Plant propagation part XVIII based on my own experience

Ok all you ladies with the hand held steam cleaners. I need some input about them. I am going to buy one but I want a good one. Help me.

Dave, that is not a mouse, that is a bear. That is my female Schnauzers toy. It is a Bennie Baby. They make the best dog toys. That one is about 5 years old. I wash them and then she takes them outside. She is 11 and loves to play come and catch me with DH and myself.

Jeanette, they have a new hand held steamer by Sharp that has three attachments. I do not have it, I have an older one but my daughter has it and loves it. Just Google Sharp Steamer and it should be on the home page. I ordered some covers and saw it on the same site.

JB, I love the cat laying on the grass. That cat had an attitude and I love attitude in a cat. My cat is 18 and only likes my DH. I keep threatening I am going to the shelter and get myself a new kitten but have not done it yet.

Had a great birthday. Housekeeper canceled and is not coming until tomorrow. Had yogurt with fresh blueberries, strawberries and kiwi for breakfast.

DH and I went to a late lunch and had soup and salad at Olive Garden. It was all we wanted.

Then went to Costco and purchased our weeks supply of fresh fruit.

The kids came over and received many calls of good wishes.

Thanks for all the warm wishes. I will not be on long this evening because I have a busy day tomorrow planting irises. Later.

Little late with the Sharp info Sharon. I just ordered a Bissell off of Amazon. If I don't like it I will buy the Sharp. Thanks.

Lunch at the Olive Garden sounds real nice birthday Sharon and it sounds like DH is better. Getting out. Did he go in Costco with you? Now if he did that I would think he is ready for a marathon.

Glad to hear he is better.

Yes, he went to both places and ate like a P** at Olive Garden. That is good because he has not been eating.

I think you will like whatever unit you purchased. All you need is the steam. I got the Shark because they were the first with the unit.

I am hoping it will clean above the backsplash in the kitchen . My shoulders are so bad from arthritis that I can't reach that far for very long so maybe this will help.

Maybe it is your cooking Sharon. LOL, just kidding. It was just being out around all of that good smell in the OG that made your husband eat so good. That is good. I think a good appetite is a sign that you are pretty ok.

Here is Mr. Big.....the attitude cat....what a lover he is but I hate having to be nice to him. He is always with me when I am outside. He and Barney give each other kissies, it is so funny. He sleeps on my deck lounge and just outside the doggie door because the AC goes out the door. Cats are not dumb.
LOL

Today is pot washing day so off I go to soak the pots in bleach. 993 deg and humid today.

Hello all! My name is Karen, from Texas. I stopped by because I've been haunting Sharon, I'm also getting an EZ Clone machine and am asking her advice..I also wanted to say hello to my dear friend JBerger, if she remembers me from the long ago "hotties" group on the Brug forum...JB, it's almost Christmas tree farm time, isn't it? The months are going by so fast. It is 115 heat index here each day for weeks, and I'm about to give up the ghost on outdoor gardening.....no amount of water is really keeping the plants alive, they are all wanting to turn brown and die back for the year.

Welcome Karen. I am a recent newbie (less than a month ... I think) to this thread. I have learn so much. Very friendly and sometimes quite funny participants.

I live less than 20 miles from JB. Mother nature has not been to cooperative with her this year. I believe she lost all of the baby fir trees they planted this year.

It is another hot, muggy and RAINLESS day here. I hust finnished watering plants outback and my head is soaked from pirspiration.

I did visit my daughter Lisa yesterday. The time in her pool was so refreshing. I did take pictures of the fence project ..i shall post them later (need to take time to transfer them to computer file).

Mr. PITA, who is always in his garden was nowhere in sight.

Mary

LOL, JB, wonder if your Mr. Big is the father to my Hobo?? Looks just like her. She really should be a Tramp. We didn't know what sex she was when we named her Hobo 'cause she was a feral. And, boy does she have an attitude. And not dumb either. Bet they are related. She could have come all the way from NJ to Washington State.

