Watch this thread! 2008 gathering being planned

Sorry, I kept getting interrupted while typing my post--I'm babysitting. Anyway, I actually started it an hour ago--so we cross posted.

I did that owl prowl already by me. Loved it, no owls though but lots of middle aged folk trying to speak to each other in hushed whispers. It was fun. I've got two owls on my property. I can see their silhouettes at dusk sometimes. The one likes to hang out high above in the old dead Elm tree while the other one tends to prefer a dead Black Cherry out back. We think we know what they are but it's always so darn dark by the time they appear it has been hard to identify them for sure.

Even if Pere Marquette doesn't have an owl prowl, I'd still love to see what they've got going on next May. Shaw seems to have a high activity level so I suspect there should be something interesting there too when we drive down.

I think as far as hotels go, maybe you better just give me the exact names of the towns that are out of the traffic problems with that closing of I-64. I can take it from there.

I can make suggestions on where to stay out by my house. At 270 and Olive Street their is a very nice Drury Inn. Lots of eating places nearby and just a few miles from The Butterfly House. It's about 20 minutes from MoBot and the Zoo. Plus, it's 5 minutes to my house and I can treat you all to lunch out by my little pond. I'd love to have everyone over.

Their is also a Holiday Inn, Marriott and a Redroof Inn closeby. All are near West Port Plaza.

Nice location, very safe. No need to worry about danger. Definately wouldn't lead you astray. If ya all need a link, I can post them. Hope this helps.

Crystal

Go for it! Suggest away because I drive like crap and no way no how could I figure out how to avoid that construction or whatever it is on I-64 by myself. I'm not familiar with the area.

So.....
Toga party at your house followed up with a nice dip in your pond for all of us to cool down? Will the fish welcome us? Will your husband invite us back ;)

OOOOH! I get to see crystalnurse's water garden first hand?? That alone will make it worth the drive.

I'll bring my pink round inner tube, snorkel, and fins. Anyone got a rubber duckie? Last one in is a rotten egg!

I know that we're a bit more south than Chicago, but May 17th is not quite pool weather; even this far south. Need to give it a couple more weeks.

Crystal, you're a gem. (No pun intended.) Since the McKinley Bridge opens to traffic on Nov. 19;(yeah!!!), It'll be much easier for me to reach I-70 W from my location.

So, it's my favorite night of the year. Get an extra hour to do whatever you want with it.

As what Leaflady said:

(We are family, lets act like loving, accepting family members willing to make allowances for the schedules and health & financial constraints on others lives.)

That what I am doing for next year at Leaflady's RU Spring 2008 (that will be 3 hours drive)

I ain't going to St. Louis for 5-1/2 hours and find motel with my dog.... Sorry...Rusty will be retired in May 2008...(birthday)...

Here's the color change leaf in my back yard...

Ok then. I'll bring my pink round inner tube, snorkel, fins, and a nice thick wet suit.

Ladies- names of cities please for me to look for hotels in that have good access to all the good stuff and keep me out of that I-64 whatever is going on there!

Anna, does that mean you personally will retire from work/your job or your dog Rusty will somehow retire? I wonder sometimes where the word retire came from. Some days I think I never stopped being tired so how can I REtire.? LOL.

Rusty is going to be 5 on May 3... So, he is happy to be new home... For me no I cant be retired but I have to be very carefully with my pelvis & hip...

I have all enough for travel to West Coast twice and some other states this year... I took alot of pics while I was on Mother Road...

Here is Rusty (took pic last month)...

You know, I should have probably asked before but what exactly does this mean-

Now I've seen it posted again by Rusty56. Am I missing another thread somewhere in which folk were disrespectful of one another or assuming and somehow it's bleeding into this thread where a handful of people are trying to meet up this May?

Here's another link to another area attraction that I just found while poking around for anything else in the area for people to do who might be staying longer than one day-
http://www.swi-news.com/SWI-Cahokia.htm
Doesn't look as if it's too far away from St Louis and I've been there before and it's definitely worth a visit if someone has the time.

