One of the best ways to get over being afraid of snakes is to handle one. Contrary to what many people think, they are not slimy at all. They feel like patent leather, and are rather pleasant to hold. But not a wild one, fresh caught. Those can be nippy. Sometime when you are at a zoo or other animal exhibit where they have tame snakes about, you might ask if you can touch one and see if that helps with the squeamies. (I used to be a docent at the Central Florida Zoo, and one of my jobs was to walk around with either the indigo snake or a ball python and let people touch them.) Tom, the chances are very good that the BIRDS put the snakeskin in the nest box. They often use the shed skins in nest building. It seems to appeal to their "weaving" instinct, and I think they are opportunists who know a good, strong building material when they find one. Birds who really weave a tight nest will often have a snakeskin woven in and out all through the basket portion. If you have a snake baffle up, I'd bet money the bird collected the skin from elsewhere. As for your coral honeysuckle issue...yes, a snake COULD snatch a hummer out of the air, but the odds are in the favor of the hummingbird being too fast for them. And if it isn't fast enough to avoid getting caught, it is likely sick or old. Hummers build their tiny little nests way out on skinny little limbs, and disguise them by gluing lichens all over them. They have a better than average chance of avoiding predators, so they are usually safe. And for every bird our snakes eat, they probably eat DOZENS of mice & rats & other vermin. The advantages of having them in the garden outweigh the disadvantages, though I can't say they don't TRY for birds when they see them. Usually with all predator-prey relationships, there are way more food animals than there are hunters, and it all balances out. When WE stay out of it, that is. Mother Nature is good that way. Wiley, I get a "tighter breathing and zero at the bone" sensation when I spot snakes, too. It's one of the things I love most about them. They always give me the slightest shiver in that split second that my eye first registers what I'm seeing. Then that passes and I sit back to enjoy watching them. (You have to love the phrasing of that last line, don't you? It's always been a favorite verse of mine.) Marcia

Mellon--Lovely, lovely package. So generous and thoughtful!! She sent me a ton of stuff. My friend Mare is visiting and she remarked "It's just like Christmas!!". Oh, yah. She's been helping me get my dahlias in the ground because I have an injured left wing. Mellon gifted me with TWO hostas 'Chinese Sunrise' & 'Plantangea'. Heucherra 'Can Can'; Daylily 'Erin Leah'; Wigalea 'Ruby Glow'; and a big fat bulb of lilia 'Black Beauty'. Love, love, love it all. Everything was well wrapped and packaged. Thank you very much, it was a wonderful package. Oh wait, and a hilarious (and oh-so- true) card with a nice note inside.

hello everyone. weather is very intense today/tonight. shirley, sure hope you are not in this storms path. carol, i sent those mold things (kind of like a joke, but they are useful), becase a while back you actually had mold and weren't sure how to test it...remember? not on your feet though, as i recall. happiest of birthdays to beth and tina. beth, are you getting hit with this weather as well? not sure what part of MD you are in. we only have one state separating us...one of these days, it would be nice to meet. wow amy - 5 boys. GOD BLESS YOU! i spent some real quality time with "my baby" today. she's so yummy. my heart can't get enough of her. oh well, dogs are going crazy with the rain and wind...be back later . have a safe weekend all, stay dry! maryanne i sent marsha her hostess gift too, but haven't heard weather she received it. sue/squazon - i certainly enjoyed reading above ava and can hear the pride even in your type. thanks for sharing. theresa, i'm happy with whatever you decide to send me. i'll leave it to you and appreciate whatever you decide to send.

Readers Digest Book of North American Birds; ISBN 0895773511; 1990. A Fufous-sided Towhee: Pipilo erythrophthalmus: "Scratching about with one foot at a time, like barnyard poultry, rufous-sided towhees gather their food from the very bosom of the earth. It is little wonder, then, that these active birds used to be called ground robins, especially since their well-hidden nests of stems and leaves are nestled so close to the ground. Today they are named towhees because that is the sound most people hear in their song. But they were once known as chewinks, from the call they make when alarmed. In some parts of the West that call is phonetically transcribed as shrenk, while in others it sounds more like the meowing of catbirds. In sections of the Southeast they unquestionably call Louise! And although their song is translated into English in most parts of the country as "chip towhee" or "drink your tea," the birds seem to drawl it in the South, and are apt to sing chip chup chup zeeeeeee, or just a buzzy zeeeeee, in the West. Their visual field marks too are almost as varied as their vocal ones. Rusous-sided towhees in Florida have white eyes instead of red ones, and those in the West have two white wing bars plus numerous white spots on their wings and backs. But no matter where they live, all rufous-sided towhees come flying in low to the ground with the side patches in their tails looking like white chiffon streamers trailing dramatically behind them."