Well, Gary, you have pretty much made my point for me. "Nothing much happened until these projects were undertaken." Meaning that before those projects were undertaken, no overdevelopment was underway, no rampant, unchecked growth, no overcrowding, no overpaving, no serious strain on the aquifer and no real threat to the creatures who were here before us. I agree that's true. And I wish the rush to develop Florida had been handled in such a way that those conditions were still prevalent in many more areas of the state. In my opinion, there are WAY too many people jammed into Florida today, and what has made that possible is the complete lack of foresight and planning. I don't really want to get "political" per se, either, and I agree that at this point we can't turn the clock back and undo very many of the things that were done in well-meaning but ill-advised this planet refforts to grow, grow, grow. But for me, Life on earth really ISN'T "all about people." I believe we are supposed to fit INTO the grand scheme of things on the planet, rather than tromp roughshod over it all, with no regard for other living creatures and their habitats. In other words, the more I learn about humans, the more I like animals. ;o) But truthfully, I'm willing to compromise. I know we are here to stay. I just feel we should each do our part, as best we can, to at LEAST not make things worse. And at best, to undo some of the disasterous money-making, land-grabbing, swamp-draining, canal-digging mistakes of the past. Some of those mistakes were made due to the expansionist ideas at that time in history, and some were made out of sheer greed and total disregard for anything or anyONE coming later. It's incumbent upon US today to try to decide which of these problems can be addressed and possibly corrected, and which we just have to learn to live with. We have to pick our battles wisely and try to do a better job of planning for future generations of both people and wildlife. Again, these are just my own personal thoughts on the matter, and not meant to start any kind of argument. But in my book, these three things are true: ecology is not a bad word, extremism on either side of the issue is counter productuve, and there should be plenty of middle ground to be explored when dealing with these issues. Marcia

Herb, I followed the link and visited his home page, but didn't find any photos of his own work. I think drawings, sketches and even photos of the designer's work go a long way to convincing the prospective client of their own capabilities... a gallery section would be a great addition to his site but the basics are explained concisely, and any beginner would benefit from reading them.. Here's an example of a site here in Australia which I think covers this aspect rather well.. and maybe there are also a few ideas for Eric :) Here is a link that might be useful: Gallery

you can make suet without meat fats by using vegetable shortening or oils or using peanut butter which contains lots of vegetable fat. mix in bird seed or cornmeal or flour to thicken and you can add nuts or raisens or fruit bits. and many birds like sweet suet with syrup or corn syrup which contains sugars and fats. in nature birds eat lots of seeds from plants or grasses and grains such as corn or milo or wheat which are high calorie. birds use tremendous amounts of energy in cold weather and can get the energy from grains and seeds and plant parts but fats are just a higher source and make it faster and easier for the birds to get the fats and sugars and proteins they need.

well hey, elly! I know. it's been forever since I posted anything ANYWHERE. No excuses, I've been lazy. Though I have no shortage of encounters to relay since the last time I posted, and yes, some DO involve rustling dead things up off of highways. Unfortunately, sometimes that's where you get your best info... I once 24 miles with a deceased weasel packed in my spare water bottle cage! There are various level of dedication!! Firstly, the turtle corpse: I don't really know if there's any one way that's better than another, but I learned from trying to skeletonize a horseshoe crab that no matter where you do it, be ready for the smell. The actual cleaning job is usually no problem as there are legions of critters happy to be your janitor if you let them. I suggest placing a carcass in a slightly humid, warm, fairly open yet not too wind-prone area where flies and carrion beetles can locate it but not a fox or a possum or the neighbor's dog. I once saw a red-tail fly off with a week-and-a-half old snake carcass and I am still not sure how it managed to peel that up off the road. Or if there was even anything still edible about it, for that matter. If you have a hav-a-hart trap around, you might stick it in there for security against bigger diners. It will probably take a while to get all the tissue clean, and even then there might be some residual bits. The smell takes longer, maybe it's variable with different animals. Some things like skulls can be boiled and bleached, and you can read about doing this online. The good hot sun will do it too but it takes longer. But I don't think I'd try that with a turtleshell ...I'm not sure about spotted turtles but I know you have to watch the scutes on others as they will become loosened if it sits out too long in the elements. I am looking at the oversized red-ear slider shell hanging from my bookshelf...not sure how long it had been lying where it was when I found it but the "tortoiseshell" layer on the scutes was just then starting to get very slightly loose. I sprayed it with several thin coats of good poly and it's a truly beautiful thing to look at. Maybe you can get someone else to add info on this? I'd keep it too, if I were you. And another thing about having this process going on in your yard: keep an eye out for what's flying around in your proximity when you are walking near the carcass. I have been riding past dead deer and other creatures and had burying beetles smack up against my face and front and when this happens to you you will smell EXACTLY like whatever they just crawled out of. But it's a small price to pay for their services. Now the bird: I got some pins and a white background and took some frames and after having really gotten down and looked closely and it almost looks like this was a broken wing that healed...the wing appears so much smaller because it can't extend fully like the healthy one and the feathers are contorted and compressed from being unable to fully spread out. I will try to get the pics up and maybe you can tell me if it's a juvie or not...I have only been hearing yellowthorats here for maybe a week or two. This bird is not skin and bones though, it's been able to find food. I do agree though, I bet the injury had a lot to do with its demise. I just thought of something I need to add to all of this: anybody who is truly an admirer of nature has surely at one time or another picked up a bone, a shell, a feather. I must remind everyone that some of these things are considered illegal to have in your possession, for one reason or another, and I don't want to get into the legality of it here. Most of the laws concerning such materials are out there for good reasons, such as to protect an animal or plant from illegal activity/collecting. I don't always agree with the laws-- I know it's illegal to have but I can still find so much to admire in the feather on a sadly roadkilled hawk--but I know they are there to protect the things I love so I try to respect them. Find out what is ok and what's not in your areas before you add things to your knick knack shelf, as a conservation officer won't always know what was found dead from natural causes and what wasn't and in some cases it's against the law to have in your possession REGARDLESS.