Jan. 2016 - A new beginning but same ice and cold!

suburban K.C., MO(Zone 6a)

I give you a big flock of Blackbirds in the top of a big Eastern Cottonwood tree at my storage unit, 2 days ago. Sorry the pic is sideways, just pretend it's a twenty dollar bill on the ground 20 feet to your left and turn your head.

Hope you'll stay, Sally. Welcome back, Bernie.

We came from here, Dec. 2015. -
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1410436/

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(Patti) Wichita, KS(Zone 6b)

I just posted year and it didn't go through. So, this is a test.

(Patti) Wichita, KS(Zone 6b)

Will, although they are sideways in your post above, they post correctly when I enlarge them. Go figure. That is one bunch of birds!

Thank you for opening a new thread. I still haven't made it to the kitchen. I got sidetracked watering plants and then of course had to come check back in here. Later!

suburban K.C., MO(Zone 6a)

Yw, Patti, no problem, maybe you will next month. Wow, that's neat that they are normal when you enlarge them, they stay sideways for me, I think it's a conspiracy! All kidding aside, I hope it's like that for everybody.

suburban K.C., MO(Zone 6a)

I also did the pics twice, the first pic is always the thumbnail pic that is displayed in the main forum with the other months and such. I wanted the Cottonwood tree first. If a pic isn't uploaded for the monthly thread, it looks a little bland, it's really no big deal though, it's been done many times. My car is bland but it works fine, the door-handles just don't work! Oh, and it attracts mice.

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(Zone 5a)

The photos are sideways for me when I enlarge.

Our earliest birds are Cardinals, Amer. Tree Sparrows (I call them Buttons), Harris's Sparrows and Juncos. The Jays and ickies are late sleepers here. Still have the Morning Doves, which is odd, but happy they lived through another hunting season. Our numbers dropped a bit since that governor of ours... grumble...grumble. The WEMEs (Alpha code for Western Meadowlarks... you have to remember this so I don't have to always type out their name. :) ) came back and Kessie was perching right by them . Oh, I like that my birds are not afraid of her. Other species of falcons hunt birds, but she likes mice and rodents.

I hope you can find a good native shrub, Patti. I think all of ours can get bigger than what you're looking for. Coralberry is short, but it can spread wide.

Little one is sick again, so I'm home with him while the others went shopping. Poor fellow has had stomach problems for about a year now, off and on.

Here is a picture of a Button. I call them that because of the black spot on their breasts. This was an odd Tree Sparrow we had one year. It preferred clinging to the sock feeders than eating seed off the ground like his relatives.

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(Zone 5a)

Oh, I can relate to your mice in a car problem. We keep extra paper napkins in our glove compartment, and one winter they used that to build a nest in there. Yuck! They also chewed through some wiring in the car, so we had to get it towed to be repaired.

Two things have helped... building a garage to park the vehicles in and we think Kessie is doing a fine job of shrinking the rodent population.

suburban K.C., MO(Zone 6a)

Hi Chillybean, if you call Sparrows buttons, I'll call you Kim! I want to figure out the pics, it's bugging me terrible. I wish a Kestrel would hang around here. I checked my sticky-trap last nite, no sign of a mouse. Really, I don't live in my car, I'm just a messy eater! Lots of Dark-Eyed Juncos here. - http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birding/dark-eyed-junco/http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birding/dark-eyed-junco/ I'm gonna have to take a videoclip of their tails flashing white, their too fast for a photo.

This message was edited Jan 2, 2016 1:33 PM

Madison, IL(Zone 6b)

Hello all. Thank you Will for the new thread. Good to see you posting again.

Just got home a while ago and finished up dinner and it's after 7:30PM. Left out early to the church to clean up the basement because the sump pump got stuck and backed up. Finished up there at noon and left to my sister's in DuQuoin with Olive the grey kitten. Got back around 6 and had to pick up my gr-d Chloe and feed her.

I had a great time at my sister Brenda's (she's 18 months younger). Her daughter was there with the 2 youngest grandkids. Olive didn't even care when we left. She was having a great time getting acquainted with her new home and family. Nicole and I felt good driving home knowing that Olive was already comfortable in her new home. 3 more kittens to place; Ash, Wolf, and Dan.

