@gingerw, Beautiful photo of your blooming cherry trees! We don't have cherry but other fruit trees are in bloom here.

I so regret that back issues have placed you in the mostly "observer" status for at least this year! Due to a previous back injury, whenever my back royally flares up, it is all I can do to sit long enough to observe anything.

When I retired, people said I'd become bored. I promised myself after having to serve on too many boards and as a community volunteer that I would not join any group for one year. After 3 yrs of gleeful "abstinence", I agreed to vol. only if I could choose when and how much. Most want a commitment to a "schedule" and that wasn't going to happen for me.

Flower gardening became my passion at retirement and it has become the most rewarding, creative and challenging pursuit....ok...obsession !!! of my later years. Yes, several yrs ago, I joined an internet gardening and seed sharing group. Made some lovely friends, whom I still corrspd with and exchanged seeds with tons of people. Until I had so many little pkgs of seeds I realized they could never all be sown. Smiles

Our arboretum has an annual plant sale so I contribute to that as well as two ele. schools who have developed on-site gardens. I can vol. as I wish for both as well as for our Friends of Library and food bank without having a set schedule. Perfect for me.

In my residential area, there are no deer but we do have occs'l opossums, plenty of squirrels and most bedeviling of all, both slugs and snails.

One yr after hours of planting 18 tulips among the tree roots...what a job!...squirrels dug up each of the tulips and each had one large bite taken out of the bulbs...I was ready for WAR! lol Like deer they don't attack other spring/summer bulbs but other plants are fair game. I learned to wrap the tulip bulbs in brillo pads and/or dog fur and now have successful tulips in others beds, both front and back.

I know many enjoy house plants and maybe that might work for you? My indoor lighting isn't good and very few survive more than one season in my home.

My daughter called yesterday morning. We talk frequently but usually as she waiting for one of the grandsons to come out from some sporting practice. Sheer luck had driven me inside for a glass of tea and so I caught the phone.

She said, Mom, I got a call from your area code a bit ago and knew it wasn't you. Turned out to be from a rather panicky lung scan scheduler telling her she couldn't reach me and that the pulmonologist needed that scan done that day before my Monday apptmn't.

Daughter laughingly told her I didn't "do" cell phones and all who knew me also knew not to call before heat drove me inside from my yard at mid-afternoon! At 11 am, I reached the scheduler who asked if I could get the scan by 11:30; otherwise would have to cancel and reschedule the Mon. apptmnt'.

Luckily (for all concerned lol) I'd showered/shampooed the night bef. so was 90% clean, minus fingernails, and was able to change clothes and make the scan.