Thanks everybody, I usually don't have this kind of luck! This might be it for the whole summer,lol. I forgot to mention the shasta daisies and the forget me not I bought,too. Now I need to go buy some annuals for some of these projects,not today,though,too depressed. This forum cheers me up a lot.

Marcia, thank you so much for the warm welcome! And I'm certain I'll be contributing to posts here and there. You mentioned in another post about the tufted titmice... they are absolutely my favorite bird! So sociable and seemingly fearless of humans! Lately, there's been one that keeps landing on my head! Almost every afternoon for the last 3 weeks! I wear my hair short, blonde and spiked, and I keep wondering if it's checking it out as a nest, but titmice are cavity nesters, so maybe it just wants my hair for the nest? Or maybe it's just immensely curious. At any rate, sometimes it will stay on my head for 5 minutes, walking all around and even climbing down and nibbling on my ear. Of course, I feel highly honored! I always pay close attention to your posts because you and I are in the same zone. After too many years away from gardening, I recently got reinspired and am absolutely thrilled with all the online assistance via forums like this. I look forward to continuing the learning experience and the fun shared on this forum! Thanks again, Marcia!

I have few or no plantings around the feeders and bird baths, and like to keep it clear approx 3 feet or more around them for foot traffic. It makes it easier to fill, clean, and maintain the feeders and baths and in my case rake up the Black-oil Sunflower hulls. It's also nice to have a clear area for the ground feeders to eat what falls on the ground. I also keep it clear underneath a thick stand of evergreens and shrubbery about 10 feet away from the feeders, and sometimes scatter seed or tidbits under there for the squirrels and ground feeding birds. The birds love this vegetation because it gives them lots of cover and a place to escape any threats while feeding (perceived or otherwise). The Pennsylvania sedge mixed with rugged low growing wildflower(s) sounds nice. Violets are so pretty but they are vigorous spreaders. Low or sparse plantings are safer for the birds because cats can't hide in them and ambush the birds. Some edging, wood chips, flat stone, etc. can give the area a more finished appearance.

Sorry to bump this after so much time. Here's a picture of the trash compactor. This is the pull out trash/recycling system that I want. http://www.pullsdirect.com/rev-a-shelf-5349-2150dm-2-5349-series-double-50-quart-pull-out-waste-container-with-soft-close-slides/p1573591. It says that it fits in a 15 inch width cabinet. It took me this long to contact a few custom cabinet makers in my area. 2 of them have told me that to replace the trash compactor with the double pull out trash/recycling that I want, I would need to not only have a cabinet door/face, but also they'd need to create a cabinet box and a frame too. However, by doing this, the width of the side of the cabinet box would mean that they wouldn't be able to put in the pull-out that I want, which needs a width of 14.8 inches (the trash compactor is 15 inches), so I'd need to select a different one, which would have a much smaller bin size. The one I want has 2 50 quart bins, and I would have to go down to 2 27 quart bins, I think, to get it to fit, which is a big difference. I'm also talking to a third custom cabinet guy who said that there might be a way to be able to put in a "floor" to where the trash compactor was, so he could install the double pull out I want (which is bottom mounted, not side mounted) without any sides, and then put some type of frame at the top only, so something that the cabinet door could rest against while closed, but said he'd have to think about how to create it, and get back to me. I'm waiting to hear from him to see if he's thought of something that would work. In addition, the price estimates I've gotten so far were substantially higher than I was expecting. Alison, I'd love to know the details of how you and your dh did this. Did you add a whole cabinet box? If not, what did you mount your pullout to, and what does your door rest against? I would appreciate any ideas. Thanks! Here is a link that might be useful: rev-a-shelf double pull out