Hi Karen, I can believe JB was a Hottie!! She still is. She probably started it. Now I know why she gets us in so much trouble with Admin. She probably got you all closed down.

There must be some plants that can take that heat. Guess that's what cactus are for?

The PITA didn't want his picture taken Mary. Saw you with a camera out there.

Hi All
Sharon happy belated birthday so sorry I missed it.
Mary - sorry about forgetting the grand kids its been one of those weeks parttimers disease...its like allshimerz but onle comes and goes. I think its the meds...
well we get a break in the weather and I am down for the day. over did it yesterday taking dowd the wet bar and moving stuff around in the nieces room. she is painting a new color and has new bedding to match.
its a peacefull weekend at the lake this weekend .... I did manage to get a couple of gingers planted in the north bed. I am trying an over wintering experament with them... sorry is my spelling is off I am not totally with it.
welcome Karen from texas ... what part of the lone star state are you in??? I am hopeing to get me a cloner to use in the winter to see how well it does, I just have to save my pennies.
well no much else going on here yet .... just trying to keep everyone alive and well so they can make their way either to a new bed or out the door as sold items. Not pushing the sales to much at the moment as we are just managing to get everyone watered well. the weather man is saying things like chance of possible this and that .... pish posh it aint gonna rain just tease us.
Take care everyone stay coll
Dave

Hello Karen Honey!
How are you deep in the heart of TX??? It is so nice to have you here. You will enjoy this goofy group because they are mostly in the West and talk when I sleep. I get up and have my coffee reading their activities the night before. But, they seem to catch up with me and they are sooooooo much fun.
I have been moaning and groaning about the weather and we did loose about 25 of the several hundreds of baby Christmas Trees we just put in, but there are others still in the field not sure are they going to die or not. There are some of the older babies, like four years old that after they get that old your money really goes down the drain when they die, and they are looking very burned at this point. There are hundreds of them but only one section looks really brown. The professionals say the sun is so hot and the air is not humid enough to help them. Watering will not do it. We do irrigate but this has to do with the very hot dry air and sun. The very old ones with a deep root system seem to be surviving the intense sun.
I spent the morning putting pots in the tubs to soak. Hundreds of seedlings I never got planted, plus some cuttings that just did not survive the heat of the greenhouse. I watered the greenhouse everyday sometimes three times a day. Always twice for sure, and the humidity kept showing only 16.........the intense heat and sun just sucks the water out of the pots. I moved all my bougainvillea to a shady spot today because I only have six left but they were curling up. I had cut them back when they were done blooming so they would get the new growth for next year and they are so dry I gave them a good soaking and put them in the shade. I can not tell you how frustrated I am. I gained weight just sitting on my butt waiting for it to cool down so I could work outside. No such luck. This month is just like last month.
Enough of all that stuff, too depressing, what have you been doing, growing, watching die, or whatever it is you do in 115 deg. heat. I think I would turn to drink or something close too it.
This group does mostly the really neat outside garden plants, which of course I have so few, but they put up with me because I am so loveable. Right you guys?????????
Hope you stick around for awhile, who knows what you may learn or help teach us. Stay well my dear friend and give all the old "hotties" my love. My brugs all died. They hated me. I gave 10 babies away and they are growing like weeds....because they are not near me. LOL Later, must try and mow some grass if it is not too hot........which I think it is. Wish it would rain..............oh !@##%T%^^#WE%#$@$$ Guess what I said!

Just a short one, Mom is pretty bad today, need to water then get over to her. Thought I would show a picture of a towel cake, and its legal here cuz it has rose petals and flowers in the top. BTW the top is an antique german leaded glass rose bowl. Makes me legal here doesn't it????? A towel cake is made from 2-3 sets of towels, decorated with, you guessed it, lace from that wedding gown that the flower girl dresses came from. Not much left of it.

Nice picture Lee. I hope your mom will feel better soon.

There is a fall lily (plus other bulbs) co-op in progress. Here is some of the latest info


Welcome everyone!! Take your time... we're still in the process of adding to our list of all our wants, and must haves!

