another question, how old is your H. finlaysonii puglvr1? it looks really big and beautiful... i just recently purchased some plants through hirts gardens which is through ebay and/or amazon... not only did my plants have mealies and scales but they just seem really small compaired even to the angel hanging baskets at lowes, is it usually that way? or are they usually bigger (more like that size of the baskets at lowes or home depot)? pertaining to the original thread, im going to be posting some pics on here over the next couple of days, ive got a TON of irises blooming plus lillys that are about to bloom and probably 2 or 3 DOZEN peony bushes about to start blooming... ill have to post some pictures of the ants all over the buds on the peonys, they must be dying waiting for them to open... i actually watched a few ants fighting over a golf ball sized bud earlier...

Posted by missmshell z4 Carthage,NY (My Page) on Tue, Apr 6, 10 at 9:23 Darrin, give you all the credit in the world. I have twin uncles with autism. When I was a kid my grandmother babysat me every day after school so I was with them a lot. Like mentioned before, there were good days and then there were bad ones. I remember that sometimes the smallest little things could set one of them off. Couple smart cookies they are tho! My grandmother can no longer take care of them so they live in group homes now and I dont get to see them much anymore. Sure miss em. Michelle,...Totally appreciate your emotional and moral support bunches!! Whoa, twin autistic uncles?! Now there's a sobering eye opener, as it were. Never heard of or even remotely considered twin autistics before! Moreover, to me, the concept verges on inconceivable. That said, not every autistic individual is like Roy. That's why the condition(?), anymore, is referred to as "Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)", aka "Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD)," thereby addressing a wide range of perceptual, cognitive and otherwise sociobehaviorally debilitative possible combinations. Some individuals are "high functioning", some non-verbal,...some this, some that. Trouble is, all too often, when you try to explain what the deal is, all too many still seem to be locked into "Oh yeah,...like Rain Man," **shrug** Then, y'gotta go "Yesss,...but," which is actually good, in a way, because it is a way to enlighten those who are actually willing to listen. But, it can also be a bit tedious, and sometimes y'wonder if you actually got through, or if they were just playing be nice to it and it'll go away. **again - shrug** - Anyway, elsewise, with Roy, we've become fairly adept at anticipating what is-or-is-not likely to set him off (commands, demands and probing questions, mostly). Actually, I am generally better than Elly at finessing Roy into behaving properly and doing what needs to be done. Like your uncles, in many (sometimes sneaky) ways, Roy is indeed quite the "smart cookie"! Although we learned, long ago, never to underestimate his potential creative/cognitive capacity, Roy still surprises us at times! For one thing, he's totally wizard at playing video games! ========== Posted by lilangel181 zone 5 (lilangel181@aol.com) on Tue, Apr 6, 10 at 11:30 Oh Darrin, That is quite a plate-full! Hugs and all the support I can offer to you and your wife for everything yall do! Have you ever tried doing a weekend respite program? Where someone else looks after the child for an afternoon, or a day or even a weekend to give parents time to just relax. I need to turn off the computer now... apparently we're having a tornado watch/warning. I'm not worried... I grew up in tornado alley! ~Laura Laura,...Thanks uber muchly for your emotional support!! While respite service has been made available to us, and we seriously considered it, ultimately we chose to decline, for several...

I received my wonderful box from Margaret this week having received my red shrimp plant a couple weeks before. Poor box - he was in "priority" mail for 6-7 days! All arrived well though, here is what I received: Six big beautiful succulents Spring Pot Percher Snail Pot Hanger Pruning Shears Bag of GREAT seeds that I wanted and the cutest garden turtle ever Thanks so much Margaret I love everything! Sue G

Lorelei identified the pink blooming cactus as Echinocereus pentalophus, or 'lady finger cactus'. Thank you Lorelei! It's nice to know the names of plants so you can look them up. The link says that sometimes the flowers are 6 inches across! Thanks to everybody for looking, liking, and commenting on the photos.