End of Summer

The State Fair opens today signaling the end of summer. The days here have turned cool, highs in the low 70's and lows in the upper 40's to low 50's. A few of the trees are already starting to turn. I know we will still have a few warm days but it makes me sad. We will have to start closing the storm windows at night and that means it won't be long before we have to cover them with plastic. We need to start shopping around for kerosene; do we lock in a price now or hope prices will drop?

We've booked a last minute deal out of Toronto for a week at the beach. We'll be staying at a resort we haven't been to before. I love all inclusives, all the planters punch I want. We'll be getting up very early, 5:15; the same time I will be getting up for work in just over a week.

My datura finally bloomed! It took 5 1/2 months from seed, blooms at night, but it certainly is pretty! I feel like a little kid - I grew that!

ETA: I went out this morning and found 7 monarch caterpillars! I didn't see any yesterday and I was looking. I wonder where they were hiding? The datura floweres are still open. And the littlest sunflower may open before we leave.

Change is Good?

John has me set up on a new computer. Except for the m & n being worn off it looks exactly like my old one. We think the hard drive in the old one was bad and that it was frying the motherboards out. After having the first motherboard go I was very good about backing things up - for about two weeks. Backing up is a pain! My genealogy program takes up half a CD every time I back it up so we'll be looking for bargains. I will be uploading my trees to rootsweb more frequently and I have starting emailing myself all of my Works files. All of my pictures will be uploaded to snapfish or flickr. Free storage on the internet, you can't beat that.

I do not like change- if it works don't fix it!!!! John and the kids upgrade programs all of the time; I won't let them upgrade them on mine. The only reason I upgrade a program is if it doesn't work anymore and I am forced to. The boys know that if a game they want to play has to be downloaded they'd better ask John or move on to another game. John bought me a newer version of Family Tree Maker when my tree grew to large for the version that I had. Of course they changed how the program worked to make it "easier."

Because he was starting from scratch with this computer all of the programs are the latest versions. Adobe and real player actually work now! I'm done with the netscape browser. The latest version does not work right and crashes all the time. Their new home page is a joke. I will continue to use their email because it would be too hard to change, for now anyway. I only use explorer if there is no other choice so I have "discovered" firefox.

Firefox defaulted to google as a home page and had an extra row of buttons on the tool bar that I got brave and started clicking on. I now have a home page with just what I want on it, my favorite blogs are there so I'll know when there is a new post without checking. The latest news is at my fingertips, no more entertainment world fluff! I finally have a calendar on my desk top and local weather too. I know, you're saying "what's the big deal?" but for me this is huge.

I lost all of my bookmarks as I couldn't figure out how to back them up so now I am finding new sites while I search for the old ones. I wouldn't have bothered if the old ones were still there. (John was able to finally back up my bookmarks but since he used an old floppy I'm in no hurry to load them)

This blog is a big deal for me too. It was easy enough to set up but adding links and pictures on the side bar took me awhile to figure out. Again none of it was all that difficult but it took time to learn. Maybe I'll even learn how to put up a new template. I have started a second blog and will probably start another next year just for gardening.

Maybe accepting change is one of the keys to feeling younger?

Measuring up

I haven't posted much on my garden lately because quite frankly it just doesn't measure up when compared to all of the great gardens out there. Who wants to see pictures of my beginning attempts? Certainly not my niece - click away Virginia! lol. I have spent all of my life worried about what others would think, and that will never totally go away, but I am really proud of what I've accomplished. Most importantly my garden makes me smile every time I step outside or look out the bedroom window. When I started there was only ugliness.

A long view and it really doesn't look like much. It appears that there is a lot of mulch and not many plants. The perennials are small, some of the annuals I bought died and there are some spots that I haven't filled yet.


A closer look and I am happier. The colors of the zinnias are really washed out in this picture, they are very bright and happy and unbelievably tall! The tallest is now at 4'! The butterflies love them and so do I. They were the wrong choice for the front of the border or were they?

This is what they are hiding. It really worked out that they got so tall as the perennials that I started this year won't bloom until next year. I am saving seeds to grow them again next year in a different spot.


I wanted a place where the kids could be involved. They helped start the seeds and set out a few plants. They've discovered bugs, toads and the snake. They love to run through the paths and have their pictures taken as the plants get taller and taller.


And since this did start out as a butterfly garden I'd say it is a success. The tropical milkweed may never bloom with our short season here but the monarchs didn't seem to care.