Looks as if there is some way cool stuff to do here to include some sort of a zoo-
http://www.explorestlouis.com/myStl/memberDetails.asp?mID=229&pt=1&ic=2

And this looks really interesting if anyone has time-
http://www.worldbirdsanctuary.org/

Say tetleytuna, I can certainly bring plants if everyone wants a plant swap. I'm mostly into NA eastern natives but I might have a strepto, hoya, or phrag division or two that I could bring with.

Say crystalnurse, have you got a photo of your pond that you can share as a teaser for the people who are in a position to come down? I'm particularly fond of ponds and wouldn't miss any opportunity to jump in... just kidding.

Here's what Leaflady saying in this thread fourm:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=4153198

I must get going for clean out my rent storage my helper is on way...

Take care,
Anna

Here's one pic of the pond, I'll see if I can find some other's. Everyone ready for a swim - haha

Crystal

Say Rusty, thank you for sharing that with me however that's an excerpt from this thread and I had already read it. I still don't believe I understand why the comments were originally interjected here then echoed by you.

Say crystalnurse... looks very inviting, very inviting indeedy! Love that diving area from the top of the waterfall. Could you add a little heater or something to warm up the water a tad please so I don't have to wear a wet suit. And as an added bonus, it looks as if we could have a koi fry. Oh goody, fresh fish hot off the grill. Got anything else in that knock down drag out gorgeous pond for us?

My hope for this gathering is that those who can come will, those who can't will be missed, and that we can all get together at other times in the years to come. Perhaps I shouldn't have used the word round-up in the title, since it is more of a casual gathering. My apologies if I've confused things for the main big round-ups.

My hope for this get together is the same as cathy4's.

You know, I just took a good look at a map of the US. I didn't realize that MoBot was a day trip for so many other states. Since the main big round ups for the Cental Midwest Gardening forum are generally held about 4-5 hours away in another portion of the state of Missouri, this get together in May might be a neat opportunity for DGers from from other areas of the Central Midwest to come and enjoy each other. Check out a map and take a look at how close MoBot is to southern and eastern MO, southern IL, western KY, northwestern TN, as well as to northern AR. I found that rather surprising when I put some of the cities from those areas of other states into mapquest to get an idea of driving times. Perhaps this get together might be a great chance for DGers from those areas to get together with other DGers if they are interested. Just a thought.

Looks as if there's a tentative date in May, there's a destination which is MoBot (coincidentally, MoBot is one of the top three botanical gardens in the US along with NY and Denver), there's a shelter in the works to keep everyone out of any rain so what about starting to work on other details?

I have two adult children that live in the St. Louis area. So , If we are going to picnic, I can surely be responsible for some of the hot food, or whatever. My kids like to drop me off at the Botanical Gardens and come back and pick me up in a few hours.. I spent about two hours just playing with my camera and taking pictures of the hummingbirds on the hibiscus.. They were lovely!

I love trading plants, but don't want to commit to anything until after the cold weather is over and I know what I will have. Right now I have big plans. :)

Thank you for the links Equilibrium. I will have to go see some of these. Strange what a person can miss that is practically in their back yard. I did not know that MoBot was one of the top public gardens in the nation. How cool is that!

Hey KathyJo, that hummer photo you just posted is so awesome. How come you didn't submit that to the photo contest? This is the very first year I've had hummers actually visiting feeders I've put out for them. In subsequent years I faithfully filled them and didn't get but one visitor and that was toward the end of the year when they were migrating south. It was sort of depressing to keep filling those feeders all year last year. This year, I think I about held my breath for a minute when I saw the first one appear in spring. I crossed my fingers and toes that it would come back and it did all season long. Matter of fact, I had so many that I ended up having to put out 4 humming bird feeders. Those little turkeys are very territorial. It was really exciting to me to be able to look out my kitchen window to see them darting around everywhere. Next year I'm going to put out Oriole feeders in addition to the hummingbird feeders. I have high hopes.

