For my part, the apples, pears and plums are all doing well - the apples, except for the Northern Spy, have leafed out, the pears have pushed 3-4" new growth, and the plums are finishing up blossoming. I may well get a good crop of damsons and handful of golden transparents this year. The quince died back to about 6" from the ground - the second year in a row with significant damage - and I'll probably try to find a new home for it in the fall, to be replaced with at North Star cherry. No die back at all on the apples and pears, and only a few inches on a couple of the leggiest verticals of the green gage plum. The fruit tree list at the moment: Apples: Ashmead's Kernel, Calville Blanc, Cortland, Cox's Orange Pippin, Jonagold, Kidds Orange Red, Margil, Northern Spy, Reinette Zabergau Pears: Comice, Magness, Seckel, Warren Plums: Geneva Mirabelle, Golden Transparent, Green Gage, Imperial Epineuse, Shropshire Damson Smyrna Quince All the pears and most of the apples are in an espalier, and the plums are planted 5' apart and pruned as goblets or bushes, depending on their branching angles. Ian

Hi Azura, I have the book Birds of Denver and the Front Range that was given to me by my brother who owns a Wild Bird Supply store in Illinois, but I find I use my original book far more often. Sometimes I use the Denver book, but its more for a cross reference to compare pictures. My "main" book is A Guide to Field Identification Birds of North America by Golden Press, New York and I like the pictures and the way its set up better. That book was also given to me by my brother when I first started bird watching (now called birdingbut I still prefer bird watching!) There are other Colorado birding books available, but I dont know anything about them. Heres a list of the Most Frequently Seen Birds of the Denver Area which can be really helpful when youre first starting to identify them and trying to eliminate all the ones in the "complete" bird book that arent even a possibility. The ones youll see most often around here are House Sparrows (not really sparrows!), House Finches, Black-capped Chickadees, Pigeons & Doves, Blackbirds, Blue Jays, several different Juncos when theyre migrating thru in spring and fall (and sometimes in winter), and, especially if you put suet out, Flickers, Hairy Woodpeckers, and Downy Woodpeckers. Oh, and Robins, of courseI have them all winter. If you put out some feeders youll see a lot more birds than if you just watch for them, but I recommend staying away from millet or "all purpose" bird seed as it just attracts dozens and dozens of House Sparrows that will keep many other birds away. I recommend safflower seed, thistle seed, black oil sunflower seed and suet. That will get you at least all of the birds I mentioned above (except the House Sparrows), and many more, but just not as many of each. I love to watch the chickadees, but still havent attracted much of a following at this house, which is only a couple miles away from my last house where I had lots of them. But little by little theyre showing up. If you put the feeders near deciduous trees, thatll help even more. Heres a link to the best online bird identification site Ive found. Click on "all birds." AND, if youve never heard of it before, heres a link to Bird Cam where you can watch Eagles, Falcons, Kestrels, Ospreys, and Owls laying their eggs and raising their young. Its fascinating to check in on them every now and then. Check out the Eagle Cam. They should be laying their eggs pretty soon. Just in case all you see when you go there is an empty nest, remember that these are live cams, and the Eagles come and go! Enjoy our feathered relatives, Skybird (without the feathers!)

Hey, no green thumb! I have been thinking of you and your patio. I'm so glad you found someone who really listened to what you wanted. Now, you can enjoy the planting and evolution of your outdoor area! :o) I hope you'll post pictures when you can. I totally agree that I never want to be "done" planting things, as you said. The expanse of land is for sure our focal point, and I don't want to overdo it or obstruct the view to the back yard. Squirrel, your dad sounds like he was a wonderful, creative person. I think that creativity is so important with outdoor areas, just as it is indoors. It's amazing how much is added to a property visually with plantings and color in the form of flowers and trees. I'm going to check out the link you posted. Thanks so much! While we'll value insight from a professional, we definitely want to have some input. It's not going to happen overnight, that's for sure. Maybe it's too much to Photo Shop too, but a visual would be very helpful. Carol, thanks for your thoughts. I would love a colorful tree, as the Redbud you mentioned. It's interesting you mentioned maple and oak trees. We have a 140-year-old maple and a 150-year-old oak in the front yard. I love them SO much. We had to cut down a clump of box elder trees to place the house, which may not have been a great loss, as I understand they are not great trees, but now the back yard has a large clearing, compared to our tree-filled front yard. I want to keep the clearing for the most part, but add some trees around the perimeter, and both maple and oak are native here. I guess we have to stay at least 25 feet away from the patio with large trees, and that's okay. We do get shade on the patio most of the afternoon from the house itself. Do you all think that the cushions for the patio furniture must be the same color, or can I mix and match with patterns and solids, etc? Thanks again, all, Jan

Most cats run on a tight schedule, you can set a clock by it. They can be seen walking across the same area at the same time every day. Since your yard to close to water, kitty is probably on his way to or from the stream. Streams mean hydration and fun. Kitty comes through your yard for a reason, Food? Water? Shade? Hiding place on the way to another destination? Birds and the bees as mentioned above. If Kitty enters your yard at the same place THAT would be the spot to put the water sprinkler. I would put an area of small gravel and citrus tree or bush. Good luck April