Last month I painted two bird cages that I had gotten at yard sales. They are still sitting there, because I couldn't figure out what I wanted to do with them. Now I know exactly what I will do. Thanks, Kudzukween, for the great idea. Love the cages and your porch!

Last night they started to get more aggressive than I was comfortable with. They started out by grabbing my fingers and licking them. I guess I smelled like fish food. Then they started to rip plants out of pots and were not happy when I made them stop at which time they double teamed me. One on one side of the pond slipped into to the water while the other closest to me climbed onto the planters and started sifting soil for fish food. Shaking the cane holds no terrors for them any more and wapping the steel framework around the pond did no good whatsoever. Finally I must have offended the larger one as he bared his teeth and snapped at me. That was the final straw. I grabbed the garden hose and turned it on them full force. They scrambled pretty fast considering how fat they are now. They made one final attempt at the pond but the hose was too much for them. Today I got the makings of an electrical fence. I wish I could bill the person who is feeding them. Grumble, grumble. I once had high hopes for their continuing good behavior but the easy feeding and human contact has overcome natural behavior. Sandy

You may be right. Many years ago, it was decided that bears eating cookies along the roadside or from the trash cans buried in the campgrounds at Yellowstone was not good for them. Don't know what happened to the bears, but there are plenty of Buffalo along side the road and plenty of elk. The feeders are just for your pleasure so that you can watch the birds. They will be just fine if you do not feed them. They will just go elsewhere. All hummingbird experts that I have heard from say that a 4-1 mix is just fine. If everyone stopped feeding the birds tomorrow, I'm sure they would start scrambling for food. I used to think it strange that hummers would get nectar from a cigar plant by the feeders or a wild thorney bush that the bees loved about 50 feet further. My feeders are not up as a supplement to the flowers, they are up strictly to get hummers there. Hummers will get their nectar where the least resistance is. If only one feeder is up and an aggressive bird is protecting it, they will go somewhere else (to a flower or to the neighbors). A youngin will follow the mom's lead, but I can always tell a youngin when they try to get nectar from the picture of the flower on my feeders. I have not heard anything about flower nectar being better for the birds. It is 102 degrees here and all are suffering, including the plants.

Will Pelargonium Citrosa, a/k/a Mosquito Plant a/k/a/ Citronella Plant help deter mosquitoes? Probably not! The following is from the Herb Society of American website http://www.herbsociety.org/pelargonium/index.php: Some relatively recent Pelargonium folklore involves the notorious "citrosa mosquito-fighter,"Pelargonium 'Citrosa.' In the 1990s, the plant (which was also marketed as Pelargonium citrosum 'Van Leenni') sold for $7.99-$18.95 in Ontario, and was alleged to be a genetically engineered cross of a Pelargonium and Cymbopogon nardus, a Chinese grass containing citronella oil, but analysis of the plant and field trials proved it to be a hoax (60, 91). The plant's oil composition was very similar to rose geranium, including only .09% citronellal (one of the active components in citronella oil) (60, 91). The citrosa plant did not protect human subjects from mosquito bites more than controls, and in one field trial mosquitoes actually landed on the plant (60). And the following is from website http://www.io.com/~wilsone/scentedgeraniums.htm: Citrosa Sometimes sold as "the mosquito plant" this scented geranium has a citronella scent that some individuals believe repells pesky insects. Personal experience does not show this to be true, but the plant is a nice addition to the garden. It will grow up to eighteen inches in height and has bright green leaves with five lobes and serrated edges. The pink flowers are fairly showy.