I'm not exactly a plant trader at all but I do share. About the last thing in the world I need right about now is another indoor plant. People come over here and I send them home with plants to get rid of them because indoor growing space is a premium right about now. If there is anyone interested in Nepenthes, I could probably bring some rooted cuttings of those that would be considerably larger than seedlings sold for $30 a piece and on up. Nepenthes can be a tough plant for people in our zone so most aren't interested in a tropical pitcher plant. Flip side of the coin is that if Nepenthes are happy in their new home, they can get big, very big. Think of big as in the Audrey II plant on "Little Shop of Horrors" kinda big. Other than my carnivorous plants, orchids, gesneriads, and hoya which are grown inside; all of the other plants I have are hardy natives. I can commit to bringing plants for swapping but I don't know exactly which ones I'd be able to bring.

Hey tetleytuna, here's more on that Cahokia Mounds-
http://www.cahokiamounds.com/cahokia.html
http://www.nps.gov/history/worldheritage/cahokia.htm
I don't know if you were aware of this but that's an active archaeological site.

Also too, MoBot is one of our top botanical gardens but it's also internationally reknown. When we were traveling through Asia the last time, there were people from China who wanted to go visit there. Believe it or not, that's where I first heard of MoBot and they were surprised that I had never been to visit and it's right in my own backyard... well sort of after you're in the car for about 6 - 7 hours.

Hot food eh? Sounds good to me. I can always place a cooler in my car and load it with ice to be able to bring a cold salad to pass or something similar. I could also bring paper plates and plastic flatware or beverages too. Just because I'm coming from farther away than most, doesn't mean there isn't a lot I could contribute for a pot luck.

Most public picnic areas have grills of some kind. Whoever is near there may want to check on that and the availability of electricty.. If there are none available at the site, I am sure that someone could rustle up a portable grill.

I have one of those round alien space ship type Weber grills.

I can always bring a grill if needed. I have a truck so I can bring big items.

Do you have extra coolers you could bring for cold soda since you drive a PU?

Yep, I have 2 coolers that I can bring. Gotta work on the plug but since I live with a handyman and work with 15+ of them that is a cakewalk. lol

What do you need a plug for?

To hold all the water in from melting ice. It's the part on the bottom that all coolers have.

Equilibrium , The Nepenthes sounds cool. I would love one!

That was one of the hummers at Mo Bot. on the hibiscus.. in case I forgot to mention that. I just love that place! My Best Friend feeds hummingbirds and has 30-40 at a time. I just love to set really still close to them and watch them.

Here is another picture I took the same day.. at Mo. Bot. of course!

Oh (slapping self up side of the head), that plug.

I'll start a cutting for you right now KJ. This is what I will try to start for you-
http://www.nepenthesforeveryone.com/sibuyanensis.htm
That's not an easy specimen to get and not all that easy to root from a cutting but let's see if it takes. Learn how to grow it so you don't send it to plant heaven. It will like a pinhead or two once it starts pitchering.

I never had 30 or 40 at any one time but I bet I had ten hummers with two or three feeding at each feeder. I was happy with what came to visit given I'd only spotted one at a feeder passing through and another one out front by plants once in previous years.

Gorgeous butterfly. I'm definitely sold on MoBot. Have been for a while. Really glad I'm going to get to go with people who have been there before.

I didn't mean there had been trouble brewing. I just meant that I think/feel there can be more than one official RU in a state or area as far as I know. And there should be no offences taken if someone can't get to RUs farther away from their homes even when someone farther away than them could take them. For instance I'm sure I could ride with Pepper or KathyJo but my body just doesn't like long trips.

This St. Louis area RU sounds wonderful and I'm glad a bunch of you are going to have it. MOBOT sounds like a fabulous place to visit.