Just for Family

I've set up a new blog just for family members to check out the new beta version of blogger. I haven't been able to do some of the things I want to with it, (it won't show a flickr badge correctly) but other features I'm really happy with. I will keep this blog just as it is until they get more of the bugs worked out. I will still be posting everything here except pictures of certain family members that are shy.

With the new blog I would like to open it up to multiple authors so we can keep each other updated. I will be sending out emails soon. Plan to at least give it a try.

Logic Problem

I have finished my student lists for both runs. My new secondary route is pure gravy! More HS students than MS students, five seniors and fewer miles. I will miss the kids I lost but look forward to meeting the new kids.

Right now my elementary run route stands at 62 students. Some only ride in the morning, some only in the afternoon and a couple only when they have to go to an alternate sitter so it isn't quite as bad as it seems. In the past I have let the kids pick their seats and seat mates the first few days of school, made adjustments and assigned seats from there. With this many kids I know that is not a smart idea.

I spent four hours the other day updating the lists and then my seating chart which turned into a giant logic problem.

• I have 22 seats, 3 to a seat, except one which only accommodates 2 = 65 spots
• Can only seat 2 in front right so I have a spot for discipline/ training/
testing
• Some of the larger students will be quite squashed 3 to a seat, especially
when they have to start wearing winter coats.
• I have to follow the middle loading principle whenever possible. (Those on
the longest should sit in the middle)
• Of the 13 kindergartners that I expect, 8 have older siblings they will
want to sit with to start the year.
• 5th graders privilege – they get to sit furthest back. (Yes that messes up
the middle loading principle somewhat.)
• Kindergartners should sit as far forward as possible. (Middle loading isn’t
totally out the window but it is on its way.)
• One does not speak English = front seat.
• Students with special needs must be accommodated.
• What to do with several students whose behavior was not great last year?
• Certain kids do not get along and must be separated by at least 2 seats for
my sanity.
• Try and keep best buddies together.
• No little ones by the emergency exits. (There are just too many little ones!)

I have decided who will sit together to start and made up my seating chart. I made up name tags and put them up this morning. I also have my welcome back letter written and got all my copying done this morning. I drove part of the route and found the addresses I wasn't sure of. I can go on vacation next week and not worry because everything is done. After the Superintendent's address on the 5th all I'll have to do is make sure nothing froze up over three weeks and I'll be ready to roll on the 6th.

Training for the Unthinkable

Yesterday training was held at the Oswego County Fairgrounds for a Mass Casualty Incident. Those participating included Volunteer Firefighters, Emergency Medical Responders, HAZMAT Personnel and School Bus Drivers. It was raining and windy.

The day started very early. Volunteer students started with make-up at 7:30. Each student was assigned very specific injuries and coached as to how to act their part. I was quite taken aback when I realized that one student was made up as a fatality.

The make-up was very life like. The bruises looked real, protruding bones were added and a couple even had blood pumps. The Firefighters and Emergency Medical personnel would have to determine the extent of each students injuries and treat them accordingly.

After make-up we headed over to the fairgrounds and helped set up for the spectators. The kids were placed on the bus and the make-up guy spattered and poured "blood" all over. The younger kids got bored waiting for things to start and lightened the mood for awhile by finger painting on the windows.

The scenario - a school bus driver was using her cell phone to order pizza for dinner and while distracted T-boned a truck full of hazardous chemicals. The chemicals in the truck started to leak and the kids started to yell and scream. The emergency radio call went out a little after 10:00.

Then we waited; it seemed to take forever before the first truck arrived. It actually was only a few minutes. Some of us that were observing were shocked when the emergency personnel set up 100 yards from the accident scene. It was later explained to us that it was because of the chemicals on the truck. They used binoculars to read the placard on the truck, looked up the chemical involved and responded accordingly. If they had rushed straight in to the bus they might have been overcome by the chemicals too and therefore unable to perform rescue operations.

The Firefighters had to wear full packs due to the chemicals. The front door was blocked by an injured student and could only be opened from the inside anyway. The back door had been disabled so that it would not open from the outside either. I didn't see how they finally got the doors open. The kids played their parts well. When they did get the back door open this student had been told to act as if he was panicked. He flew out the back door and kept right on going.

Here the truck driver is treated while the blinded bus driver tries to get help. The truck driver ended up dying and the bus driver was escorted to triage.

The emergency responders being debriefed.

Bus drivers held their own debriefing. We discussed emergency info sheets for students, how we would know who was still on the bus and who would had already been dropped off. How we do things slightly differently from one district to the next. How well would we handle seeing and caring for severely injured students. And of course we had the great seat belt debate, which is worth it's own post in the future.