I spent yesterday planning my veggie garden and the planting dates for sowing seeds to grow indoors, outdoor sowing dates, etc... It feels good to have all those dates on the calendar.

A flock of robins in the backyard this morning on Jan. 2? This is not a normal winter. I wonder if I should move those gardening dates up a week or 2? I guess we'll know by March. What do you all predict? Early Spring?

KC Metro area, MO(Zone 6a)

Definitely an early spring. It's been way to warm for winter.

Nichols, IA(Zone 5a)

Happ,
It's crazy how long a cold/sinus can hang on. I think mine was mainly cold this time. But for weeks, is unacceptable!
I found two red ball ornaments hanging in plain sight yesterday and took them down, lol!!!
ROTFL!! I'm glad the tree and lights weren't ablaze! When we had a live tree we tied it to a trellis for the winter. The birds really liked to hide in it because it was close to the feeders.
We have one largish picture window and we hung a little soft cat ball on a shoestring. It clips on the window trim with a clothespin. That counts as one of his inventions. I need to get a picture.

Patti,
That is hilarious! Maybe it hitched a ride out with you and it's lurking somewhere in the house. It doesn't help that this week is The Twillight Zone marathon. lol!
A French door would be awesome!

Thanks Will!
No, this time I won't stay. I've been wanting to leave here for a long time. It's good friends like all of you I don't want to lose. But, the places I'm on are free and you can come visit me.
Yep, that's four and twenty and a whole lot more, lol!!
The pictures stayed sideways for me, but that's ok.
Mice mess. YUCK!!
So, I'm lost on where you might be working now.

Chilly,
For me it would be W. Mead.
The little yews and the spiny shrubs stay short. Barberry?
Aw, poor little one. Hope he's better.
Buttons is so cute, name and all!

Betty,
You are busy and on the run!
LOVE the kittens names!
I need to do that. First I need to see what seeds I have. I'm reading more than planning.
Hmmm, possibly an early spring. I wish we could just have an average winter and spring for once.

My treadmill reading. DH made this so this is one of his creations. In the first picture it lays fairly flat. The second it stands up. He originally made it to display the huge bible we have. The bible is now by my bed so I use it here. The bracket is a later addition. It's taped for stability. The book is one of the first books I bought at Earl Mays Garden Center. I have 15 or so. I even bought one on Orchids in case I ever had any, lol. I never did.

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Lewisville, MN(Zone 4a)

It's best to stick with the normal planting dates. Averages always work out. Above average needs a below average to even up. I always plant by calendar & not by weather.
I took 5 kittens off a neighbors hands a month ago or so. They were born in spring 2015. Two were smaller, so I gave them the run of my wood shop. Well yesterday I was working in the cold storage area. Grabbed a big squash out of a tub. Big old rat jumped out. One of the kittens had it before it hit the floor. I hope all are that good of mousers. 3 are outdoor cats now, live with 2 older cats we have.
The two in my profile picture are the ones in the shop. Black & white got the rat.
Happy New Year all!

(Patti) Wichita, KS(Zone 6b)

Grrrr. Just lost my post.

Bernie, my black-and-white cat, if she had her way, would be known as "the great destroyer". So far, she's only mangled my spider plant but, if she had her way, birds and all manner of rodents would be next. I hope she never has a chance to find out. I do not want mice in my house. rats? ewwwwww! I hope all of your cats are as good at catching the intruder as this one is.

GB, you are always busy! Adorable names for those kitties. It sounds as if Olive found the perfect home.

We all know how new I am to gardening, but I think we're going to have a late spring. I'm waiting for winter to hit with a vengeance. I hope I'm wrong because, like Amanda, I do want to see a couple good snow falls, but I don't want excessive anything

Kim, I sure hope your little one gets to feeling better soon. Cute picture of the "button" Sparrow. My sparrows won't let me get close enough to identify them. I never seem to have my binoculars when I need them. Are pine siskins about the same size but a little thinner? From a distance it looks like the markings are similar. It is time to get my eyes checked though, it has only been 20 years since I saw an eye doctor and things are starting to get a bit blurry.

Sally, I suppose that Airplant could've hitched a ride. It still begs the question, where did it go? LOL

Debra, where they heck are you? Come out, come out.

Will, I don't know how this tablet does it, but I have yet to see a sideways picture. I hope I didn't just jinx myself.

