Woody - It will be a good idea to keep track of expenses. So far I've spent $12 for the little birds, and $8 for a new light reflector. We're still eating the free food but I'll make a stop today for more supplies. The quail are also something of a hydrid between pet and livestock so I don't mind indulging a little as we are all learning so much. Quail and chicken petting have become a favorite activity with Annie and David's friends and neighbors. GB - after a decade of pocket pets kept inside (guinea pigs, hampsters, geckos) there feels great freedom in something that will be housed outdoors, within a stones throw of the compost heap. I remember your rabbits - do you still have them? I love the recipe by the way - this is the first year my apricot trees have set fruit - they appear laden. I could have an almost totally home produced dinner if Saucy sends me a tablespoon of honey. (Well, except the bacon - I don't see pigs in our future.) I'm also of the philosophy that I'd rather eat an animal that has been humanely raised (even if it does have a name) than an anonymous one that has endured appalling conditions in its short life. I think if we saw first hand how those cheap fryers and turkeys are raised we would quickly lose out appetite. But with children it is a little different. I don't want Annie and David to remember me in later years as the mean mother who made them eat their pets LOL! Mary

Maryann - I understand what your mother was feeling, but please tell her it is a very natural feeling. For many years every time I first went to a new country to do the butterflies I had a little nervousness about the new species of dangerous critters I might encounter while there. But once I ran into my first on a trip and it all ended well, they were pretty much forgotten the rest of the trip. I soon got over being nervous when going someplace new. A little story on myself... I well remember my first trip to another country specifically to do butterflies many, many years ago. I was nervous after hearing all the stories about the numerous species of poisonous snakes, spiders, scorpions, tree frogs and plants in Costa Rica. Having a friend who was also lep smitten that was born and lived there would help a lot though. First day out I went hiking in a rainforest alone as Olaf couldn't get away from his finca until the next day. I was tip-toeing around looking for a specific bug in very thick cover that I just knew the countries entire population of Terciopelo (Fer-de-lance) probably lived in, and that they were all just waiting there for me to get close enough. I had plodded along for hours not finding the bug I was after, and luckily also no "Ticos". Then I finally caught a glimpse of what I was looking for flying along the ground in a small glade, Cithaerias menander. I know of no common name other than to lump it in with the Clearwings. They are on the small size of medium and don't fly fast, but the are very difficult to see in the dark dappled light of a rain forest due to their all clear wings except for a splash of red on the hind wings and flying close to the ground darting around plants. They seem to appear and disappear with every wing beat and are very easily lost sight of. I stalked at first trying to intercept this jewel, and then ended up running full out when that failed and I spooked it to finally net my first example of this bug. I had run in leaps and bounds for a long way and had completely forgotten about the Ticos. After realizing that I never worried about them again. I had plenty of encounters with them later on that trip (and other nasty things), but with the insight of Olaf I learned and kept out of trouble. BTW, a later trip down there with Olaf to do some specific backlighting was always referred to after it by us as The Night of the Jaguar (and later always saw a blank stare in Olaf's eyes when we talk about it). But that's another story. LOL L.

Maryann - My Rosemary mounds are planted out in an open area of my xeriscape in full sun, are 4' tall and over 9' across. So we could invite the whole forum and any folks they know from the Italian community over for pasta and still do no more than lightly prune them. LOL Sherry - Both males and females have the feather top knot, although on the males it is larger and more showy. Even the little puff ball babies have a small crown that looks like a Mohawk at the moment. Sadly the male only has 6 babies left today. The sky bandit (pigeon) that attacked them yesterday evening at my feeders met his maker (pellet pistol). But overnight something got two of them. No idea if it was a domestic cat, raptor, bobcat, coyote or fox that got the mother... the same or a smaller predatory bird, large whiptailed or collard lizard or a ratttlesnake that got the babies. But without the mother to help care for and protect them while still so small, it doesn't look good for this families family tree. While I have about 20-25 pairs that visit my feeders every day, only a couple other pairs have brought babies along with so far when normally by now I am up to my shoulders in baby quail. Makes me wonder if the extended cold thunderstorms and winds we had a while back right after 2-3 record setting hot days might of killed most of this years hatch.

emmayct - Maryann Thanks for the WB. Your niece is in what appears to be a very bleak area to the layman, but that is actually very diversified to study many forms of wildlife and plants. Great area for migrating leps and includes some resident species not seen often without some serious work or rock climbing on your part. Bet she gets to Railroad Pass - an area with easy access that holds a lot of those species. Hope she loves the area - it's a good one for a biologist. tdogmom - CalSherry From what I have been seeing on the news the last couple of months, the whole country has been experiencing hotter than normal temps and excessive rain. Will be interesting to see what long lasting effect it has on the leps and their larval/nectaring food plants, if any. susanlynne48 - Susan Congrats on all the sphinx moths. On the moth side of the leps, Sphingidae were one of my specialties behind the Saturnidae and Arctiidae. Was lucky enough to get to MV/black light and rear them in many countries over the years. A fun group with certain species having among the most interesting life histories in the lep world. As for your question... divorced 5 years now so the ex wouldn't mind. LOL But with only 2 endemic species and around a dozen and a half introduced, there is not much diversity in leps on the islands. Even so, some species occur in horrendous numbers in that tropical environs and have become a real problem. BTW, I had a huge black female P. bairdii in my yard this morning. I used to rear them often when I lived in the frozen north. But I've seen very few in Vegas in 10 years here despite finding clumps of their preferred larval food plant (Atemisia dracunculus - Tarragon) growing wild here and there on the southern NV Mojave Desert.