Hello from Midcoast Maine USA - a/k/a USDA Zone 5b

Hello Everyone!

I'm 59 and live on the coast of Maine with my wife in the far northeastern USA about 3 hours NE (up the coast) from Boston. My two sons (28 & 31) both live up here as well but not WITH us ...at least not as of this moment.

I'm a woodturning shepherd -- ie. I turn fancy "tools" for knitters and spinners out of wood on a lathe AND we have a small flock of sheep -- 28 +/- ewes and 8 rams ...and, of course, some chickens and pigs come and go.

I hope my membership won't be rescinded when I admit that I really do not collect JUST Mamms. My cacti/succ. collection so far numbers just over 50 plants -- 12 being Mamms ..of course, those 12 are my favorites! ;-)

I first collected cacti as a teenager back in the mid 1960's. I "lost" that collection when my wife and I went to live in London, UK in the early 70's so I could study photography there. It's just been in the last four months or so when I suddenly became re-infected.

At this point I have three T5 four bulb florescent light units. Up until just the last week or so it had not been a very cactus-friendly summer up here so I haven't really been putting any of the plants outdoors.

I spend a fair amount of online time over at the Yahoo Group: Cacti_and_Succulents · Cacti & Other Succulents Discussion where there is a pretty active membership -- not ALL MAMMS, but they are NICE people anyway! lol

Okay! speaking of sheep, there are few out there waiting for me!

TTFN - Jim

Welcome Jim,
I'm sure that many other members here do have some other genera in their collections - I certainly do!
It must be quite challenging growing these plants in your conditions. I can understand why you use lights. Your winters are also fierce, at least I imagine they are colder than Boston, where my son lived for a while, and that was cold enough for a moderate climate Brit.
The forum has been quite quiet int he last few weeks, must be the summer holiday period, but hopefully it will re-energise once people are back.
Best wishes,
Chris