If it were me, I'd move the sticks with the chrysalides on them to the reptile cage when it comes, assuming you're going to order one? Giant swallowtails, like tiger swallowtails, are big butterfliles, so they need plenty of space. You can prop the sticks up against the side of the cage or put something in the cage to prop them up against or put them in a water pick and attach the water pick to the inside of the cage with florist's wire. It really doesn't matter - the butterfly will find the side and/or top of the cage if given the opportunity. I just got another idea - you could insert the sticks into florist's foam. I think it's better for the chrysalides to be in their natural positions, which can be heads up or horizontal, just not heads down. When the butterfly emerges, it will crawl to the side or all the way to the top of the cage and hang there - it should stay there at LEAST four hours, preferably six hours or even more. If you see the butterfly flying around frantically, then you know it's time! You don't want a giant swallowtail to stay in their cage too long, especially the males, because they get so anxious to leave, I've seen them knock off the spoon shaped tails on the end of their wings - it's depressing to release a butterfly, already damaged! Butterflies like to be released to sunshine - they're supposed to be solar powered, which is why they bask - so if the day happens to be cloudy or rainy, the butterfly may prefer to "hang out" until the next day, which is fine, but by the next day, even if it's still cloudy, it'll want to leave. If you release your butterfly when it's well able to fly, the chances of it being taken by a predator are VERY slim. Hmmmm... I can't think of anything else. My fingers are tired! Good luck! Sherry

I've had this fight with laag at least 8 times over the past 10 years under my GW username (which is more of a pain to log in to, so I just use this one now). Honestly, his insistence on his way being the only possible right way is why I abandoned the forum several years ago. Anyway, I finally decided to hire a landscape architect for my yard because I now (for once in my life) have more money than time, and it's as much for the GCing as for the actual design! Interestingly, the first that came out agrees with me that in my suburban 2 acre property, almost-full street screening is desirable, appropriate, and attractive and, in fact, the best solution as it create magical-seeming garden rooms--and that garden rooms in the front of the property--in the front yard, basically--are also ideal. He also suggested that I get rid of all the smaller trees (most of which I had flagged for removal already) but retain the big ones--"big" being 50-100+ feet, mature trees in a final-stage, old-growth forest that wasn't removed when the house was built. He reacted with horror at the thought of removing any of them. I guess he's an ignorant hack. After all, he's only won 13 LCA Grand Awards and an APLD International Gold Award, as well as a number of other distinctions of regional, national, and international significance. Context is EVERYTHING. Location is EVERYTHING. YES, your property should be lovely from the street. There's more than one way to do that in some cases, though. And a screen with an invisible house CAN be inviting. It's been interesting talking to him because he said stuff I was already thinking most of the time and practically finished my sentences. Where he disagreed, though (and he did), he was absolutely right. Lol.

I've never been married. I'm 56 now, so I realize it's not going to be easy to find a partner. I dropped out of college in 1980 to take care of my grandmother who helped raise me. Then I became the caregiver for three other relatives in succession, the last was my father, so I didn't get out enough to meet many single men. I got back from Cache Creek casino sooner than expected. One of my cousins wasn't feeling well so we had to come home early. Now that I'm home, I'm feeling depressed, partly because I lost money, and didn't have time to win it back, but mostly because I miss my dad. I thought of how much more fun the trip would have been if he were with me. I remembered the time when we gambled all night together in Reno, when we both were much younger. We arrived home exhausted but happy. I wish we could have had more fun times like that. I thought about my dad on the long ride home and how the world seems so empty without him, even though there were crowds of people in the casino and on the roads and freeways. It's hard to believe I"ll ever feel better, but I know I'm feeling extra weary from lack of sleep. I couldn't sleep well last night, because I was crying so much, more than before. It's a different kind of exhaustion than the kind you get from having fun. I know that no one can take my dad's place, but it would be nice to have someone here to talk over the trip with and to just watch tv with at the end of the day. Thank you for the offer to message you, JoAnn. Feel free to message me anytime, too. Sending hugs and prayers, Gilda

Wow, first time in a long time, that scrolling through here, I see a room, I could actually live in, and feel comfortable in. Most are so absolutely dull and perfect, that having a cup of coffee in one of them, would make me very uncomfortable. I love your room. I do like the idea of the darker teal curtain panels, and I would look for a much lighter shade of that teal for the walls.