I've been too busy to get everything set up, but I hope next week. I have seeds Purple Jalapenos and Serranos,Red Habanero and I think I'm going to try some ancho again. The ones from last year were looking good with lots of small immature fruit when we got hit with the first frost. plants survived the first one but not the second. all the unidentified bird pepper "trees" are still growing and producing like mad and haven't been covered at all, so I don't need to plant any of those. For Tomatos, I didn't order seeds this year so I'll have to go with localy available seeds. I have packets of Rutgers, Brandywine, Earlygirl, Stupice, and betterboy. Hopefully I get everything set up next week. I can't believe it's the end of December already, almost time to put the sweaters back in the attic..... Cactus Dude, For bottom heat I use a heating pad from target (or Wally world) It has three settings low med hi. I fold a bath towel, wet it(not soaking wet just wet and wrung out) , put it on top of the pad and leave it on low. set the seed tray on top of the towel and I have perfect 80 degree bottom heat. j

Regular feeders are: Common sparrows, House Finches, Cardinals, Carolina Chicadees, Tufted Titmouses, Redhead and Spireated Woodpeckers, Blackbirds, Cowbirds. Less frequent are the Wrens and Jays and Thrushes. These prefer insects and only eat a bit of grain. I have never seen a Mocking Bird feeding in my feeders but frequently they are picking up the many insects around them. Goldfinches are transients. They visit a few weeks in the Spring and again in the Fall to fatten up before moving on. Many doves visit beneath the feeders--a good thing because they keep the area clean. Then, there are the squirrels. You have to face the fact they much prefer sunflower seeds to hard dried corn. You might try a squirrel feeder with fresh peanuts and sunflower seeds but I will bet some of them will be after your feeders. Make it difficult for them to get to them and they may just go for their own food--don't bet on it!!

I will get a leaf and trunk picture tomorrow. I checked Ricinus but the colors (purple and reds) and the number of prongs did not seem to match(5 to 7 for the ones I found pictures for).. until I found "Unjuga Green" on some website (see link). The picture is not terribly clear but the lead has NINE/9 prongs as the leafs on my weed, and the stem and leafs are all green. The other Ricunus I found had better pictures and the trunk seemed similar to my weed's albeit the color differed. Apparently in Florida nurseries have agreed not to propagate it as it is classified as nearly invasive (basically on the invasive watch list). The seeds are supposed to be extremely poisonous. Here is a link that might be useful: Ricunus Unjuga green

Probably a little blue heron. In real life they look very dark all over, not the reddish purple in the field guides.