Luping's Basil

A few spruce linKs for ya Lynnie.

http://www.naturehills.com/catalog/trees/spruce_trees.aspx

http://landscaping.about.com/od/evergreentrees/p/blue_spruce.htm

http://www.conifersociety.org/

This message was edited Aug 17, 2009 5:22 PM

This message was edited Aug 17, 2009 5:23 PM

Nice mine Lynnie and boy what a yard you have to fill with plant's/tree's etc.

Nice Celestite Dave and it's good to read that you folk's pull together in your community when needed. Great job.

Kassy, wishing you a nice night at work.

Hows'it Rachel!

The neighborhood has a bunch of eccentrics in it but when someone needs help the neighborhood tends to pull together.

We've dealt with home & vehicle repairs, folks getting violent, brush fires, loose dogs & horses, wild animals, and have even chased crack-heads out of here. It feels good to have someone unexpectedly show up to help when you need it!

thanks Rachel, you're as lovely in your picture as you are in your posts.
Dave I didn't look closely at yours because you look nekkid ;) Also, I went to get the minerals and heard some noise in the garage, realized I left the door open & I'm afraid there's a wild animal in there (intruder I can handle, wild animal, not so much) so I'll get them tomorrow.
Moon thanks for the link, I read that colorado spruce can take full sun...love those covered with snow.
Kassy I hope you have a nice night at work.

pretty crazy stuff for paradise ;)

Don't worry Lynnie, I was wearing shorts in that photo. It's very hot here lately.

Just for you Lynnie. Single Knock-out......I want a double too;-) They go great with the moss rose ( Portulaca) too.

Portulaca.

Rachel I have double pink knockouts, remember? I posted a pic of them somewhere I think on the slug thread. You encouraged me when it rained for a month straight after I planted them. They're living up tp their name, too, they're machines.

Well, heck Lynnie, I forgot your's were the "knock-out's"! How are they doing? Still blooming away for you too?

yeah they're doing great, so is the william baffin climber...I had a gift certificate, it was like being a kid in a candy shop...I still have half left, too, so I can either get two more or something for that area in the picture.

You trying to get me to do that blushing thing Rachel?

One thing that helps with the undesirables in my neighborhood is the unpaved road makes it hard to get back here. The Post Office won't even deliver mail out here.
When a drug dealer moved into the neighborhood years ago, we asked the local police to help get rid of them, and they told us they couldn't help us; we had to deal with it ourselves. Me and a couple neighbors lined the sides of the road with rocks to keep dopeheads from sitting out in front of our properties and smoking crack & meth after they had scored their drugs. Things started to get heated when one of the dopeheads unloaded a gun towards a neighbor's 15 year old son, after he asked what they were doing out in front of their property. Luckily, about the time that we were discussing approaching
the dealer about the problems he was causing, he was arrested at the Hilo Airport with the largest meth haul in Big Island history.
The safety rule in the neighborhood is to keep your gate locked and "No Trespassing" sign posted!

Lynnie good to hear. We have alot of "wild climbing rose's" here so I do not plant those on the property but they are lovely to pass by when in bloom elsewhere;-)

Dave, good for you and your fellow neighbor's for jumping in and helping keep out those type of people! Glad there was a bust involved too!!!! I could add some storie's of what I have dealt with in the past but it would be alot to read.

Storm's are heading our way again people! Some are packing hard too! It's been rather steamy/HOT here for quite a while. Can't control Mother Nature though;-)

Hey Rachel, is that the Tropical Storm that just hit Florida? It was causing big trouble on the coast.

Hope it breaks up before it gets to you.

ok kids I'm off to bed :) have a good night all
mineral pics tomorrow!

Last I checked on the T.V. new's, that's where they are still brewing at the moment. We were in "hazardous weather alert's" for today but we lucked out thus far. Still quite "wet" here though from the past moisture.

Good night Lynnie. Make sure you check out the third link. There are some pretties there to give your alpine area some real texture.

Hi Rachel, Dave. Yep, Anna, Bill and Claudette churning up in and toward the gulf. Places toward the panhandle in Florida been getting some wind and heavy rain. Time to start moving stuff in the garden. I would rather move all the pots and stuff now than have to last minute panic haul huge plants.

Rachel, are you familiar with the old Bourbon thornless roses? I have two, a climber that can bloom quite nicely with morning sun and dappled light. Zephrine Drouhin is a raspberry pink with a nice light fruity smell. The other is a NOID white my father in law started for me. It is a white shrub rose that blooms consistently from spring through frost with a clean light fragrance.

You do plumbing Dave?
Want to install a toilet while looking though the forty?

Can't wait to see those minerals!

Here's some Mica:

Left is Muscovite; Biotite Schist on the right; bottom is a large Lepidolite crystal.