Madison, IL(Zone 6b)

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I'm going to consult the Farmer's Almanac. Sitting in an upstairs bedroom looking out the window at a robin eating crab apples from the top of the tree.

suburban K.C., MO(Zone 6a)

Yw Betty, glad to post. Oh, Robins love them some Crabapples, here's a pic of one eating some at McDonalds about 2 weeks ago, (ok, I go to McDonalds alot..lol). You might have to look close at the top of the smaller tree, (the pic said Dec. 19, before I figured out how to zoom on my phone). Oh, and of course it's sideways.

I see Sally, we're fb friends too!

I found that mouse in my car, dead. I think it ate a tiny bit of a dessicant that I found next to it's body. I eat beef jerky and a packet is in each bag, (apparently, I threw one on the floor..lol). Anyway, I got rid of the mouse before it chewed up wires or my seats or something not so good.

Well, back to work tomorrow, (after 11days off). They musta negotiated a heckuva holidays deal for the employees.

I've lost several posts too, I think it's easier on a mobile device. Now, I put the entire post on the clipboard 3 or 4 times while I'm writing it. Actually, THIS post is replacing a post I lost yesterday. I was putting THAT post on the clipboard, I had selected (turned blue) the entire post but instead of hitting "copy", I accidently hit "paste". It replaced my entire post with a few words I previously had on the clipboard from texting with a friend, hours earlier, I coulda died!

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(Zone 5a)

I just lost a post I was trying to start in the bird forum, it was a new one, not a reply. Thankfully, it wasn't super long, like some of my posts. But when I went back it, I found it actually automatically "watched". I have to remember to click on that when I post to a thread already in existence.

Little one was so sick again last evening, but slept clear through the night. He was feeling just a little ill today and I am trying not to let him have dairy, just to rule out if that is a problem. He's up and down in energy, but so far he's not been hugging his barf bucket.

Patti, I use a monocular for the most part since I only focus out of one eye at a time. I sometimes keep it in a pocket because I cannot pass a window without looking for birds. I am glad I haven't dropped it in the kitchen sink yet, since doing dishes is prime birding time.

I hope you find your air plant. That is so odd. Mine is still turning gray. I will wait till it's dead dead before pitching it. Maybe it will perk back up???

I think Pine Siskins are a little smaller, more resembling a female House Finch with yellow highlights on the wings and thinner bill ... let me find a picture

My Sago palm is still living, but I haven't repotted it yet. The indoor Tradescantia is perking up. I only bought it because it's a Tradescantia, not that I liked the plant itself so much. I have three Tradescantia (Spiderworts AKA Cow Slobbers) species outside. I hope my new ones (Virginia and Prairie) make it since they like dryer conditions than my Ohio species. And my Prayer plant is still happy. The children's things are doing good; they have several cactus, an amaryllis, marigolds, and kale. Oh, my frosty fern is a goner. At least I got a nice close up of some of the leaves last week before it just up and wilted.

Ack, the raptor food was in force today. :( And they found the suet. At least my WEMEs came up close today. And why is it birds seem so miffed when they look straight at you?

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(Zone 5a)

Since I dumped my pictures, I just edited the journal pages, Patti, so you can see how I do mine. Hope you can read my writing. :)

I always put the morning's temp and if it rained, snow, crazy wind, etc. Then I write many of the birds I see throughout the day, or something interesting they did. If I was lazy and just see a heap of one species I write "party", but if I intend on submitting my sightings to any organization, I try to count them. The other day, I saw 18 WEMEs, a larger than usual number. The first one was from November. The second is from this summer.

If you are curious about my bird names: Rusties are Rusty Blackbirds; BOBOs are Bobolinks, BBs are Bluebirds; Porch Swallows are Barn Swallows that nest on our porch. An Orange Finch is not a species, just a House Finch, but based on diet and genetics, the males can be red, orange, or yellow. Most of ours are red, but an orange will pop up on occasion.

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(Patti) Wichita, KS(Zone 6b)

Oh, I wish I could make a copy of that last photo you took Kim. I want him (her?) for a pet! It looks just spunky enough to keep the cats at bay. (kidding). Every time I look at that face I burst out laughing.