Just got off the phone with Andy... This is what we can expect for discounts on the bubs... and I am laying it all down on the line for us to discuss right here on the Interest Thread!
********************

The coop application is completely new so there will be some bugs to work out going forward.

1. this COOP software is intended to make it easier for everyone. It will set pricing, keep track of orders and update pricing as each member adds to their order.

2. Since this is new software, it will have bugs and everyone's patience and feedback is valued as we continue to improve

3. Through Sunshine, I want to offer the best value for premium-quality bulbs at the lowest price. If we are not the best value, please let me know and I will try to work on a better price.


*****************


HERE IS THE PROPOSED DISCOUNT From the retail price listed in the attached file


over $0 = 50%

over $2500 = 52.5%

over $3000 = 55%

over $4000 = 57.5%

over $5000 = 60%


We also have the following terms


1. 2% collection fee if we collect payment from everyone, or if we get a single payment via any major CC or PAYPAL. There is no collection fee if we are paid with a single check for the entire order.


2. $3.00 per order in the event we split the master order up into each buyers smaller order. Each person will be charged $3.00 to box and pack their order.


3. Shipping based on FEDEX ground home and smart post rates to each buyer from NJ


4. We can split the order and ship to each member with a ship date of one of the following 9/15, 10/15, 11/15

EXAMPLE:

"Lady Alice" Tubland Lilies... 16-18 cm... RETAIL... $2.20... CO-OP ... $1.10 each

"Patricia's Pride" Asiatic Lilies... 14-16 cm... RETAIL...$2.08... CO-OP...$1.04


******************
There y'all have it!

There is a $3.00 per participant charge if we agree to allow Andy to ship. I balked at this, because under the circumstances, I was afraid y'all would balk! I seriously would be afraid to have that responsibility of dividing and repacking all the bulbs to all of you, and honestly for the $3.00, I know you'd get much better service for that same $3.00 through Andy. Please think about this, and then post your thoughts on this charge.

all the bulbs come in bags of 25... 200... 300... 400 as an example.. WE as the participants in the Co-op have to order a full bag collectively, then that said bag will be divided into our individual orders

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1119588/


This message was edited Aug 5, 2010 2:50 PM

This message was edited Aug 5, 2010 2:52 PM

I saw the coop. Don't want lilies.

So sorry about your mom Lee, Guess all you can do is keep her comfortable and try to keep her happy.

Cute cake. Did you make it?

Sounds like a nice co-op I just don't have the energy or time to get any. thanks though.

Lee sorry to hear about your mom she is in my prayers. you take as much time as you need we will be here and you and your mom are in our toughts and prayers.

JB: Just a thought and I am sure you have done a lot of things in the business. how about either a soaker hose or the strip of hose with holes in it that spray wayer up into the air? I hate to hear you are looseing trees to this heat.

well its been a slow day today and its way past my nap time so I will chat again later
Dave

Oh Yea it looks kind of like a diaper cake kim has made or ordered online for baby showers. its a cake made from diapers and toys and essentials are pined to the outer rims of the layers. really cool

lily co-op not just for lilies

they are asking for what people would order from this site
http://www.sunshineflowerbulbs.com/default.htm_.fallplanting_.mi20.htm


the site recently added to what is available


what can be ordered has to be approved ny co-op committee.

Dave. you are so sweet, we have soaker hose laying on all the rows and we use it both hanging and soaking depending. It is a large field and so we have to irrigate four or five rows at a time. Takes days because we have a well and depending on the lack of rain, etc. even if it is a deep well, you get a little nervous when you use too much. Most of the growers have more or less just accepted that there will be a loss this year due to the extreme heat of the sun and lack of moisture in the air.

Hey Jen, did I tell you praying mantis eat hummingbirds? Tell her Dave.

Lee, Prayers for your Mom and you.

Mowed grass today for nearly two hours. Heat was not too bad, nice breeze but really dusty. It was pretty warm when you were in the sun and out of the wind.

