Well, once again, AOL has REALLY done it..........last time they screwed
with things and "made things easier and more SPAM protection! WOO
HOO!!!!!" they effectively blocked out literally HUNDREDS, no,
THOUSANDS of incredible gardening friends on the newsgroups, especially
THIS ONE. I lost so many contacts with people I'd smoozed and written
to about gardening and such, over a period of about eight years. "The
other Marilyn", the list was extensive. And where I realized that some
people weren't inclined to even bother to get an alternative means to
subscribe to a newsgroup and even return, a lot of them DID. And that
was neat too. I only had to watch for them. Or they e-mailed me
directly and told me ?where did you go??? Other's honored me and said
they were more aggravated that they couldn't read some of my rambles
(blush, dragging toe in dirt) and were throwing in the trowel. Well,
yesterday it started. I had just gotten a message with a JPG attached
from Tomkanpa, asking me about a rhodie, and I did what I always did. I
just hit "reply" and answered his question, leaving in the jpg, and sent
it. I got back almost immediately a message of undeliverability, and
fatal errors and what not. No problem, they must be having a problem.
So I erased the jpg, simply replied, with text only and sent it and zip,
back again. undeliverable. alright.........they must just be having a
problem in the servers or providers, wait and they'll work out. Then
NEARTHMOM or Caryn e-mailed me yesterday and I got it fine, but when I
hit reply, I got another message of undeliverable and fatal error and
all that muck. hmmmm, yep, AOL. And now, someone who is extended
family, out in Colorado called last night in need of a recipe before she
left Saturday to see her mom, I complied and sent her the weblink, and
sure enough (yes, I didn't realize until I got it back what her e-mail
address WAS) her's was also AOL...................so now I have to wait
and CALL her (at least I have HER phone number. I don't have all the
wonderful folks phone numbers despite that I DO have some of their
addresses so I will have to individually snail mail them, which I
WILL........ya'll know me well enough that if there's a way, I'll find
it. And I'll tell them to contact AOL and ask about putting a few people
(me being one) on their "white list" which is what I just found out with
my wonderful technician who works at VIC down in Knoxville who is soooo
patient with me at times when I have technical problems). And start
writing little letters and print out a few copies and mail them out over
the next few days......hopefully AOL will see the error of their way
with having such a harsh and strict policy on SPAM and realize they
might have gone TOO far.

Cool and about to rain today, and change the weather to more fall like
around here. I'm working on a ramble, which I have been for the whole
season, and it's been hard, it really has. I'll send it soon, and I
hope everyone is fine out there. E-mail me if you wanna and I'll answer
you as I can, and catch you up.

It's leaf bag swiping time!
madgardener up on the ridge, back in Fairy Holler, overlooking a hazy
and blue-ish English Mountain in Eastern Tennessee, zone 7, Sunset zone
36 where the leaves are turning, the poison ivy is a beautiful burgundy
crimson and the dogwoods are being stripped already of their bright red
berries...........