It's been a bit depressing here since yesterday. I tell myself not to get attached to the stray cats that are around the neighborhood, but to no avail. Thru a collaborative effort between neighbors here, we feed and nurture them as best we can. About 2 months ago, a brown and black tabby began showing up. A little shy at first, she soon warmed up to a gentle stroke with the hand and some food and water. She became a regular visitor, very sweet-natured, loved to be petted, with a ravenous appetite. I finally realized she was pregnant. She had her babies about a month ago, but we didn't have a clue where they were. Mother cats are very secretive about the location of their babies. Sunday, Kenna was here and decided she was going to make a little "home" for Lady George (so-called because she so closely resemble my George, an indoor-only cat. In fact, when we first saw her, I thought Kenna had accidentally let George out of the house, for which I had to quickly apologize when I realized it was a different cat entirely! Kenna's little home consisted of a simple cardboard box with low sides, a clean sheet folded up to fit, a very small teddy bear, and a couple of "Cat Fancy" magazines. Kenna followed her when she finished eating her food and found the kittens in the basement next door (door always left open). Armed with a flashlight, she discovered they were behind a couple of cememt blocks on a high shelf. I could only see 3, but she saw 4. She was so excited, even though I tried to lighten the enthusiasm by reminding her we would have to adopt them out; that Nannie could not have any more cats. She didn't show up on Monday for her regular feedings, so I wondered if she was okay. Trekking down the basement steps as an old woman with bad knees struggles with steps, I found her lying dead at the bottom of the shelves where her kittens were. Such a shock to me, I was more concerned about how I was going to handle this with Kenna. A friend and I went back over and we retrieved the kittens - there were 4 as Kenna said, two little black & brown tabbies like mom; 1 black and white tabby, with white boots, chest, and tummy, and 1 black with tiny hints of white. Cutest things you ever saw. They were hungry and a bit dehydrated, and about 4 weeks old. They didn't seem to be too frightened of us, but they must have been terrified. We checked them over and found they were all boys. Another neighbor friend is going to take them to her mother who lives on a farm, and take care of them until they are old enough to be allowed outside. Still......I miss my sweet little gardening companion lying close to me in the soft grass, sunning herself while I worked. I have got to stop caring about these strays because I get too attached to them, and their outlook for the future is mostly grim. We had planned to take her to a no-kill animal shelter as soon as the kittens were weaned so we had good intentions for her future. So, we'll raise some Sleepy Oranges in her honor. Sorry for hijacking the thread. Susan

"You mean to say that the majority of the fungus/fungi is underground and is even bigger?? That's just crazy, but I don't know much about mushrooms so I'll take your word for it! :) So now what do I do, just let them grow? Will they just wither away once the heat of summer comes around (another two months in these parts) and disintegrate into nothingness?" Yes, the mushrooms that you see are, as was mentioned, just the sexual apparatus of the fungus. The mycelium underground is the "tree," and the mushrooms are the "apples." Yep, they'll not last long, probably. It's just a situation where conditions were right for "fruiting." Some types of mushroom producing fungus will fruit particularly heavily if their mycelium is disturbed in some way.

Hey- Your not the only one to fall for it... Ya you can toss the co2 setup. Make some holes in the top- 1" or so.. Larger if you don't have small critters (ferrets) who might like to climb in there & "help". Just put the lights outside the box so it doesn't get too hot inside. They'll help heat the box anyway.. So I wouldn't worry too much about what the temp is inside. Too hot = bad, too cold.. Not so much. I have a little temp / humidity station I put in mine just to check. Welcome-

Thanks boxerpups! I saw your post on inspiration kitchens, some beautiful white ones I loved looking at. You either love them or hate them, huh? Definitely two camps there! I will have to give the credit of raising the ceiling to my DH and DS. The original ceiling height was 7 feet and both my guys are 6'3"... haha. It was always like being in a dark cave in there. They love, love, love the new normal height and it was our biggest motivation to remodel. Thanks for the Iron vote.... more votes for my side!! I'll pass it on to DH :) Hi bestyears! You are very welcome, although I need to Thank YOU for asking. The positive response here has pretty much erased my panic attack from Mon night :) You have the same cabinets?? Don't you think they look better painted? DH REALLY hated the idea of me painting his precious solid oak cabinets and I worried so much about having them ruined. He actually loves them, thank goodness. I can't wait to see your progress! I'll be posting some tomorrow of my granite installed for pattyk_64 since it's one of her choices what I got.