Ah, good, no rabbit nor any pre-toddler ate this book after all, so here is
a bit of quoted text from Douglas Adams "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective
Agency": (this is a snippet of a very long message being left on an
answering machine)

quote That reminds me, God, I hope I remembered to pack the shotguns. What
is it with these Americans that they're always so mad to shoot my rabbits? I
bought them some maps in the hope that I can persuade them to go on long
healthy walks and take their minds off shooting rabbits. I really feel sorry
for the creatures. I think I should put one of those signs on my lawn when
the Americans are coming, you know, like they have in Beverly Hills, saying
'Armed Response.'

Make a note to Susan, would you please, to get an 'Armed Response' sign made
up with a sharp spike on the bottom at the right height for rabbits to see.
That's secretary Susan at the office, not you, of course./quote

Get the book!

Joanna

"J Fortuna" wrote in message
news:NktFg.110$Te.45@trnddc07...
Gene,

In response to thought number 1:

Post warning signs low enough for rabbits to read!

Joanna

P.S.: The above is a paraphrase from Douglas Adams book "Dirk Gently's
Holistic Detective Agency." Where did my copy of that book go? I hope a
rabbit has not eaten it!

"Gene Schurg" wrote in message
news:RcOEg.7646$Ji1.6583@trnddc05...
I've been meaning to post several things out here for some time and have
been so busy. This is a string of unrelated thoughts I'd like to share
with
my extended orchid family.

1 - Rabbits eat Zygos! I had two nice Zygos that I put on the bottom
shelf
of a plant stand with the other cymbidiums. I've been fighting a couple
of
rabbit this year in the flower and veggie garden. The rabbits are gone
now
but before they entered the food chain they chewed up the Zygos. They
didn't bother the cymbos on the same shelf. Just thought I'd share that
with you folks who put your plants out for the summer.

2 - Jewel orchids are wonderful! Last year I purchased 2 Macodes petole
plants in 2 1/2 inch pots from Oak Hill. They were so tiny. Over the
past
12 months I've moved them up first to a shallow 4" bulb pot then to a
nice
glazed bonzai planter. They look great, grow fast to form a colony, and
fill a spot in the greenhouse where other plants won't grow because of
the
light level. They join a great ludisia discolor that is growing in a
larger
bulb pan with the surface covered in live green moss. I also have
Anoectochilus chapensis (also from Oak Hill) that I've had about 6 months
now that is growing very quickly. If you have a nice low light area in
your
growing area that you'd like to brighten up I highly recommend these
jewels.

3 - Oak Hill Cattleya Sale ... I didn't have any more space for plants
but I
couldn't resist 10 catts for $50. They sent 9 unbloomed plants many
showing
sheeths and one mericlone. Great looking plants for $5.00 each in 4 and
5
inch pots. If you want an instant catt collection of some really
interesting crosses (their choice) I can attest that this is a true
orchid
bargain.


4 - Bug report ... As you know I have been fighting the nasty two scale
and
mealies for the past couple of years. Mealies have been gone now for a
year
and my phals look much better without the mealies. Enstar II was the
solution for me. I took several applications but they are history.
Scale
is another story. For the past year I seem to have been chasing around
the
greenhouse. Back in June I bought a bottle of the Bayer Advanced Shrub
and
Tree systemic that people have been touting for a while. My first
mistake
was not to check my arithmetic and the setting on my dosamatic. I only
applied it at a quarter of the recommended rate of 1 Tbs per gallon. The
soft scale went away on the soft leaved plants like Oncidium but
persisted
on the Catts and Dendrobs, specially on the older leaves/stems. After
discovering my error I bought 4 more bottles of Bayer and corrected my
dosage. For two consecutive weeks I watered at the correct dose. Today
I
went through the plants the scale really are attracted to and found many
dead adults. I will wait a week then do two more applications to get any
eggs that hatch. I think I've got them on the run now.

Well, that's all that's happening in my collection. I hope everyone else
is
having a great summer (for those in the northern hemisphere) or your
winter
isn't that bad (in the southern hemi).

Good growing,
Gene