Hi Bboy, Famartin, Jqpublic, and Wisconsinitom, I'm not surprised that the sugar maple can make it to 500 years in ideal conditions. The person who has been hauling away the lumber from our tree has found an iron peg, and today a nail (with his chainsaw, unfortunately), revealing a glimpse into a history we can only guess at. But we have stands of native sugar maples all around Ontario and throughout Quebec and New Brunswick. It is a ubiquitous tree here. The "sugar bush", and the "sugar shack" (where the sap is boiled down) are common expressions here. The Mennonites and many other farmers and chefs tap the trees in the spring. Municipalities and cities often extend special agreements to allow farmers to tap the trees on city or regional land. Maple syrup is a huge commodity here with maple syrup festivals every spring. This year the sap was running earlier than usual. Jqpublic, I do have photos of the trees in the Fall, but I'll have to find them and post them online before I can publish them here. They are indeed majestic. Ours tend to yellow, and yellow/orange. Here's a tiny glimpse from my studio of the one we cut down (never to be seen again):

Thank you oakley...you said it better than I . I am a believer in people . I have had two brothers commit suicide and a son that has struggled with mental illness for decades. Deciding to write a person off because they have performed in a way that is abhorrent to the rest of us is a knee jerk reaction. It has taken me decades to realize that someone else's pain can be and likely is greater than mine. I will never know what moves them to the actions they commit . My DH and I get up every single day and say thank you for the life we have. I would hope that others would do the same. Energy spent reviling those that are "different" is wasted. Take care of the circle of light that surrounds you that is ALL that any of us can do. If we each do this the circles will grow to include all. c

Melanie, follow your instincts. If this dog is too much for you, then talk to a rescue organization by all means. You have not failed this dog, this dog may have some big, BIG problems that you are not prepared to deal with. JRTs are a great breed, but there is a huge span of personality and temperement in the breed. I know first-hand, because I have had them for many years, but I had to give one up to Russell Rescue due to escalating, terrifyingly violent aggression against my other dogs (including her own mother.) It really came down to the commitment I had made to the oldest dog 12 years ago when I adopted her - I just could not allow the attacks to continue, because one of them was inevitably going to be fatal. We went the whole route when the problems began, from weekly visits from a dog trainer recommended by our vet for aggression problems (with much homework in between visits), to medication (which did not help), to dividing the house with baby gates - with the constant risk that one moment of inattention would launch another savage attack. At one point, the troublemaker was in her crate, and got herself so worked up into a rage that she got the OTHER TWO to start fighting on their own, just by watching her. It really was h*ll on earth for many months. It all came to a head one day when my boss took me into his office, shut the door, and said, "I'm really disappointed in your performance lately." I started crying, and it all came out - living in a war zone - the tension, the stress, the disturbed sleep, the fatigue, the arguments, the guilt, the fear, the disappointment, the injuries to the old dog (a trip to the emergency vet with a torn jugular once, a ripped eyelid another time.) My boss was really understanding, but it all suddenly became crystal-clear to me what this situation was doing to all of us, and I understood that it was time to move on. After much soul-searching, tears, and long talks with my wonderful vet, we were THIS close to putting her down (we had literally dug her grave anticipating taking her in to the vet the next morning), when Rescue called back on a Sunday night with a temporary placement, fully understanding all of the dog's problems. The Rescue people were absolutely terrific. The last I saw of my beloved pup (the dog whose birth I'd witnessed, the dog I thought I'd grow old with) was seeing her sitting on the Rescue person's lap exchanging kisses after a parking lot hand-off. Within a few weeks, they placed her with a family out of state who had experience with the breed, had lost their own aged JRT, had a fully JRT-proof backyard, and fully understood the behavioral problems. Last I heard it was working out great. Like Migo, mine was a fabulous buddy and just adored people, but could not tolerate another dog. Serious aggression between dogs is terrifying and unmistakable - it is NOT playing - not even aggressive playing. Your comment about your other dog screaming gave me chills - I remember that sound so well. Do what you have to do to protect all of the other animals to whom you have made a commitment, and do the best you can by Migo. You're not a failure - everything you've written shows that you are a sensitive and responsible dog-lover, and you need to be strong and do the right thing for everyone concerned. Best of luck, Susan

I have been "up country" and we have not kept up with the news....there is not punishment, and that's what it should be, to sufficiently meter out to these murder's. I can not even begin to imagine that amount of trauma that the children will live with the rest of their lives. To bad there isn't punishment for that!!!!! I do feel guilty for not dropping in for quite a while...we have been help friends build their home which is in the foot hills of the Olympics and is beautiful! I can't do much on the building side but I do cook. Did I mention that I really don't like to cook? Oh! Well! Life is full of I don't likes! Everyone is hoping that there is power by Wed., and then watch out internet! It is great to see that you are all well and enduring the summer. We have broken several temp. records and had a forest fire near our home caused from logging on Friday. Thank goodness they got to it fast, because the winds were driving it our way. It's been about 20 years since our last scare, did I mention I don't like to be scared? One more don't like. My foot is all well and now I know that I do actually tan, there is a great difference in the skin colors. Have any of you watched the Patricia Rawlinson's video's. I think I got the link here, can't remember, but some of her tips are really great. If I do everything correct the link is at the bottom of this post. I am in the process of painting her Patriotic lazy susan, but she could sure improve her patterns or may be I'm just to picky!But when I purchase a pattern I shouldn't have to take hours redoing it so that it is balanced and looks planned. I also picked up her pattern for lace ornaments and am ready to give it a try...they sure are gorgeous! But I will need to practice my coma strokes first. Did I mention I don't like doing coma strokes? I have check out all of the current posts to the gallery...WoW! You all have been busy. Beautiful roses, and bunnies and Unkie Sams and Lady Liberty and pansy's with attitudes, patriotic signs and awesome clip boards and ... and.... I could go on and on! Where do you all find the time? Are there more hours in the days as one moves East? Well...I'm closing this chapter (this post is long enough)I still have laundry to do, we are gong back to the home building tomorrow, and I get to cook some more. Yippy! I did mention I don't like to cook right? Ya'All Take Care! Belle Ps. One good thing about cooking - I usually don't have to clean up afterwords and I don't like the clean up part of cooking! link:http://www.patriciarawlinson.com/