By 'red berry tree' do you mean the crabapple? Here's what an article at the Arnold Arboreteum says about that one: ----- When the topic of fruit size and persistence comes up, crabapple detractors frequently trot out the poster child for obnoxious fruiting behavior, Malus 'Dolgo' (ignoring the fact that its large crimson fruits are great for making tasty preserves). But it would be disingenuous to paint all crabapples with the same brush. For example, crabapple selections like 'Jewelcole' ('Red Jewel') and 'Donald Wyman'produce bright red, extremely persistent fruit that eventually fall from the tree, but only after they've dried and shriveled to one-half their original size. Others like 'Snowdrift' and 'Bob White' drop very little fruit thanks to the work of opportunistic and grateful birds. And on those sites where fruit production of any kind is forbidden, fruitless selections 'Spring Snow' and newcomer 'Jarmin' ('Marilee') are viable options. ----- At this point the tree in the park isn't big enough to produce a lot of fruit. The link to the article the quote is from is below in case you're interested in crabapples..... The vine in the church pictures is a trumpet vine - I suspect it was planted by someone other than the original architect. The arbour is planted with a rather random collection of vines.... Trumpet vine is very vigorous and troublesome by throwing up lots of root suckers and being very hard to get rid of! While the color of that one works well with the color of the brick of the church, it is likely to be a maintenance problem in the future. Here is a link that might be useful: article on crabapples

In addition to the sales April 26, and May 9-11, there is a sale May 4 at the Earth Center which is the home of Rutgers Cooperative Extension. They also have some wonderful gardens worth looking at. EARTH Center Plant Sale Date: 5/4/2008 Time: 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM Location: Middlesex County EARTH Center, Davidsons Mill Pond Park, 42 Riva Ave South Brunswick, NJ Speaker: Middlesex County Master Gardeners Description: Dont miss your chance to buy your summer gardener starter plants from the Middlesex County Master Gardeners at their headquarters, the EARTH Center. The enormous selection of plants includes (but is not limited to) heirloom tomatoes, unusual varieties of perennials & annuals, flowering vines, ornamental grasses and dozens of types of vegetables for your gardens. Feel free to bring a wagon or small cart to transport you purchases. You can get a glimpse at the EARTH Centers various demonstration areas while you are there. There will be a special Mothers Day gift making event for the kids as well for a small fee. Dont miss it ! (Raindate May 10) Cost: FREE Sponsor(s): Middlesex County Master Gardeners Contact: Denise, 732 398 5262 http://events.rutgers.edu/njaes/event.asp?id=11231&d=200805&u=all&c=m2 ellen

Hi Claire...Great shots of those Hummers! At last they have arrived...whew! It looks like you have some tired but happy Hummers. I counted Herring this morning. I saw 8 during my 10 minute count time. The sun was bright, water was clear and the gulls were happy. We have found that Herring like to run when the water temps reach 13C. Last year we recorded the largest number of Herring making the final run into the Mill Pond between May 11th & 18th. Interesting little tid-bit...when the adult Herring return to the sea, they do so tail first...facing upstream. They allow themselves to be swept backwards with the current. In 2003 the herring run in Bournedale River in Buzzards Bay numbered approximately 200,000 herring. The herring in that run are/were counted using an electronic counting tube...a camera. I find it all very interesting. I need to get out and walk around the yard today. If the Hummers are here, I should find a lot of new growth, buds and hope for color to come...or not. I've seen some hanging baskets of impatients on houses already. It seems a little early to see such color. Nice, but early. Our nights are still cold. Soon it will be time to get my house plants outside...the start of summer camp. sooey

Yep same same up here in Stafford, CT. Down by the center of the 'old'section of town there is a big old 'Mill Pond' and I felt so bad for the folks living around there. The pond went way up and so did the river. There's a guy down there who had a big tomato garden this past summer in his backyard, (a big backyard) which is now not only a pond but also a raging river! Unbelievable. Roads washed out everywhere. A tree fell down because of softened/washed away banks and fell right on someone's house. I drove from WMass down Rte 91 last night and then through Enfield down 190 to Stafford and there were spots where the water was at least a foot or two deep on the road. I heard on the radio today that parts of 91 were closed in both directions because there was - get this - THREE FEET of water on the highway! I haven't planted any bulbs out of sheer laziness/no time, so I guess I lucked out a bit on that. We are on a hill, but there is more hill above us and the water has washed down some of my stone walls... oddly enough the basement which has been somewaht wet in the past is really dry. I wonder if the 'holes' got plugged with mud or something! I'm glad I am not at my old rented house in Sturbridge, MA anymore - that place had a fieldstone basement and a sump that barely kept up with water in regular rainstorms... Can you imagine if all that rain was SNOW?