jolo, Thank you . I was hoping the roses might be a little pick me up for everyone. I will share my rose story with all, but please don't think I am crazy!! When I was growing up, my parents had a spring blooming ( only bloom in the spring for a couple weeks)climbing rose, the palest pink petals and so wonderful smelling. Mom would make us corsages to wear to church on Mother's Day. Well, this rose we ( my sisters and I ) always refer to as "Dad's rose. The rose my parents had was started from a rose at my grandma's home. After Mom died, we all got a start of this rose, and I have made starts for all of my children as they bought their own homes. That's the background of my story. Now the crazy part!! Each year, as few days before Mom's death anniv., my first rose on that climber opens. Not to be unusual, it blooms in May. But, every summer on Dad's birthday , also the anniv. of his death, Aug 20th, I get another bloom! And as each of my siblings have died, it has seemed to be one more bloom added each Aug. during that same week, sometimes all at once,during the same week. I pretend to believe that they are saying hello to me. I know, that is crazy, but then again, who knows!! I always say hello to them, and when I am out pruning the very thorny branches back, I tell Dad I know why we called it his rose, it was because he probably hated those darn thorns and we remember his "commentting" to mom. After all, their start came from her mom's house.LOL Anyway, every Spring we watch for the first bloom, and every Aug. we watch for six of them to say hello and good-bye again.