This is my 3rd attempt to post this! GRRRRR!!

Towards the right side of picture there is a line of string that indicates the alignment of new post for daughter’s new fence. A good 12 inches of her property is to the right of string. Building code requires new fencing to be within 3 inches of property boundary. Fencing will be erected on the left side of line … Mr PITA’s property is to the right of line.

This is the first time I have visited my daughter in warm and hot climate conditions that Mr. PITA was not to be seen.

The white pole to the right of the string lines were used to hold a shade canopy used during a recent laua party.

This is the back of her property where new fencing is to be erected.

Requesting adviced regarding cateract surgery,

I posted earlier that it is scheduled for Aug 19th.

Monday I was told that information would be sent.

Mail already arrived today ... no information .... so I called. The girl said since she just returned from vacation she needed time ... this was on Monday!

I was wondering what type of lens if any I needed to consider.... She said the doctor only recommended the standard lens. He is suppose to call tommorow to discuss his recommendation.

What am I to think?

Mary

Mary, I don't know what a standard lens is. You know you can research this on the computer so you know questions to ask him. I can tell you the way mine went. I had cataract surgery last year.

They asked me which way I preferred to wear glasses. For distance or up close to read. Those were the options I got. So, I was to wear glasses when they were done. One way or the other.

This was all spelled out in info they gave me. One last thing that it talked about was the trifocal lens. Just like glasses. But, I understood it to say that that lens was fairly new and may require further surgeries. I don't remember if Medicare (I don't know if you are on that) pays for the trifocal or not, but I believe it will not pay for the further surgeries. Same for lasers I think. I don't know anyone that has had lasers.

That information was the biggest issue for me.

Things to consider when deciding the lens issue besides reading, was driving, I suppose things like hunting, (distance) I am looking around my living room trying to think of things. But, you get the idea.

Thanks to all for your prayers and well wishes. They have now taken all medications away and will keep her comfortable. All I ask is that she not be in any pain. The towel cake is very similar to the diaper cake. With this one for the bridal shower, the key is to make it look as real as possible. This one sure did, from about 6 ft away you would swear (oops musn't do that ) you needed to cut it and pass slices around. ;) :) Talk to you soon. Lee

Thanks for the info Jeanette. When did you first start wearing glasses?

I know I hate night driving ... oncoming lights just seem a lot brighter to me in the last few years.

I drove home in the dark last night. and i was saying a lot of prayers during that drive.

JB .... how did you send those seeds? Are they taking a cross country tour? .... Have you seen my Mr. Mantis?

Mary

JB, get your praying mantis ready 'cause here comes my hummer. He's powering up.

Mary,

I first started wearing glasses many years ago. When we first started using computers at work. (the old cathodray tubes) and also that was when the government decided to cut back in the use of power so the building maintenance fellow would come around and put a light meter on our desks and if we had too much light he would take bulbs out of the fixtures over our desks.

I started wearing glasses not long after that. Think it was during the Carter Administration, probably the mid 70s.

Hi guys, just doing a drop in. Hope you are all having fun in the heat.

So Dawn, what are you doing? Of course, we are enjoying the heat.

My water bill was $312 and my power bill was $475. There goes all my spending money. I just had an old friend that has a computer company order a PC for my DH. His is terribly old and very slow. New one should be here next week. He is getting better every day. I am on third day with no Pepsi. Did not have a headache so I guess the worst is over. Water retention is also diminished so maybe it was the sodium in the Pepsi.

Have been busy working overtime and got a bad UTI a few days ago and have just been miserable. My dd has chronic ones and is allergic to all antibiotics, so she passed on her good ones to me, that she could not take. Not helping so far, but the peridium for numbing is all that made me make it to work. Enough whine, I will have some cheese now.

I would kill myself if I had that bill for either. Good grief woman. Time to buy some Evap coolers for next year.
Rebates abound now for all things green.