GB, I forgot to ask...who named the cats? Those are great names! I did ask that in my post that disappeared.

In watching for birds, I'm keeping my eyes open for Robins. I haven't seen any here. I didn't know anything ate crab apples.

I still have mealybugs on my Hoya, although I'm not finding as many. I have decided not to use a systemic. I'm going to try Neem oil instead. Anyone have any experience with this stuff?

My jade plant is really growing. I don't understand it; it acts like it's Spring or Summer. It has little leaves all over, opening up. This is my first year of trying to grow succulents in the house over the winter. My propeller plant is going nuts too. I think it has four or five pups. They must really like that room. It will never be as great as your sunroom though, Joyce. I am green-eyed here.

I have a kitchen floor to mop. Later.









Madison, IL(Zone 6b)

My last post disappeared too! Weird. Here are the 3 remaining kittens. Nicole, my youngest daughter and Chloe my gr-d (oldest daughter's child) named them. I renamed Broccoli and now call him Dan or "Danny Boy". The grey kitten Olive was adopted yesterday. We have left Ash (grey female), Dan (white/grey striped tabby), and Wolf (darkest grey striped tabby).

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(Debra) Derby, KS(Zone 6a)

awwww pretty kitties! Somehow I have managed to sleep away most of the New Year, even while babysitting the neighbors dog, Oreo. I'll get back on and read what I have missed later from work. Happy New Year, I hope it i better for all of us.

Nichols, IA(Zone 5a)

Bernie,
I will stick with regular planting dates. Those early springs are so uneven in temps.
Good for the cat!!

Patti,
I think we'll have alternating warm and cold. The months will be backward as usual and spring will be normal but chilly :o)
The mystery of the air plant. So funny! IF you ever find it, tell us!
I keep my binoculars in the kitchen within reach, just like my camera.

Will!
Mc D. is a very bad place to eat!!
So where are you working? Either you told me and I forgot, or you forgot to tell me :o)

Aww Chilly,
The barf bucket. I'm glad he's feeling much better!
I have never herd them called cow slobbers, laughing over that one unless it makes a cow sick to eat it.
Laughing again! He makes the ''angry bluebird'' seem a lot less angry. It's so cute tho!
Neat notes!

Patti,
Since you don't eat the hoya isn't a systemic a good way to go?

Betty,
Broccoli! Cracked me up! I like Danny boy :o) They are all cute and I hope they find homes soon so someone can enjoy them being little.

Debra,
I slept in this morning. I guess with all the holiday activities I need the sleep too.

I went thru my seeds while the dishwasher ran. I don't need much. Peas, potatoes, onions and one other. Hmmm. Anyway, I have a small list. I see I already weeded out what didn't do well last year. I keep the packets and compost the seeds. It's a wonder I don't have a mini compost garden.

Have a great afternoon!

(Patti) Wichita, KS(Zone 6b)

Sally, I won't eat the hoya, but I do not trust the great destroyer, Tess, to not snake and slither in there and take a lunch. She loves dining on the green stuff. I had a tossed salad last night for dinner, well, pizza too, but she didn't care about the pizza. She wanted my lettuce. She is one strange cat.

If and when I find the Air plant, certainly I will post. As of this moment, it's still MIA.

I've been a little under the weather since Saturday afternoon with sniffles and aches and chills, but not bad. I was hoping to stay inside today but mom just called and there's something wrong with Noodle's eye. My mom loves her dog as much as I love mine, so we are going to the vet.

(Zone 5a)

Just had a little excitement earlier. Children spot a Cooper's Hawk in the feeding area, I get pictures. Several of us say we hope it gets a house sparrow as we watch it; leave the others alone! It's a young one so hadn't quite gotten the knack of crashing into trees yet. It flew toward the back, so we look for it when one spotted a Red-tailed Hawk on the ground. Not unusual, we've had raptors tromp through our yard before. I saw it had its wings out and thought it was mantling*, so take pictures. But then it began walking on curled up talons and fell to the ground under a spruce.

I call the closest raptor rehabber, have to leave a message...then the next, who said to just wait for the first since she is much closer. While I was leaving the first message, my husband brings in the hawk. He put on the big gloves, but there was absolutely no fight in this bird. It was put in a big box on a towel for transport. One of the children tells me he saw the hawk poop, so I made him go out and get it. It was green... our hearts sank... likely lead poisoning.

