Hiya Lovely. Our dearest Bub did NOT die. She is still very much alive and Grackle-ish! :-) We have had other Grackle youngsters die soon after arrival but Bub is going strong since her arrival in 2006. :-) Riboflavin .... I do not know of any *real* dose for the ~curled toe paralysis~ but usually one can get or order the 100 mg. tablets. Generally I mix in 1/8 of a 100 mg. tablet with the baby cereal I feed and use that with each feeding. What they do not need gets pooped out. ( Actually peed out but no matter....) Depending on how severe the problem is ... the paralysis or weakness will reverse within a few days to a week. How much of a baby is your crow? Depending on the age they need to be fed between every 15 minutes to every hour from about 5:00 AM to about 10:00 PM. I use Nutri-Start baby bird cereal mixed 50 /50 with a jarred baby food like Gerber's strained beef or strained turkey. Cut the riboflavin tablet into 1/4s then 1/2 those pieces again. Place the 1/8 piece in a piece of folded wax paper and crush it by rolling a can of dog food or other canned product over it. Mix this powder in with your baby cereal mixture. It will become a bright yellow. Please be warned that the baby's poop will become bright yellow too and it DOES STAIN anything it comes in contact with. Have you ever fed a baby bird? That is to say place food in the crop? If not it may be best to contact an avian veterinarian to get some advice on how to do this or get in touch with a rehabber to take over. Crows are a native species and for the long term one should not keep them without a federal permit. They may become imprinted on you and never be able to be released. Having said that ... How very kind of you to care enough to try to save the little crow! :-) If you are unable to contact an outside source of help ... I can talk you through how to tube feed a baby bird if you do not know how to do this. I'll check in at about 7:00PM EST. OK? Thanks for taking the time to care! C3D

Behold the banyan tree, Ficus bengalensis. The flowers are concealed in the fleshy receptacle commonly known as fig. These figs are grow in pairs in the leaf axils and numerous, tiny blossoms of both sexes and also a host of small insects. These are the fig insects that fertilize flowers. The insect enters the fig through a hole in the top and lays eggs which hatch out and mature. When these insects leave their home, they are dusted with pollen from the male flowers. Now they make their way into another fig, thus ensuring fertilization. (From http://www.thelovelyplants.com/the-banyan-tree/) Very good, Annette! for Annette, Nancy, and Cynthia (DH counts). Jim? I thought this one might have been a stumper, but not even close. I'm going to have to get a whole lot trickier than this! Maybe next week. Thanks for playing, all. TM

Hi Molie, ahh...more water envy. Great pictures of a great bird! My suggestions for bird guides: In paperback, I like 'The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America' which Claire recommended to me a few years ago. I like Sibley's very much because it shows drawings of birds with their changing plumage at various stages of development. That one feature of Sibley's Guide has helped me often. (but I still confuse little brown birds) When out in the field looking for eagles, ospreys and everything else the Connecticut River offers, I bring my iPod Touch because it fits in a shirt pocket and I loaded it with two apps from the iTunes Store - 'iBird North' and 'The Ultimate Audubon New England Field Guide'. If you wanted one app for your iPhone for the sake of portability, I suggest the Audubon NE Guide because it offers birds, mammals, fish, plants,butterflies, spiders & insects, wildflowers, trees, seashells, and the natural history of New England. Plus, it has multiple voices of most birds and animals,their ranges, etc. It is the most complete guide I've seen, and the pictures and sounds are crystal clear throughout each category. The iTunes App Store lists it as"Audubon Nature New England", if you're interested. "5 Top Bird Guides for iPhone" Jane

A sign of spring saw my first robin nibbling away in my backyard..