My cat jumpedand grabbed a humming bird right out of the honey suckle tree today and ran up to me with it in it's mouth! I just had to pet him to be honest. I think it was probably healthier than the tyson chicken leg he had been gnawing on, that came from the most awful and cruel living conditions. Let's change our habits before we start messing with cats, who I remind you, are obligate carnivores. My cat eats moths, butterflies, doves, and hummingbirds on ocassion; but he's usually content with the trout, chicken, cornish hens, and mackerel. Luckily, i have a yard that's just full of beautiful hummingbirds and I love to watch them too, although they are super territorial and seem kind of mean. But I can't deny that I'm happy to see my cat get enjoyment out of hunting those little guys. If he didn't eat them, I'd be upset because it would be a waste of their little lives. Bon apetit! Here is a link that might be useful: Raw Diet

When we first moved here, I wanted to "save" every bird and critter that needed help, and quickly learned no one else around here was as worried about the wild things as I was. Our first year, a big owl crashed THROUGH the fiberglass skylite panel on the roof of the chicken coop. He cut his head and hurt a wing. I called all over southern Oklahoma and no one (least of all the local Fish and Wildlife people) were interested in helping that owl. I was crushed. Finally, we moved him to an adjacent small guinea coop/pen and put the guineas in with the chickens. We left the door open, and he finally flew away on his own after several days. I refused to catch mice for him, so he had to live on canned cat food for those few days. I guess if you live in an area where wildlife is very abundant, people don't get as excited about one injured bird. If blue jays are engangered, you can't tell it here! We probably are overpopulated with birds, though, because we put out food for them and have a constant water source. I HAVE noticed that there are more birds than usual hanging out around the garden and eating bugs in the garden. Birds are a terrific method of pest control, so I encourage them in every way possible. We ALWAYS have a pair of owls who stay together all the time and hunt together. One is a really big barn owl, and we call him Hooty. The other is a little screech owl, obviously named Screechy. You never see one without the other, which is fascinating. They've been here as long as we have. I don't know if the current Hooty and Screechy pair are the actual same Hooty and Screechy pair that we first saw in 1999. I think it is an odd pairing. I feel sorry for them....the crows harass them relentlessly and try to run them off. Our owls are mostly out at night, but every now and then I see them out late in the morning. For all the birds we have coming to the feeders, predator birds do not come into the yard much. Maybe the cats and dogs help keep them away? Oh, and the Purple Martins also like to chase off other birds attempting to "hunt" in their territory too. Dawn

Hello everyone!!! Hi Greg!!! I have always enjoyed taking pics...I would love to take a class sometime...but I just love looking at things from a different angle!!! I really miss the old cameras...35mm where I could manually work the camera..I do love the digital cameras..but I feel that I had more control from the old timers!!! "trying not to show my age!!!" LOL... Jim..I would love to see pics of those icicles...I find them quite fascinating...I especially love the ice covered tree too! There is a pic when I sign onto the photobucket page...there is an ice covered tree that look like yours..check it out!!! It;s a beauty...but yours was more massive than this one... ncpalm...I wish that it will be 2 months...more like 3 for us...The sabals are very hardy!!! But I'm not going to take a chance on the weight on the fronds...My hubby helps alot...when he needs help tying up the boat during hurricanes...I don't complain...because I know that he will help and paybacks are great!!! LOL... Take care everyone...Happy New Year!!! Laura in VB

Racoons are pretty good climbers. We had something raiding the snack bar on the seventh floor of the federal office building I work in in downtown Washington, D.C. They eventually found out the culprit was a racoon. It was climbing through a window people left open. Richard