Wow Equilibrium that Nepenthes is incredible! I would LOVE to have something like that. If I ask really nicely and put on my big puppy dog eyes expression do you think you could try to start something for me too?? Thank you for the additional links for Cahokia Mounds. I think I may have to plan a trip this coming summer.

Pepper----- By spring it might cost a fortune to drive that full sized PU of yours to St louis. Maybe some of us can meet in Kingdom City and car pool it we are going to make a 1 day trip. If I go however i will not be coming back for couple days since I will visit with my son as well. Besides that I am not going to share no ride with someone from Columbia Mo that might carrying cooked Gator parts.

Eva May---- I do not think anyone thought there was any trouble brewing. They just did not understand Rusty's way of expressing it.

Who me?? What if I promise to kill the gator first this time? I think it would be fresher if we killed him there though --------------

Well, I gotta tell you ozarkian that I felt absolutely horrible and belittled by comments interjected by leaflady which I quoted above. A few other lurkers are scratching their heads too. To the best of my knowledge, I don't think I've ever even interacted with leaflady in a thread before although I've interacted with greenbrain and pepper and most recently you I think in chat. Unless I missed something in this thread or the other thread, I saw no one making anyone feel bad about not wanting or being able to go. The title of this thread was changed to gathering and I think almost all references to this having been a RoundUp, unofficial(?) or otherwise, have been removed and I know I saw an apology or two out there for possibly interfering with an official(?) CM RoundUp. This was a gathering that had its origins in another thread and a link to that thread was posted. A few people who were interested in meeting and enjoying each other's company took a liking to MoBot and picked a date. One of the people took the time to share the "gathering" by starting this thread so that any fellow DGers interested in visiting MoBot would know what was up and could follow along while the plan unfolded. Anyone who wanted to "hang out, relax, and enjoy" other DGers was being encouraged to come. It would have been so much more fun visiting a place like this with a group of fellow DGers.

That being said, I'm unwatching this thread. There's a dark cloud hanging over it that I simply don't understand. If people don't want to go or can't go, why spoil it for others in an open thread with comments about people like me being family or that they can't go because they're going to an "official (?)" RoundUp or whatever else was posted by people not interested in going for one reason or another.

tetleytuna, please d-mail me your address and I will mail your Nepenthes sibuyanensis to you. It takes about 5- 6 months to root if it's going to take and I did take a cutting and dipped and treated it then wrapped it in LFS about a half hour ago for you. If that one doesn't take, I should still have others as I took cutting from two more plants that are equally desirable.

Equillibrium, I'm sorry I upset you so. I did not intend to belittle or make you or anyone else feel badly. I'm all in favor of this gathering be it called an RU or anything else. We need all the local gatherings that can be arranged so more people can meet each other.

I heard back from Tower Grove Park. They aren't taking small pavillion reservations for May yet, but the one I asked about is reserved as part of a wedding. I'll put it on my calendar for the first of the year, or take Crystianurse up on using her yard (the bathroom would be closer, hint hint)

Cathy, this group found that having the RU in a home setting was so much nicer. No competition from other groups, etc. I'm so happy that your area is having this RU. It in no way deminishes the one we have in central MO. In contrast, it adds to the unity of DG in this state and surrounding ones. Some will be able to make it to more than one and that is great. Go for it DG family.

Just so everyone knows I forgot that I would not be able to do anything until June. My son is away at college and he will be playing baseball come April/May. So, I'll be going to most of his games - I'm such a baseball Mom, lol. School ends in June - so maybe that would work out - I know it can be hot - so let me know what ya all think.

Ozarkian, Kathyjo, and Tetley...if I can work around soccer games, swim meets, and track meets, then you can count me in for a Kingdom City carpool. Kingdom City is only 4 miles from me and we have a Suburban that would be plenty big enough.

Did I read "no plant trades" somewhere above?

Kids' schedules will not be known until March probably, so I am not firm until then.

SB

I think plant trades are still on the discussion agenda.