While I think that the "FAQ" as outlined by swanoir was presented tongue in cheek ('the humus'), many of the subsequent comments and/or links to threads that could/should be included in a FAQ were presented in a more serious tone. And maybe they do make sense as a foundation to a real LD forum FAQ. But I've also sensed something else in these comments that may contribute to the apparent lack of communication between new posters seeking advice and those that regularly frequent this forum and offer it. And that is that the long checklist provided by Miss R must be (or should be) answered in detail before posting. Well, of course not! But it is definitely something worth reviewing and giving some thought to. This checklist, or something very similar, is what most designers utilize when first meeting with a prospective client. It gives them a feeling for what the client wants to do with the property, how they intend to use it, what they hope to get out of it and how much effort (time/$$) are they are intending to put into it. Hopefully, reviewing an outline or checklist such as this could help to refine and focus some of those blank slate questions and even educate those new posters totally unfamiliar with the process the degree of complexity, the number of variables and exactly what is involved in the formulation of a landscape design. Even DIY landscape texts intended for the homeowner with no previous design or landscaping experience offer similar checklists to get one started thinking about the process. Obviously, this is overkill for those questions that are more issue-specific, but I think very appropriate for those that are much broader and far less focused.

woodswatcher: Although I claim to be no Barred Owl authority, I have observed them from near and far, for many years. I have called them up (with a Barred Owl call) while fully camoed in the early Spring, and had them land on limbs right in front of me. Twice in my life, I have called one up, while camoed and unseen by the owl--which confused him and got him calling and looking. A female came to his call, and the two mated on a limb right in front of me! I tried to nurse a Barred Owl with a broken limb (in my bathtub with the shower curtain drawn), but he kept pecking off the splint I so laboriously taped on his wing-bone, and it never healed. I used to go out in the country, and shoot into a flock of Starlings with a shotgun, and take the 5 or 6 home for owl feeders, that were wounded (generally broken wings) but still alive. I'd throw one in the tub, and draw the shower curtain, and later when the lights were out, I'd hear the Starling shriek as he was caught by the owl, and dispatched. (This, MANY years ago.) I've seen Barred Owls hunt in the daytime, when Winters were terrible, with snow 3' deep for months. Prey birds and animals died of starvation, or were underneath the snow, and Barred Owls were starving. In such disastrous periods, they hunt by day (and probably night, also). But I must say, I've never seen a healthy Barred Owl hopping around as you describe. Someone who studies Barred Owls exclusively would know WORLDS more about them then I. Just thought I'd check in because I know a bit about them, and have never seen such behavior. But I don't know enough about them to know if they go through a molt, which might incapacitate them as you mentioned. And, your thought about the owl being struck by a car is a very reasonable scenario, also. Where's a Barred Owl expert when you need one?

