LOL!!! yeah, parrots are a wee bit noisier than 'keets. and mine are small parrots- not the ones who can REALLY make noise. they give so much back, though- they are like extra kids. funny, smart & silly, they keep life interesting (and aggravating sometimes). not to mention makng my ears ring. :) i'm 36, so i have seen some d.v.d. shows, but it was when i was small. never saw that episode. i'm thankful my jays mostly stay up in the pines and leave me and my songbirds be. they & the crows have scream fights up there sometimes. i've had corpulant cats before, and know how hard it is to get them to slim down. they simply aren't interested. the only way i ever found was to limit what they could eat- fed them once a day, as much as they were supposed to eat for the day, rather than a bowlful they could eat at will. when we moved here and they were allowed outside during the day, they slimmed down a lot just from the extra excercise. they've been gone a while now, and i miss them, but with allergies & asthsma, and now birds, we won't be getting more. tam

That is so great! I saw the first swallowtails on my new butterfly bush today. I was so excited, the the hummingbird fley by me, she had been drinking nectar from the purple duranta erects flowers. There was a black swallowtail on the fig tree, I have no idea why it was there. And momma bluebird was perching on the outside of the house feeding her babies. It was a great day! kay

Sheri, If you're interested in seeds for a dwarf ponciana, send me an email ( susannahnesmith(at)yahoo.com) They germinate easily. I get a little evangelical about this plant, but it is really showy, constantly has monarchs on it, and has never been watered (beyond rain water) or fertilized. And, to add to my love of it, now it got a hummer in the yard, even if he didn't stick around. I meant to bring seeds to the swap, but forgot, but I can toss some in the mail if you'd like to try it. I've got mine trained as a small tree, but it can also be a big bush. Loves sun. Mine is blasted all day long, no shade whatsoever, and is happy as can be. Susannah

Tisha, I can't imagine why they haven't found your yard. Have you asked your neighbors if anyone ever has any hummers? It seems if they are around the neighborhood, they'd stumble across your yard at some point, especially since you have feeders out. They do eat insects, and feed the insects to their young as well, so if you happen to live in a neighborhood where a lot of people regularly use pesticides, or where the city or county routinely sprays for mosquitoes, that could be impeding your insect population which might cause the hummers to go elsewhere looking for the insects they need. We have had a whole lot of hummers here in Love County--many more than usual. I'm not seeing as many right now, but that is probably because they are hatching and caring for their young. Once the little ones begin to fly, it gets busy again. I still see them, but just not as often as I was about 3 weeks ago. The times I am most likely to see them are early in the morning, shortly after sunup, and then in the evening, not too long before sunset. I guess they are coming to the feeders for breakfast and dinner, but apparently not for lunch. Sometimes I put up a patio mister for them and they come and either play in the mist or bathe in it. A sprinkler also will attract them. Don't give up. Keep the feeders out and keep your eyes open. I think they'll find you sooner or later. Dawn