My stomach won't tolerate anti-inflammatories either, but there is an Ibuprofen creme that is absorbed through the skin and it works VERY well. Before I had a knee replacement it was the only thing I could use to lesson the swelling. BioEntopic 15% Ibuprofen Creme. Nobody wants to hear this but for a high percentage of the people with arthritis symptoms simply eliminating foods of the nightshade family works like a miracle. My knee was like the canary in the coal mine to tell me what my system was sensitive too. If I ate tomatoes or peppers, and to a lesser degree, potatoes (processed potatoes were worse, like potato chips) about three or four days latter my knee would swell so much that I couldn't walk. A registered nurse clued me in on the nightshade thing. Only a few M.D.s will tell you. Once on vacation we were served Thia food in someone's home (hot peppers!) and I came home in a wheel chair. At least we got to go to the front of a long line at the air port, LOL! After knee replacement if I indulge in foods of nightshade family the affect is that my joints are very achy and stiff. From the internet: "In a study published in the Journal of the International Academy of Preventive medicine, of the 5000 arthritis sufferers who eliminated Nightshade, seventy percent reported relief from aches, pains, and disfigurement." And yes, keep moving. Love of gardening will help you do that :-) And remember that problems, including health problems, come and go. "And it came to pass." Be happy gardening! Here is a link that might be useful: Arthritis and foods of the nightshade family

Cute, aren't they? We have so many bunnies running around our neighborhood, it isn't funny. I wouldn't hurt them, but I have seen some that have been runover by cars. I don't know why, but almost every Easter morning, we'll see at least one dead rabbit. I kid my husband and tell him I'm going to tell the boys the Easter bunny got ran over last night delivering all those candy filled eggs! We had a bunny start digging a nest a few weeks ago in the native plant garden at our school. One of the ladies in the office said when she was walking in one morning, she must have scared it because it scurried out of the hole and ran across the street back into the woods. It left a good sized hole, but we filled it back in. I figured with all the kid traffic and adult traffic picking up all those kids around there, it wasn't a very good place for baby bunnies who would surely hop out in front of one of the cars during pick up or drop off and get run over in front of the students. Okay - enough about bunnies getting run over.

I must be developing alzheimers at an alarmingly early age my friend as I'd all but forgotten about this venture. -Cole

Hi Dee I know that other members grow them in cooler climate I got this off a web site " They are cold hardy as far north as USDA zone 5" So I would reckon you could grow them in Victoria. Hubby bagged that snake this morning I guess the Kookaburra's prefer them alive or cooked. And we are having a BBQ tonight and it is not on the Menu....Cheers...MM.