Tony, I suspect I will be able to smell them, too, when I'm cleaning off a bunch of them from the front of the car. They probably get smellier the longer they are there, as well. Now I have to go off and figure out a way to captilize on the information that you can be chased around by a sliced tomato! Of course, if I chase you OFF, you might not be inclined to share fresh mulberries & scented geraniums with me. Hmmm. Better think this one through before I act! Carol, mockers and wrens are insect eaters, true, but mockers are also very fond of fruit, and any seed mixture that contains dried raisins, cherries, etc, will attract them. They will also eat seed when push comes to shove, but not often. My wrens come to my feeders, too, as do my brown thrashers, cousins to mockers who are primarily insect eaters. The thing of it is, the BIRDS never read the rule books. And if suddenly seeds look good to them, why they see no reason NOT to eat 'em! Seriously, while it isn't common practice among MOST insectivorous birds, some will develop a taste for seed and augment their diets from your feeders. I'm always tickled when I see it happen. They are "bonus birds!" I hope your bald cardinal doesn't have pox. There is a type that spreads like crazy among wild birds, and one of the symptoms is bald heads. I've seen some bluejays that looked like they had only a skull sitting on top of their bodies. *shudder* NOT a pretty picture. Hopefully, Bald Betty is just having a bad hair month! We have a squirrel with a powder puff tail, too. Don't know what HIS story is. Yours sounds like it had a narrow escape from a predator and managed to recover. But...don't drink the water, just in case! Marcia

dbv, I've never grown one of these, but if something dosen't do well for me after a reasonable amount of time, I pitch it. It's too frustrating to fool with them constantly, without any rewards. Just a thought. :) arum

Years ago there was a house in my area that had a big trash/burning pile near the road/ditch. When there was a big rain, it would wash the trash into the road ditch, and then 'flow' down toward the State Park lake. I passed it daily when I was walking and each day I grew more disgusted. I guessed too that it might be drawing or harboring rats. I reported it to the sheriff's office. Nothing was done. I reported it again. Nothing was done. Seems there was a problem with the prosecutor's office doing anything...as the family with the big trash pile was big, and they had a lot of potential 'votes'. I finally told the sheriff's office that if they could not get it cleaned up, I would be forced to contact the TV station community action team....and that maybe they could do a story with the big trash pile in the background. I also stated that I really did not want to have to do that, as it would/could give the county a 'black' eye. Guess what! Magically the big ole trash pile got gone and has not been back since. Possibly you can find out if what all they have on their property is legal. Too many junk vehicles qualifies it as a junk yard, and needs a permit/zoning. Possibly all the other junk would put it in that catagory too. Possibly they would have to put up a privacy fence or something to protect the public from the eyesore. I too think the speed bumps sound like a good idea....particularly where your gravel ends and theirs begins. That way they could not drag yours away, or spin it all off the drive at high speeds. Why not talk to a paving company about putting in whatever permanent bumps it would take to get the traffic slowed down and protect the drive? I would also note the vehicles coming and going if possible...what the vehicles are, when they come, and when they go. It sounds to me too like it is a drug dealing situation...Do a lot of the vehicles maybe just stay about 5 minutes? A friend of mine had a dealer as a neighbor in the rural years ago. He noted what vehicles where coming and going and that most stayed less than 5 minutes. After the county sheriff became aware of the situation, they frequently drove by real slow. Once the dealer was aware his place was being 'watched' by law enforcement, the activity slowed and finally stopped. Best of luck with your neighbors from hell. Sue

Sorry for the loss (assuming the rest browns out). Not an expert by any means, but I think the species is very picky. I lost a sizeable 'Fukuzumi' that has been in the ground for three years...suddenly this spring for no apparent reason, and having looked extremely healthy prior. I have many parvifloras that are doing well (and for many more years), but have lost many as well. It's possible that even at 4 yrs it wasn't fully established and finally succumbed to some sort of stress factor (drought, heat, pest, etc.). I wouldn't give up though, the parvs are beautiful :)