So what happens when you get a bunch of bus drivers and firefighters together and there is a bus that no longer runs just sitting there? They set it on fire of course! This took place after the main training. Flares were placed in the drivers compartment and on a seat near the rear. I was surprised at how long it took for the fire to really catch but the fumes from the smoldering seat filled the bus quickly. It showed us how little time we'd have to evacuate in the event of a real fire emergency.

The fire in the front didn't seem to spread very much. Once the seat in back did catch the fire spread very quickly. The smoke pouring out of the front hatch was from the fire in the back.

It wasn't long before the flames shot out of the roof hatches and the firefighters put it out.


Even though this scenario was highly improbable, I learned a lot.

Visitors from Texas

My brother and his family arrived yesterday for a quick visit. They drove up from Texas on their way to take my niece and nephew to their respective colleges in MA & FL. Their van got them here, barely. They broke an axel, the transmission went and something else major went wrong. They'll need a rental for the rest of the trip.

We had a nice visit. It's too bad they live so far away. They've been in TX for 11 years but we haven't gotten down there yet.

SIL & Brother

Guess which school she attends.

In the back my Sis, Nephew, BJ holding Twig. Then Bean (enlarge pic to see her fancy new phone) and Mom.

John with Sprout. She won't smile for the camera but she'll stare right at me for as long as I care to take pictures.

A beautiful smile if she doesn't see the camera but I have to be quick!

Liz was pretty good today. She is facinated by Twig and was rocking him very gently.

I decided this would be a great opportunity to get a pic of all six grandkids together.

I decided to try and get a better picture. When we're taking pictures I will tell the kids to say something silly. This time I called for pizza and they really yelled it out. Poor Twig. Click to enlarge the pic. I picked him up right afterward but I felt bad that we'd made him cry especially since he is such a happy baby.

My sister got out beach toys and let them dig. Wish she'd thought of it sooner. I think if you'd let them they'd dig forever.

School Bus as Punishment

Everybody knows High School kids don't like to ride the bus. Every year I'll have one or two that ride only a few days because their car is broken or the kid that picks them up is out sick. Some years I get a smart parent who won't let their kid drive in the winter months. But I have never had anyone sentenced to ride with me.

From the nwiTimes

Judge: Forget the fine, ride the school bus
BY JERRY DAVICH
jdavich@nwitimes.com
219.933.3376

PORTAGE | Porter Superior Judge Julia Jent couldn't get through to a rather apathetic teenage girl in her courtroom a few months back.

The girl appeared in Jent's court regarding a moving traffic violation and didn't appear to take the offense, or the possible fine, too seriously.

So Jent, who has teenage grandchildren, came up with a court order specifically for the high school-aged girl: Let your car keys idle for a few weeks, park your attitude and ride the school bus to class each day.

"The girl cried outside my courtroom," said Jent, who immediately realized she was onto something. "I guess I found the right button."

Since then, Jent has sent a memo to every law enforcement agency in her jurisdiction stating that all moving traffic citations involving drivers age 16 to 18 must be seen by her -- instead of having mom and dad pay a fine, or, worse, having teens pay the fine and mom and dad not know what's going on.

If the high school-aged teens were found guilty they were court-ordered to ride the school bus for a specific amount of time. If they violate the order -- Jent has been checking in with schools and bus drivers -- their driver's license will be suspended, and a fine must be paid. If they comply, the matter is dismissed.

"Kid does crime, kid does time, and mom and dad can't get them out of it and don't have to feel guilty for not helping (them)," Jent said.

Each court order is tailored to the offender, the traffic offense and, most importantly, the teen's attitude. Jent also makes a point to tell parents they cannot drive their child to school -- or they could be held in contempt of court.

Of the dozen or so teens who have received court orders so far, one was ordered to nine weeks of school-bus riding, with exceptions for certain after-school activities. Another had total driving restrictions for an entire semester.

"Oh my God, you would have thought I gave her and her mother the death penalty," Jent said.

On Monday, Porter Superior Judge David Chidester was notified by the Indiana Judicial Center in Indianapolis that it's legal to customize such court orders.

"They said it was acceptable under Indiana Code 9-30-3-16," Chidester said.

The little-known state statute allows a judge to place any infraction violator on probationary conditions, including license suspensions.

So Chidester is planning on starting a similar program in his courtroom, and he already has started the process by notifying local police chiefs and school principals.

