From The hills of Southwestern Virginia elevation 2000 feet. My pears were a disapointment for me this year in that my best two trees had a very low set. I also had a lot of damage from CM which I've never had before. I didn't spray, but didn't see the damage until the fruit started getting ripe. Hamese- my earliest pear was new this year. Just a few to taste. They were medium sized, quite aromatic for an asian pear, but rather mealy. I may have left them on too long. Chojuro- Smaller than usual this year and there was a low fruit set. They had good strong flavor as usual. Hosui- Some sized up better than usual maybe because of low fruit set. I think the hot weather actually improved the flavor as they were as sweet and tasty as the chojuro but larger. There was a good bit of watercoring which I hadn't seen before, but it didn't detract at all from the taste. Twentieth Century (Nijiseiki)-pretty much a failure--the few that set cracked like dried mud. Shinseiki- these were very good this year. Flavor like TC but much larger and no cracking. Korean Giant- Great flavor and large-unfortunately a lot of CM damage, so I couldn't store them even if I had enough to do so. Shinko-Nearly tasteless. This must be good somewhere but apparently not here. Ya Li- Pretty, pear shaped pears but not particulary sweet and little flavor. These may have not fully ripened. Only a handful to try. Yongi-Just a couple of fruits. A lot like chojuro but quite small. May not be representative since the graft is small. Moonglow- These fooled me; they were ready early because of the heat so I got to many of them too late. Most ended up canned. OK flavor; the skin is thick and tough here. Maxine- first time to get any fruit (just One) It was relatively small and somewhat rounded. Very good fresh eating. Unknown Euro- grafted this a couple of years ago from an aquaintance who had this in her front yard when she moved into her house several years ago. It was probably planted by the first homeowner (she's the third), and no one here knows what it is. Her neighbors told her it's the best pear in the county. Looks a lot like a barlett but is picked ripe from the tree like an asian and has a slight crunch. Perhaps a euro-asian hybrid? The flavor is mild, like a europen, and very good.

OK, here's the secret to getting a killer deal on Uhaul. first, forget about online reservations. call up the reservation center 1-800-go-uhaul number and give them your name, phone number (your real phone number) and when you need to rent the truck and get a quote but tell them to call and follow up with you. Someone always does anyway but just ask. The person that calls is a closer. They will do whatever it takes to close the deal. When they call, tell them you haven't made a reservation yet but just got a quote that was half the price of theirs from Penske or Budget (Don't say Ryder because they don't rent to the public anymore and don't say Budget if you need trailers since budget doesn't rent them. You can say Enterprise if you're only calling about a small cargo van- they only rent the box trucks to businesses or for local use only) Without any haggling or further negotiations, the guy will say "hmm let me see here... OK we can do it." Don't hesitate another minute and give the man your credit card number! I've had my share of u-haul frustrations but the fact remains you cannot beat their prices and they do keep their fleets in service until they're ready for the crusher that's why their prices are low. I think they hire ex-cons straight out of the big house also but hey, it's a bargain. They're not all bad. The center here installed a new hitch on my truck for $5 the morning of my move. The service usually is pretty good but patience.... patience is the key. Another tip, The size guide will say that a specific truck or trailer will hold X number of bedrooms, multiply that by 3 and and that's how many trucks and trailers you need. Their decks heights are only two feet also which is nice. So is Momma's attic. One very STRONG WARNING about Budget... If you've had any traffic citations in the last 3 years, have them run your license before you make your reservation. They told me once that if you have had 3 more more tickets in the last 3 years they won't rent to you but the morning of a trip, I went to rent a car, walked all the way to the place, then they said sorry we can't rent to you even though I didn't have that many tickets. Better yet, don't rent from them, they're a bunch of bstrds.

I was waaaaay to impatient to wait that long before mosaicing my front column - 'twas five days and I pulled the cardboard off and mosaiced away.

Yes, and I'm not looking forward to it. But last year and the year before we got down that low -- even a touch lower, as I recall a night or two each year that dipped just below 0F -- and only two died outright. Those were 'Jaune Desprez' and "Secret Garden Musk Climber" after Winter 2013-2014. I replaced SGMC with a gallon-sized plant, and that one survived Winter 2014-2015. I gave up on the pipe dream of having a Tea-Noisette growing out in the open on my dying Japanese maple, and stuck 'Baltimore Belle' there instead. Many things had damage, but rebounded after I cut out the dead bits. Of course, the ones with little or no damage were the OGRs with little or no China/Tea in them. But even "Bermuda Spice", which had to be cut back to under 12" inches the last two Springs, rebounded to about 5' X 5' by the end of each season. I was hoping to see what it does when starting Spring with something more like 3', but this weekend may keep that from happening. Meanwhile, my potted roses look frozen in time -- few leaves dropped, but no active growth, and no discernible damage. They're hanging out in my enclosed unheated back porch, getting some sun from the windows. This cold blast is an anomaly this year, coming as a brief interruption in otherwise mild weather. I'm hoping that such a short dose of intense cold followed by temperatures in the 50s a few days later won't kill anything. The Chinas and China-Teas I planted in the ground in 2015 are mostly in a protected spot against the house and facing south. The few I put in my tiny front yard are a bit more exposed, but I planted them deeply. We'll see in just another month or so, when I start pruning. Being a zone-pusher, I realize I take risks -- but how else do we learn? And frankly, considering the more tender Chinas and Teas keep blooming through our hot and humid Summers, they're worth it. :-) ~Christopher