We do not have the experience to know how to examine the hawk without stressing or causing more injury, so we did not try. We had been noticing strange orange spots in the snow, could that have been blood from this hawk?

With another round of calling, the further away rehabilitator sends out an intern. We were willing to take the bird to her directly, but we've got stuck in her driveway before in the winter. So we met the intern at a park and ride spot about 15 minutes from here.

The way the hawk looked, I thought it would be dead, but when transferring him from our box to their crate, he opened his eyes and lifted his head. Maybe there is hope. This Red-tailed was young, since the tail was gray with black bars across it. It didn't have its red yet. I wonder if it is one that was born this summer near the creek.

*I should explain my bird lingo. :) Mantling is when a raptor opens its wings and stands over its food to hide it from other hawks in the area. This seemed completely plausible, since we had just seen the Cooper's. The two catch different types of prey, but doesn't mean they will exclusively eat the one kind, if they can quickly snatch something else.

(Patti) Wichita, KS(Zone 6b)

Kim, will they let you know how the hawk makes out? I hope it's not lead poisoning. That's so sad.

(Zone 5a)

Quote from Tuckersmom :
Kim, will they let you know how the hawk makes out? I hope it's not lead poisoning. That's so sad.


I hope they will. I feel like an anxious mom. Lead has been removed from paint, gas, toys, etc, but they just won't stop using it for ammo. Besides harming wildlife, people who hunt for food eat it. There are non-lead options, but lead is cheaper. Not by much, though.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/opinion/readers/2014/11/20/lead-ammunition-poisoning-wildlife/19309287/?from=global&sessionKey=&autologin=

suburban K.C., MO(Zone 6a)

I hang my head in shame, McDonalds is very bad, not just bad..lol
My job is classified, I can't say on the internet! : )

Yes, hope the hawk makes it.

Kansas City (Joyce), MO(Zone 5a)

Oh hope the hawk makes it. I have raised several birds. Two robins, a starling, a pigeon and a bluebird. Now don't bad mouth the starling, he was VERY VERY smart. I had no idea how smart they were.

Today was my first day back to work....I was surprised we had so many phone calls and I actually talked to two clients in person. I was so amazed any body was thinking abt it so early.

Boy it is cold! 20's when I was coming home. Some frozen mist on my windshield.

Patti I believe Debra uses Neem on her plants.

GB glad you are not in the floods, wow flooding in the winter, summer would be bad enough, but cold wet water...yuck. . Kitties are so cute. My kittie gets its thyroid am and pm and seems to be doing a great job. Just like a new kittie. I did try friskies and it seem to make him sick, so I switched foods and everything is back to good. Gonna give the left over food to a friend.

Got the wood to finish my cabinet. Just don't know when I will have time, maybe Thursday. Excited to get it done.

Nichols, IA(Zone 5a)

Patti,
I see. I use a systemic on my iris, but not on my roses anymore. I'd never keep up with the iris borers if I didn't and I don't want to kill any bees..
Laughing, Zoe likes lettuce but Petey doesn't.
I hope Noodle doesn't have anything serious.

Oh Chilly,
I couldn't quit reading your exciting post but am so sorry about the Red Tail. I hope there is hope for it.
I did smile over 'I hope he gets a sparrow." My sentiments exactly. I figure that's why there are so many of them and the house finches.
I wasn't sure what mantling was. Thanks for the lesson.

Will,
OK, that's why you haven't said. No problem. I'm just glad you're working.

Happ,
I talk, but I really appreciate every bird there is.
Well good. Nothing like a good day at work :o)
I agree. We drive over bridges and I can't think of anything more horrifying than going in the water.
Walmart is back to supplying ''The Good Life.'' The cats seem to fill up now instead of always being hungry.
Excited to see it when it's done, lol!

I changed my avatar and removed personal info today in getting ready for my departure in March. I'm finding more threads on ATP and have to laugh. Some of the people are those on my other threads. I guess great minds think alike.

Have a great day!!

(Patti) Wichita, KS(Zone 6b)

It's 22 degrees out there. Burrrrr. Tucker couldn't get out and back in fast enough. I actually turned my thermostat up to 72 and I'm still dressed in layers. I need to go dig my Cuddleduds, or whatever they are, long john type things out.

