You gals are sooooooooo sweet! Thank you! I had some complications with my "war wound" but with some TLC things are slowly healing. I backed off from everything including the computer. Between giving up gardening and the computer for this short time, I was having major withdrawals! LOL Thank you so much for caring! You touched my heart! Now, LET ME SEE THOSE BEARS! Hee hee! I notice LOTS of cool postings from people since I've been on my brief "leave". I need to catch up on your creations! Bear Hugs! Kirk P.S. Thought I'd e-mail Oorahgirl to tell her we miss her but there's no e-mail on her homepage.

Sorry Ladies, I have been swamp with my job,the hollidays stress and my online courses!!!Although, I do take a peak from time to time on the forum. My cuttings from Chena and Kristy are doing good, since I don't have much time to drown them LOL! I even got some free time tonight and went out to see the new movie "Twighlight" he is one heck good looking vampire, you guys got to go see it; however, the books are better. It feel so good to take a break for few hours. Maybe one day my sugar daddy will come in with his big ship, then I don't have to trying so hard anymore ;) ( the girl can dream right?) Thanks for remember me ladies, big hug to you all.

Hey guys, nice to hear from you. I have wondered where you were many many times myself...I am glad to hear its just a busy life keeping you away. I miss your friendly posts and non judgmental attitudes. You were always positive and yet still honest in your posts when us gardeners needed it..and yet real..not just sugary sweet, positive and encouraging, but not blind. Great qualities to have...post when you can..share when you have time. We need posts and gardening friends like that here...but most of all, take care of yourself first...after all, in the end, that is what matters most in life. Life gets in the way sometimes but you are missed..your a great assest to the forum and to the delicate balance that exsists here. I personally have missed your presence and influence. Gardeners, even "net gardeners" are real people too..life gets to busy sometimes, and our gardens or beds get weedy and unkept sometimes...that is life in a REal GARDENERS world..I find that makes you more real, more believable and better respected in my book, than constant magazine like pictures that dont show how a real garden lives and functions, pictures that make it hard to live up to for the normal gardener with a life outside his or her garden who does not have that picture perfect garden and the dollars to back it up...gasp...it makes you normal.. :) Post when you can guys.....even short posts...we need you around here..and when your busy with life...we understand that too..but we might still be missing you then thats all...

Cady, I've got eight chickens left from my original gang of poultry. The guinea fowl left the enclosure every day, and one-by-one they got picked off by coyotes or foxes or whatever. Lost the last one in May. While I was away on a business trip this past April the spring heave and thaw lifted a couple of fence posts (sunk three feet down, but obviously not deep enough) such that the gang could squeeze under the mesh fencing, and I came home to find most everyone running around in the yard and in the fields, the survivors, anyway. The only chickens that survived were the ones still inside the pen, which is surrounded by an electric fence. It must have been a real smorgasbord for the coyote. The surviving ducks and geese decided that they liked the outside better and kept getting out. It's hard to stop a determined goose. I built another enclosure for them down by the stream and dug them a freshwater mini-pond that was fed by the stream, thinking they would like that better. But, they just kept busting out and each time there would be one less bird to catch. Eventually, I just gave up. I had a neighbor call me back in June to say that she saw three geese and a duck walking in her field, which most likely was the Brown African, a Toulouse, a White Chinese and a Black Cayuga. She lives on the other side of the road just off the Connecticut River, and I like to think that the survivors made it down to the river. ThatÂs the last I saw or heard of the waterfowl. So, what did I learn? Guinea fowl are too free-ranging to survive in an enclosure thatÂs not roofed, at least not with the kind of predator population that I have around here. For me, ducks and geese would only work, if I could put a fence around the entire pond, not practical. Chickens are the best, easy to keep, not a problem at all. They are what I wanted to get in the first place, before I went crazy and ended up with my menagerie. IÂm down to eight, the hardiest ones, and thatÂs fine, as I only wanted a half-dozen to begin with. If I lose any over the winter, IÂll replenish in the spring. When I go out to throw cracked corn they all follow me around clucking and gurgling, excited as all get out. They looked pretty ragged these past few weeks, molting and all. But, everyone is looking much better these days. My six beehives are doing great; it was a good year for bees. How are all your critters faring? I didnÂt deadhead anything this year, and the garden was a very popular hang out for all types of songbirds. I had hummingbirds like crazy this year, too. I think they like the butterfly bushes. I saw one land in one of my honeysuckle shrubs and sit in one place for over five minutes. IÂve never seen a hummingbird be immobile for so long. It was a real treat. narcnh