I'll bet your pockets were full of neat rocks and things when you were a kid,Dave. Bet your Mom was never sure what she would find in the laundry. Grin

OK Dave, now that I know your around........
I sent my BF the picture and what you said about meeting us there........
I think he was ROTFL, and this was his reply (remember, I sent it to him on sunday)

(8/16/2009 8:43:46 PM): I don't shoot anyone on sundays.......ROTFL

And he also replyed this......................

(8/16/2009 8:44:38 PM): looks like the 40 ~~~~~~~

Are you at that forty already Dave?

Interesting piece of the Lepidolite crystal you have there Dave. The hint of purple does remind me of Amethyst.?

Rachel

Hi Kassy, I can build the house from the ground up. I built my own house (not finished yet), helped several friends with their houses, and built a cabin for my brother.

I can help hook up the john, but hey, your out in the country, just use a shovel!

Here's my brother, Dan, he's a chef, specializes in "Pacific Rim Cuisine".

Hi Gang, been catching up. Rachael it looks like I'm going to have to cut my pink knock outs back. I pulled up azalas because they got taller than my windows and now it looks the roses are going to do the same thing. I didn't know they would get that tall. Have you had any experience cutting them back?

Knock Outs aren't to bad hear. We can usually buy them for about $10 a piece. They have some really nice doubles out now.

Glad you got your plumbing done Dave. I've always done most of my own work. When we moved back into our home was the first time I ever hired anyone. Decided while we were redoing the house we might as well pull all the plumbing under the sinks and lavatories and commodes and have it redone. Since the old had lasted since the "70's figured this would last through our life.

Have a good night all. Got to flake out. Moved to many pine blocks today.

Good night Jim. take it easy with those pine blocks. Cut the grass today and got completely sweat soaked...humidity is a bear.

Sounds like I should limit my hiking around Wisconsin to Sundays!

Dave, he said that picture looked alot like the forty.....
He has swamp land there and sand. Interesting combination.
And who knows all what else is out there ^_^

He just told " that would be faster / cheaper" to your answer..............LOL

Jim I see a pink knockout on my way to work and it gets 6 feet tall, then gets cut back to 4 or so. Looks like they just shape it into a big meatball if you know what I mean. I prefer a more natural look, myself, but it seems you can't hurt these things. Listen, if I don't kill them, nobody will lol
Kassy your boyfriend sounds like a hoot!

LOL Dave, don't like to live dangerously?.......where ever you were standing did look a lot like the forty. That was what I thought too as soon as I saw the picture. That's why I had to send it to him.

Yes, Lynn, he can be a lot of fun. And a sweetheart too ^_^
Funny thing is, there are times yet when he doesn't know if I'm joking or not. But I think he is learing.

here's one pic...I tried to get close ups Dave but I was using one of the kids' cameras, since hubby took ours off to work

those above are the rocks I was tossing into the bag. These are the little bits of quartz & stuff they were picking up.

For anyone who might be interested in knowing...........they removed the thread that they shut down on us...................

They should have kept it on. There was more information on that thread than they'll ever accumulate on another.

My wife says to leave the roses alone but I need to be able to see out the windows. When the revolution starts I want a clear field of fire.

Are you guys having any trouble in your area with thieves raiding deep freezes. I have heard of several in our general area who have come home and there freezers have been emptyed and in one case stole the whole freezer.

Have a good day all. Check you tonight.

Kassy, that photo was from the Pu'u Huluhulu Native Plant Sanctuary. The Hawaiian Sicyos grows there.

Thanks for the mineral photos Lynnie. Looks like there are Quartz, Feldspar, and Mica; the components of Pegmatite.
By Googling Ruggles Mine, I found that a large variety of minerals came out of the mine, including my favorite, Beryl!

Here is a Beryl crystal in Feldspar, from a Pegmatite mine.

If anyone is interested in receiving the newsletter from the Pennsylvania Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources, Wild Resources Conservation Program. It is known as "Keystone Wild! Notes", and here is the link:

http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/wrcp/subscribe.html

The electronic newsletter contains articles that may be pertinent to Rachel and Lynnie's areas.

Here is more Beryl: clockwise from left; Golden Beryl, Heliodor, Aquamarine, and Emerald.

i didn't know aquamarine & emerald are beryl haha
the kids found a small bit of beryl but I couldn't find it in the bag...I'll come across it at some point, probably in the washer. it was green. probably a valuable emerald 'll never see again that i could have retired on ;)
thanks dave!

Yes, Green Beryl is Emerald! The green cut gem above (in the plastic case) is gem quality Emerald; left of that are Emerald crystals, of lower quality.

I prefer to see the natural crystals; although they have to be "crystal clear" to be of great value. The Golden Beryl above is an example of gem quality.

Okay, guys, this is post 120. How about the next one of you to log on starts a new thread and posts the name on this one? That way, the thread doesn't get unwieldy and cause any server problems.

Gorgeous minerals there Lynnie and Dave.

Jim, I'm with you. Gimme a clear shot, and make it hard to storm the castle....grin