Hi all, Well, Little Fish, as he is affectionately called, got a new home. He was an a one quart bowl, but I didn't really feel that it was big enough for him. He is now in a 1½ gallon aquarium with an air source. It will be a lot nicer for him and nicer for me too. The quart bowl had to be cleaned once a week. It should last a good month to six weeks between cleaning. You may be wondering about the name, Little Fish. The cat, that I had before the two I have now, that died in 1999, was named Kitty. I never could figure out a proper named for her and the named Kitty just wound up being her named by default. One of the biggest mistakes I ever made. I suffered 17 years of grief by almost everyone I knew for it. Even my wife said that she wondered about me when she first found out my cat's name. She said that she thought, "This guy has no imagination". In my defense, Kitty liked her name and everyone knew it when they came to greet her. They would say here kitty and she would respond. Right? Ok. So anyway, I didn't make that mistake again. Before I got my current cats I spent a lot of time picking names for each of them. I think that Aja (pronounced Asia) and Rhiannon are great names. So, back from to Little Fish. Here is his new abode. You can see his old home in the right of the picture. He is a great looking beta!

Steffie, I wish we were next-door neighbors, too, but since we live more than just a few miles apart, we'll have to be cyber-neighbors. :) I am far from an expert, just a gardening nut who relentlessly tries to learn and understand and improve what I do as I go along. And, lest you think I have a perfect yard or landscape, let me disabuse you of that notion right away! I have weeds I can't defeat, bermuda that invades beds it shouldn't, trees and shrubs that outgrow the spot where they were oh-so-carefully placed, plants that just give up and die and I never really figure out why they died, etc., etc., etc. Discussing things with my Oklahoma friends and neighbors here at this forum helps me keep things in perspective. It educates me. It offers me encouragement on those days when everything seems wrong and nothing seems right. It gives me new ideas and inspiration. Every one of you is better than me at something that is gardening-related. And, believe me, I know it. So, for example, when one of you writes about hydangeas, I pay attention and soak up everything you say, because one of these days I WILL succeed with hydranges. Have you ever noticed that most all gardeners are just the kindest, most giving and sharing people? You know what I'm talking about.....you see someone working out in the yard and you stop to tell them that you love their irises....and they dig up a couple on the spot and insist you take them, saying...."I needed to divide them anyway". Or, you drop off some of your extra tomatoes and a carton of hen or guinea eggs at a neighbor's house.....and they won't let you leave until you have some of their 'extra' fresh corn and peaches right off the tree, and some bacon from a hog they slaughtered and processed. I've yet to meet a fellow gardener who wouldn't give you the shirt off their back, or loan you their rototiller, or give you tons and tons of advice and ideas, and then apologize to you if their ideas don't work for you. So, I am very touched when you say that I am your hero. That is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. You have to believe me when I say that I feel the same way about each and every one of you. I believe we are all heroes for one another, and I believe that is how God meant for it to be. Life in this world can be cold, hard, and cruel, at times. For those of us who love to garden, the love, friendship, caring and support we receive from one another is a beautiful gift And, it is a gift I appreciate each and every day. Hugs to you, Steffie, and hugs to all the rest of you too. Dawn

Linda, he's beautiful. Ashley adopted a German Shepherd too, his name was Rex. He gets called everything anyway, as my family is wont to do, mostly he gets called "Doofus". Buster, of course, has become the WonderDoodle. The WonderWeiner was Actually "Annie's Lucky in Love", his name was supposed to be "Lucky", but he became WeinerDog, then WeinerKing, then Wonderweiner. Cooper has become Noops, my neice called him "nooper" but I mostly call him "baby" I think you should name him whatever you want, although I also like Bullet, being a Roy Rogers/Trigger fan, LOL. He's beautiful and I'm happy for both of you. Ann T, I didn't know you'd gotten another dog after Stetson, I'm happy for you too and I didn't really think Karen would get another dog after Captain, but she did too. Just more love to go around, I think. Annie

Wow! Houseguests! I don't want them and I don't want to be one, either. As for the suffering we have to endure in the name of civility and "family" - that belongs to a bygone era. Nothing against civility, but from the moment she invited herself with 2 kids, she broke the rules. I have a feeling that she knew you would be "nice". I turned our guest bedroom into a walk-in closet, got rid of the bed and am polite but firm in turning away all requests and pre-made plans from family/friends and invading Huns. Likewise, when we visit friends and family in other areas, we stay at a motel or hotel. I had to do some work to get DH on board with this, but he is oblivious to whether we have 100 people or just us, the guys don't have the onus of entertaining, cooking, etc. Oh - one more thing that always works when they stay too long - run out of toilet paper!