I have posted this link before, to Pete Wells' hysterically funny "Nibbled to Death" column in the NY Times (he's their primary food critic). What you won't find in the original article is the followup he did a couple of weeks later, saying that he had never had such a heavy and overwhelmingly positive response from readers. There were 248 Comments. I read most, not all of them. The following are the ones I found the funniest: Reader comments to Wells' column: - "Rodger Lodger" A couple of years ago I ate Per Se's tasting menu. I recommend it as a technique to get Guantanmo detainees to talk. - "TonyaNew York" I went to Atera and this is my yelp review: I feel like all the people who like Atera are the same people who saw "The Master" and pretend like it was a good movie. It's pretty to look at and you go in not knowing what to expect, but with high expectations. However, in the end it's boring and you have no idea what the last 2.5 hours were really about. Then you try to make sense of it all, try to interpret what it all meant (because there must be a reason everyone likes it) and finally give up because you realize nothing is wrong with you, and that when it comes down to it, it just sucked. The service was awesome and the space was fun and the courses were plenty. But the food was not good. There is nothing enjoyable in eating what seems to be the contaminants of the soil in your garden. I felt like we were on candid camera and any minute someone was going to come out and say JUST KIDDING !! Don't eat that dirt, you silly goose. - "CAS115" Thank you for this! I recently had a celebratory dinner - a tasting menu, of course- at one of these restaurants, where my partner and I found that we did not get to talk to each other for more than 5 minutes at a time until the end of a 2-hour meal. We were constantly interrupted by a phalanx of servers who were intent on explaining our meal to us, negotiating complex serving rituals, making sure our table always looked immaculate, and asking us how it was. The food was great, the service impeccable. But the dominance of the food and service sadly made us feel like we, as people, and our desire to connect to each other, were unimportant. It was more like attending a performance than sharing a good meal with someone you love. - "Jen in Astoria" I've had the good fortune to have many different tasting menus at some very good places in NYC, including Aureole, Del Posto and WD-50 (all for very special occasions). However, I agree with the general tone of the article. These tend to be REALLY expensive, and at the end of the night you have no recollection of what the standout items were. I see these adventures as just that--an adventure not a meal. At least at Del Posto, I was full afterwards. While the tasting menu at WD-50 was fun--along with the backstage tour that Wylie Dufresne generously gave my group--I admit that after our dinner party broke up, I slunk off into the bowels of the Lower East Side for noodles because I was starving and tipsy (the wine pours were generous but the portions were not). The tasting menu at Aureole was "just right," I wonder if it still is (did that back in 1996). What made it work? It was really more of an extended meal and not a "teeny tiny eensy beensy 247 "stains and crumbs" on 247 plates" affair. If I recall correctly, it was 8 or so plates paired with 4 wines (split into bunchings of 2), and a dessert trolley with just-right-sized dainties to go with an espresso. There was no time limit or other obnoxiousness, and the service was the best I've ever encountered before or since. Let me also add that someone else has always paid for these tasting menus, which perhaps takes some of the sting out of the experience and expectations. - "Nomadsheart" Reading Mr. Wells' comments, I wholeheartedly agree. Chef's tastings have run amok. Chefs are too willing to create the obscure and the wonderously beautiful at the expense of the diner. I am of the school in which the meal is about the diner and not about the chef. A tasting meal has indeed become an endurance test; if there were a German word for this, it would be "Makenziebutthürten", which indeed it does. A great meal is a combination memories of conversation, friends, location and food; tasting menus are more often about worshiping the craftsmanship of the chef. I have indeed experienced a moment at Daniel's in NYC (years ago) at which Daniel himself came to my table and asked me what I would like to have and how much time I had. It felt as if he cooked for my pleasure and it made him happy. We had a true tasting - 15 courses - that felt like a wonderful afternoon with a friend avoiding a blizzard outside. His hospitality and the graciousness of the moment linger with me; the courses do not. Dining should not be about the "experience", just as wine should not be about drinking "only Parker's 90+s". Let's put the joy back in our food and remove the collective mentality of Chef Trophy Hunting. - "Beatrice" I worked in fine dining restaurants for 8 years, and I worked for some of the management groups mentioned in the above article. Let me tell you - the food in those restaurants is no better than a great, reasonably priced ala carte restaurant. What you PAY for in those restaurants is the precision in the execution of the food - which is unrelated to the actual flavor of each component. If your basil is a perfect half-inch chiffonade, it doesn't actually TASTE better, but it is more precise. Ultimately, if you're looking for a sky-diving equivalent to eating (essentially eating as novelty) then you HAVE to remove the actual element of expecting to be full. No one sky-dives and expects feel rested when they get to the bottom - the point is to THRILL. Go ahead with the tasting menus - but remember that they aren't there to make you full, and the food isn't actually any better. It is more precise, it's there to amuse, to THRILL and for it to be an unusual once-in-a-lifetime experience. It's unfortunate that we may be losing great ala carte meals to this profit-driven trend of creating tasting-menu only restaurants. But as all things - this trend too will pass. - "moretolifethanfoodearth" No problem. The rest of us can eat cake. Here is a link that might be useful: Pete Wells: Nibbled to Death

I’m so enjoying this thread, Ida! Here’s a few more of my own local wild things. “Our” Bear who visited us pretty much every night and some days, as well: We seem to have quite a few Bobcats around here. I took this pic of one right on the other side of my walled garden: Anothe pic of me petting my favorite wild filly in my back “yard”. The rest of her herd was right there with her, some you can see in this pic, the rest were there too, though. The “baby” Bull snake that accidentally got into our house. His mama is 5 1/2 feet long and lives under our wood rack. DH caught this baby and released it outside. One of the beautiful Mule Deer that visit my bird baths nightly for a drink. I snapped this pic of one in my back “yard” at dusk. And, our Horned Toads: