To all posters: especially Jillmcm an vonyon, thank you so much for your input on this subject. I live in a wooded area. I love watching all the wildlife,- turkey, deer, and especially the birds, we have blue bird, martin and wren houses, and several bird baths. I have suet feeders, finch feeders, and a hopper feeders, along with several bird baths. I enjoy the birds so much, and spend many hours watching them. Then last summer a pair of phobees built a nest on a window sill on the second floor of our house. What a delight! They would swoop down and eat tons of insects. When I saw a hawk in a tree next to our house eyeing the baby phobees, it was too much, I went over the edge. I was obsessed with how to keep them out of our yard. All of the posts on this forum have been so helpful to putting things in balance. I am going to rethink my pattern of feeding the birds. Although the Phobees don't eat at bird feeders,they do use the bird baths, and the mere fact that there is a concentration of birds, attracted the hawks. By the way, the hawks nested in the woods next to us, and I heard the baby hawk calling after it's mother for food and say them hunting together, so I know they have to eat too. Thank you, again!

Timely topic, as I'm right in middle of granite installation now w/HD. I paid back in early Feb, but had delays with new cabinets till now. HD still honored the promo pricing I had at the time of purchase ("D" level granite for "C" level price, plus free undermount sink.) I thought their price was good...I did some research and it seemed in line competitively with what others were quoting....not ridiculously low or high. Someone who works at HD once said they often negotiate really good prices from fabricators since they represent so much volume to a local shop...and if you catch them during a promo, they can offer some pretty decent values, even with their middleman markup. Not saying their price is always best, but wouldn't count them out right off the bat. They definitely let me choose slabs - in fact, they stressed that I must do so to make sure I got what I wanted. Local fabricator they subcontract to has been in business 20 years and granite yard is one of the largest in the nation. Doesn't mean my experience still may not go horribly wrong, but I feel I've covered bases as much as reasonably possible without over-obsessing any more than I already have. (And according to my husband, I'm a big time over-obsesser!) HD does have the 1 yr labor and 15-year stain-resistant guarantee. As someone here mentioned, can't say how well they'll honor guarantee if a problem arises - and I have polished black granite, so I already know I may have specific problems related to that color - but the kitchen/granite places I've checked offer no guarantee at all. So it's something. Chose slab yesterday...install should be within 8-10 days. my fingers are crossed that all goes well. (Tip: one thing I did as soon as I found out who they sub-contracted to was to Google that business's name along with "complaints" in search box, as well as check BBB to make sure there were no red flags. I think the #1 risk with HD all comes down to who they choose do to the work.) Hope this helped someone...

All the obsession with Canada Geese seems weird...seems like that should be the least of your problems. Yes, if you have a pond you WILL have geese, but that doesn't seem like a big issue. Even small dogs have a decent chance of scaring off Canada Geese. One warning: Ducks have been known to lure dogs far out into the water in the hopes of tiring them out and drowning them. Pros: 1.) Gorgeous Views 2.) Great for birdwatching 3.) Water source in case of Zombie Apocalypse. 4.) Source of "Grey Water" to water your lawn 5.) Fireflies 6.) Natural swimming pool Cons: 1.) Wetland Protection laws may make parts of your land protected wetlands you can't do anything with 2.) Drowning Risk for kids 3.) Mosquitoes 4.) Means high water table...Flooding risks? (The pond could cause flooding it it is near the house and overflows. A bigger concerns is the springs suggest a high water table that could cause flooding. ) Things to Ask: 1.) How much land is a protected wetland? 2.) Does the basement flood? (Look for signs of flooding) 3.) What were the results of a perk test where the house was built? The septic tank? (Maybe do a perk test?) 4.) Any possibility of putting in a well to water the plants during a drought? 5.) Does the pond overflow in the rain? How far? 6.) Any signs of erosion? 7.0 Does the appraisal value reflect unusable wetlands? This post was edited by edlincoln on Tue, Sep 2, 14 at 16:25

Glenda, I'm a 33 year old female who started having acne at about age 12. I had all kinds of acne, cystic acne, pustules...it was so hard on my self esteem, and not just through high school. I saw at least three different dermatologists (on top of my primary physicians) before I found one who prescribed me accutane at age 31. I had tried various types of topical meds, oral antibiotics, different oral contraceptives...I took one 6-month cycle of accutane and my acne cleared up virtually completely. My skin was incredibly dry and sensitive and remained so for several months after I stopped the medication. I was sensitive to sunlight (use lots of sunscreen) and noticed that my skin took longer to heal from damage (little scratches from my kitty would take a week or more to heal, rather than a day or two). I did not experience any of the other negative side effects, but I will tell you that I honestly would have suffered through some of them to be rid of my acne. My younger sister also took one 6-month cycle of accutane as a teenager and it worked just as well for her as it did for me. As far as I know, she didn't experience any negative effects other than the dryness. My son, who is almost 15, is now on accutane. The change for him has been practically night and day. He had a lot of pustules and blackheads, new ones every morning when he woke up. His acne also started at about age 12. He didn't complain about his acne, but I can tell that accutane is important to him because he takes it on time, every single day, and is on top of me to get his prescription filled ASAP. So far, he is not having any problems with the meds. He is now on his fourth month and I expect him to finish out a full six-month cycle. The only issue he's had is sun exposure, since he was taking it over the summer and spent much of his time outdoors in boy scouts. I have to be on him constantly about sunscreen. Accutane is serious business. It should not be used until other avenues have been exhausted. This means *at least* six months of other topical and/or oral meds. You don't have to see a dermatologist to treat acne, but it is a good idea to get a referral if you can. Primary physicians can be hesitant to prescribe accutane because of its teratogenic effects and other serious side effects. Your physician should have labs drawn when accutane is started and occasionally throughout treatment because accutane can cause liver damage (this is why accutane is taken in cycles, to allow the accumulated metabolites to be eliminated before toxic levels are reached). Females have to have blood drawn every month (plus the month before treatment starts) to ensure they are not pregnant before they receive their refills. I respectfully disagree with the comment that acne will eventually go away. I was experiencing the same acne at age 30 that I was at 13. I did not make the decision to start my son on accutane lightly, but I would not forgive myself if I didn't do what I could to help him with his acne, knowing how much it affected my own self-esteem well into adulthood. The other major consideration that I haven't seen mentioned yet is cost. Obviously, costs will vary, but this is what I see on my bill: Dermatologist exam once per month - $120 Labs - $90 Amnesteem (40mg/day dose x 30 days)~ $300 (when Accutane was the only brand on the market, it was over $600/month!). Part of the reason that I chose to go forward with the accutane treatment for my son is because my insurance covers the majority of the expense, so in my mind, there really was no excuse for not giving it a try. I'm sorry this is long, but having been affected by acne for over half my life, I do feel strongly about the potential benefit of accutane. I know that many people have experienced negative effects from the medicine, so you should be an informed consumer and be aware of the possible effects before the medication is started. And you should not expect "miracle" results. My son will probably end up taking at least one more 6-month cycle, and I know some people take more than that. Send me an e-mail me if you want to talk more about this. Sydney