"Yard is very fond of that tree/shrub treatment; many of us are not." It's a curious "take"... what you're calling a "treatment". Is it any different than what people do to the plants they call "trees"? I think it is not. What strikes me as odd is the idea that trees above a certain size are acceptable ... but trees below a certain size are not. To my thinking, almost all sizes of trees are acceptable for some purpose and I can't see a reason to be against the smaller trees--so useful in so many places--any more than being against little people. I mean ... why? Also, having experienced the forum for a while now, I can see that quite a number of people might line up being for or against this or that, but what's popular among some doesn't necessarily have a relationship to a subject's value. Also, no one can know what the tally is. Either viewpoint on this could be in the minority. (But I've never waited for someone else to declare their preferences before deciding for myself if something is good or bad!) If valid, persuasive arguments are put forth against using small trees, then maybe I'll change my mind about them. Since I've been listening, no argument like that has been postulated. I've only heard, "I don't like them" which is an opinion, not a persuasive argument.

Lisa, I've always appreciated the concept and practice of square foot gardening. It has always been a little to formal and precise for me though. I prefer the concept of edible landscape or in my case, edible jungle. You simply have to be aware of how large each will grow and how compatible different plants are with each other. If you noticed, the beans and onions have their own bed. I did plant the bell peppers in spaces that otherwise may not have been utilized in the same bed. Many say beans and onions aren't compatible, because onions are nitrogen hogs while beans produce nitrogen. They are right. I had to give the beans extra nitrogen because the onions were basically stealing the beans nitrogen or at least causing insufficient nitrogen to be available for the beans. Ted

Very funny turkey photos...lol. I think my DH might have a heart attack if a turkey started walking around on the top of the car. He's already wondering why it is that the birds choose the branches right above the car to sit and make their deposits. [g] I've had my hummingbird feeder out for a couple of weeks with no visitors. I saw the Oriole in the yard a couple of times, so I decided to add a half an orange to the top of it. That's not working either. Yesterday I saw an Oriole fly right over the orange without so much as a glance. [g] Not that we don't have a pile of birds out there. Grackles and Starlings seem to have made us home base. I've seen a couple of them being followed by adolescents squawking for some food. All the usual cast of characters and a few pigeons have decided to drop in since last year. We're not putting out any cracked corn, just safflower and black sunflower. I was wondering the other day if you can have too many birds. They're fighting over the two birdbaths, so I added a third and still the robins and the starlings are competing for top bird position. Somedays I need to clean and refill the birdbaths twice a day. I've been seeing lots of bird droppings on the fences and along the rock edging of the perennial beds. Lately, DH fills the feeders and in a few hours, they empty one and are halfway through another. Anyone else think they might have too many birdy visitors? [g]

Spotted towhee females look similar to the males, except the colors aren't quite as bright. They would be most likely to be confused with the "Oregon" junco, in my opinion. Heres some photos (credit is given if not taken by me) Female Spotted Towhee (from Audubon Field Guide website, photo taken by Glen Bartly https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/spotted-towhee) Male Spotted Towhee The longer tail, darker/redder flanks, wing spotting, red eye, and dark beak would help distinguish them from the junco's. Like junco's, they are also a sparrow, they regularly come to feeders, eating the seeds that spill on the ground or placed in tray feeders. Dark eyed junco ("Oregon" group) Male (sorry, not the best picture for reference, but I would rather use my own photos than "steal" them from someone else lol) Female And here is a Townesend's solitaire (once again, not the greatest picture...), which is much more similar to the junco photo you originally linked to than either towhee's or Oregon juncos. Also would fit with the robin description.