Jane Seigel, director of the Indiana Judicial Center, said she is unaware of any other Indiana court using this new program, and it would be inappropriate to offer comment on whether parents have the right to appeal the probationary measure.

One possible snag could be a conflict with the county prosecutor's Infraction Deferral Program, which offers such teen drivers a deferral to courts, Chidester said.

Porter County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Brian Gensel was unavailable for comment Monday.

But Jent said all she's trying to do is save the lives of young drivers, or at least teach them responsibility about their actions behind a steering wheel, which typically costs parents court fees, traffic fines and higher insurance premiums.

"This way, I'm the bad guy," Jent said. "But the teens can hate me. It's OK."

[EXTRAS]
So what's the reaction from parents?

Porter Superior Judge Julia Jent said the majority of parents whose teenage drivers have been ordered to ride the school bus have supported the court decision, while others think it's taking parental responsibility and control out of their hands.
One parent has written weekly notes in complaint to the court. Another has quietly thanked Jent for taking the heat, she said.

Tough Week

The wake Monday for Dave was very, very hard and unbelievably sad. The funeral home was packed, an entire Boy Scout Troop, the EMT's, relatives, friends in line ahead of me. His widow was very composed until I got to her. She cried as she talked to me, I cried and hugged her for as long as I could, but the line needed to keep going and there was an hour left. I talked to her mother for awhile, she had worked with me years ago. Since her stroke she can barely speak so it was a stilted conversation.

Uncle ER's wake and funeral were sad for how few of us there were to mourn him, which isn't to say that there wasn't a good turn out, but the difference from the day before really stuck me. He lived a long, good life. His oldest son was visibly devastated by his loss. His youngest son, whom I had never met before, delivered a beautiful eulogy.

A woman that used to be my friend was there and she tried to extend an olive branch. We talked about ER, family and other people that we know but we never got to why I still feel so hurt by her. Maybe now is the time for me to give her a call and see where it goes.

Something that bothered me about both wakes was the absence of certain family members. All families have spats but there are times to put them aside. I can't imagine my family not being there for me or me for them no matter what.

My depression has been creeping up on me over the summer and these two deaths just pushed me over the edge. I have been weepy, angry and just plain miserable all week. I've been awful to John for which I am truly sorry. Why am I depressed? Sometimes I just think too much.

You're as Young (or as Old) as You Feel

Over the summer I was whining about feeling old one day while waiting for the kids to be dismissed. It was hot, I was tired and everything seemed to ache. Mr A remarked that I didn't look old enough to have grandchildren (I like him!)

We got to talking and it turns out that he is only a few years younger than I am. He is working towards long range career plans, I am focusing on retirement. His children are preschoolers, I have two grandchildren in school. He was talking about getting a sitter so he could go out, I have to be in bed by 10!

My husband and almost all of my friends are older than I am, at the same "stage of life." We have grown children, most of us have grandchildren. We are making plans and looking forward to / worrying about retirement.

So how do I go about feeling like the "young" person I still am rather than the middle-aged old Granny that I feel?

Newest Nigerian Scam

John has tried to sell two laptops on ebay. In both of the listings he clearly stated that he would only sell to US buyers. At the time he was not aware that he could block bidders registered in other countries.

The first auction was won by a bidder from Spain. He emailed the bidder and contacted ebay. The bidder agreed to withdraw his bid and the computer was relisted and sold to someone in the US.

The next auction saw quite a few bids but went to a bidder from Sweden. Again he contacted the bidder and ebay. Things went differently this time however. He received an email that appeared to be from paypal that payment had been made and the funds were being held in escrow until the buyer received the computer.

We have gotten many spoof emails pretending to be from paypal. Paypal tells you that they will always address you by the name you registered with which has always made the phonies easy to spot. The email that John received addressed him by his registered name and looked official.

How did he know it was fake? He didn't at first but it all seemed wrong. Funds being held in escrow? The buyer was registered in Sweden but had supposedly sent the money from a Nigerian account and wanted it shipped to Nigeria.

He checked his paypal account and there was nothing there so he contacted them and sure enough it was a spoof email. Meanwhile they continued to send more emails trying to bully John into shipping the computer. Had he fallen for this he would have been out a computer, shipping costs and ebay fees.

He contacted ebay and pointed out that the bidder was fraudulent. Ebay responded that he had to wait until the bidder retracted his bid or 7-10 business days. He contacted them again and was told that the bidder was no longer a register user but he'd still have to wait. All of the ebay responses seemed to be automatically generated, we don't think that an actual person looked at any of them. Never did ebay point out that he could block bidders in the future, we found that on our own after wading through their unhelpful HELP menu.

