Good Morning, All, Linda, you sure know a LOT about plants' biology. I was aware bees pollinated, but not flies. Ironic. Would you happen to know which plants they prefer? Funny you should mention flies. Although it's the wrong time of year, yesterday I spent several hours repotting indoor plants, outside. I lifted three plants off a table, Pachypodiums. Anyway, after lifting the third plant, I found several maggots living underneath, nearest the drainage hole. Yuck..Gross..Disgusting. I wondered why there have been so many flies in the yard. Do you think plants are attracting these creatures? We have Trumpet Vine, 'don't bother buying this plant, it's way too invasive,' which attracts flies. However, I 'assumed' it coincidence. I've been summering indoor plants outside 20+-yrs, but there's never been vast amounts of flies. Ever. Ants, yes, but not flies. I wondered about 'yellow' violets..Same with blues. There are 'true' blue flowers, but most are purple, labeled blue. Very few plants, of all types, have actual blue flowers. I do not consider purple, blue, I get upset when a violet or any other plant is called blue when it's purple. :) Linda, thanks for the url. Guess I copy and paste on browser? For some reason the address didn't show as a clickable link. Thanks, I'll have to check this woman's plants. Some people find sellers in seconds. Wish I knew their secret. lol. Linda, at least you have a family, even if you drive them up the wall talking about plants..Consider youself blessed. Dave...I too have a few, basic Orchids. One Dendrobium blooms 4-5 times a year..Or use to. It's been in the same, wooden basket since 1998. I ordered the next size up, or so I thought. Baskets only come in even sizes..I wanted 5" but no dice. I ordered a 6" and it's huge. 5 young orchids will fit in this pot. lol. Which I might end up doing. We'd best make sure we don't bid against each other. :) Dave, my rating is 361.

Glad everyone enjoyed and appreciate the comments. Look forward to seeing more fall pics from those around the country. John and ark are always good for a few fall pics. You're telling me! I had to wait for all the people to move away from the tree just to slip in a picture. You might be right on the proposed oak being a hickory. It was off the beaten path and I just snapped a quick pic just because it had a richer yellow than most trees. I actually felt like I was lost as I was on the bike trail...still don't know how I got out there, lol.

Thanks and good to know about the purplish leaf. They seem to be doing little to nothing so far since putting them in the ground, but I'll keep them watered and wait and see. Heather, I don't recall the seeds I soaked as being particularly slimy. Don't know if that really tells you anything. I also stuck some leftover seed directly in the soil next to my seedlings just in case. I suspect that even if they do sprout, our season may be to short for flowering. We'll see! It's always fun to have an experiement going on as long as the entire garden isn't affected. We have "drought" conditions in our area which is highly unusual for this time of year. It may be tough pin pointing shortfalls. Leigh

The small frame of the tab, composed of a roll of aluminum, has to stay rigid as it pushes in the scored panel on the lid. It is also the little tab between the rolled tab and the lid that needs to stay intact until the scored panel is pushed in, and which breaks when the tab is removed. Sometimes it takes a dozen wiggles, sometime only a couple will suffice. As I mentioned in my post of Sept. 1, I collected 2,000 tabs in a 2-litre ice cream package, filling it about 3/4 full and I didn't weigh it, but it was not much over 2 lbs., 3 lbs. at the outside. It takes about 32 cans to make a pound - with or without the tabs. If you have a scrap metal dealer nearby, they will buy your scrap cans, and some prefer them uncrushed, but others don't care. Around here, they paid about 70 cents per lb., a few months ago. They say that the tabs and the cans all go into the same bucket. Crushed cans occupy about 1/3 - 1/4 the volume of intact cans. Good wishes for the weekend. ole joyful