Hello snaylor, " The rabbits come up on the railing of my deck to eat from the rail planters and the other plants (on plant stands!) on my deck. Stargazer lilies chewed to the ground before they are an inch high. Nothing "cute" about bunnies, they are destructive, filthy animals. " Since you have a neighbor, I assume you live in town and an air rifle is not a good idea for controlling the rabbits. A slingshot would probably be legal, but would take some practice. Assuming your deck is in your backyard, fencing the rabbits out of your backyard is probably the best idea. A chicken-wire fence about 3 or 4 feet high might work, provided that your codes permit that. If you have an existing fence, the chicken-wire would just serve to make it rabbit proof. Nothing will keep squirrels out, but as you already know, they can be trapped. Fortunately for me, rabbits don't damage my zinnias. We have several native plants in our rural area that they prefer. ZM

I am very interested (uh, obsessed) in gardening for wildlife, and really enjoy having birds, insects, reptiles, and pollinators in the yard. The gardens seem so full of life. I'm relatively new to this though so have lots of learning to do. I leave many perennials and a few annuals standing for the winter because I've noticed the finches eating seeds and the dead vegetation and leaves provide winter habitat for beneficial insects. I have a couple bird feeders but I also cut Coneflower heads and bunch them with rubber bands to put out through the winter for Finches to eat. I've also collected Pokeberry berries and frozen them to add to the feeders in the winter. I also am very interested in native Ornamental grasses, in particular those that make seeds for the birds. I just purchased about 25 grasses including several cultivars of Switch Grass (Panicum virgatum) and Prairie drop seed (Sporobolis heteroleptis). Next year I'm planning to grow many vines (mostly natives) up snags and trellises that grow berries and provide cover for the birds. The only drawback - it looks kind of messy for some people's tastes to leave dead foliage or on a trellis or in the garden or dead trees on their lot. But tastes can evolve and change. I now think that it's beautiful when things are a little messy and I see dead trees and wood. A garden doesn't have to always be perfectly neat and tidy with formally spaced out plants and perfect edging and mulch.

voodoobrew, I've tried liquidy bad fruit a few more times for my butterfly population on perfect weather days, and still just ants for me, too, while the butterflies went about their time at the flowers oblivious to my offering. I should keep trying, though, especially now that the hummingbirds are here too and might be interested.

Homebody here too. My homes are my sanctuary. Ours are not that far apart, only a 50 minute drive. Our primary home is in the suburbs and our vacation home is at the beach. Our house at the shore truly feels like a vacation / get away each time we are there. It feels as though my stress melts away as soon as I see the water! Our ultimate goal is to sell our primary home and move to Florida when our son goes to college in 6.5 years. Then we will keep the shore house in NJ, have a house in Florida and go in between. Like Mtn, I also feel guilty about the vacations we take during the season but having another home is not going to stop me from traveling.