Okay, you all inspired me to try and remove a couple of pups from my big sago today. I placed the back of the shovel against the mother and then pushed down (had to work it). It was like I was tearing the plant up and there were juices. Once I removed the pup, it was actually two. The one I originally started with turned out to be the size of a small pineapple. The other one that was buried and came out with the first was a little larger than a big avacado. My question now, the larger one has part of its side shaved off. Did I kill it? My second question, my other sago has several small (avacado sized) pups on it. But the mother plant has started to sprout new fronds, so should I leave those pups attached until next year? Thanks for any advice.

First of all, thank you for not declawing your cats. I assume you have researched the procedure and understand that it involves much more than the removal of claws. It is, in fact, amputation down to the first joint of each toe, comparable to the amputation of each of your own fingertips down to the first joint. Declawing is not only a painful and completely indefensible surgery, but it may very well end up causing more problems than it solves. Declawed cats sometimes experience permanent, chronic foot pain that results in rejection of their litterboxes. Then you're dealing with cats who end up soiling all over your house for the rest of their painful lives. Some cats who are declawed also become insecure and defensive, resorting to biting as a "first strike" mechanism at inappropriate times. Sure, there are plenty of declawed cats who don't develop litterbox avoidance or biting behaviors, but why take that chance with your own healthy, happy felines? Furniture is replaceable, but you can't replace your cats' amputated toes if the cats develop post-declaw behavioral issues. OK, that covers the reasons why declawing shouldn't be considered a reasonable or advantageous option. Now to the scratching thing. Here are a few options you havent' mentioned trying yet: 1) Provide a variety of scratching surfaces. Some cats prefer to stretch up when they scratch and like tall, vertical scratching surfaces. Other cats prefer to stretch out when they scratch and will enjoy horizontal scratching pads. Different cats like different surfaces: corrugated cardboard (a favorite around my house), sisal rope (another favorite), natural wood (draws them like flies - esp. firewood with the bark still on it)), carpet (NOT in favor in my household), fabric (also NOT favored here). Try as many different orientations and surfaces as you can find. With five felines in your household, you're bound to be living with different scratching preferences. 2) Buy a package of loose catnip leaves and rub them generously into all acceptable scratching surfaces to inspire feline activity. 3) Buy a roll of very sticky, double-sided carpet tape and tape the areas on your furniture where the cats have been scratching. Cats HATE getting their paws sticky, so they will avoid the taped areas. Once they have been successfully and reliably deterred from the furniture and redirected to their own scratching surfaces, you can remove the tape. 4) If the cats still refuse to leave your furniture alone, buy some "Soft Paws", little plastic or rubber caps that you glue onto their claw tips so they can't cause damage to furniture. 5) Buy cheap furniture that can be replaced as necessary. 6) Abandon the folly of "training" cats. Make peace with the fact that you are now a slave to five felines. Such is the joy of living with cats. :-) Laurie, who is happily enslaved by 14 of the beasts

Thanks, Grainlady. It's something I never remember when I'm waiting on wild yeast, and I should. This recipe actually uses commercial yeast--just a small amount for a slow rise. :) Jasdip, the other trick to that is using a clear dough bowl/bucket, with straightish sides so it's easy to judge the volume at a glance. That and a roll of masking tape to mark it. You can use a Sharpie instead, but it's harder to remove (I use wine dregs for that). I have a two quart, heavy glass Anchor Hocking measuring bowl with a tight lid that goes in the dishwasher easily and is just right for a single loaf, which I use for the daily bread. Yeast will still grow in the fridge. Just a lot slower.

The cardboard didn't help with maintaining a moist root area, but isn't totally responsible gor what happened, either. It's very tempting to put down something like cardboard, newspapers or landscape fabric to suppress weeds, but they really do more harm then good. Weeds grow through them and root into them and become harder to deal with in the long run. It would be best to remove the cardboard, bite the proverbial bullet and pull the weeds by hand. Once the area is reasonably weed free, it's not that big a chore to keep it that way. Declined really is a better description than died. The branches showing the most extreme drooping will not revive, but the stems themselves should be fine. Cut them back to an area showing green cambium and they should put forth new growth. There is still ample time for lots of regrowth before fall. There are some root diseases which can cause this kind of rapid collapse, but I am reasonably confident that you will find very dry root balls. Should they prove to be nicely moist, you are then dealing with a more serious condition for which there is really no cure. Fingers crossed.