Sorry to hear about your leg, roberta. I hope the roo is leaving you alone. Does sound like he needs to be culled immediately, though. I've grown up/worked on many farms. I spent several years working for a local farmer who raised pork and butchered it for a local farmer's market every Saturday. I have to say that while I'm am reconciled to raising meat for consumption, it's never made it easier to kill the animals. I usually don't do that job. DH doesn't like it either, so last year and this we shipped our beef to the butcher live. Chickens I can do, but it's not enjoyable. I have hunted at various times with my Dad and DH. Shot a moose one year and immediately sat down beside it and cried. Sounds dumb, I know. The meat was wonderful and we shared it many other families, so that was my solace for killing a wild creature. The hardest job I ever had was in college: I worked in the Ag. College swine unit and was in charge of the maternity ward. Any baby piglets that were born deformed or were just sickly in general had to be disposed of - by me. I will never forget the first day my supervisor made me kill one of these babies. BUT it's all a part of farming. Sometimes it is the best or only option, even if it is hard. I've watched grown men and the vet cry while putting down a racehorse that's fallen and broken a leg in a crash. There is no shame in having a love for the animals we raise. I hope your DH will help you out with this. Just remember that you are doing what is best for yourself and your flock. Balsam

I don't know if the bio portion does any good in the winter. I think it's probably too cold for the bacteria to be doing any good. However, come spring, they are still there, and I introduce powdered bacteria to jump start the cycle. As for the filter, it must be doing something. I cleaned it in December when temps got into the 50's. It was pretty full of sludge, and the water clarity improved greatly after a cleaning. For winter '09, I think I will disconnect my filter though. Last year I didn't have a problem, but don't want to have any problems again. On a side note, I got some anti-choline stuff, and added it to my pond. Although I had only lost 1 GF, and 4 minnows, I didn't feel comfortable with untreated tap water in the pond. Unsure of how quickly it would have disappated in the cold with only a 5" hole to vent. It's now frozen over completly, so I'm glad I added it yesterday. Fish probably like the extra slime anyways.

Michelle, Your project sounds very interesting. I just moved from Orlando a year ago and now live in St. Augustine which is quite a respite from the hustle bustle of Orlando. I can't answer your question either but I do have a suggestion. The Crealde Art Center (Winter Park) just made a mosaiced wall in Winter Park with the assistance of many school children. You could probably contact them for some advise. I hope you will share your findings with us all because there are a few of us Floridians on this forum. Welcome!

Ok, here's a prelim pic of wallpaper vs. trim color and Lascatx is 100% right (duh!) about the 2 shades lighter or darker for trim! "Is there a "10 Commandments of Decorating" sticky anywhere on the site for feebs like me? Now, the trim color looks a lot lighter in the pic and kinda/sorta ok in the pic. In real life 'tho, it's bleh! 1 shade lighter. It needs to be Much. Darker. (I don't want white/off white trim 'cuz I think it would be too much contrast...'tho I have some downstairs, maybe I'll try it on some baseboard...)