the birds wake and see the weather before I have to drive in it. I walk/jog outside year round. That and my shower are priceless. Don't touch mama's shower or her exercise time or else...lol. jet-congrats! What a cutie! You can always hope she likes football? ;) robyn-can you believe it? Wow and at first you weren't going to finish the basement immediately right? Awesome! Barn windows are framed in and the sheeting has started. :)

I also have a Jambalaya recipe that I concocted several years ago at a family gathering. I think there were 20 some people there, so the recipe as I've recorded it is rather large. (with nearly 7 lbs of meat!) I prefer it done this way, with the rice prepared separately, rather than cooking the rice with the rest of the dish, since if there are leftovers the rice absorbs all of the liquid, making the rice gluey and the rest of the dish dry. Also since several members of the group didn't want it too spicy, the amount of red pepper, cayenne pepper and tobasco were much less than I would otherwise have used, but adding tobasco after it is served works very well. JAMBALAYA 2 lb Chicken Breast (3/4" cubes) 1 lb Honey Ham (1/2" dice) 1 lb Hot-Italian Sausage (de-skinned and broken into pieces) 2/3 lb Andouille-style smoked sausage 2 lb uncooked shrimp (cleaned, de-shelled, and de-tailed, cut into thirds) 2 large sweet yellow onions chopped into 3/4" square pieces 2 red bell peppers (remove stems, seeds and membranes and cut into 1" by 1" pieces) 2 yellow bell peppers 4 cups of rice 2 large cans diced tomatoes 1 15 oz can tomato paste Olive oil 10 cloves garlic 2 tsp red pepper flakes 1/2 tsp black pepper blend (ground) 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper 4 shakes Tobasco sauce 1 tsp thyme 1 tbsp chopped parsley In one large pan, cook onion in olive oil, add thyme and 3 cloves of garlic (chopped) until onion starts to turn translucent, then add bell peppers and cook another 10 minutes or so. In a different large pan, cook chicken and hot Italian sausage until both are lightly browned and mostly cooked. Empty both pans into large pot. Stir in tomatoes (including water from tomato cans) and the tomato paste. Bring to a low boil and reduce heat to a simmer and stir well. In the chicken pan, cook Andouille and ham over medium heat for 10 minutes, then add to large pot. Crush remaining garlic and other spices except parsley into large pot to suit taste. Cook rice separately while continuing to simmer large pot. When rice is done, remove large pot from heat and add shrimp stirring until it is cooked. Serve over rice, adding tobasco to taste, top with a pinch of parsley.