Mine sit outside in Chico Ca- It's 58 outside right now in the shade. Drops to the middle 40's at night.. S'posed to get to 75 this weekend. They're out there year 'round- Inside is for seedlings & the tropicals. They're on the north face of a solid fence- This was one about this time last year: I stapeled that plastic 'bird net' to the wall & let it go. I had them in big pots.. All were clones of vines I cut in my sister's yard in Burbank, so they were technicly the same plant. I found they (it) wasn't terribly self fertile so I picked up another caerulea in a gallon pot at home depot so I could cross polinate them. Worked great- I got over 200 fruit last year & spent the winter selling the seeds on ebay for 'play money'. I've since moved those pots, but the roots had grown through the bottom (as I expected) & the vines regrew from the root-ball. Here it is now: 'Cource the roots went under the fence & it's coming up over there as well causing the owner of the house (not the tennant- she thinks they're great) to bi*ch about this "invasive" plant I've caused to grow into his yard... It's got flower buds all over as does the 'little guy' who is now in a 5 gallon bucket under the big one. I just went out on a 'roll' with the camera- Lavender lady, Alto-caerulea, Lady Margret & Victoria all have flower buds as I type. If I get time tonite I'll put up the pics.

There were over 100 dead birds that dropped over in Geyserville, CA off the 1010 Freeway this past Saturday. There were also a rather large number of Rooks and Choughs over in Sweden that died.....not to mention the birds in Arkansas, Kentucky, Italy and the fish, crabs, etc. in various places around the world. All in clusters, all falling on or near or within two weeks of, the New Year. Scientists are saying that mass die-offs are very common in birds, especially in winter....as for the fish and sea-creatures, they're saying red tides are on the increase in those areas. So this is hard to pin point....and don't get me started on the conspiracy theorists....egads. Thank GOD He is Sovereign over *all* of it. (Colossians 1: 19-20)

Karen - Panda is Mr dove's worst nigthmare, he keeps going after the tail feathers and getting them - the dove is finally learning how not to sit too close to the bars. Miss K bothered the birds too around Panda's age and now she has nothing to do w/them - they grow out of it. BTW - My dove is around 23yrs old Luv - Thanks for the props, the jars are empty because they cost too much to fill! LOL Judith also said I had a lot of things to do tablescapes w/too and has encouraged me to do so! Jaybird - Miss Kitty wasn't mad, she had just sneezed and she had the funniest look on her face and I was able to capture some of it. Here's my other bird - Houdini. I've had him around 25yrs, the cats leave him alone because he will go after their paws and tails if the get too close.....and they've learned the hard beak way! I thought this was very clever - it's a trompe l'oeil birdcage created in a wall niche. Here's a couple of new pieces I have, unfortunately I haven't gotten around finding a spot for them - my friend was extremely generous w/my b'day gifts and bought me the pair of birds, the wooden dove, the Chinese couple, and the pair of tulipieres & the mirrored obelisk - it was truly an embarrassment of riches.

It's great to read about Italy, I feel in love on my first trip in 2001, and went back twice since then. We rented homes in Tuscany twice. We had almost a week in Venice and it was too much, I loved it but could have done with 3 days max. We actually walked for hours and sat in parks and saw more of where the locals live, that was nice. Florence is my favorite I have to admit; it has a lot to offer and is smaller than Rome. We were in Rome only 48 hours, I really do want to go back, DH not so much. We did a mini vatican tour with a private guide, who whisked us through , in a good way. I'd want to explore where the romans live, where they shop, etc... The most annoying thing for me were the itinerant fake designer purse sellers, everywhere !! I don't know why they don't chase them away in a sterner way. I'm against that whole concept so it irks me big time. Food is amazing everywhere, I agree with that, from mid to high end, we had wonderful meals. Quatro Stagione pizza I had for lunch almost every day and never tired of it. Gelato did not taste different than the stores we have here, Montreal is very cosmopolitan for food. Paris is still my favorite city of all times though, as far as walking miles and miles and being in awe of everything. Maybe it's because I've been there many times and it feels more familiar. I'm glad you had a wonderful trip, you are braver than me, I did not want the pigeons on me at all.