Now I feel better about my bills and my struggling landscape. lol Thanks for cheering me up. It is supposed to be cooler this weekend, since the coast is socked in. It is an hour and 1/2 from the coast to here and there is many mountain ranges and valley in between so we don't get it unless there is certain lows that come in. Saturday it is supposed to be breezy and about 95. Whoo hooo!!@Dixy, hot dang! Guess what? Times up. Someone hosed me too Dave. They came in and took this huge structure down in my back yard and my plants are going to go into shock, like me. They towed off this nice single wide mobile that the lady illegally put up too, which is fine, but now it is all open and we were going to try to bid on it so we could use part of the property for ourselves, with that cool building there. That sucks. I'm feeling you Dave. : =(

Every time I hear bills like that it makes me appreciate my well and the fact that we don't need AC in the summer. But, it's a toss up. We don't have your nice sun either. It was 92 today outside, and 80 here in the house so I do not complain. We might hit 90 and above a half a dozen times a season. For the price of that AC I can stand it.

Mid 80s most of the time in the summer, and that is very comfortable. That is outside so in the house it is in the 70s.

Your hubby will love the new computer. Reminds me, the phone, computer, and TV are my biggest bills. And getting up there near your power and water bills if they keep up.

I need to move by my sister now Janette? I am a little disenchanted with here. I hate snow though, I don't mind and even like a dusting here and there but not the long cold, wet winter, so I would have to look hard. My husband is in the Long Shore Man Union, so he could find some work, but probably commuting, since we can afford to go to a big mortgage at our ages.

Just popping in to say hello to everyone.

JB - Bad news ..... now when the give a weather forecast the word RAIN is preceded by the following phrase
"NO CHANCE OF".

Mary

This message was edited Aug 6, 2010 6:46 PM

I hear you Dawn! Didn't your sister move to Chahalis,? That is no where near me. You better ask her about the weather if you are going to move near her. They are right on I-5 highway (near the coast) and I would imagine their weather is a lot like Seattle. Very little snow. Might be rain tho.

How long has your sister lived there? Through a winter? Give her a winter and then ask her. LOL

Dawn, you can learn how to garden anywhere. Your problem is your water problem. You need a couple of rain barrels and when you are not watering you put the hose in the barrels to fill them up.


Actually my water and power bills are low on a comparison to other homes in here. We are very well insulated and have the majority of the french doors and windows on the lower level protected from the direct heat by either overhangs or trees. Out neighbor to the South has very large trees that protect that side of the house and his is a very large two story so that helps also. Some of my neighbors have over $1000 power bills but they have very large homes. My power is used up by the Koi pond, pool and refrigerators (2) and freezer. We keep the house at 78 and the majority of the time the air conditioning is not on. But I do have ceiling fans in each room, including my dressing area in the bathroom. But that is what I pay to be living in warm climate. I do not like he cold. I can always cool off but if I get cold, I stay cold.

My landscaper for the HOA just called and we are going to pick out some more plants for the front area. So I must get up and get my shower and hit the road. Later friends.

High 87° yesterday, Low 60°. That has been the usual for the last few weeks, and probably will stay in that range until late September or even later. I hesitate to predict any type of weather as I am not any better than the people on TV who tell us what is happening and what is likely to happen, but not always what will happen, though I am sure they do their best.

So this weather is ideal for the tomatoes, peppers and other warm season veggies. Has anyone started seeds for the upcoming fall season? We just harvested the potatoes that I planted this spring...all sizes from medium-large to tiny. I will hold over the tiny ones and save them for planting. I did that last year and this is what the harvest has been. I won't have to buy "seed potatoes" anymore unless there is a problem with any type of disease. Also, I finally pulled the lettuce that bolted. So far, the ones shaded by the row cover are still doing well, but still quite late for lettuce. One of these days I will get it right and have the lettuce and tomatoes together...the tomatoes are still green as they were planted late May due to the late cold wet weather.

