This is a pretty much dead thread but I'll add my two cents in case someone stumbles upon this and can be helped. There are a lot of solutions you could use. Have you tried holographic tape or a bird scare balloon? There are also sticky gels available that you can dot on ledges/branches etc that birds roost on. You can also dilute the gel with water and spray it on hard to reach places. The gel won't hurt the birds, it just makes them feel annoyed. Similar to the way we would avoid walking in an area covered in chewed gum or wet tar, birds will find somewhere else to roost (you have to reapply every year or so). Another option is a spray that contains methyl anthranilate (a safe chemical derived from concord grapes which has been used as a flavoring agent for decades). This chemical irritates the trigeminal system that birds have and gives them a feeling similar to when people are around bleach. Spray on anything they use for a food source (by the way, this chemical does not poison the birds, it just disturbs them). You can also use netting to block off the trees that they most like to roost in. I'd explain sonic and ultrasonic devices but they can get sort of expensive and since you mentioned that you couldn't afford traps I figure I'll just mention them and you can look them up if you are interested. By the way, you're right about trapping and/or killing birds but for the sake of other readers I'll also add that they wont work. That is a treatment of the symptom rather than the real problem (that your environment is appealing to birds). Killing or trapping the current infestation will only open up prime real estate for another flock to take over. Here is a link that might be useful: click for examples, case studies and FAQs about bird pest control

green_go - my sea buckthorn plants are doing well! I watered them regularly during their first year, and once or twice last year. They were very small plugs when they arrived, so they still aren't producing fruit, but they have grown many times in size, so hopefully soon! So I can't comment on the fruit. The varieties are Prozrachnaya and Lubipelskaya, and the male is Pollmix. Supposedly. That is taking their word on it; hopefully they are honest, and aren't just selling me Indian Summer or something(which is available anywhere). There have been some concerns/complaints over the years of the Saskatoon Farm being a bit dishonest in their advertising..if you read earlier in this thread, Konrad talks about that a bit. So I guess, take your chances, if you're willing! So far mine have done fine, but I can't promise that they got the varieties right! I also bought some Northline saskatoon's from them, and I have to admit, their bareroot plants have done better than my Smoky's and Martin's I had planted 2 years before the Northline's(from a greenhouse). Settled in very quickly, have been more vigorous, and started fruiting decently the first year. Maybe it is just the variety, but I have to admit they have done very well and they sent me generously sized plants. I believe they ship by greyhound, and some people don't like that. I had some roses shipped by greyhound once, and they had already sprouted and weren't looking that great by the time they arrived. (they did survive though) EDIT - I looked at this year's Saskatoon Farm catalog; it looks like they no longer have the sea buckthorn's available that I bought. Mine was a set of 3 plants, 2 female, 1 male, for $65(!!) and it was a separate listing from the 'regular' sea buckthorn listing(where you have to buy a minimum of 8 plants for 8-9 bucks/plant). So you would have to phone or email and ask what varieties they are offering. These may be the varieties they selected themselves, so possibly unnamed, but potentially nice quality.

I wish everyone who hasn't seen the west coast of Oregon could. My pic does not do the waves justice at all. They are huge and really quite scary. We went to a platform in one of the historical sites and I tried to get a pic but couldn't quite time it correctly. The waves are maybe up to 20' tall and noisy. One nice state park was only a one nighter because I could hear the waves pounding the shore all night. Weather since we returned to Canada has been sun, rain, but not overly warm but fortunately no snow. Eastern Washington mountains are higher elevation than we are so I guess snow is more likely there. Great gardening weather here and it's a good thing because I bought 15 big perennials on the way home and am planting them. We have few good nurseries here so I pick up plants everywhere I can. Before I plant I have to move other plants and weed! So that's what I'm doing and will be doing for awhile. Of course there's yard sales tomorrow so hope to find some goodies.

DD, I was thinking the same thing about how well they'd work in a Fall harvest-type table! I'm having fun playing with them. Did a couple more variations yesterday for breakfast again but I had no time to take pics as we were heading out to our courtyard garden to lay more flagstone. OA: yes, we all noticed how lovely the cantelope looked on the cakestand. Thanks again for your input. I think it was spot on and it helped me pull my table together more . . . which it badly needed! Magpie: you have that apple and lemon pitcher, too? Cool! I don't have the watermelon but I was gifted with this tropical pineapple pitcher a few years ago (I have this thing for pitchers of all kinds, too): Do you remember back when painting ceramics was very popular? I made this pear pitcher then and still enjoy using it. This is the cab in my kitchen where I keep them displayed during the Summer & Fall months. Here a few of my veggie and fruit pieces. This cab is usually MUCH more organized, but I scrambled it up when I started searching for pieces to use with my Franciscan Apple dishes the other day: I know what you mean about Franciscan dinnerware prices! It took me quite a while to find my apple plates for a reasonable price. I was not about to pay the high price most dealers were asking for them! As for the flower arrangment, thank you! I saw a similar one on an online fresh flower arrangement site. The shop was in NYC and they wanted almost $300 to send that fresh flower arrangement . . . OMG! I can't even imagine spending that much for fresh flowers! Anyhoo, I printed out the pic and spent a morning shopping for the right pot and silk flowers to duplicate it. I think I spent $20, ten of which was for the pot . . . and it's lasted for three years so far ;^D Mo, thanks! My laundry room was a dump, too, until I decided to make it special for me . . . and to heck with it not matching the rest of our house! It makes me happy to be in there now. Karen, thank you! And thanks for the heads up on the Fourth of July placemats. I hope everyone has a chance to look for them. We leave on the 26th for our family reunion on Lake Huron in Michigan and will totally miss the Fourth celebrations here. I'm trying to decide if I'm going to skip putting up my decs for it this year. Lynn