Anyway. . . . My window box is simply thriving! I trimmed parts of it back, and cut off some coleus, stuck it in the soil and watched it become more coleus. Love it. I cannot recommend these self-watering dealies highly enough. They come in all sorts of sizes and styles, and I plan to collect a few more as time goes on. Being plastic and not all that gorgeous, some will be hidden in other planters.
And my butterfly bush is thriving to the point of uprooting itself! Scottie put a big stake in the ground and tied it up; and today we put a 5 gallon rubber pot with the bottom cut out in as a barrier on the bank below to catch soil, etc. Parts of the bush trimmed off to accommodate us as we worked magically turned up on the dining room table. 
Scottie goes back up to Lodgepole tomorrow AM, and will be officially moved into his summer residence. Last week he came back down a couple of nights that he could have been there 'cuz I was visiting Hughie in San Diego. . . . Have I only been home a few days? Ye Gods! Yes, Virginia, I am too busy with projects. . . . Anyway, the back of the truck is packed with everything from bicycle to dishes to table and lamp. Still to be added are clothes and a big cooler of food. From now through September Scottie will be 5 days and 4 nights a week at Lodgepole then home 3 nights and 2 days. Big adjustment for all of us! Cocoa is totally freaked out acting as if he's moving away forever.
And, I managed to fit in a class in making stepping stones on Saturday. Jerry and Nancy Jonnum, two incredibly talented people, gave the class at their home. I got to make two stepping stones so we could use up the remains of the batch of concrete. This is the stone I planned to make with rocks from our lot and a bit of black granite - think left over kitchen counter - embedded. I wanted a fairly subtle look as I plan to make a bunch of these to be used in creating our patio. I'm thinking one "custom" stone per every 5 or 6 plain.
When I found out that I got to make a second stone - yippee!! - I had used up most of what I'd brought along so I scrounged some goodies from the offerings there. This stone is less foot friendly as some of the metal pieces stick up. The lock is hooked permanently to the ring, which is hooked permanently to the screw, and it turned out that they could not be embedded flat. These are big - about 15 x 15 - and at least 2 inches thick - think heavy.
I'm guessing I can create forms without bottoms, make them bigger - like 3 feet square - and cast in place too. So, with about 1000 square feet of patio to do. . . . I'm going to be a while making these. If I do them 2 or 3 inches apart so I can put in moss, that's still about 450 stones this size. If I did 50 areas that were 3 feet by 3 feet that would accommodate tables, etc., better and drastically cut the number of tiles to be made! That would leave me only about 250 smaller tiles, and if they are 1 custom per 5 plain, I'll need about 45 or so - plus some for paths. OK this is a BIG, REALLY BIG, project!!! Helpers out there? I'm accepting volunteers.
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