The "Cottage Garden" border has been planted, and of course, more will be started from seed to put in there. I should say the "bones" have been planted...the shrubs and named perennials that I would not be able to obtain from seed. They get sun and shade so I hope that the buddlieas do not give them too much shade. If that is the case, however, I will not complain as I have no decent shade garden. I will move in the hydrangea and other shade-loving plants that I have on the north side of the house that get too much hot morning sun this time of year.it is so amazing to me to just put a trowel in and plant, as any other garden, I would have to dig with a shovel first. Sharon has the right idea about mulch. I just mulched part of the "Dark Side Garden" and the plants are loving it. The callas are popping up all over, that were hiding from the sun, as that garden used to be shaded from tall native shrubs that were cut down. I put in a Cotinus 'Grace' in the corner and it will eventually give the needed filtered sun instead of so much direct hot sun. I did not realize that all those callas were even still there, as I thought they had been eaten by underground varmits. Should any of them bloom this year, I will take pictures for sure.

Sharon ~ My 'Tropicanna' has come back as well, so I won't be needing it if you want to send it elsewhere, but it will definitely be welcome here if you have it to spare, as I would love to have more, but do not want to be *too* selfish. Years ago when I planted it, it got large and flowered well. In recent years, we had such cool or cold springs that they came up so late that they did not grow so large. I never lift cannas or callas, though I am sure if I went to the trouble to bring them out of dormancy in March under heat and bright lights that they would be larger and have more flowers as well. It is just that I have little room for that kind of activity and I am busy with my seed-starting and all.

Jeanette ~ Our expenses are minimal. We do not pay for TV, I have pre-paid peoplepc for internet, which is $7.95 a month...our cell phone bills average about $27.00 a month for each, and we have two phones and are about $27.00 as well, and we have a well, so no water bill. I will have to check about the utilities, as DH pays that. I am going to attempt to raise a lot more from seed as I could not possibly buy all the plants that I can grow...well, we will see about that, as my focus this year has been on veggies. I will learn about and fall seed-sowing now. And I want to sow more in winter as well, both indoors and outdoors.

Mary and JB ~ How is your weather today? Any rain yet? I know that I cannot count on any significant rain anythime during the summer, though occassionally there is a short thunderstorm which will blow over almost as soon as it arrives...I think we had about 5 minutes of rain about 2 weeks ago...nothing significant as everything was still dry.

So, we will all have to to what we do in hot weather....try to keep cool when we can, do what we can in the early morning hours in the gardens as that is the very coolest part of daylight hours, and then complain that we cannot be playing outside all day when we were kids...does that sum it up? Oh, yeah, and try to protect our plants the best way we know how....

Well, today I have had a fever so I did not go out this morning, so I will have to go out this afternoon in the heat. That is why the long diatribe for this afternoon, as I am usually more usefully employed...not that this "thread-group" is not a worthwhile endeavor. I learn so much from everyone here and enjoy each and every person here and your sometimes "wild & wacky" stories..LOL!! Thanks everyone!

Here is the beginning of the new garden border, (only part of it) ...I will update it when I take more pictures...

