kippy... A bear ate a friend's chickens for lunch. He just reared up and leaned on the chain link fence and he had full access. The proposed wolf program would reimburse ranchers for lost stock, so they are not opposing the introduction of wolves because the elk herds are getting too large. The elk get into orchards by leaning on the fences, too. You really don't need to be afraid of being sprayed by skunks. I had them in my back yard for years, until the fox arrived, and they would pretty much go about their business even when I talked to them. Of course, no sudden moves on my part. Even my cat got along with them. The funniest sight was seeing three skunks going up the stairs to the upper slope of my property and Scamp was fourth in line. No, he did not come back smelling of skunk. That said, since they are wild animals, there is probably a skunk out there that will prove me wrong ... lol However, the bears are a huge problem. In our county, we have the largest black bear population in the state. The cougars that come to town are very young or old and are not efficient hunters. They come after the tame deer. However, if they are hungry enough, anything is fair game. Wild animals don't have a concept of food chains. They do what works to stay alive. Smiles, Lyn

Cat Deterrents for your Garden: Keep in mind that each cat is different (like people), a deterrent that works for one may not necessarily work for another. On the plus side, most cats will keep pesty squirrels, moles and other critters out of your garden. They're great for keeping out moles, rabbits, squirrels, and other critters which can do more damage in your garden than a cat ever will. If the cats have owners, talk to them without being confrontational. The cat owner who allows his cat to damage other peoples' property is as guilty as the cat hater who kills the cat for trespassing. Remember, cats will be cats, and it is unfair of us to blame them for being what they are and how nature intended them to participate in this world.� After-all, we praise them when they catch mice or rats or other creatures we deem to be 'pests'. * amonia soaked (corncobs, etc) * aluminum foil * bamboo skewers * black pepper * blood meal fertilizer * bramble cuttings * Carefresh - "recycled" wood pulp * catnip - donated into your neighbor's yards (so they'll stay in their own yards) * cedar compost * chicken wire (metal or plastic) * cinnamon * citrus peels * citrus spray * cocoa bean shells * coffee grounds -fresh & unbrewed, not just a light sprinkling (highly recommended by MANY Gardenwebbers!) * dogs * electric fence for animals * essence of orange. essence of lemon, lime (citrus essential oils) * fresh manure(ditto) * garlic cloves * gumballs from the Sweet Gum Tree * gutter covers * hardware cloth * heavy bark mulch * holly leaves * keep the area damp, they like dry soil * lavender * liquid manure (good for your garden too) * motion sensor sprinkler * pennyroyal * pinecones * pipe tobacco * plastic forks * predator urine * red wine vinegar * river rocks over the exposed soil * rocks, crushed * rose bush clippings * rue, an herb (Ruta graveolens) (highly recommended in plant form only) * short twigs throughout the planted area about 6" apart * six-inch bamboo skewers (pointy side up) * Spray on your leaves (not the cat): fill a spray bottle with 1/2 t chili powder, 1/2 t cayenne pepper, 1 t dish soap and water * squirt gun with water * talk to your neighbors * tansy * thorny berry, lilac, hawthorn, rose clippings * toothpicks * upside down vinyl carpet * vinegar sprayed on areas where they roam * water bottle on "stream" NOT RECOMMENDED: *** chili powder, red crushed pepper, cayenne pepper (NOT recommended), it gets on the cat's paws then they wash themselves and they get it in their eyes, beware cats have literally scratched their eyes out because of this. Even if it's one cat out of 500 infected in this way, that's one too many for me. *** Don't ever use mothballs or flakes. Those little toxic waste pellets destroy cats' kidney function, could seriously harm people who handle them, and yes, contaminate your own garden soil. Their packaging even warns against using them this way. Give them their own areas: (To keep them out of where you don't want them) (If you don't mind them protecting your garden from other critters) + pick the cat up and bring it to eye level with the plant to see and smell it up close. She noted that once her cat has seen and sniffed at the plant, she usually doesn't bother with it later. + give them their own plants - i.e., pots of grass for her to chew on and a place in a large planted container on her balcony with some miscanthus grass in it (the cat likes to curl up in that for some reason) + if the cats are strictly indoors and attracted to your houseplants, grow catgrass for them. If someone forced you to remain inside one enclosed structure all your life, you might be attracted to the plants too. + Barley Grass + Any type of "catgrass" from the pet store + Carex elata 'Bolwes Golden' but put it in some shade + Catmint Nepeta mussinicultivars (Simply put, Catmints are Catnips without any culinary or feline use. In any case, they are, however, phenomenal, long flowering, hardy perennials that belong in every fairie or flower garden.) + Catnip Nepeta cataria (in your own yard) The oils of which also work as a mosquito repellent that works 10 times better than Deet! Catmint is the common name for all varieties of Nepeta. Catnip is the common name for the specific variety of Nepeta called nepeta cataria, which is the variety that cats are most attracted to. + Cat Thyme (Teucrium marum) + Flax + Oat Grass + Jacob's Ladder + Lemon Grass + Loose soil and mulch like small bark mulch + Mints + Purple Fountain Grass so the cat lays in the long leaves all day. Maybe put something in that the cats really like and - you know cats won't winky were they like to hang out. + Sandy area + Silver vine (Actinidia polygama) + Striped Ribbon Grass (can be invasive) + Sweet grass + Trificum aestivum (type of cat grass) + Various Varieties of Cat Mints (Catnips) + Wheat Grass + Wheat Berries + Valerian This list compiled by Violet_Z6, email at violet_z6@yahoo.com for comments and suggestions regarding this list.