After 10 days he was able to again request that his final value fees be refunded. They won't refund his listing fees although he may be able to relist it for free.

I have gotten some bargains on ebay over the years and I have sold a few things. But ebay has gotten too big and is no longer interested in the little guys, they want power sellers and to rake in the bucks. Support costs them money so good luck getting any. My ebay days may be waning. I wish Bean luck as she trys to start a home based business with ebay. (So far she is doing quite well.)

Goodbyes

Two good men died yesterday, one young and the other old. Both left families to mourn them.

John's Uncle E.R. passed away at the home of one of his sons; Aunt Aggie left us in 2000. I didn't know him well but I enjoyed visiting with him at family gatherings and I am saddened by his passing. I will see his children and other family members at the wake and funeral and will be able to easily express my condolences. I will chat with people I haven't seen in awhile and the conversations will be comfortable. I welcome the ritual of saying goodbye.

Dave was several years younger than I, the husband of a co-worker. I had only met him a few times and although I have known his wife for a dozen years we are not close. I like her, we talk often as our routes overlap, we just don't have a lot in common other than the job. His cancer progressed so fast that by the time he was diagnosed it was too late. I will attend the wake, I will tell his widow and young son how sorry I am for their loss but it won't be easy. There will be dozens of people there that I know well but none of the conversations will be comfortable.

Visit with Nana

Bean brought the kids to Mom's today. It was the first time that Mom had seen Twig. She wouldn't hold either one but enjoyed watching them.


Sprout gave lots of kisses. She still does not like it when I take her picture but didn't seem to mind if Grandpa had the camera.


I can't believe how fast Twig is growing!


John twisted wrong while we were there and hurt his back again. It wasn't too bad until he finished mowing. I'm hoping that he'll be in less pain tomorrow.

Security Training

The summer program ended yesterday. Over all I thought it went very well. I was impressed by the administrative intern, Mr. A. He will be back to teaching in the fall but I hope he choses to persue an administration position and look forward to working with him in the future.

Our refresher was held today so we would have the rest of the summer off. I'm getting 14!!!! kindergarten students and one of them doesn't speak English. As far as I know none of my students from last year have moved off my route and I have no paperwork yet on any that may have moved in. Right now I have 57 on my list, only eight more and I will be full so I am trying to plan for an overload situation.

The primary focus of our training was security. The speaker was a retired cop that now works as both a homeland security officer and bus driver. We did have some instruction on terrorism but mostly we focused on threats such as pedophiles, nut cases and students. If I hadn't been doing this job a long time I would have left the meeting wondering what on earth I am doing driving a bus for a living. The training was very good and focused on recognizing trouble and heading it off before a situation gets out of control.

It was good to see everyone after six weeks but I am thrilled to have the next three weeks off!

A Day at Sandy Pond

We spent the day at Mary & Hugh's house on Sandy Pond today. Family, food, sunshine and swimming; an idyllic day.

Click on any picture to enlarge.

Lynn took the kids for rides on Mary’s scooter. You would have thought they were at an amusement park. They fought over whose turn it was and rode around and around.

This picture captures all of their personalities so well. Nikki with her sunny disposition, Mike smiling to show off his missing front teeth, Liz with her hands on her hips and Alex really hamming it up.
My great-nephew, Bob, visiting from Virginia.
My nephew, Frank, brought his dog and let the kids throw a tennis ball into the water for her. I'm not sure who had more fun, the kids or the dog.
Singing Happy Birthday to Great-Grandma. Liz wasn’t letting the ice cream cake out of her sight.
The water is very shallow, it never got over Liz's head. And it was very warm, perfect for me. Nikki wore me out pulling her around on the board.
Liz didn't like the seaweeed, so she played by herself.
Alex never wanted to get out but finally no one would stay in with him. I'd say he had a good time.
This pretty much sums up the day.

What A Week!

I'm glad that I have that behind me. Hot, muggy, and rainy; the weather was less than perfect. Even kids at work were were quiet and droopy.

John's ebay auction ended a week ago today. He only sells to US residents so of course it was bought by someone registered in Sweden who tried to pay and have it shipped to Nigeria. This was the slickest scam we have seen yet and I'll write more when he finally gets things straightened out with ebay. Ebay and paypal both recognize it as a scam but here we are a week later and they haven't let him relist it yet.

