Hey ChickaDDD, I know what you mean about Chicklet's story. He sounds super natural or something. Sleeping on roof, resetting his own arm, Typhoon or something and his birthday. WOW. But like you said if it is true your are surely helping them and thats all that matters. I must have missed it when the unwelcoming committee killed a catbird chick. That is awful!!! And it is not FUN to get rid of HOSP. I dont know why they would say that and it makes me sick. I cant believe they said it was fun, that is disgusting and shows how stupid they are. I hope you dont dislike ME for it but I have seen them with my own eyes terrorize my other birds and not just the cavity nesters, but i dont enjoy it. I just want to save my other birds. They were after Braveheart today when he and Scardycat would try to feed their babies AND they are building two nests in two of my boxes right now :-( When papa tries to bring food they jump him and fall to the ground. It is just pure harassment and today i noticed his right eye was closed up. I dont think it was the HOSP because he was fighting two mockers today too and they probably got fed up with him getting in the middle and decided to kick him around awhile. My blue is insane they are twice his size. But now he will be at risk of hawk attack because he cant see from that side. Ahhhhhhh SIGH. I am having such stress this year with the bluebirds. I love them and all the birds except the HOSP and it is hard on me because I worry so about the birds. My other little sparrows are building in my holly bush that the robins used three times this year ( they were busy ), you know the little ones that i keep blowing there little babies out of the bush. So at least i know where they are this time and wont blow them out. Birds are so funny. She fusses at me every time i go out there but then builds her nest right in my back steps. Go figure :-) Why would they kill a catbird? I dont understand that, it must have been before i joined because i dont remember seeing it. Do you know what month and maybe i can go back and find that post. That is very disturbing, maybe they are just animal killers? Maybe they do enjoy it. They almost had me convinced that the house wrens were evil till Bet got on there. Maybe they kill all birds except bluebirds. That's sick :-( Well im glad you didn't have any little jets get confused and end up in your house today :-) Maybe they realized that outside is where they belong. Hopefully for you and your families sake. All summer without air conditioning is a horrible thought for me. You are a very strong and sweet person to sacrifice your comfort for the little jets. I bet Daisy was hot too with all that hair. My Mary is very hairy like that ( 4 layers of fur ) and she doesn't even like to be outside in the summer. We are very spoiled. Im glad your kitties got bored with the swifts, i know you were blaming yourself for the deaths but you didn't know they were coming so im glad all is good now :-) I better go because this is long but i know i could talk a lot more!!! LOL. She who is to long winded~~~~~~~Bonnie

Sounds really great, Kim, thanks! For those of you looking at the wildflower seed mixes on the list, but wondering what in the heck you'd do with them, Trudi (the wintersowing Queen) had an idea I thought I'd pass along. She sows the mixes in a big flat lasagne-style roasting pan and wintersows them. In the spring when it's time to plant out, she cuts the seedlings into little "brownies" about 1" square and plants the plugs about 12-14" apart in the spring. Some of the seeds, and consequently the plants, will be very close together, but apparently this makke no difference....she says the end result is delightful. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you can go to the wintersowing forum or just get a big aluminum roasting pan at the Dollar Store. They are about 3" deep and have a domed plastic cover, also 3" deep (or tall). One pan for $1.00. Prep it for wintersowing by poking holes in the bottom and sides of the pan for drainage, and also the top for ventilation and also watering. A 1/4" diameter hole every 5". Put in 2 1/2" of seed starting mix -- whatever you normally use, and water really well. Let drain. Add more soil if it compressed -- you want it 1/2 fromthe rim of the pan. If it takes too long to drain, put more holes in the bottom, and also the sides, down close to the bottom. Sprinkle the seed mix into the pan and leave it outside with the vented cover on it. In March, start watching for seedlings and make sure the pan doesn't dry out. It will have to be watered every 2-3 days unless you get rain. Depending on the varieties of seed in the package, and where you live, they can be planted out late April-early May. Just around the time of your last frost. Thompson-Morgan sells Cottage Mixtures by color. All blue, all pink, all yellow, all white and maybe more colors. Seems to me anybody could do this using the list drippy sent out along with the wintersowing "brownie" method of Trudi's. A Yellow /White mix of yellow strawflowers, shasta daisies, white scabiosa, Salvia "white Knight', plus yellows: Hellenium, Coreopsis, Daylily &/or Gallardia and whites: Columbine, and Agastache, would make a very large color- coordinated garden that would be pretty, bloom all summer, and provide gorgeous cutflowers. Plus about half of them would come back next year! Sheesh! I wish I had more room here for it! (If you actually try it, you can't use all the seeds from all the packs I mentioned or you will have way too many plants. But I bet you could use 200-300 seeds in the flat -- just mix them all up!) Lime

javakick, I would love to see a picture of the shagreen in your daughter's room if you could post one. I'm getting ready to paint my girls' room this weekend and that was one of the colors I was considering. I don't know if you get the Pottery Barn Kids catalog, but I ordered the Emily bedding and I am wanting to paint the room similar to the one pictured in their most recent catalog(I think its late winter) on page 49. I'm hoping the shagreen is similar to that color. Thanks

Hmmm, well, the room is currently in shambles, as we've started pulling things from the walls to paint. After I get the posters and everything, I'll definitely share. Could be a week or two, of course, but I'm looking forward to it. Thanks again for the suggestions! A few comments - - I like the idea of some WWII posters; I'll have to look more carefully on eBay. - The closest Wal-Mart is an hour away (as is pretty much everything); it might just be easier to pay for expedited shipping from some online store. - Love the idea of a tent, although I'm not sure where I could put it, especially if we do eventually construct that loft area above his bed. My idea was to (eventually, mind you) create a sort of facade so that it looked like something military - even if it just looks like a mock-up of a generic military 'building' out in the field. I'd use the same design (well, for the loft) for my daughters' room, except that in their case, it would be a barn. - I definitely need to visit a surplus store or two, so perhaps I'll line up a couple near WalMart or some such place. I'll have to return for help with the rest of my house! My home (with my decorating [in]ability), would likely benefit greatly from the good and helpful advice from all of you. It's quite a desperate situation. :) Thanks again!