Ruthie, Could you take the hanging basket and relocate it to a tree limb? That would free up the porch for you and make it a much less nervous situation for the mother. We had a pair of cardinals to nest in a vine by our carport...very low. I worried constantly about the cat population locating their nest and having a 'colorful' lunch! I have 3 birdbaths and numerous pot saucers located all around my garden for the birds/frogs/lizards/etc. I need to take the time to make a spot for the butterflies. Never seem to get to all the chores! Gotta get out to the garden...moving sand today for another 1550 gallon tank for rain catchment system. Want to get it done before we hit 98! Have a great day watching your Cardinals...so special that they picked you to share this wonderful event! Peggy

I have dragon fruit cuttings I would share/trade. Not sure of variety, my son bought it for me and now I have tons - although hasn't fruited yet. I haven't done a trade on gw yet, so not sure if it's any different than other garden sites. I'm in the Ft Myers area. Nancy

Cora, Evil bush! We popped many a soccer ball on those thorns when I was a kid, and it is just murder to trim them. The thorns raise a welt on me, some sort of allergy. But Katkin, I think you're right about Brazilian pepper. Seems I've read somewhere that birds get drunk on it too. It's really bad stuff. And Marilyn, if your orange friends look kind of like Baltimore Orioles, google spot-breasted oriole. They're not native, were introduced, probably by Mexican farm workers who loved to have them as pets because of their pretty song. They went feral in South Florida and were thought to be wiped out in Hurricane Andrew. They appear to be coming back just recently and a friend of mine who is a birder suspects that their range is farther north than birders originally thought, simply because they rather secretly survived Andrew, when birders thought they had completely disappeared. So you might have them up in Stuart. I'd prefer natives, but these don't seem to be terribly harmful like some exotics we get. And they sure are pretty. I haven't seen my pair yet this year, but they are so cute. They're very clearly a pair, talking back and forth to each other as they flit around the yard. Male and female look pretty much identical to my untrained eye, but he talks a lot more than she does. Been gardening all day long. Finally put in a white marsh grapefruit - found a little one reasonably priced at HD. And I fussed over tomatoes for awhile this morning. Gosh it's nice out! enjoy everyone susannah

It's great that you are seeing the birds and butterflies. I think the fluttering dance is a mating thing. I saw what looked like one gulf fritillary on the ground and another one fanning it. I thought the ground one was injured and the fluttering one was helping but it turns out that was a mating behavior, too. We desperately need rain. This is the worst drought eastern Palm Beach and Broward counties have seen in recored history! The critter are suffering. Every time I water the lizards run out to drink and to catch the bugs that crawl out of the mulch. Man, I wish it would rain. Julie in very dry West Palm Beach