Think about this for a minute — Friday sunny in the 80s, Friday night 50s with rain, Saturday muggy in the 60s, Saturday night dry in the 30s but hang on Tuesday we should be back up toward the 70s again.

Combine this with increased photoperiod and ground temperatures and it causes lots of unwelcomed stress on your plants. The good thing is if they have survived this far they will probably continue to cope with these rapid changes.

However, like I said a few weeks ago, if you planted spring plants early this year, you may want to watch them close and perhaps cover them up during these cold nights.

Roots are affected a lot during these temperature fluctuations so adding a layer of mulch will greatly enhance their ability to cope with changing environmental condition.

Q: What is happening in 4-H these days?

A: Good news, after several good years of having highly successful week- long 4-H Hunter Safety Camps we will expand this service to our area youth. Starting at 9 on Saturday, March 21 at the Adams County Sheriffs Range we will begin offering shooting sports as a year round sport.

We are blessed to have a group of trained and dedicated volunteers that are going to be instrumental in teaching and coaching, as well as local agencies to help provide support for the program. This program is designed to teach safety, responsibility and increase the skill level of youth in multiple disciplines.

So if you have children or grandchildren that are interested in shotgun, archery, 22 rifles, pistol or other disciplines mark down the date and be looking for more information or call the extension office at 601-445-8201 for registration information.

Q: Why are lady bugs coming out of my house now?

A: The first things to understand is lady bugs are great if you like gardening, especially if you have problems with aphids and other garden pests. No they do not just show up in the spring, they had to stay somewhere the last several months. We saw a large number of them in areas last fall and like most pests they do have to find somewhere to overwinter. The bad news is if you have a few of them in your house now there are probably more to come as spring begins to emerge. In the fall they begin searching for warm dry locations to overwinter and if you have a spot leading up to your attic that is small enough for a pencil tip to go through then you are a candidate for an overwintering site. Good news is once they come out for spring they will all leave and you will be relieved of them. So hang on, you still have several weeks of aggravation ahead but there is an end in sight.

There are some pesticides to help remove them; however if you spray now you will then have dead lady bugs all over your house. So it may be better to let them get out this spring then use sprays and block holes to prevent the problem from happening again next fall.

David Carter is the director of the Adams County Extensions Service. He can be reached at 601-445-8201.