Off topic, but since calamity brought it up - I was talking to my daughters (3) the other day about how I wanted to be cremated when I go, and I wanted to make sure they were ok with that, my oldest (15) says "well, if that's what you want, but I want your head" I about fell out of my chair laughing. She went deer hunting this last fall with her father and got her first deer - I'm still ambivilent about that - and he's having the head mounted. So I asked her if she wanted to stuff my head and put it on her wall with her deer - LOL :) she was properly aghast at that idea, but then my youngest (almost 11) yells out "I want your body!" I'm hoping she means my arms that hug her and stuff like that, so that leaves my legs for #2, who being 13, just looked at us all and rolled her big blues.

When my mom lived in MI. she had a very prolific cherry tree in her backyard. That tree was so majestic that its -bow-before-me- presence kept me from sneaking a few cuttings for myself. But, that was then, and now I'm ready to grow my own. So, with your tips and encouragement, I'm gonna do it. AB, you say Rainiers need a pollinator, no problem. How about pesticides, do you use that stuff at all? How about a scarecrow to chase away them birds? Don't be too quick to pull the trigger, because I have a few more questions ... but I can wait. Donna, I have no clue why my little garden is doing well. All I do is water them several times a week, and I don't even fertilize them like I'm supposed to. The cherry tomatoes are my pride and joy though. This is how they looked last month, and here is how they look today. A little sparse because I've been eating them like candy. They're exceptionally sweet. Who knew I could grow anything other than weeds? Ann, Rainier is my absolute favorite cherry. I'd rather go without chocolate just so I can splurge on them. Ok, I didn't really mean that. Actually, it's more of a Sophie's Choice scenario, but you still might want to save the above information in a separate file, for posterity. Merci mon ami, Monique. I really need to learn how to write "big smile" in French. River, I pay just a little less for them around here, but they're in season for such a short amount of time that I can't pass them up. Ellen, Thumper was the model who volunteered for this shot. He's easy to work with and his only demand is to get paid with Mint/Chocolate Chip Ice Cream. He was hired on the spot. Linda, if I can do this, well, just take my word for it, you can too. Thanks to my cheerleading squad for the support! And if I don't end up with a cherry tree within 6-7 years, we'll have to meet back here and have a talk. Sol

Oh... I sure miss it! Didn't appreciated as much when living in Colorado. That was a mistake. Those photos are lovely.

Greetings: I am no sweet cherry expert but I do have Black Gold sweet cherry growing and several tart cherry varieties too. From your photos, I wonder if you have a tart cherry? My sweet cherry leaves are longer,wider and very heavily dentated on the leaf margin compared to tart cherry leaves. Above is one of my photos of a sweet cherry leaf. Here is a shot showing North Star tart cherry leaf.