Criss crossing rows of seedlings with black cotton is an old way of protecting seedlings, especially peas. But having seen several birds with thread wrapped around their legs which had subsequently atrophied or become deformed and also having seen the damage discarded fishing line can do to waterfowl I would not want to use it. Even nets need to be carefully secured. I once found a blackbird dead in my garden having actually struggled so hard after getting caught in a net that it pulled off its own leg. A sturdy fruit cage is the best solution for bush fruits although it's expensive.

Following up, a few months later... Things seem to be back to normal in the garden (thanks again for all of the advice and support). Nothing dead, and even a few new creatures -- a toad (must've come over from a man-made garden pond nearby) and a bunny (an unpleasant surprise -- living in an urban area, this is our first rabbit ever, in four years!). Birds are plentiful, and we're seeing a few goldfinches come by as the coneflowers dry up. I spent the summer enjoying the garden mostly from the inside... next spring will bring a clean slate and I can stop feeling funny about being out there (and about being here). Interesting, though: Like Hyta, I had not one Japanese beetle. Not a one. And I didn't spray anything besides all-season oil for aphids. Saw this in the newspaper today about more dangers from imidicloprid, this time about lingering dangers to honeybees: "Unfortunately, we are learning that Merit has some ugly side effects, namely causing what has been called colony collapse disorder, where thousands of honeybee colonies are disappearing for no obvious reason. Now we know that any plant that is treated with Merit and has blossoms that attract bees, those bees will receive a non-lethal shot of Merit. But it will cause them to lose their ability to find their way back to the hive. It also weakens the bee's immune system so the bee usually dies of some fungus or virus. ... "We yardeners can't deal with the bee problem in agriculture, but we definitely can take a look at how we are using Merit in our own yard. Some of the most effective and popular systemic insecticides for rose bushes have Merit as the main ingredient. Honeybees will always work over rose blossoms and so are exposed to a little bit of Merit -- enough to affect them badly." Provided the link for those of you who want to read more. (P.S. Maryl, I made sure to spray my clothes each time; thanks for the tip. And Joanne, now you must forgive me. I never have any e-mails about responses to a post. Still, please accept *my* apology for not responding sooner to say it's no big deal at all. :) )

There are different types of Leukemia. So far I haven't found which type was supposedly linked to power lines. I lost my dad to Leukemia in 2006. During the time he was diagnosed I learned a lot about his type which was AML and related to Benzene. He was a mechanic; it was in products we used at the gas station. I worked there 20 years; chances are I will eventually show symptoms :( After my dad died, there were more then 10 people I knew that died from some form of cancer. All of these years I didn't know one person, now there are so many. Except for my dad, I don't recall anyone else that had a type of cancer that was linked to a known cause. If any of you know anyone that worked with Benzene, please have them read up on AML and let them know they need to get their blood tested regularly. People that work/ed in the service station / gasoline field; or a painter are the 2 main professions this affects. I hope that one day cancer will be a thing of the past. My children do not need to lose any more people to this horrible disease. Here is a link that might be useful: Leukemia causes

Hmmm, no wing bar, spotted chest, eye line. Perhaps a palm warbler, but I don't feel real good about that ID. tj