By its own admission it appears that 'dirtslinger' has done exactly what it accused me of doing,__ introducing non native species. (http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/ponds/msg0322262730946.html) posted March 30, 2009 In reply of Mar 31, 09 at 11:03 it states: "These are not turtles found in this area- I really doubt in the wild they hibernate for 6+ months." Then take a look at thisabout the 'Red-eared slider' from Wikipedia: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-eared_slider) "It is a native of the southern United States, but has become common in various areas of the world due to the pet trade." And in the paragraph 'U.S. State Law': "Some states have other laws and regulations regarding possession of red-eared slider because they can be an invasive species_______". And as far as "Please stop spreading bullfrogs around!" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullfrog "The American Bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana), often simply known as the Bullfrog in the United States, is an aquatic frog, a member of the family Ranidae, or "true frogs", native to much of North America."

Oh my....I feel like I live in an autobahn society research center! lol. We have so many birds this year...more than we have ever had before. Tons of Barn Swallows! Remember early in the spring when I complained they were nesting on the neighbors front porch and trying to nest on my patio? Well we didn't allow them to nest here but they were not all raised on my neighbors porch either...lol. There are so many of them. And I am hoping we are having Purple Martins as some of our black birds...there are a couple of Martin houses a few houses down. And Grackles fly through often....I run them off each time I see them as I just hate those loud obnoxious birds. Sparrows have taken over my yard. I plan to plug or remove the bird houses I have on my fences when they are done with them....the population of sparrows is just too high in my yard. Each time I go out there is loud constant chirping out there coming from every part of the yard and sparrows all over the place. Those fledgling sparrows are so loud-mouthed...hahaha. I have been seeing a type of bird and I have no idea what it is. It is sort of large..larger than a Robin, has a yellow breast and a sort of olive green back with white cheeks. I have been all through my bird book and several times on a great bird I.D. site on the net but have still not been able to identify this bird. I have seen one or two in my yard and one in my mom's courtyard area yesterday as well, which is a few blocks from me. I am waiting for a better and closer look at one so I can identify it better. Each time I see one I don't have my binoculars handy. We have some robins and mockingbirds who pass through also. And occasionally a mourning dove. I have not been able yet to attract Cardinals to my yard. I had a pair of them visit a few times a couple of weeks ago so went and bought a new bird feeder and some black sunflower seeds only have them leave. I really want to attract cardinals as they are my fav bird. I saw a hummer on my calabrochoa a few days ago...but I have not seen any visiting my odd little feeders I put out after we lost our kitty. They are stakes which I put in the ground and have a small feeder with a large pink flower on them...lol. If the birds are coming to them I have not seen them yet. One thing I can say for sure...I don't seem to have a high mosquito population right now with all the birds I have flying around. But I am hoping that will continue to be true after all this rain we have gotten now. I thought I heard wrens around my back fence a few days ago...but didn't see them. I also love wrens and I have wondered what has happened as we normally have quite a few. The neighbors pigeons still fly around on and off all day. And I found out that the 'OWL' I called "our neighborhood owl" is not an owl at all...it is the sound a Mourning Dove makes. Dad taught me to "blow my fist" when I was a child to make that sound and I have thought all my life it was an owl sound....lol. NOT! Still learning-although much more slowly-at over 50...lol. G.M.

We just had our first grosbeak in three Springs, too! A fine, fat male sat right on the Droll Yankee feeder next to the French doors for a good ten minutes... We've also seen lots of goldfinches, house finches, the usual downy, hairy, red-bellied woodpeckers and flickers, but we're noticing rather unusual sparrows (chipping, song, black-throated...)and some great blue herons are using us as a flyway, too. Oh, and a pair of wood ducks visited the silver maples a while back--it was funny watching them wobble on the branches, trying to perch! Dh thinks he saw bluebirds in the fields over the weekend, too. The STRANGEST thing we've seen since moving here was last year, when a flock of what turned out to be AFRICAN CATTLE EGRETS (!!!!) grazed the fields for a few days. Becky

This is a fun post. I will say that in my busy working military life, I could get up, shower, shave underarms (daily), legs (3x weekly)makeup (eye shadow, mascara, foundation, powder, lipstick), hair (washed and blow dried, very short), dressed and out the door in 25 minutes. Now, years later, I use far less products and it seems to take far longer. When I was stationed in Spain I could get waxed, from top to toes, for about $7 so I never had to shave of pluck or anything. That made getting ready for work a real breeze. Now, in a typical morning I use: face wash - I use an Oil of Olay-type face cloth. hand wash - Dial Complete on all the sinks, two baths, mudroom, and kitchen. bar soap - I use a liquid soap; DH still uses the bars. :( shampoo - Daily conditioner - Perhaps once a week. hair serum - Never heard of it. hair mouse - No, but I keep a can of hairspray for the 3-4 times I year I might use it. toothpaste - At least five times a day. floss - Yes, but should more often. mouthwash - Listerine; twice a day for gum protection. shaving gel - Ha! The few times I shave I use shampoo. deodorant - Kept in both bathrooms and the bedroom. Wherever I dress I'm ready! body lotion - Rarely, but more so in winter. foot powder/or lotion - Gold Bond all over. face cream - No; but Mom says I should. foundation - Very rarely; 2-3 times a year. blush - I'm taking treatments for Rosacea so I'm good on the natural blush! LOL powder - Very rarely; 2-3 times a year. eyeshadow - Very rarely; 2-3 times a year. eyeliner - No; never liked the look. mascara - Can no longer wear. lipstick - Every day. I love lipstick with colour, but not the pale, dead looking non-color most gals are wearing now. I wear earrings daily, too. I love lipstick and earrings. And that's the daily stuff, add to that the occasional: hair coloring - I stopped coloring three months ago. I'm liking the "salt and pepper," heavy on the salt look! tooth whitening strips - No. nail polish/ base coat/top coat - I cut my nails as short as possible and push the cuticles back once a week. When I worked I kept them short and polished with a pale pink color. I did it my self. I do get medium length dark red gel nails for the Christmas season. nail polish remover - No need cuticle cream - No, but about every four months I'll get a manicure that does not include polish or false nails. They just soak, trim, work off the cuticles and do a hot wax dip. hand lotion - I keep bottles on each sink