Hi Mike: My pond never froze over either. I, too, had a solar pond cover on mine which the wind blew off because it never had a chance to freeze to the surface of the pond. I did a walk around this week and scared five to six frogs in my top pond. When I cleaned my settlement pond last fall I had to put over 100 taddies in a pail till I was done. I got so tired of removing them I left about a foot of silt in the bottom of the pond. I may end up moving out so the frogs can stay. lol My fish are up and begging for food, but I haven't fed them yet. There is lots of algae for them to graze on right now. Oh yes, and there are the things you hoped wouldn't live though the winter: like the darn pennywort I put in the pond last year that took over the whole surface. It's sprouting from under the rocks surrounding the pond. I think I'm sorry I ever put it in the pond. It took me 3-4 hours to clear the surface of the pond last fall. I had to cut through the stuff with a hacksaw blade. All my marginals are growing and need to be divided. My whole top pond is covered in duckweed. My lotus plant that I overwintered in the house (which I thought had died) is now sprouting since I moved it outside. I have got my work cut out for me though. I have to totally rebuild my top pond due to erosion. But it looks like Spring has spring. Ponders, start your pumps!!!!!!!!!!! Jenny

black oil sunflower seeds probably attract more birds than any other feed. you can use a tube feeder or a mesh wire feeder or even a hopper feeder. Suet is a great treat in winter but some birds eat it year around. you can use a suet cage and buy suet cakes or make your own suet mix. there are lots of old posts on here making suet. if you like doves and juncos and other ground feeders the seed mixes with cracked corn ot millet do good but they also attract blackbirds and starlings and cowbirds which lots of people don't want around. the summer song birds such as tanagers and orioles and grosbeaks like fruit or berrys or drink from necter feeders. or plants with berrys or blooms and blossoms. the woodpeckers i get here love nuts and suet and cracked corn and millet. robins and bluebirds like mealworms or grubs or earthworms the tits and chickadees and nuthatches like suet or hulled sunflowers or boss or nuts.

I read that you had your furnace fixed. For future reference, if your furnace is gas - and is - for the sake of argument - 5 years old or thereabouts, there is a sensor in the furnace that accumulates dust/dirt and that must be cleaned by a technician. This happens despite annual cleanings of the furnace. The first time it happened to us we thought we had switched on the air conditioning. The repair man told us it is a problem with all of the newer furnaces. The fast, but temporary fix, is to turn the thermostat all the way down - and then back up high again - but not to turn the furnace on. But you only get so many successful heat returns this way. This has happened to us twice - and to many others this year in the Toronto area - all with furnaces about our "age". Three weeks ago we thought it was happening again and I was up all night doing the turn down/turn up bit because it was freezing cold here and I was concerned about the pipes. The service man came, but of course just after I had finally got the down/up working again - but while he saw a bit of build-up on the sensor he didn't think that was the problem. He showed us a small, rather opaque looking circle on the furnace and told us that when it happened again, to start counting the flashes - and keep note of the times it happened - also if the flashes were say 9 fast, 3 slow etc. So we did this for 2 days and finally the down and up wouldn't work. They sent a senior fellow with a new electrical board who said that it was unusual for this part to go on a furnace not quite 5. The part cost Cdn. $400 but was covered under warranty. We have a maintenance agreement with our gas provider for repairs only - but come Feb. 10 when furnace turns 5, warranty will expire. Feb. 9 we are switching back to maintenance PLUS - for the parts. I am watching the furnace carefully though because other people have had their electrical boards go this winter too - all on furnaces of our vintage - plus other parts as well - one person has had 2 replaced. One lady asked what had happened to furnaces that lasted 25 years - obviously a "young" person. In our old house, building in 1932, the oil furnace was still going strong in 2000. The gas furnace that was in our current house lasted 17 years (which we were told was now considered normal) - so it was about 7 when we moved in. I wonder if the current one will last 10. The air conditioner had to be replaced in spring 2007 - and replaced with a 14 Seer. People were making jokes as they passed by our small bungalow with the super giant 14 Seer in front of it. Well, they aren't laughing now, as many people on the street have had to have their units replaced. I hope that you don't have any further furnace problems.

hahahaha dotz!!!! I got that word from my mother. My housedresses are old sundresses, (some of them over 15 years old) so they're a little short or holey or inappropriate in some other way. When I get home from work, I'll throw one on to do housework. I ended up missing the exit off the freeway for the butcher so went to Costco anyway. And it wasn't busy. And it wasn't hot. And I forgot DD had an after school activity at school, so I had an extra 45 minutes and just hit the store like a fiend - with a list! Managed to get out of there only spending $150, which is a record for me. And, I must admit, $45 of that was for a bottle of Shalimar. I figured, you send me to Costco.... LOL. I've always wanted a bottle, and it's quickly becoming my favorite scent. I keep smelling my wrists. :) Oh, and DH doesn't even know I went to Costco, so he doesn't know I folded... So, the menu is: Red wine Cheese plate with crackers and meats and grapes Herb crusted lamb chops with pomegranate sauce on a bed of fresh cut corn and parsley Parmesan sprinkled Asparagus Quinoa with tiny bits of carrot and onion Blueberry tarts and vanilla ice cream I cleaned the house yesterday, got the asparagus trimmed and washed and in a glass tupperware. Sliced the cheese, washed the grapes. All I have to do today is prepare the meat, throw the quinoa and carrots and onions in the rice maker, steam the asparagus and toss it and make the blueberry tarts. And I cheated with the tarts. I bought some of those little mini crusts, pre-made. DH was grumbling that three lamb chops apiece were not enough. I laughed, I can only eat one. I know Gpa will probably only eat two. I can't believe I thought DH hated lamb all this time. He insists he loves it. Who knew??? I've cooked it and (in my memory) he always complains. And DD flat out does not like it (which I can understand, it's gamey). So..... I have to think of something to cook her, or something to go with the lamb that will match. I'll probably just do some herb crusted tofu with the pom sauce. I do a tofu side with a lot of meals I do, like teriyaki chicken... And she loves tofu. I just want to avoid the whole separate meal thing...