They just had a statistic on the local CBS TV weather report. From November 1 until today, Wichita has had 0.7 inches of snow. Last year by this time, we had had 9.9 inches. I guess they revised the amount of snow we have received this year downward. We need snow.

The vet stained Noodles eye yesterday, looking for some type of laceration. Luckily, she was unable to find one. She agrees that it looks like infection so we came home with eyedrops. I about choked when writing the check, (out of mom's account) which was for almost $100. We weren't there for over 10 minutes with an actual staff person in the room. I am strongly suggesting to Mom that she change to my vet.

I said something about Tess doing a "snake and slither" routine in a post yesterday. Mynx is constantly vocalizing about something and I usually know exactly where she is. Tess is the total opposite. She rarely vocalizes, and when she does it is so soft, I often see her mouth move rather then hear any noise. She lives her life in stealth mode, and because she does, she reminds me of a snake. I don't know she's there until I practically step on her or I'm peeling myself off the ceiling because she startled me. LOL

It seems that the Sparrow sightings outweigh other birds 40 to 1. I haven't even seen my chickadees in a couple days.

Joyce, I can't wait to see pictures of your completed cabinet. It is going to be so neat.

Kim, I didn't know what mantling was either. Thanks for the explanation. Is your little one doing better today? My brother had horrible allergies as a kid. They finally identified wheat as his primary problem, although he did have other allergies too. He had a series of shots, this was 55+ years ago, and they helped immeasurably.

If Debra doesn't show up here within the next couple days, I will call her.

I have a list of things to get done today as long as my arm. Most of it is paperwork. I would rather clean toilets.

Sally, I post over there but not nearly as much as here. I wonder if we started a Midwest cubits?



Lewisville, MN(Zone 4a)

I wen t to ATP & checked a forum that started 2 weeks ago. It is now on page 50 & far off topic.
What is that all about ? I'll stay here.

(Patti) Wichita, KS(Zone 6b)

Bernie. Was the forum located in the Sandbox? If yes, that's allowed. If no, probably a moderator will step in. You can always take your question straight to Dave. I love the fact that he responds and you don't feel stupid for asking.

(Patti) Wichita, KS(Zone 6b)

I understand wanting to stay here. What I don't want to do is resubscribe and pay money when there are this many problems. How long has it been since they started this change? I have to proofread and redo probably 70 Percent of my posts because they won't load into the preview window. Any symbol is enough to cause a problem apparently. That's why I spell out the word inches, degrees, percent, etc. I've caught on now but what a pain. Recently, there have been several times when I didn't have any symbols and could not figure out why it wouldn't post. I closed the program out and walked away. My watching forums page still won't update and the picture situation is only going to get worse, I think. Watching and unwatching threads requires multiple tries. And then there is the problem with disappearing posts. They plan on redoing the homepage soon But they haven't fixed the problems that already exist. I do feel more comfortable here, but it's only because of the people here. I consider all of the people on this thread to be friends. The site itself is a frustration, leaving me feeling discouraged and very sad.

(Patti) Wichita, KS(Zone 6b)

Removed duplicate post

This message was edited Jan 6, 2016 7:51 AM

(Patti) Wichita, KS(Zone 6b)

Removed triplicate post

This message was edited Jan 6, 2016 7:53 AM

(Patti) Wichita, KS(Zone 6b)

I just hit preview post on page two for that last post. I have made some changes and wanted to make sure they made sense. Instead of taking me to another preview post, it threw me all the way back to the beginning of this thread. Had I not thought to use the back arrow and then hit send instead of previewing again, I would've lost the last post too. That should not have happened.

Lewisville, MN(Zone 4a)

I haven't had any of the problems you mentioned.
Pictures post right for me.

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(Zone 5a)

Quote from CountryGardens :
I wen t to ATP & checked a forum that started 2 weeks ago. It is now on page 50 & far off topic.
What is that all about ? I'll stay here.


One thing that bothered me was some were copying posts from here to over there in the "Mutiny" thread. Yes, everything on this site is public, but it just seemed kind of... sad. Not quite the right word, but I don't want to get stronger than that. This is part of why I have said little about ATP, but if someone copies this, well... I will let it be their problem and no longer worry about it.

