Stopping in to say 'THANKS' to you all for commenting. Judy, I don't know where the time went but Connor is 17 months old already. He is such a joy. He looks just like his daddy did when he was that age, and is just as sweet. He already loves the outdoors and is fascinated by plants and leaves so I am hoping I have me a lil' gardening buddy in the making! Connor didn't want to relinquish those leaves he's holding in the photo, so when Daddy & Mommy came to get him, he took the leaves home with him...LOL. CTC...those Clara Curtis mums are ridiculously cold-hardy...in fact, they bloom only in October here. They LOVE the cold. And the Brothers Grimm Fairy Tale rose was developed in Germany by Kordes and I have had great luck growing the newest intos. by Kordes. They survive my winters better than most other floribundas. Rita & Nancy...glad you liked the covered bridge photo. Luckily, that bridge was high enough that the floods we got after the hurricane didn't harm it. There were a couple in my state, but more in Vermont that perished. Very sad. BTW, Nancy, had you gone on the Mt. Washington auto road you would have encountered snow at the summit. I have been up there in July & August and it was snowing! Seemed kinda odd because we were all in shorts and t-shirts. Mt. Washington has some of the worst weather conditions and highest wind speeds in the country even though it is dwarfed by the higher peaks out west. Jean, I know you enjoy the scenery pictures so I always have you in mind when I post them. That is a LAKE in the photo. It is the largest lake in N.H....Lake Winnipesaukee. Where I am, there are lakes everywhere and the water is crystal clean in all of them. Kay, you have a good eye, to catch that barn so far in the distance! I like barns too, and since I pass that horse farm every day on my walk I decided it made for a good photo op. Thank you JULIA! Kind comments are always welcome. Debra, one of the smartest things I've done this year is snatch up those 2 Buttered Popcorns. They opened 4 blooms today in the pouring rain. I have to thank you again for enabling me! Val, I'll bet yours is Clara Curtis. My soil has a tendency to bring out the lavender and purples in flowers, but other places I have seen it growing it was a peachy pink. Could just be a difference in soils. Celeste

Hi Everybody... I've got cabin-fever already so it was great to stop in and hear from you cheery folks! Some of the snow is melting because the sun is out...YAY! It gets down in the 20's at night so there is going to be re-freezing of the roads & walkways. I am so glad that we got our power back on because some communities are still without power. One town is postponing trick-or-treating until Thursday because of downed power lines. Rita, NO we don't have a fireplace or woodstove in case the power goes out. But because we lose power fairly often in the winter, we have a small generator that we can use temporarily to power a small space heater. Thank you all for your concern for Lily. She is walking fine today but her appetite is down and she mostly sleeps. Normally she is up early & whining to be let out but she's made no attempt to go to the door. She just acts very lethargic. I was worried because the day before the storm she did not come home at night and I had to look all over for her with a flashlight. I found her laying under a rosebush in my garden and when she tried to get up, she could not stand on her hind legs, almost like they were paralyzed. I don't know if maybe she got tired and laid down to rest, fell asleep and got hypothermia because she was laying on snow from the first snowstorm? Or like Nancy's cat, maybe had a stroke? It was really cold that night and she is very thin. (She looks bigger than she really is because of the long fur. She's actually always been very boney). Take care everybody! Celeste

Very beautiful! I love snow in the winter (not spring, LOL)! I grew up and live in W.PA where we have all four seasons and I love them all. I still get that giddy feeling when I wake up after a large snow fall and see everything white. When I was a kid it ment SNOW DAY! A day to make snowmen and snow angles, sled ride, then come back in for some hot coco. Of course now I have to shovel and driving into work takes twice the time, but I still like it. On really bad days I take a vacation day and play with my DD's in the snow and pretend I have a snow day too.

Gulf fritillary cat Spicebush cat Tons of milkweed, no monarchs, NE Atlanta area