BJ got tons of OT this week so the boys were here and had to put up with a tired, hot and cranky Grandma. Of course with with storms rolling through and it being too muggy to get a good nights sleep they were a little on the cranky side too.

On Thursday my motherboard went - again!!! I had it replaced several months ago. I think the computer manufacturers intentionally design to have your product wear out and give you problems when they are a few years old to force you to buy new ones. I do not like change. I liked they way I had things set up. John moved my hard drive to another computer and even though he hasn't got ot working right yet I was finally able to back up most things. You would think that I would have learned that lesson the last time. He is going to try to set me up with a new hard drive and I will have to start all over. UGH. He enjoys doing this, for me it is a nightmare. It's not his fault but he has ended up on the recieving end of my frustration.

Yesterday BJ tried to upgrade to windows xp. Things did not go well. He was still on the phone long distance to some suppport center when Angie dropped the boys off so they could go out for their anniversary. Hopefully they made it to the restaurant on time for their reservation.

The week wasn't all bad. We enjoyed going out to dinner. We did have fun with the boys. The new garden bed is ready, Mike helped me seed some of the center section and I did the rest.The fifth week of summer work tended to make us a little silly. Buses were hidden, other pranks were played, and there was a lot of good natured ribbing. I wish I could work with just this group of drivers all year long. We have all gotten along well and there has been none of the meaness or fights that normally keep me out of the driver's room.

After the boys get picked up this morning we're heading out to our favorite park for some swimming and relaxing in the sun.

The Weed Gardener

Most gardeners spend hours and hours pulling weeds. I’ve pulled quite a few. But what exactly is a weed? The dictionary definition is “A plant considered undesirable, unattractive, or troublesome, especially one growing where it is not wanted, as in a garden.”


We have jewel weed growing in the woods out to the lawn on one side of the yard. It is beautiful, fills in nicely and hides the trash left by the previous owners. I am encouraging it to fill in on the other side of the yard. We have tons of weeds I’d like to get rid of, poison ivy being at the top of the list, followed closely by locust tree seedlings.

When I first decided on a butterfly garden I was attracted by the idea that several of the recommended plants had “weed” in their name and therefore should be easy to grow. I have planted butterfly weed and tropical milkweed.

When we first moved here, Bean let me dig some black-eyed susans and blanket flower from her garden. Last summer, to my delight, they both came back. I watered and fussed over them and the black-eyed susans finally rewarded me with tons of blooms. The blanket flower just got bigger and bigger and kept sending up funny looking stalks that never flowered. I now realize that I spent the summer nurturing a narrow leaf plantain and it was a very pretty, very large plantain. So large that I didn’t recognize it as being the same as the weeds in the lawn a mere two feet away! It is no longer in the flower bed but I laugh at myself when I see one of the dozens growing in the yard. It turns out that they are a butterfly host plant so I had started my garden without realizing it and they are welcome to remain in the yard.

The fleabane growing at the edge of the woods is pretty. The motherwort I haven’t made up my mind about. The wild blackberries can stay in the areas that are wild but I have dozens to get rid of.




In the area where the old willow was we had a huge weed patch. Before killing everything there to start a new bed I spotted a pretty little vine with heart shaped leaves and tiny white flowers. Needing something to cover the other willow stump I transplanted it. I have just learned that it is wild buckwheat, considered a weed. It will stay as I think it is pretty, certainly prettier than the stump I need covered.

Also in the weed patch was some common milkweed or at least that’s what I thought the tiny seedlings looked like. I transplanted a dozen of them to the garden and nine survived and started to take off.

While looking at various milkweed plants online I realized that it wasn’t milkweed as the leaves were alternate rather than opposite.

So I spent a good deal of time trying to find out what it was hoping that it would turn out to be another weed appropriate for a butterfly garden. This turned out to be a very frustrating task. I browsed and searched several university sites, I googled and then I discovered the Ontario Weeds site. I now know that I transplanted pokeweed! We have quite a bit of it growing around the edge of our property. John spent a long time trying to get rid of a pokeweed patch at Mom’s. At one point he thought the shovel might break, the tap root on the largest plant was huge. So why didn’t I recognize this weed? The ones at the edge of the property are ten feet tall and I just never pictured these nice little seedlings turning into such giants! I pulled them all out tonight and now have a large bare spot in the garden. I won’t be moving anymore plants until I know what they are!

If I like a “weed” I will continue to plant, encourage and coddle because by definition they aren’t really weeds at all.