Thanks Jane for sharing so many beautiful photos of intriquing plants. Your Fritillaria photos are jaw-dropping, and I now realize how much I'm missing by only growing a couple of "frits". http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/… I'm literally bowled over by the photo of the breath-taking Fritillaria stenanthera (Rhinopetalum) and the sheer number of flowers. I've read about how difficult these are. How have you cultivated your fine specimen? What's the consensus regarding the taxonomic status of the genus Rhinopetalum as a breakaway fgenus rom Fritillaria? I have always wondered about the multitudes of Gagea. The photo of G. fibrosa shows a handsome plant. Where is it from? It looks like a bright yellow Ornithogalum of sorts (based on narrow wiry foliage and starry flower shape). Nice. By the way, we have "sun breaks" here in the east coast too. Some other regional weather specialties, which only started occurring in the last 15 years or so, include "snizzle" (feeble SNow and rainy driZZLE), "snow bursts" (an enthusiastically brandished term for sudden snow or squalls), "rain bursts" (when it's too warm to be a snow burst), and "rain storm" - a highly elevated definition of an old term... now means any rain precipitation whatsoever, even MIZZLE (mist and drizzle) of FIZZLE (fog and drizzle). Mark McDonough Pepperell, Massachusetts, United States antennaria@aol.com "New England" USDA Zone 5 ============================================== >> web site under construction - http://www.plantbuzz.com/ << alliums, bulbs, penstemons, hardy hibiscus, western american alpines, iris, plants of all types!