Thank you, Jeanne, Maggiepie, alina and hoovb! Hoovb, I'm not sure of the requirements for most of the viorna group as far as a cold period. Clematis baldwinii flowers all year according to the Flora of North America, and is native to peninsular Florida. That might work. It's a beautful species but not available at this time. Brushwood Nursery may have it in the future if Dan propagates his plant. I grow my Clematis in all sorts of spots in the garden among Hostas, Spigelia, Itea, Hydrangeas, Pieris, Rosa glauca and other plants. The beauty of these vines is that you can squeeze them into a small spot in the ground among other plants. There is a fairly large hellebore next to that Hosta!

The link I posted yesterday about this lab in Chester county was in the Philadephia Inquirrer now they know very little about this disease But they did notice it's on the decline in New Jersey and Pennsylvania here's the article not a word about robins.Sarah Posted on Mon, Aug. 01, 2005 A new lab is dedicated to disease on the decline Pa. scientists take a closer look at West Nile virus. By Dawn Fallik Inquirer Staff Writer At Pennsylvania's new West Nile virus lab, they unpacked the microscopes first. The team of environmental biologists, entomologists, and summer interns moved into the new digs in Harrisburg in June, just as the virus season began to hit. Almost two months later, there are still a few unpacked boxes waiting in the conference room, but there's no time to dig through them. The mosquitoes have started arriving. They come in coolers packed with dry ice - thousands of mosquitoes in jars - red caps for adults, green for larvae. They come from the counties, where officials hope to get a head's up on any impending outbreaks. So far, so good. "There's only been one human case, in York County," and five positive mosquito pools, said Andy Kyle, the head of vector management for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. It's only been six years since West Nile virus first appeared in New York City, and scientists have not figured out what to expect from the disease. In New Jersey, there were 34 human cases in 2003, but last year only one. As of last week, eight mosquito pools tested positive, including one in Atlantic and one in Burlington County, but no human cases. In Pennsylvania, there were 237 human cases two years ago, the highest in the five years since the virus hit Pennsylvania. Last year there were 15. So why have a West Nile virus program when so few people are being infected with the disease? Because who knows when and if it will return, said Kyle. "We don't know if what we're doing as far as mosquito control is the reason it hasn't come back," he said. The $7 million Pennsylvania budget goes to the counties for larvacide, equipment and personnel, Kyle said. In New Jersey, the counties have their own budgets, which total about $12 million, including the state's $1.5 million. Starting in June, the counties start sending in vials of mosquitoes, barcoded with date, collector and site information. (STP, which stands for sewage treatment plant, for example.) In Pennsylvania, each county sends about 80 bottles with one to 10,000 mosquitoes a month. The lab scans in the vials, much like bread at the grocery store. Then each is dumped onto a "cold table," literally a frozen slab, and separated by tweezer by species. "You've got to keep the mosquitoes frozen because otherwise the virus starts to disintegrate," said Mike Hutchinson, lab manager. There are more than 50 different kinds of mosquito in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, but only certain kinds carry West Nile. So only those host bugs - particularly the Culex species - get sent to the state Department of Health in Lionville, Chester County, for testing. The DEP handles the overflow. So far, more than 5,000 samples have been shipped to the health department and tested this summer alone. Last summer, more than 21,000 pools were tested in Pennsylvania. Officials say the season has just begun, and they're reluctant to say what August and September will bring. "It's really too early to say there's anything like a pattern," said Bob Kent, head of mosquito control coordination for the Department of Environmental Protection in New Jersey. "Is it down because of the weather? Is there resistance developing? Is it because of mosquito control or that people are more aware of it? "I think it's all of those things, but it remains to be seen." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post a question for Dawn Fallik at http://go.philly.com/askdawn. She can be contacted directly at dfallik@phillynews.com or 215-854-2795. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2005 Philadelphia Inquirer and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.philly.com

I have to come clean...my first reaction was "good for that bear!" Then I realized that I don't REALLY want to see people get gored, chewed or clawed by anything, even though it may be a case like this where the person was the one dealing out the initial injury. But what do you expect any animal to do when you are attempting to kill it?? Kinda like the fact that quite a few rattlesnake bites occur when someone is trying to KILL THEM. I agree with Jillmcm in that certain kinds of hunting really seem pointless. Cougar hunting and bear hunting come to mind immediately. Although I know years ago we had a certain neighbor who went bear hunting somewhere up north every year, and the years he was successful he had a huge barbecue. Of course the years he didn't get his bear he would have to cook a goat instead, but at least he planned to eat 'his' bear nonetheless. And no, I never went--heard either meat is really realy greasy.

beginner's eye, "...your assuming the person apologizes and accepts your apology. what if they don't. is that the fault of the parent as well..." I'm going to take....fault of the parent out of this equation and provide another example here. Perhaps a non-apology was given. I have an older sister, who I'm estranged from. She was given to periodic calls out of the blue. Usually, she would rage at me, criticize, judge, etc. Sadly, she just could never connect to my feelings. The point is that it was all about her and her feelings. I got used to her negative judgments and criticisms. She was very aggressive, although I'm convinced that she never saw herself as an aggressive person. She always framed me as the problem. Once, at the urging of some therapy group she decided to make another call. By this time I equated all phone calls and every interaction with her as emotionally painful. As charastic of her, she demanded to know why I avoided her. My sister could never, never see how hurtful her behavior was. EVER! Then she said to me, "...If I apologize, will it make things better?" This took me by surprise and there was a long history of her emotional outbursts, anger and denial. I responded saying I guess so. Then she got mad. Then immediately after she made another very telling comment, she said,"I DON'T GET ANY OF THIS." I was in therapy at the time and discussed her non-apology with my therapist and why I felt it was insincere--it was a very telling comment to me. She was apologizing for behavior that she didn't UNDERSTAND, because as she said, "She didn't get any of this." Neither could the rest of my family and the rage, anger and blame continued from them. My response was to distance myself even further. The concept here is that if someone truly doesn't understand how hurtful and destructive their behavior is (and will not own it and don't understand it), then I'm certain that the behavior will continue and there will be repetition. This may not be the best example, but think of a wife-beater who abuses his wife, then profusely apologizes with flowers, gifts and she reconciles. Then he beats her again, even more cruely than the first time. Then her well-meaning friends or relatives say, "she allowed herself to be manipulated, abused," or they may encourage her to "forgive and forget". Plenty of people MINIMIZE emotional abuse and the damage it creates, because unlike physical abuse you can't see it, therefore if you can't see it, it must not exist. I can assure you my estrangement from my sister is NOT TO PUNISH her. It is 100% about PROTECTING MYSELF and PROTECTING my emotions. It is not because I do not want "...resolution/reconciliation/closure/healing". Of course, I want that. I also want change and I want her destructive behaviors to STOP. I want her to demonstrate AWARENESS and I want to be convinced that she UNDERSTANDS why she is apologizing. I'm not interested in prolonging the conflict. I'M NOT INTERESTED IN PROLONGING EMOTIONAL ABUSE with someone who DOESN'T UNDERSTAND my feelings. I am also not looking for perfection of character. Responsibility and awareness, YES. That is what I am looking for. My intest is in preserving some sense of myself and protecting myself. I posted on another thread about the Art of Apologizing.