Dennis had a cardinal in love with the image in the mirror of his work truck last year. So, when ever he was driving in the area he decided to leave bowls of sunflower seeds on his hood. One day it was raining, and he left the seed on his truck seat, it was a light drizzle so he left the back slider window open. When he went back to the truck, there was the bird on the front seat eating seeds. Dennis stepped away from the door, and the bird hopped up to the back window and flew to a nearby shrub. He spilled some seeds on the ground for his new pal before leaving. He also left loose seed in the bed of his truck. That bird hung with him and looked for his truck every day for months after that. He said it was like having a quiet little assistant on the job!! He never bothered the mirrors again. Try leaving some seed, they think the image is a possible mate or threat.

Tracey, Google and find a photo of "Chocolate Rose Silk" morning glory. I like to grow it and "Chocolate" mixed together on a fence. Chandra, I bet the hummers are loving those vines. I always have a garden and yard full of hummers visiting the vines I have scattered around in various places. They generally don't visit the feeders unless it is raining or something since there's so many blooms for them most of the time. Susan, That's a really unique shade. I have morning glories popping up everywhere in the veggie garden, and especially in places where I don't want them. I've been busy yanking them out. I am glad they reseed, but (unfortunately) they can aggressively colonize veggie beds. Tracey, If your Grandpa Ott's is solid purple, then it isn't Grandpa Ott's. It could be the seed was crossed when it was grown by the seed supplier, or that a packaging/labeling error occurred. Scarlett O'Hara ought to be really red too, but as Susan noted, it is getting harder and harder to find seeds of Scarlett O'Hara that give you the original red Scarlett. Here's some trivia about Grandpa Ott's morning glory: Seed Savers Exchange was founded by Kent and Diane Ott Whealey. One of the original seeds they wanted to save and distribute was a morning glory seed given to her by her grandfather---and we know that morning glory today as "Grandpa Ott's". I've linked the SSE image below because that is was Grandpa Ott's should look like, right from the horse's mouth, so to speak. The history in the catalog is a little more detailed that what I typed here so you might enjoy reading it too. Grandpa Ott's is the most prolific reseeder I've ever seen. I bet I yank out hundreds of them from the veggie garden every year, but I also leave plenty and let them climb the fence. They also climb the cornstalks sometimes and even the tomato cages. I leave them when I can and wherever I can because the hummers and other little flying critters love them so. Also, they're simply gorgeous, particularly in August when a lot of stuff isn't looking nearly as good as it did in June. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: SSE: Grandpa Ott's Morning Glory

I have watched the 'black cardinal' from the beginning post, and it is a cardinal, no longer black though, but still very dark brown, yes there is a red tint to all the feathers, I'm inclined to think it's a male too. He is a loner, never comes to the feeders with a group like most do. He is aggressive and runs the other cardinals off, no matter how red they are. Most of the time he just waits till the other cardinals are gone. he will feed with all the other birds as long as they don't get to close. I have a video where you see a female cardinal come and land on the cast iron post the feeder is on, while the dark cardinal was at the feeder, and it did get mean with the female, repeatably flying up at her till she left. The beautiful female with the brown to tan, beside the the dark cardinal his brown looks black compared to her. I've not seen him near a juvenile male yet. He's a beautiful bird, at any rate. I have been trying to take the video and get some snapshots from it, my Kodak is not like my Flip video, my Flip has software built in for doing anything, including snapshots. Here's a picture from a set a few days ago, not good quality, and in the shade, I'll try and send the other three or four. the only way I have to tell him from any other, is that the dark color shows him up, even if he is flying across the yard to the feeder.

Swampwiz, For simplicity I would consider 366 for every window in your home except for the window where you want to protect your grand piano. For that window I would agree with 240. In addition to the 240, I would consider using laminated glass. The combination of 240 and laminated glass will result in blocking 99.9% of damaging UV rays as well as blocking a percentage of visible light which also contributes to fading and "light" damage. There would be a cost upgrade for including a laminated lite in your glass package, but in your situation I would consider it well worth the additional investment. 240 is a "tinted" coating, but if you want it even darker you can get a tinted laminate - either glass or interlayer as part of the IG including the 240 coated lite. So far as cost difference for different coatings, you may find that it is ultimately more expensive to mix and match coatigs than to go with a single coating for all of your windows. Some window companies are already using 366 as their "standard" coating and while I don't know specifically what either Kolbe or Monarch may charge for a 366 upgrade (if anything) - your best bet is to simply ask them what they charge for upgrading to the 366 coating. Negotiate - see what they will do for you.