Evelyn

Dawn I feel your pain. and to top off my siteyation my order for shade cloth got missed and its was ordered on my birthday back in the 1st part of july. I was told they would cut a 70% piece instead of my 50% and ship it for the mis communication on their end. its about $3.00 a foot difference so its a good one for me. I really need the shade for my hostas and hardening off my liners.
my goofy niece locked herself in the dorm room this earlier week. campus security had to come and let her out. she was taking a math refresher corse so she can try to get out of a 0 hour course requirements for college math. she tested poorly when she enrolled. it seems fractions don't compute to her. fractions are the easiest part of math in my book. did she ask for help Nnnnnnoooooooo ....
anyway she left the key in the lock on the outside of her room and locked the inside lock. bingo she was locked in. I am so afraid of what the future holds for us because she is not alone in her ignorance. it seems they are teaching several classes of it in high school and she went to everyone of them....
I bought a couple of pieris japonica's today about $15.00 total. they were loaded with seed and had about 20 cutting ready to take on each plant. I got a ton of seed off them. already have a 50 cell sown. Also got in some cuttings of red twig dogwood. I found a source for both bloodgood and threadleaf weeping Jm seeds by the pound (not cheap but well worth it. I also managed to get some royal paulowinia seeds to grow. I was told by the guy who wants them he had been told they were tough to grow. I managed to get about 75 to grow with a few losses. Nice 4" trees I am planning on moving them upto 4" for the winter and we will see how they do for me.
I set up a sweat box for them to root in. I have a few friends who swear by them. I know several of you have been doing something similar. just using a clear tote over a flat of cuttings.
I am gearing up for my fall planting for the winter months. lots of seeds for specialty tree's Kousa dogwood, Japanese maples ., Golden rain trees, red bud tree's.
Any suggestions for other trees? I thought about bradford pear but they are such a messy tree here. they drop their little pods all over and then you have thousands sprouting all over the place. I am not sure they will come true to the parent from seed I realize they may be a bit different but if the go back to their rootstock linage it would not be worth it.
oh well no new pics. yesterday was a glorious day. I wish I had had the energy to take advantage of it. we hit a high of .................are you ready?????????....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................90 degrees and a nice southerly breeze on top of that. it was sweet. I realized what I missed out on last night about 6pm we went to get tires on our suv and it was nice. the shady area's were the best.
I know everyone is going to hate me but here it is. we average 300 a month for gas and electric and about 50.00 a month for water. Our housing is really afordable but you can spend a lot of money if you want to for a home. So oklahoma like Texas makes up for the heat we deal with in more afordable housing. we keep our a/c at 69 degrees.
well thats about it for now
stay cool
Dave

I do not know how hot it was today. The temp in the greenhouse topped out today at 106deg. when the sun came out. My 6 year old arbravida (sp) is starting to get brown and they are very tall. Two of them took a hard hit during the snow and we have them staked and pulled back with rope since that happened. It almost blew them over, so we are wondering if the roots were damaged. We strung soaker hose around them and I put it on for an hour or so this morning. Tomorrow morning I will do the same for two hours before the sun get too hot and we will see if I can bring them back. I think the lack of water has helped along with the sun. There is a big brown spot on one of them. I just want to cry.
None of the branches are broken so it must be the weather. It is a 2 ft. x 2 ft brown spot.

They are not calling for rain for another week. It has been 6 to 8 weeks since it rained a measurable rain. I remember moaning about when will it stop but little did I know it would stop for good. Those 5 inches of rain plus we had are long gone and now we are looking at a draught. All we need now is a big old fire in the pine lands and
I am going to move back to PA or hide in a hole. LOL Here in NJ it can rain one place and not a drop just a mile away. Especially when you get close to the ocean. We are about 25 miles as the crow flies.

Dave you sound like you took a big shot of B12 or something. I wish I had the energy you have. My baby sitting job ended today and the cockatiel went home so my bird room is back to normal and the plants can go back to their favorite places. I just wish I felt some motivating factor so I could start to put ads back up on Ebay and DG Marketplace. I just do not seem to give a d#@! anymore. Oh well, nothing will help and we can just wait. They are predicting 14 to 20 Hurricaines this year, so our rains will be coming for sure. LOL...Then we will blow down the GH and trees will be uprooted. You know, I am beginning to think God is mad at me. Hmmmmmm that is a scary thought.

I am going to have a cocktail and watch the news. Love and hugs to you all. Have a nice weekend. JB

JB The Easter Egg plant seeds arrived today! Thank you so much! Wonderful information and picture. Where did you get that cute little clear plastic envelop that the seeds are in?

I wish I had some good weather news for JB who lives in central, NJ. The following web site indicates that the ground water index is very low.

http://www.njdrought.org/status.html#central

JB … How are the farmers around you coping with the weather?

I have decided to have crystal lens inplants when I have the eye surgery for cataracts It is going to be done at Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center in Hamilton Twp, NJ.

Dave, my big Japanese Red Maple is definitely a BLOODGOOD. You are welcome to all the seeds I can gather.

