Tom -- have you tried the internet? You'll have to wait a day or tow for delivery -- but you won't have to buy a new camera!!!

Well as the saying goes, when all else fails read the directions. I tried re-formatting the memory card, and it worked, so I can take more pictures, problem is, one really nice Day Lily that bloomed yesterday (one I spent too much money on) Now I have to wait until another bloom opens. My spare disk is shot though, it's been corrupted so I found some on Amazon I'll have to get one there. Guess my camera is too old.

Depending on where you live in the country, does anyone provide Winter protection for the rhizomes, like pine straw or evergreen boughs over the winter ?

Tom -- don't forget to try Ebay as well!

Patrick Here in PA I will cover new plantings of iris with oak or maple leaves. They don't mat down and are easy to rake off in the spring. My established plantings don't usually need to be covered.

We do the pine needle winter mulch to protect against heaving. Usually just on the new or moved this season plants.

When the leaves fall and collect among the irises I leave them there until early spring. If none collect on some beds, I don't put any there.

I don't mulch the bearded....new, or established.....but, I keep a pine straw mulch , year around ,on the beardless area.

I do what Tom does.

I don't do anything special to protect iris. They are tuffies who like cold weather. I dropped one in a garden and forgot to cover it. It bloomed.

I used some wood shavings to mark where I had planted bulbs and I don't rake the leaves off, but that's it.

Tom, I always have a cheap back up camera. Unless you are making posters, megapixels aren't that important. I have a Fujifilm T400 that I love, but when it broke and I had to send it back, I bought an older Fuji F series as back-up for $22 delivered, off eBay. My phone takes very good pictures, not quite as good on the super close ups and nowhere near as good for pictures of jewelry that I sell, but the color is more accurate with blue and purple iris.

Oh, what do I want to do before winter? Get rid of as much yellow dock as I can. It is prolific here.

My other shoulder gets done end October? Maybe I will give myself an extra week into November and keep doing yard work. My right shoulder is just starting to be useful again, but I also have some weather dependent carpentry projects and I need to hand plaster an unheated entrance where the contractors did a disastrous job removing trim that didn't need removing when replacing a door. Thank God for light aluminum ladders. I also need to finish the floor, paint pink and put shelves in my new tool closet. Then I think I should put one of those universal women's potty signs on the door to keep men away from my tools!

I never thought of that, Linnea!!! Good idea.

I lock my toolbox so the Hub can't *borrow* my tools. Once he does, they're never seen again................