Et tu Brute? I'd forgotten all about the Ides of March & just had to look i up to see if it had any significance beyond Shakespeare's play. Here's what the Farmer's Almanac has to say: The Ides of March has long been considered an ill-fated day. Julius Caesar was assassinated on March 15, 44 B.C. Historians note that it is likely that a soothsayer named Spurinna had warned Caesar that danger would occur by the ides of March. William Shakespeare included the phrase "Beware the ides of March" in his play Julius Caesar. The ides were the 15th days of some months (including Martius, or March) in the ancient Roman lunar calendar; they were the 13th in other months. The word ides comes from the Latin word idus, which is possibly derived from an Etruscan word meaning "to divide." The ides were originally meant to mark the full Moon (the "halfway point" of a lunar month), but because the Roman calendar months and actual lunar months were of different lengths, they quickly got out of step. The ancient Romans considered the day after the calends (first of the month), nones (ninth day before the ides, inclusive), or ides of any month as unfavorable. These were called dies atri. Now don't you feel smarter? I'm not sure I do.

Evening All! It was the same here, Tuesday, Margo, overcast and windy but the wind wasn't bitterly cold, which was a welcome change. My mini daffs are starting to bloom! The crocuses are still going strong. And I too am still tired. Bummer! I was reading back thro the posts on this thread and way back at the beginning of this swap, I promised to keep the Robin's flight plan posted. You may have noticed, I haven't done that! So here it is, a little late, and I'll try my best to keep it updated! I sent to Peggy in Washington; Peggy sent it on to Heidi in Nebraska; Heidi mailed it on to Annie in California; Annie mailed it to Ruth in Texas; Ruth sent it flying to Melinda in Arkansas; Melinda just sent it to Diane/Moonfire; Diane sends it to Jeanne/sandlapper_rose in South Carolina; Jeanne sends it to Alana/poisondartfrog in Kentucky; Alana sends it to Robin in Virginia; Robin sends it to Vina/flowergirl134 in New York; Vina sends it to Janine/Jaynine in Connecticut; Janine sends it to Suzanne/hibiscusfan in Ohio; Suzanne sends it to Margo/smitties in Ohio; and Margo will send it to Katie in Mississippi, who will send the completed poem back to me! Hope I didn't skip anyone! Have a great day tomorrow! Shirley!

Certainly not a wild bird like the blackbird - these are not good pets. This site, The Best Pet Birds For Kids says that generally they don't recommend that children under 12 years old be given pet birds, and they give a lot of reasons for that. "You should not get a pet bird for your child, if: 1) Your child is under the age of 12 and will be the birdâÂÂs sole care taker. Some children donâÂÂt understand the consequences of their actions, especially if they forget to give the pet bird food or water. Animal cruelty should not be practiced so that a child can learn responsibility the hard way. 2) Your child has no money to take the pet bird to an avian veterinarian if it gets sick. Parents who donâÂÂt allow pet birds that are sick to be taken to the vet because they donâÂÂt want to spend the money teach the child a number of bad lessons. If the parent or child is unable or unwilling to take to the pet bird to a vet, then donâÂÂt get the pet bird. 3) If the child is too busy with extracurricular activities to spend at least one to two hours hanging out with the pet bird. 4) If the child is not willing to check out websites or read magazines and books about a pet bird before adopting one. 5) If the child has trouble controlling his or her emotions. Prey animals do not respond well to physical outbursts and will fly or bite." They do list nine birds that are suitable for kids under the right circumstances. Claire This post was edited by claire on Thu, Mar 6, 14 at 12:53

Vas did not send to me for thIs month of March....so Shirley (sjc) sent a wonderful nursery rhyme package to me. First of all, Shirley, you did not have to this. But I thank you very much. I just opened my package from Shirley (sjc).............and here is the fun she sent my way. Shirley, included several baggies, labeled 1-7.............very, very clever!!! *a beautiful hand made card......I LOVE your cards and no tweaking is necessary. #1 "Sing a song of six pence.".........Six colored pens....and do I need these big time....YES! #2 "A Pocketfull of Rye".....I bag of rye flakes to be used for cookies or cooked like old fashioned oatmeal.......I have never used rye flakes. #3 "4 and 20 Blackbirds Baked in a Pie"....LOL....lots of stickers...roosters, birds and flowers. I LOVE, LOVE stickers! #4 "When the pie was opened the birds began to sing. Wasn't that a dainty dish to set before the King?".................a very generous bag of M &M's #5 "The King was in his counting house, counting out his money!".........lots of coin wrappers....for pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters. My husband loves these. Lots of memories wrapping coins..............LOL! #6 "The Queen was in the parlour, eating bread and honey.".................several honey sticks........I love honey!! #7 ""The maid was in the garden, hanging out the clothes. Along came a blackbird and snipped on her nose."................clothes pins with birds on them....to cute! And seeds................ Beets Red Ace Tomato Amish Paste German Chamomile....I have never grown this!! Watermelon Shiny Boy Thank you so much Shirley. You are a JOY!! Annie