Sharon … What is HOA?

Evelyn …. Nice picture! You go girl! And with the trials mother nature is putting us through we have to resort to WILD & WACKY to keep from going insane!

I truly love all of you.

MARY

Oh my goodness, I went out on the deck to respond to Dawn and Sharon but it was too bright and I couldn't see the screen so I read a book instead, I came in to watch the news and to respond to them and my gosh you all have been on here having a party.

Sharon, that would be good advice for Dawn with the rain barrel if she got rain. I'm not sure she does get much??? Speaking of the rain barrel, I discovered Bob had turned the spigot closed on the two on the kitchen deck and they filled up. So, I had 55 gallons in each one to water the plants with. That is good 'cause I don't set the sprinklers on the perennials. I want them to get their roots down deep to search for water.

Evelyn, what is the fever from? You take care of yourself. I enjoy growing from seed so much. Especially, 'cause that is the time of the year starting in January and February with the seed catalogs and ordering, and then planting in March. Then of course babying them until setting them out.

Dave it is sad that your niece has wasted her classes. I agree, fractions were the easiest part of math. Too bad that she didn't get you to help her. Gosh, a tutor right there!! What more could you ask for.

What are paulowinias? I have heard of them, but don't know what they are. How many seeds did you get bulk? Are you going to have room for all of those? How long do you think you will have to keep them to turn them over?

Well, for utilities I think I have you beat Dave. I have a budget amount with the PUD and pay $180 a month for power which includes heat. That is year round. And we have a well so nothing there, no garbage or sewers. Just the phones, Cable TV, and computer. Evelyn, what did you mean you have pre-paid peoplepc for the internet at $7.95 a month? My Satellite TV is $82. phones, another $100, Computer $55.

Never thought I would hear you wish for hurricanes JB. I feel for you. I really do. This has been such a nice summer so far. Looks like e will get some storms tonight tho. It gets in the 90s and we get heat lightning. It is ok if we get rain with it. But, a fear of fires if we just get the lightning. Altho, the counties around us have fire warnings, but here most everything is pretty green.

I had a nice surprise a bit ago, I went out checking the plants on the deck and found 3 of my brugs are budded and one has a 4" bud on it. I have not seen it before now. So, maybe I will get to see which ones I have. I lost all the tags somehow.

Think we could all use a shot of Dave's go juice JB.

Mary, I have never heard of crystal lenses. Hope you like them.

The wind just knocked over a 7 foot tall brug. Just wish it would rain instead of wind blowing. LOL, sounding like JB.







Getting there. These are Super San Marzano tomatoes that I make sauce and salsa out of.

Janette my sister is moving to Centalia, or Twin cities, she says it is known as. It is scary to leave everyone I love, like my kids and my grandbabies though. I don't know if I could have the courage to do it. I know I would grieve so much, but in another sense I would love to be where I could smell rain all the time. I LOVE, LOVE RAIN. IT IS MY FAVORITE. Though I favor it with thunder and lightening, but I will take it any way I can get it. I don't get it, what do I do with the rain barrel? Hand water stuff with a watering can? This is foreign to me, so I apologize if I sound ignorant. I am.

Sharon you live in a different income tax bracket than I, so I can appreciate you not being horrified, but it is a lot.
Our electric was $118 and the water is about $30 every 2 months. We have a well too, community well with 16 others, as I said before. Our propane kills in the Winter, if we use our central heat much, but we got a pellet stove and now it is about $100-135 for propane. It does not heat the whole house well but it keeps most of it comfortable, pretty fordable.
$our mortgage is pretty affordable and we pay extra on it, so we are paying it down fast.

Dave are you trying to figure out a tree for your yard or to grow to sell?

JB I understand your pain. It just kills to get something you love, established to have it go due to nature. My gosh, I lost a silver dollar Eucalyptus tree and it is just coming back, it looks like a dang shrub now. In Winter it will probably snap again too, in the wind. I need to keep wacking it, so the trunks will thicken out. grrr!