I did look into renewing here, but they no longer take checks, it has to go through PayPal. If discussions are public here anyway, maybe some can just continue in a suitable free forum. ?? That is likely what I will do. I admit, I do not quite feel the connection of some of you, coming here late, but I enjoy chatting with others and seeing/sharing photos.

I have not yet heard about our hawk. I emailed asking about him/her, so will just wait. I know some rehabbers struggle with people continually asking how "their" bird is doing. I don't want to hound them, I know they will do their best. They want to release the birds out to the wild, not have it become another statistic. I saw the condition of this hawk and really the odds seem very low that it will make it.

(Zone 5a)

[quote="billyporter"
Aww Chilly,
The barf bucket. I'm glad he's feeling much better!
I have never herd them called cow slobbers, laughing over that one unless it makes a cow sick to eat it.
Laughing again! He makes the ''angry bluebird'' seem a lot less angry. It's so cute tho!
Neat notes!
[/quote]

I know... the Western Meadowlarks really put on a face. :D Little one is still up and down, but more ups yesterday and today. I mentioned giving him no dairy, we had unexpected company Sunday evening... they brought ice cream. We let him have some... bad mistake... He was hugging the bucket again. But he's now been off dairy since that time. I feel so bad now that I realize how much he cannot eat. He cannot even eat the Pfeffernusse we made, it has both butter and cream in it.

If I can get to the store this evening, I'll look for a nice ice cream substitute for him while we try this a couple of weeks to see if he improves. The stores sell organic margarine, so that's easy to find. Maybe he can have goat cheese or something. Cow's milk is great for calcium, so we'll have to get him a supplement. Has anyone actually seen what the children's calcium supplements are like?? Two or three sugar ladened gummies that have only 20% of the RDA. The adult ones are too big for him to swallow and a bit much for what he needs.

Cow Slobber is not poisonous that I am aware of. It is called this because if you break off a stem, the sap's gooey consistency resembles... yes, cow slobber. Haha. The plant is also called Snotweed, but I don't care for that. Thankfully the children don't either.

I like House Finches, even though we have a lot. I enjoy hearing them chatter. The HF females call is much more pleasant ... unlike the female HOSP... bothers my ears with her grating call.

About birds, do you ever notice how they walk? I am used to seeing little birds hop, instead of walk. The blackbird family walks, but it suits them being a larger bird. Yesterday when we were coming back after passing on the hawk, we saw Horned Larks. They're little guys (How can they be female with the handlebar moustaches? :D), but they are cute when they walk instead of hop, taking lots of little steps to cover the distance from here to there.



(Zone 5a)

[quote="Tuckersmom"

Kim, I didn't know what mantling was either. Thanks for the explanation. Is your little one doing better today? My brother had horrible allergies as a kid. They finally identified wheat as his primary problem, although he did have other allergies too. He had a series of shots, this was 55+ years ago, and they helped immeasurably.

...

I have a list of things to get done today as long as my arm. Most of it is paperwork. I would rather clean toilets.

[/quote]


My husband has allergies, which means some of the children do. The oldest is the worst and has tested positive for grass pollen, outside mold, cats. So far no foods that we are aware of. We thought about the shots, but the cost and long drive to get there. But with the little one, it seems food is causing him problems. We just need to figure out what.


Haha... I would rather clean toilets than dust! A cleaner, dryer job, but dusting... I don't like wasting my time with it. When I was single, I participated in a market study. You do not know what it is until you agree to do it. Of all things, I had to use and give my opinion of a furniture polish! BAH!

(Patti) Wichita, KS(Zone 6b)

Kim, it has been years since I've had any personal experience with the allergy shots scenario. I thought I had heard somewhere that now they give allergy drops which are placed under the tongue. Have you heard of that?

I sat down in the recliner last evening to drink a cuppa coffee. I woke up, sitting up, when Tucker did one very loud Labrador size "Wake up Mom, this is urgent" bark about 2 feet from me. I'm surprised I don't have gouges in the floor from him scrambling to get to the back door. I felt terrible. When I had the dog door it wasn't a problem. When I got the cats, the dog door had to get permanently closed off and I had failed to let he and Nikki out last night. It's sad but funny when you find yourself apologizing to your dog(s). Nikki needed out too.

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