Hi Donna, Yeah Wow! Congrats on the hatchlings! We must be on pretty much the same track... Today is day 13 for Missy's 2nd clutch in our NAB box (she laid her 5th egg on Mother's Day and began incubating the same day). I took a quick peek this morning and saw 4 tiny gaping beaks and one blue egg. I don't know if the 5th will hatch, but Missy and Mr.B have both been bringing tiny bugs into the box. :) wonderful! Kenn

That's ok Donna, it is hard not to worry when you don't see them. Because I feed the Blues they alway end up bringing the babies to the feeders until the leave in the Fall. I would worry about them too if they left after fledging. I really don't think the Dees are in the woods by our house. I went down to the park today where I monitor nestboxes. It is about 2-3 blocks from my house and the closest woods other than our small one. The park is 32 acres, 10-20 wooded, I would guess. I was rewarded with seeing two chickadee families in the trees showing the little ones how to hunt for bugs. I couldn't tell the difference between the adults and the little ones but I could see some feeding the others. I watched them for awhile and a great crested flycatcher flew into the tree by them. Then I turned around and noticed a huge tree further off the trail in the woods, got the binocs and could see a racoon head sticking out of a hole in the tree, it was sleeping. Later walking out I saw a doe and a fawn the exact same time they saw me and they were gone in a flash. Just had to share that. lol! Anyway I around here the Dees are not at the feeders in the summertime even though they are here year round, the summer is for bug eating so I am sure they just took their little ones in the bigger woods (maybe one of the families I saw) and are showing them how to hunt bugs. Come late summer they start showing up at the feeder, I sure won't know if they are the ones that nested here but I will be glad they are back. Do you know if the Dees like to renest where they had a successful nesting, I am wondering if this pair will nest here again next year. Donna

I have a Mother Robin who has built 3 nests so far- the first fell out before she had finished, she started a second one on a slightly higher branch and then abandoned it and then began a third nest in the crotch of our copper beech. It's been in the 30's at night and I noticed she's no longer in her beech nest. I wonder if she's just practicing her nest building skills or if she's lost her eggs.

Carol, I don't think you could go wrong with Dee-Lish. Its ADR designation should make it an unlikely black spotter. It's too soon to report on BS on my Dee-Lish, and I do spray, but I plan to test DL and pass over it when spraying its neighbors to see what happens. It could be quite winter hardy, obviously irrelevant for you since you container grow your roses, but for me it's critical. You know, I am finding ADR roses for the most part are about as BS proof as the Knock Outs, but winter hardiness is very variable from variety to variety. I believe the test gardens in Germany on average range between zone 6 and 7, and the roses tested, again I only suspect this, could be grafted, so winter hardiness could be partially attributable to being grafted also, not just based upon on the scion's winter hardy attributes. Grown own root, the ADR winners could be less winter hardy. This point, I need to further investigate. My Earth Angel is a wonder: no blackspot, no winter kill without any protection, great flowers and scent. My Pink Enchantment, black spot free, dies to the ground WITH winter protection. Could it not die back over winter in Germany's warmer zone test gardens, but dies back big time in my colder zone garden? Both Earth Angel and Pink Enchantment are ADR winners. Questions, question....that's part of the challenge and draw of growing roses. Moses