Hey All!

Because of a job situation, we find ourselves renting a Cival War farmhouse in Gettysburg, PA for the next year. Miss my Missourah home and really miss my plants...Just wanted to say "howdy" and let ya'll know I still lurk here daily to see what's going on...

This Northeast climate is about a month behind home as far as I can tell. When we left Missouri forsythia was blooming and so were red bud trees. When we got here 3 days later found ourselves still waiting for those guys to bloom here, but you couldn't tell by the Zone maps which are all whack!

What's blooming here now? Irises are just now petering out and peonies are just starting. It's been so cold and the weather here has been weird...warm and sunny one minute and then cool the next. In other people's yards I see LOTS of rhodies and azaleas, clematis, roses and hostas. People in these parts have lots of trees with purple/redish foliage and evergreens like crazy. There is a wildflower that is really pretty that is in ditches everywhere but I haven't identified it yet. Last month, I saw Virginia bluebells flowering like crazy along the heavily shaded creek that runs by out house. They were very pretty....

Hummingbirds are really scare here, but I have managed to attract an occasional...Wonder where they go since I haven't noticed a lot of poeple with feeders up except for me and another lady in a town far away. Tons of new birds to identify as well as my old friends the cardinals, jays, bluebirds, phoebies, wrens, nuthatches, woodpeckers and of course, buzzards and starlings. Saw a pair of goldfinches this morning for the first time and now have to run out and get a feeder so they won't leave...

Anyways, just wanted to say "Hey" and let you know I still check in on you guys. Have the Springfield weather page bookmarked and check it daily.

Neighbors and family are keeping our place mowed while we are away and trying to keep my plants watered. What would I do without them? I planted hostas the day before we left and my mother-in-law says they are looking real pretty now. Makes me sad I can't see them come up....

Miss you guys and can hardly wait to come back home next year....

Keep me informed, okay and in the meantime am picking up lots of new plant ideas from these mid-Atlantic states...

Mary