Mike, nice tree..do you know its age? Andrew, I agree with you, but I have to add, I don't care for 4Winds trees either..lol. I wish you were around before Fl citrus ban. I shopped at Briteleaf and Harris Citrus..They'd send 3', not 3", but 3' + citrus trees..10.00-15.00 each..Shipping was 10 per tree or 15.00 for two. All but 2 of my citrus are from both nurseries..I pray the ban ends, so I can add a more citrus..lol. The reason I don't like 4Winds is..'this was before I heard of briteleaf and harris,' I ordered 3 or 4 citrus from 4Winds..they came shipped in a small box..I open the box..What I received were sticks..lol..leafless, EXPENSIVE sticks. The citrus were shipped bare-root..I did everything possible..placed in water a couple hours, then potted in proper soil..Waited..none lived..the wood was dead. BTW, I foolishly ordered a second time..1-yr-old trees..Same condition..they all died. I now realize what happened..I ordered the 1-yr-old citrus..3-yr-old, 'a LOT more money,' are healthier specimens..But I wasn't about to spent 100.00, whatever they charged, per plant. I really don't remember their prices..this happened 2000-2001. I really should have contacted 4-Winds, but at the time I was a frightened girl..lol..now, I'd be on the phone in a jiffy. Now for Logees..In 1995, I was a regular Logees customer..plants were shipped in 4" pots, not 2.5..they were much larger..shipping was always on the high side, but I figured, they had plants I couldn't find elsewhere, so why not..I think shipping 1-7 plants, remember the plants were in 4" pots, were either 7.00 or 11.00, etc. Then around 2002/3, Logee's changed..I was informed plants in 4" pots would now be sent in 2.5". Prices increased and shipping cost more for the same number of plants than they did w/2.5"!!! Doesn't make sense. To top that off, they started sending really small, twig-like plants..I ordered a variegated lemon..ha, what a joke..I received a 2-3" twig..it died within the wk..sure didn't resemble the picture in Logee's catalog..lol.. I ordered a Copper plant..once again, the plant was half dead..This time I did call..They apologized, and sent a beautiful replacement..Why did they not send a healthy plant in the first place? That was the last time I ordered from Logee's.. Their Customer Service Reps are wonderful, pleasant people. Before the net, I'd phoned-in orders..the reps were nice and patient. But talking to a nice person opposed to 'buying' nice plants and talking to a crab-a$$, lol, well, I'd prefer the crab and get something nice. I'm really sorry Logee's changed..they had great varieties, but since the internet, I discovered I could get the same rarieties, 3-4 times larger at less cost, including shipping charges. I guess if you visit Logee's as a walk-in, plants will be larger, but so will prices..lol.. One day Fl's ban will end,...I hope..lol..Toni

terrene, what is your recipe for your suet log? Where did you get the log? Did you make it? I am wanting to provide some food for BBs but haven't found the best way to provide it. I am not wanting to get into mealworms since we have tons of natural insects in our area. I am in North Texas...we have BBs all year long. Last season I had one of my boxes claimed by chickadees & then the BBs took it over before the chickadees laid their eggs. I have 3 boxes up in different areas of my yard because I also have titmice that use them. I am planning to put up 2 other houses in my neighbor's yards so I can have the boxes at least 100 yards apart. I had only the one nest last year that I didn't have enough of a snake guard on it & before I realized it...4 of the five BB babies were eaten. I was so UPSET. It probably was the same rat snake that ate a nest of mockers in my front holly bush! I was SICK! This winter I am putting up 5 ft PVC slicked & tons of netting to prevent this from happening again! I am planting elderberries for them as well as some other native berry plants for the winter. They start their first nesting here usually in January or February. We usually have 4-5 broods a season. I'm hoping to get more nesters once I have more boxes up in the proper locations. I also have a lot of trees in a dry creek bed & I have lots of woodpeckers & holes that some of the BBs probably use. We have both wooded areas & open fields in the area I live so there are a ton of BBs. I have never had them come to my birdbathes because of all the tanks for livestock in our area. We are in a suburb that still has lots of farming & ranching going on. Lots of cows, goats, & horses in our area. I also have housing up for martins but haven't been successful in attracting them yet. This will be my 7th season for trying. One year, I think I had a very aggressive male BB that used my martin housing & perches to hunt from! I blamed him that year for scaring any potential martins away. I am hoping this spring will be both blue & purple!!! LOL I gave up last summer & started focusing on butterfly gardening. So now I'm not only a "BIRD" nut but also a butterfly nut! I raised a dozen monarches & 6 Black swallowtails & have at least 5 crysalises left that will hopefully wait until spring to eclose! I lost one last week that's wings didn't open & it died. :o( I have used sialis to get lots of info from! It is the best for BBs I have found! Luck to all BB'ers!!! ;o)

I forgot about spoolies! My mom forced me to sleep in those rollers that were like bottle brushes. She used them too. Don't forget the awfulness of being forced to get a Tonette perm. How could anyone put a child through that?!? I always thought I was going to succumb to the fumes and vomit. The pink tape was marketed around the time women stopped curling their hair preferring straight or straighter styles. It kept bangs from drying into little 'poufs' and made those little spit curls that were worn in front of the ears. The last time I went for a hair cut I went to a hair and cosmotology school. I was so surprised to see ALL of the students and the receptionists wearing roller sets instead of straight bobs that are so popular now. I guess that is going to be the new thing with younger gals? Or maybe I just happened to be there on the week they were learning and practicing how to roll hair? I actually liked the look they were all sporting. It sort of looked like 'Little Orphan Annie' or like an Afro with some larger lumpy curls set into it. I can't imagine how much time these do's took to achieve or how they would hold up to everyday wear.

For too long. I have very thick, coarse hair with a natural curly/wave. I don't suit it very short - besides, I would need to have it cut every week - it grows like a weed. I greyed in my 20s and am now 63. The grey is iron grey and my complexion is yellow - but this is not apparent until someone holds certain colours against me - then it sure is. And of course my natural hair colour was auburn - I am of Irish heritage. Only colour that suits me - I have tried on wigs in other colours - awful. And red fades. I have my hair cut in layers and keep it a few inches below my ears (when my hair dries after being wet it curls "up" so I need to makes sure that I still have those few inches to peak out from under my hat - and I always wear a hat - red fades). It is very expensive to have it coloured in Toronto - and I do not have highlights - hair is so coarse it appears to be highlighted anyway. I do try and extend the colouring by wearing said hats and basically have it done every 8 weeks - unless I am going somewhere say at week 5 where I have to take my hat off. Not everyone can cut my type of hair. Unfortunately the best colour for me is Goldwell - not cheap. I recently (due to a funeral) had to go to a different salon since my colourist does not work certain days of the week. They used L'Oreal Professsional - which is a good colour product, but apparently I am now allergic to the current formulation. Wonderful. And to think I used to do it myself before the colour was d/c'd. And of course with so much grey now I would not want that tell-tale 2 inch patch of off-colour auburn. I do use a curl enhancement product - but it is hard to find one that is not for fine, thick hair. I need strength in the product.