Quite right, sounds like kalanchoe tubiflora... mother of millions. Those "spoons" of which you speak are young plants, waiting to fall off and become a pest. That plant is a declared weed where I live...

littleblu87 - I am not sure where you are, but I purchased Georgann Schmalz's cd set for Georgia Birding By Ear which has been a big help for me. I bought it at my local Wild Birds Unlimited, so you might try them to see if there is a specific set for your state. Every state seems to have a bird guru who does one. I could not find them on Amazon and such. On a note, I did get the Peterson's national set years ago and it was too much information, too many birds. Much prefer just my state. the enature site is my other favorite reference!

IE7/OE here is set to send/recieve in text only and I would never ever send someone nor accept any pics or sound for security reasons but... Out of curiosity I sent both in an email as attachments no problem to a hotmail account. Both were received fine there.

Kathy, learning the tools you need to train your dog is not hard, it just takes time, patience and commitment. The amount of time it takes the dog to learn can vary but seldom is it ever impossible for a dog to learn if the trainer is consistent. The best way to train is to sign up for 6-8 weeks of training classes so you can learn hands on with a trainer and have someone to answer your questions, especially if your dog has had bad habits for a long time. Also, a lot of owners don’t understand or realize that for the best outcome, you need to make sure that your dog is amply exercised so it can focus. Some breeds don’t require a lot of activity, but others like Labs, or most hunting breeds do. If they aren’t properly exercised, they will find a way to expend the energy in the confines of where they are, usually by chewing or other destructive behaviors, which isn’t their fault. To have all that energy and no way to burn it is actually painful for them and in essance cruel. It’s also going to be very hard for an unexercised dog to focus on the task when you work with them. I knew we wouldn’t be able to properly exercise our lab so once she was 4 months old, I started taking her to a doggy daycare. I know it sounds silly, but it’s really paid off. Not only is she calm and happy at home, but she’s never chewed or destroyed anything, not even as a puppy. She’s also socialized really well, so I can bring her around any dog or other animal and trust that she won’t behave poorly. She’s never ever gotten into the trash and she’s never run from us, she doesn’t even wear a collar outside when we’re home and we live on a busy road. I can also leave a plate of food, even HER food on the coffee table, go to work and come home to it still sitting there. She may watch it, but she will never take it. I worked with her every day for the first 2-3 years and even now at 6 we still go out and practice some of the commands on a regular basis. It’s a great way to gain the trust of your dog and bond with it and it can be extremely rewarding.