Like faerycat, my problem isn't so much "rattiness". It's sloppiness, lol. I just never seem to get around to doing the things that need to be done in spring. The weeding, mulching, transplanting, etc., that, when done early, helps lower the maintenance throughout the summer. So, since it's not done early, by this time, there are beds which I'm just getting around to, and man oh man, are they a mess! Which makes me lose motivation. Sometimes I just sit and stare at them, thinking about what needs to be done, and about what I didn't do, and how I should have done it - and there goes any time I had to actually do anything, lol! But luckily for my own sanity, I can pick out the bright spots in these messes. I can appreciate the plants I planted on purpose, lol, in amongst the tallest weeds, or I can visually separate clashing colors from plants I meant to move because they didn't go well together, etc. The way I look at it, if I didn't (and don't) have the time to organize and maintain things the way they are, I certainly don't have time to rip things out and start again! :) Dee

Sandy, I believe you are correct, that it is "The Laugher", or Charadra deridens. I thank you and Sherry for the lookups. I googled images on line and the little face looks the same as the 'Laugher'. I wonder if he hitched a ride in on a Butterfly Bush I bought yesterday? I watered the plant well after placing it on the deck and the watering might have caused him to move off of it. Since I didn't know what he would eat, I put him down in the garden last night. I hope he finds something he can eat as he was so sweet. Yes, Susan, that little face was just precious. It reminds me of the faces of the little white seal pups with the big eyes. Susan, my redrings are doing fine so far, except for one baby. It dried out in the top, then the leaves slowly dried up and fell off. The little stem is now drying out. I can't see a wound on the stem so I don't know what might have happened. I'll look for it next spring, hoping the roots will survive. Even though I had several RedRing flower heads, not one seed pod was produced! It blooms the earliest of all the milkweeds I've tried to grow, maybe there aren't enough pollenizers around that early in the spring. This might be part of the reason it is declining in the wild. Although, come to think of it, the wild one I found two years ago was blooming later in the summer but it looked like it had been mowed down at some point so maybe it was a second growth I found. I'm so nervous to mess around very much with the RedRing MW; just trying to keep hands off and let nature take care, although I do check them over each day. It is such a pretty plant; hope we can get some more growing and producing seed. I did have one baby actually bloom this year so I'm hopeful it will produce several flower heads next season, along with the wild one. Last year the wild one only put up one stalk (if I'm remembering correctly) and this year it put up four stalks and all had several flower heads, just no seed pod. Do you have RedRing growing in your garden? Mary

First off, sorry to be so long getting here, our server was down all night and most of the morning. Terryr, Sorry about your situation...people can be pretty cold and heartless and unfortunately family barbs can sometimes hurt the worst, can't they...wish folks would stop and think before they open their mouths. A friend sent me this image. He was out mending fence and saw this and went all the way back to the house after the camera. His impression is that it had a brief navigational hiccup with drastic consequences. I wonder if a shrike didn't have something to do with this. Looks like a scarab beetle (dung beetle maybe) which are pretty heavily armored and I would bet would tend to glance right off and keep on truckin'....but the barb has impaled the beetle right behind the head where there's a chink in its "armor" so I can go either way on this one. Plus if this beetle was in flight when it hit, its coverlets were out and it would have been more vulnerable. An interesting (and slightly macabre) picture just the same.

Luckygal, where in the world are you? Somewhere near a beach obviously--but which one. Sorry no good luck on the TS shopping, do keep trying! Jeanne, I have two baker's racks outside, one is a corner unit--but neither look nearly as cute as yours with your collections and vignettes. I need to work on mine I think. That is so neat that you do the Farmer's market too. Candy, I'm another one who does tablescapes for my "imaginary" friends. DH will only eat at the table when we have company--rest of the time he prefers to eat in front of the tv. Karen, I didn't do a table, but I did glue a little cheese tray and glass dome on a pedestal and decorate it--can I get any points for that? ;o) Kathleen, the rooster napkins like in your photo that you shared with me are some of my favs. We don't do sit down breakfast often, but I like to just sit the table and display them on the plates because they look so cute.