Eric if the history of taxol is any indication then my point is valid regarding trying to patent a natural substance which leads me to believe the rules of the game are restrictive and favor synthetic drugs. The following is an excerpt from a Wikipedia article on taxol which shows even a pharmaceutical company has had numerous headaches with the process: While it seems clear the NCI had little choice but to seek a commercial partner, there was also controversy about the terms of the deal, eventually leading to a report by the General Accounting Office in 2003, which concluded the NIH had failed to ensure value for money.[52] In related CRADAs with the USDA and Department of the Interior, Bristol-Myers Squibb was given exclusive first refusal on all Federal supplies of Taxus brevifolia. This exclusive contract lead to some criticism for giving BMS a "cancer monopoly".[53] Eighteen months after the CRADA, BMS filed a new drug application (NDA), which was given FDA approval at the very end of 1992. [50] Although there was no patent on the compound, the provisions of the Waxman-Hatch Act gave Bristol-Myers Squibb five years exclusive marketing rights. In 1990, BMS applied to trademark the name taxol as Taxol(R). This was controversially approved in 1992. At the same time, paclitaxel replaced taxol as the generic (INN) name of the compound. Critics, including the journal Nature, argued the name taxol had been used for more than two decades and in more than 600 scientific articles and suggested the trademark should not have been awarded and the BMS should renounce its rights to it.

I'm usually comfortable with wild critters, but there was this one time... Much of the back yard at our previous house was sloped. There was a terraced path mid-slope, and I had a bluebird house attached to the fence post at about 5' high. Placement was such because it was a backup house, and I found it easier to store it there than in the garden shed. I liked to feed the birds, but the seed did tend to attract those big, ugly rats to the back area of the yard. One day, I saw a rat run into the birdhouse. In bright daylight, no less. I went over and angrily flipped open the hinged top, thinking it would run off along the top of the fence. Well, that isn't quite what happened next. That rat launched himself out of the birdhouse, and flew! My feet were frozen in place, but I arched my back and leaned my head and torso away from the airborne missile as it flew 12" in front of my face. My eyes were wide, but the pupils followed the movement as that rat landed 5 feet downslope--and was swallowed up by the sword ferns growing there. Yikes! There was no time to straighten up, because a few seconds later rat #2 flew out of the box in the same arc as the first one. I never screamed; the only thing that seemed to be working were my eyes and the count. Three. An involuntary shudder went down my arms about that time, but I was still firmly frozen in place. Number four allowed me to focus 15" in front of my nose as he flew out at a slightly different angle down the slope. There was a brief pause...and I smiled that miraculously none of them had landed on my body in their panic! I'd just begun to straighten when number five launch through the air..Ack!.. and soon, number six followed the first rat's route... I waited. And waited some more. Finally I straightened up and looked inside the birdhouse. Empty. WHEW! I have no idea how so many large rats fit inside that birdhouse--or even WHY they would all be smashed inside of there. That none of them ran out, and all jumped as if shot from a mini-canon from the interior shredded what I think of as typical rat behavior. It definitely goes down as one of the freakiest things I've ever experienced; Not sure if it qualifies more as a funny story or a nightmarish one. lol

I like the no diaper idea, but can't imagine it working on an infant. If I was a new stay at home mom I think I'd give it a try. My kids were potty trained quite young. I started on them around 1 year when the bottle went. I put them in big kids undies and on the real toilet seat sitting backward so they could hold on & see themselves eliminating. I did this anytime they ate or drank anything and every 45-60 minutes or if I noticed they stopped playing for a moment or or were "holding" their privates. We made a big deal about not going in the big kids undies. I can't imagine holding them over a sink to go, unless all toilets were in use, then maybe I would. I never encouraged them to go potty outside. I was babysittng my sons kids for 2 weeks and had my then 14 month old grandson going potty in the toilet during the day and waking up dry a couple nights. His parents came home, but didn't keep reminding him or encouraging him and put him back in diapers. Now he is 27 months and still in diapers. A couple weeks ago I was babysitting again for 4 days and had him going in the toilet and he was excited about it. I haven't asked if they've kept it up....don't think I'll like the answer. I have 2 fur babies that are 18 months & 20 months & they're still having accidents. Other dogs I've had thru out my life were potty trained in a few weeks. These 2 know better, but still go in the house sometimes in the same 3 places. Frustrates me to no end!

Interesting question about the windowboxes. I have windowboxes on the first and second floor of the roadside facade of our home, also under a bay window in our bedroom (north side). Those on the front are the same width as the windows, we used 2 boxes when there was a mullion to be considered. The front boxes are painted white to match the vinyl portion of the windows (Andersen "narrowline"), we don't have mouldings around the windows or shutters, those under the bay window are stained to match the body of the house and pergola. We opted for window width and white to give the front of an architecturally dull home a little zip. You might try mocking up the wider width on your home using a piece of cardboard that is the dept of the planned boxes. See what pleases you most. In your case I would probably make sure the window boxes were in keeping with the color of the body of the house. As for watering; I water the second floor boxes from the inside. I simply pop out the screens, perform the routine deadheading/"fussing", and water. I do this on average every 4-5 days in the warmest months, less frequently in the cooler ones. I feed the plants with every watering to keep them looking full and lush. It's about time for me to bring in enough geraniums to "keep us in flowers" throughout the winter months, and begin thinking about evergreens and Christmas lights... sigh.