I have a 1 1/2 story ~1250sf house built in 1900 and I really like the room sizes; the living room is 12x16 (with two doors kittycorner to each other to disrupt the layout), and PO knocked out the wall between the kitchen and dining room to make one 22x16 room which I look forward to completely redesigning someday. There's a maddeningly inefficient mudroom with a half bath and laundry and two exterior doors and the door to the kitchen all crammed into a 12x12 space with virtually no storage options. We can have several people over without feeling squished (at least when it's appropriately furnished) but at the same time when it's just the two of us we're not rattling around which is my frequent objection to very large rooms. I think "flow" can be overrated; I'm looking forward to when the house is all decorated so that each room is another surprise. Our previous house was an open-plan type and it was a bear to heat compared to this one. Here we can close the doors to the room we're in, turn down the heat to the rest of the house and fire up the tiny space heater to keep that room nice and toasty. Actually our master bedroom is too big IMO at 12x16-ish, there's wasted space I can't do a darn thing with because there is only one furniture arrangement that doesn't block the one small heat register off which will be very expensive to move. :-( I wouldn't mind a bit if it were 12x12 like in our previous house, I really liked having a nice cozy nest for a bedroom. All the upstairs rooms have those slanted ceilings which can make furniture placement a little tricky; the highest parts are 8' and drop down to just under 4'. Thankfully neither of us is terribly tall! Storage is a wee bit of an issue because the dirt-and-stone cellar is quite nasty and once we insulate it we won't really be able to store anything in the tiny attic either, but at the same time it's given us incentive to get rid of stuff we don't absolutely need. I do REALLY miss my oversized 2-car garage and dry, clean basement but such is life. Val, check out the "bathrooms off kitchens" thread over on the Old House forum. You'll see that it's actually pretty common and most people find it easy to get used to. (Never fazed me at all because I grew up with such things - it's very common in old houses because it kept all the plumbing in one place.)

Thank you for sharing the pictures of your adorable grands. I too, thought that one with the bubbles looked professional. Who took it? As precious as they are, I'm sure the quiet of this day is refreshing. It's hard to believe it is already time for your DD to go back to work. The time goes by much too fast.