It has been very hot lately and dry in my yard. Maybe full sun and a little pot is just too much for the plant? Try putting it where it can get some afternoon shade or maybe get a larger pot or plant it in the ground. I struggle to keep even the sun loving drought tolerant plants alive in my full sun western exposure front yard.

I think a lot of the criticism of the Zeta Rod system on this forum has been a bit unfair. First, I have no association of any kind with Zeta Rod. I don't sell or install water conditioning equipment. I do have a degree in chemistry. First, Zeta Rod DOES NOT claim to remove calcium and other dissolved minerals from your water. In fact, they have been very clear that they DO NOT remove anything. Therefore, and chemical test of water that has been conditioned with a Zeta Rod system will have exactly the same chemical composition as the water prior to the test. If you collect some Zeta Rod conditioned water and let it dry, you will get a deposit -- again, exactly what Zeta Rod states. What Zeta Rod DOES claim to do is to keep minerals dissolved in the water, so that they do not precipitate on (coat for the non-chemists) pipes, dishes, sinks, etc. (at least prior to the water evaporating). Zeta Rod also claims that any scale present due to evaporation will be easier to remove than normal scale. I have been using a Zeta Rod system for almost two years and my experience is that both of Zeta Rod's claims are true. Here are the trade-offs between a Zeta Rod and a traditional water softener; at least as I see them: 1. A Zeta Rod system may have a higher installation cost, but a lower operating cost. 2. In municipalities where traditional water softeners are not allowed, the Zeta Rod is a LOT better than nothing. 3. A traditional water softener will remove metals from your water -- the Zeta Rod will not. However, the Zeta Rod does appear to prevent the metals from depositing on pipes and other surfaces (as long as the water is not allowed to evaporate). During the first few months of use, the Zeta Rod also appears to remove any existing scale that has built up on pipes. Based on my personal experience, the Zeta Rod appears to be MORE effective than a salt based water softener at preventing scale buildup on pipes. 4. While the Zeta Rod does not remove anything from the water, it also does not add anything to the water. A traditional water softener replaces metals (usually calcium and magnesium) with sodium and/or potassium, depending on the kind of salt used with the water softener. 5. A traditional water softener should prevent water spots. A Zeta Rod will not prevent water spots. 6. The Zeta Rod system is MUCH smaller than a salt based water softener. If I had to install a new system and salt based water softeners were legal in my area, it would be a pretty close call for me. I would probably opt for the Zeta Rod system because of lower operating costs, smaller size and not lower maintenance (don't have to mess with bags of salt). Cheers, Don

Finally read Their Eyes were Watching God by Zora Neal Hurston. Wow. What a read. It's written mostly in AfAm dialect from the south and once I got the hang of that, it was eaz-readin'. It's a bildungsroman novel (or is that repetitive?) of a young AfAm woman who struggles to find out who she is, so it sounds rather "same old story" but the writing is stupendous. If you like to read lyrical descriptions that are heavy with Southern folklore (but not enough to make it confusing), you'll like this. Don't be put off by the dialect. You get the hang of it (or at least I did). Neale Hurston's own biography is a fascinating story in its own right as well. She won a couple of Guggenheims for research, she went to university as an Af Am in 1917 or so (when few women let alone women of color did), and had a successful writing career. And then - she ends up in Florida working as a maid, her writing forgotten for years, has a stroke, ends up in an indigent hospital and dies in an unmarked grave. Alice Walker et al brought her writing to the fore in the 1970's and now she is part of the canon of the Harlem Renaissance (although not everyone might agree with that categorization). Fascinating...

I belong to a book club and enjoy it very much. I was invited by a friend who was already a member. They keep it to 10 people although there is one woman who has never participated in 4 years of membership and with life commitments we rarely have all 9 of us together. We meet monthly from September through May and take a summer hiatus. At the September meeting we all offer 3 book recommendations and the group votes on which we will read, and at our May meeting we choose a summer book as our September choice-that's usually something that is longer or conversely might be a popular beach read. The Goldfinch for example was last summer's pick. The group is diverse and accomplished; several doctors, lawyers and everyone has a graduate if not professional degree. I mention that because they come up with some very interesting book suggestions that have taken me well beyond what I would read on my own. Unfortunately though a couple of members are firmly in the 'I only want to read 4 star novels from Amazon' camp and there have been a few books I really didn't think were worth the effort. Oh well, that's life. All the Light We Cannot See is my pick this year and will be our May discussion topic. I just finished a non-club selection that is one of the best books I think I've ever read, Being Mortal. It's already been mentioned but for anyone who is dealing with aging parents, or pondering how to deal with one's own aging process or terminal illness (and let's face it that is all of us-there's only one way the human story ends), this is an amazing, compassionate and deeply nuanced view and discussion of these issues. Would recommend it to any and everyone!