I watched it rise, looked like a ripe apricot. Went through a darkened room, yet cast a shadow and thought a lamp must be on. It was the moonlight streaming through the window. Moonlit nights suck me outside like a Hoover, and I just took a walk. Skunk has taken up residence somewhere nearby. Something literally Pi**es it off every night. Probably a terminally stupid racoon. Dog barks, aroma drifts in through open window. Moonlight walks don't frighten me, but tripping over skunks do. Got to watch bats chasing each other. They do it for the fun of it.

Hi FlowerAddict, thanks.. I love my white garden. I really enjoy speaking with others who have the same interest. I an curious about a few things you mentioned. I have a Blanc Double DeCoubert white rose in my white garden.. I have to say I am a bit disappointed in it. Although the petals are crisply white, I find the form unatractive, and it doesn't last that long. I heard they were fragrant, but I don't find them anything special. I have never heard of Darlow's Enigma, I'd like to hear more about them. I also have considered adding lighting to the garden, but I really can't think of a way to add lighting in an attractive way. My plants range from 4 inches to 8 feet, not including the vines. I like the white at dusk, but I am afraid putting lighting directly in the garden may take away from the hovering, glowing effect by lighting the foliage as well. Do you have any ideas on how you will light your garden. I 'd love to see pictures next spring. I am always 'touring' anyone's garden I can. I love finding out about peoples favorites and how they enjoy them. I do some garden photography, and painting, so I get to enjoy the gardens year-round. I have no talent when it comes to garden art. I see you have a statue, obelisk and bird bath...It sounds so lovely and peaceful. I picture some epimediums with your ferns and hosta. I have an area that has a lot of shade..although it isnt in my white garden. I have several ferns, hosta, epimediums, arabis, lamium, In the spring it has bleeding hearts, virginia bluebells and columbine ( I love this combination..the pink/purple/blue/white and green with silver) What kind of fern do you have? I recently added some maidenhair fern and some tatting fern..I like the different textures and heights. Looking forward to your garden photos...Good luck and have fun!

I read about this yesterday on CNN. It said this is called a perigee moon. This moon is also abut 30% brighter than normal. The next one won't happen until 2029! The effect on the tides will only be an inch or so, but maybe it will pull all the water tables up enough that any rain we might see next week will stay a bit closer to the top. We can hope, right? Sunday also marks the official Vernal Equinox! Sprng is officially here! Monday morning, when the Sun rises, it will be straight-up in the east, and set straight down in the West. Longer days are here! Chandra, dining by moonlight? (sigh...) How romantic. But today, I've got to plant my newly purchased cauliflower before the "waning" of the moon the next 2 weeks. Paula

Well,everyone. We DID get some rain. As of 4 a.m., the rain gauge shows about five/one-hundredths of an inch. A whole twentieth of an inch! Maybe more will fall since there is still one pretty good-sized storm to our southwest on the radar and it seems to be headed our way. I don't understand what has happened to our rain this year. It doesn't matter how big or bad a storm looks on the radar. When it reaches the Red River, it just dies....it peters out....it fades away...it splits and goes east AND west of us but not directly over us. Y'all keep reporting rainfall by the inch or inches and I keep reporting rainfall by the hundredths of an inch. It is a bizarre year and the lack of rainfall has been hard not only on those of us who garden, but also on the farmers and ranchers and wildlife as well. I'm seeing a lot of skinny cows in overgrazed pastures, but skinny deer and rabbits as well. Lisa, I know that it is pitiful that I am hoping for a hurricane to make landfall in Texas just so we can have a good, hard rain here in Love County, but I can't help myself. And, a hurricane means DH is in for a rough week at D-FW Airport. He just packed a bag and stayed down there 24/7 before and during Gustav, helping run the Police Emergency Operations Center as they welcomed evacuees from both Louisiana and Texas. Now, they are gearing up to do it all over again and I don't think he's looking forward to another 80-hour week. Maybe by the time he comes home from Ike, we'll have wet, muddy ground and a wet and happy garden and landscape! So, I guess we'll watch the weather and see what comes. It is an "early autumn" here, but NOT because fall has arrived. Rather, some of the weaker of the native trees, like the winged elms, are dropping their yellow and brown leaves....not because it is "time for autumn" just yet, but because they are so dry they're going dormant. So far, the tougher oaks are hanging in there, although their leaves are starting to look crispy. The cracks in the ground are becoming a real issue. I've tried to keep the ground around the house and garage/barn watered well enough to keep that area from cracking, but you can only put so much water onto the ground and once you reach a certain point, there's not enough water to stop the ground from cracking. I've watered the flower beds for three days in a row, and they still look pitiful. We REALLY need rain, and I mean inches and inches of it. I swear, if it rains 20" in one day, I absolutely, positively WILL NOT whine and complain. In fact, I'll go outside and play in the rain and the mud. Dawn