My neighbor has three of those owl statues that sit "guarding" her gardens.... I saw a rabbit eating a plant right next to one so I'm assuming they don't work. Either that or because she doesn't move them around to different positions on occasion the rabbits have got used to them. She uses a .22 as well to control them and even though she doesn't move the bodies they are usually gone by morning... (we have a resident red fox that probably enjoys the free dinner!) I have personally witnessed 4 of our bunnies getting caught and carried off by the red-tailed hawks we have flying around but they don't take care of our backyard because of the trees... we also have a recent addition to the family (a stray cat turned up about three weeks ago) and he, Peaches, chases the bunnies away. I guess if you do get the owl statues at least move them around every once in a while so the bunnies don't get used to them... I don't know if it'll work or not. ttfn Mystic.

Ceresone, reading about your Rascal on facebook almost kept me from getting another dog! We were both missing having a dog. Our Biscuit died this summer. His skin problems and his digging was another thing that made us hesitate. But...........I saw these puppies on Craigs List. They were about a month younger when I first saw them....listed as part Great Pyrenees, Boxer and ???. We saw the Grandmother, and the mother and father of our puppy. The mother looked exactly like "Sugar"(ours) and the father had the long hair of the Pyrenees but was colored more like a Collie. They were the friendliest dogs ever; never barked at us and came up wanting to be petted. The only one that took off up the holler (it was a pretty isolated place east of Buffalo)was the male puppy so that ruled it out. DH liked this one because he felt sure it would be a short hair and look exactly like the mother dog. The minute I saw the grandmother dog, I said she is part Pit Bull. The owner lady said, thank you! She thought the same but her vet called it a Boxer mix. It was a stray that had wandered up to their place and got bred by their purebred Gr. Pyr. This puppy is out of a female from that litter. My vet agreed with both of us. He says due to the dark pigment of the roof of her mouth which is Pit and her extra set of unattached dew claws on her rear legs which is found only on Gr. Pyrs. So far she is a sweetheart and lets us know when she needs to go out. Of course, now she doesn't want to come back in quickly....using treats trying to train her to that. She loves chasing all the cats and doesn't seem to be afraid of anything including the cows. She also has chewed the corners of my table by my reading chair in the kitchen and chewed the rug under my chair....you have to take the bad with the good. I just snapped these pictures of her. She weighs 22 lbs now and will probably mature at 55 to 60 lbs which is smaller than our other dog. John (vet) says she will be the best dog we have ever owned and easily trained. I hope he is right. I can just hold my hand up flat and say no softly and she won't come into the dining room. So far she is living in the kitchen and the back porch. I just took a couple of pictures: From sugar Zoomed a little too much with this one. Her eyes are dark brown. From sugar and this is her with some of the cats, Note: I think if you double click on the photos it will go to the Picasa album ... there might be 1 or 2 more pictures there.......... OK, I will stop now. We are both acting a little silly about this puppy. DH came home from the store the other day with a bag full of toys for her; her favorite is an old house slipper of mine! We have just had her about a week.

I don't know why, but the last 2 times in as many days that I've tried to respond on this thread, my comment has just disappeared into the Bermuda Triangle or something. Today, from inside my house, I heard the same screaming. Stepping out on my front walk, I could tell it was up in my pine tree. Look as I might, I could not see the hawk, but there was a ton of noise and commotion up there. I think I saw some grackles and some bluejays hoppping around, and I still wasn't positive there was even a hawk up there, despite the screams (not being a bird expert, I don't know the calls for certain). I thought maybe it was the blue jays screaming. This time I had the camera. i took a step onto the grass under the trees to aim for a better vantage point, but before I could do anything else, a HUGE (wide wingspan) bird flapped out of the tree, away from me and my house, and flew off into the distance. With him flew at least two smaller birds (same as last time). He didn't seem to be chased by them. They seemed to be companions? wingmen? LOL I dont' know. Anyway, I stupidly was trying to turn on my camera although it was already on and I didn't get a picture. I'm marvelling at the fact that this large bird can hide itself in the trees so well. This is the second time I was certain of it's location in a particular tree but still could not see it. Anyway, I think it's pretty cool!

We have screech owls who nest in the woods beside the house in our nesting box or in a tree and we treat them like "they aren't there"... LOL as if we didn't spend LOTS of time watching them, esp when the babes fledge. But for the most part, I find whether it's owls, wrens, or something in between, just go about your normal routines and they will adapt accordingly (moving further away from the yard if that's their choice). I'd keep the cat inside "just in case" but don't think the kids will have any problems. Nice pic and aren't you lucky. We feel blessed when the larger owls come into the yard.