Elkay..You furry, feathered and finny friends are exceptional. Their history is so sad. While reading your post, I felt like crying. Terribly depressing. People can be so damn cruel. Thankfully, they now have a happy, secure home with loving parents. In pic one, Kodi's eyes look blue. Are they? It's sad hearing shelters are over-crowded. For those who can't afford it, there are places where spaying and neutering is done by how much a person makes. Lower income families, etc. The woman who dropped Kodi off is a horrible person. Too bad stricter laws aren't made for people like her. She and other monsters should not be able to buy/adopt any pet. If they do, the pet should be taken w/o legal BS, and she should be fined. A steep fine. If the fine can't be paid, 'and since jails are crowded,' she should, at the minimum, be ordered to complete several hours of community service. If it was up to me, she'd be chained to a pole, given stale bread and dirty water, three times a day. Your Conure is a beauty. Yes, they're talkers, but need to be talked to daily. Repeated words, then phrases. They're tinny voice is so cute. Conures playful and acrobatic. Little clowns. Do you clip his wings? Although he's older, if you clip, then sit down and talk/play with him on a daily basis, he still might talk. Birds listen and watch their parents/us. You'd be suprised what they'll repeat. So, watch your language. lol. Love your blue Betta..Aren't they the best? Purple...so is the Dane in the picture your dog? I love Danes. Do you know his weight. Funny story about your gate. lol. You've got some intelligent canines in your neighborhood. Don't get upset, they only want to play. :) Rachel..Another cutie. Bogie sees something out the window he wants to play with..Whatever, he's interested and very curious. :) Larry. At first glance I thought they were twins..Beautiful colors. Think they enjoy having their pictures taken. Asleep. Pets are enigmas for sure. Do you have sand or gravel in the tank? I used to breed Bettas, among other fish. They'd dig gravel, like dogs dig garden soil. I've seen Betta's digging, but they never hid underneath. How long was he gone? Sheesh, I'd have assumed he jumped out of the tank. lol. My photos are stored on Flickr. Flickr changed format, so I don't know if I can dl pics here. Wish they'd let sites be. Toni

Congrats on your organic yard! If you are looking to kill them directly you have several options. Dr. Bronners Peppermint Soap: a cap-full per quart of water sprayed directly on them will kill them. Coconut oil will suffocate them and peppermint oil will also kill them. As a deterrent, you can use garlic oil around the nest/hive (not sure what the proper term is) to 'try' to keep them from coming back. Add a few drops to water. Use this sparingly as all insects are deterred by garlic. Your concern about the use of boric acid around your pets is justified. It should not be used where there is a chance of ingestion by animals. I'm sure you're aware that you should use these in a small area only when necessary and not as a broad spectrum or you may end up driving the beneficials away as well. Hope this helps.

"My birds used to eat seeds so no taste test there but now they eat pellets and those taste alright. It's hard to go wrong when they're organic. (Harrison's by the way is a great brand. No questions asked, the best." Harrison's is good. I feed my birds pellets as well as seed, fresh fruits/veg, bread, etc. I read somewhere that when you are buying bulk seed for birds, its good to fill the bag up a little way and then smell it before adding more to see if its ok. Sometimes seed can be old or rancid and the bird's owner isn't aware of this. They don't know why their birds refuse it. Thats why it pays to offer them at least two different kinds in case one type has a problem.

TB151 posted some slabs the other day. The post is three or four pages down. It's called something like went for templating and walked out with super wite. Do a shout out to him/her.