Favorite commercial sauce is a tie between Chipotle Tobasco and El Yucateco green. But home made is much better. Give this one a spin: THICK & SWEET HOT SAUCE 8 oz red ripe bell pepper 2 lbs moderately hot ripe red peppers (jalapeno/serrano/gusto green etc.) 12 oz red ripe Anaheim peppers 1 cup Blues Hog Sauce (or other sweet BBQ sauce) 2 cups white vinegar 1 cup cider vinegar 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar 12 cloves garlic, minced 2 small yellow onions, coarsely chopped (about a pound) 1 7-oz can chipotles in adobo 3 Tbs chopped ginger 2 Tbs black pepper 4 tsp plain salt 2 tsp dried oregano 1 tsp mustard powder 1 20-oz can crushed pineapple 4 oz lemon juice Core and seed the bell peppers, and chop coarsely. Remove stems from other peppers and chop coarsely, leaving seeds and cores. Combine peppers with all other ingredients in 6 quart or larger stock pot and bring to boil (with good ventilation). Reduce heat and let simmer, covered, one hour, stirring frequently to prevent scorching. After simmering, puree all ingredients. A good immersion blender will be adequate, or use a blender or food processer. Bring sauce back to boil and pack in sterile jars. Cover, let cool and refrigerate. Makes about 4 quarts. Batch 1: I omitted bell pepper and used Heritage NM 6-4 and Billy Goat Habaneros. Boiled then ran through a food mill. Next time let steep for a week or so before food milling. Recipe credit goes to Kevin Cleek on the smokering list.

I was going to say Chicken Hawk, but I see that it's another name for Coopers Hawk. A neighbor of mine has talked about them, they nest in our mature Maples and Elms on our street. I had never actually seen one (or paid attention) until recently when he flew into my yard (I have feeders as of this year) after another bird, apparently attempting to reach the bird hidden in my new arborvitae. By the time I got to the back door (to scare him off), he was gone. My neighbor had to move his feeder, as the Hawks nest was situated just above the roofline, with a perfect view of the feeder. I have enough trees in my yard to hopefully create a safe haven for the smaller birds during the warmer months, at least when there's foliage on the trees. Interesting looking birds, and I was surprised at how large they are. My feeders haven't been touched in a couple of weeks (I'm in an urban location).

cheryllynn744: (The thread that will never end :-) Your question is what started this thread, lo, those many years ago. Best thing I've been able to do is to use one of those New Year's noise-makers that you crank that makes an ungodly noise--something the hawk has not previously heard that will freak him/her out. I have a stuffed owl up in my back yard, and it might as well not be there. For me, it worked fine for a week, and every bird in the vicinity was stressed out and came to squawk at it from a safe distance, and some were bold enough to get quite close. Couple of Bluebirds flew right above it, and hovered (as Bluebirds will) for a few moments, checking it out. But unless you move the decoy almost daily, songbirds soon learn that it is no threat to them, and they won't pay any more attention to it. Been there for about a year, and most of its feathers are gone, but it still has the silouhette of an owl--to no avail. -------------------------------------------------------- Recent hawk episode for me involved a dove nesting in my window sill. Doves--like pigeons--are "ledge nesters", and sometimes only place a few sticks on a ledge to keep the (2) eggs from rolling away. My dove built a little more elaborate nest, with lots of sticks forming a nest between my double-hung window and double-hung storm window, about 4 inches apart. I had the storm window raised about 10 inches, quite by mistake, and a dove nested there last year (between the 2 windows) and fledged 2 baby doves. Success! Another dove used the same nest this year, and added sticks to it. Unfortunately, the dove began setting on eggs about March 4th, where there were no leaves on the trees (yet) in my area, and the dove was more visible than last year. One morning about 2 weeks ago, I heard a THUMP on the window about daylight, and I opened the curtain and looked out. The dove was gone, the 2 white eggs were exposed in the nest, and a Peregrine Falcon was sitting on a tree limb outside the window, no more than 3 or 4 feet away. The Falcon saw me through the window pane, and flew off. The dove stayed away the rest of the day, and did not come back and begin setting on the eggs (again) until the next day. I thought it was rather remarkable that it even returned, after being attacked by a hawk (falcon). I had no idea how it survived the attack, since it seemed more-or-less trapped there, inside the two windows. But the THUMP sounded like the falcon hitting the window, so somehow, it slipped away. Maybe the falcon tried to attack from above, and hit the glass above the dove. I had an idea the falcon would come back and try again and sure enough, about 4 days later, another WHUMP on the window. Same result--I looked out, the dove was gone, the eggs were exposed, and the Peregrine Falcon was 3 or 4 feet away on a tree branch. But this time, I had gotten my crank, New Year's noise-maker out of the closet and had it on my dresser. I grabbed it, and ran up the hall and opened the front door as quietly as I could. The falcon was still sitting in the tree, and I eased out and cranked-out a bunch of raucous noise while running toward the tree, and the falcon freaked out and flew out of the tree. Unbelievable that the dove returned AGAIN, only a few hours later, and began setting on its eggs again, the very same day, after (somehow) surviving the second strike by the Peregrine Falcon!! Again, it sounded like the falcon hit the glass above the dove. The falcon did not return, and the dove continued setting for about 3 or 4 more days. Then one morning I heard noise in the window, and I peeped out to see the dove turning the eggs over beneath it, and it appeared to be examining them. Soon after, it flew away, and left the nest and the eggs, and did not return. After the dove did not come back many days later, it was obvious the dove had abandoned the nest, and I raised the window and got the 2 eggs out, and put them in my basement. I have an idea what I will find when I crack them open; I think I'll find 2 babies that were nearly ready to hatch until the dove flew away after the first falcon strike and stayed away for more than a day. I believe the eggs may have got too cold that night she was away, and the babies inside probably froze--or otherwise died wiithout their mother there to keep them warm. Shame that she spent weeks there, only to have it end that way. But amazing that she had the resolve to return after 2 falcon attacks and continue to TRY and hatch the eggs. And more amazing that she escaped with her own life. wt

All manufacturers have their own installation guidelines. I deal a lot with Coretec which is a vinyl plank product with a cork backing. Their installation requirements state that you will need to check your subfloor with a 10' straight edge for any dips or humps. Any dips or humps greater than 3/16" must be addressed. Humps will need to be ground down and dips will need a floor patch or self leveler. Home Depot sells a self leveler by Custom Building Products, this is a great product that I use on our jobs. If you choose to lay a moisture barrier (we don't with Coretec) the 6mil product you have shown named Blue Hawk will work.