Thanks, Andy! Yes, the photos were taken the day before they were posted, I believe. The Glads are just opening, and both of my Echinacea patches are in the first stages of blooming... they'll go on for quite some time! I'm a bit disappointed in the Glads, though... they're fading soon after opening. I was hoping they'd last longer. Perhaps they aren't liking the heat we're having... this is the first year I've grown them, so I'm not certain what to expect. I planted both whites and greens, and the whites are lasting longer, so far. Chicago is hot and beautiful in the summer, and cold and very windy in the winter! I love the Blues, and there are some wonderful blues clubs in Chicago and the surrounding area! It's been a long time since I went to a good blues club to hear a band play... eons ago, I would go to a little place called "The Blue Note" to see different bands... they got shut down due to the illegal trafficking of certain chemicals, I heard! Imagine that! There was also a place in southern Wisconsin called the "Silver Moon" that featured wonderful blues! I saw a band called The Kingsnakes there, and the sax player was out of this world! My favorite music is Classic Metal and Rock, but I still have the complete set of Robert Johnson recordings packed away somewhere! You know what they say... "the Blues had a baby and they called it Rock & Roll"!

I'm in Saint Clair Shores. (further east than your daughter by about 30 or so minutes) From Farmington Hills your daughter would go 696 East the Gratiot exit. From the exit, turn right and drive approx 1 1/2 miles. The nursery is on the right-hand side just south of 10 mile road. They are open daily except for Sundays. The is another great nursery more out your way, well at least not in this direction. They do stock species clematis, but not cultivars like we normally discuss in this forum. I will include the link to their website at the bottom of this page. If the link does not work, the place is called Arrowhead Alpines and it is located in Fowlerville. For me the drive is worth it as they stock more unusual plants than almost anywhere else in the Midwest, heck they probably have one of the largest stock of plants in the country. ~Chills Here is a link that might be useful: Arrowhead Alpines

Actually, there are two annual peepers threads going this year, either of them works. It's good to know the poor things didn't drown in Portsmouth in all this rain. Although I guess tree frogs can handle a lot of water. Anyway, I added your report to the First spring peepers reports FAQ. Thanks, Claire

I am a Jersey Girl. While we've been married we've had two shore houses: one in Deauville Beach and one in Ocean Gate. Since we live in PA we were always feeling guilty when we weren't there. We did rent to a family for about 4 weeks each year. Then we unexpectedly stumbled upon our current 7 acre property for sale. We knew we could sell the shore house faster than our current home where we had lived for so many years. So we bought this quickly, sold the NJ property and put in a pool at our "new" home. Though I really miss the beach, I love being able to swim every day in the summer. I love not having to clean two houses. Or pay the taxes. Or feel that every vacation has to be there. Or be guilty when we can't be there. Or spend every visit there fixing something. We may buy another vacation home someday, but for now this is great. Our country home feels like a retreat. But there is something about that salt air and crashing of the waves to make you lose all common sense...... Boby