I am also of the opinion that it is too close a proximity for comfort, for me. You will never meet a bigger animal lover than me. We have [humanely] trapped and relocated possums from our garage, snapping turtles that wandered into the yard, and even a rat that we found living under our porch. It appeared to be a pet that had escaped...white with black spots. We actually found the rat a loving home, believe it or not. This summer we spent a few weeks trying to trap a rabbit. He was running through our backyard every night when I had the dogs out playing fetch. At first it was kind of funny, but one of my dogs was getting really good at chasing him, and I was afraid he was going to be successful soon. I did not care to witness a violent death, and I didn't want my dog to experience that either. We figured out his path and set a trap outside the fence, and one night, there he was!! We released him in a more appropriate habitat. I am all for letting nature be, but as Jim said, if it is a threat to the health or safety of my family or my pets, sorry little buddy, but we're going to have to find you somewhere else to live. :) I would also be concerned about the one with the hurt paw. :( I hope you can find someone who will help you! What you need is someone like these guys. They're a franchise...wonder if they have a branch close to you? Here is a link that might be useful: Wildlife Solutions

I found this thread by accident and am very happy that I'm not the only person in the world who doesn't like dog - or any droppings for that matter - in my yard. We live on a corner and it amazes me how people will allow their dogs to run 20 feet up into my yard on one of those 'wonderful' retractable leashes. To me that's trespassing, plain and simple. On more than one occasion I have flung open a window and shouted quite loudly 'CAN YOU KEEP YOUR DOG OFF MY GRASS PLEASE', and then slammed the window shut so they got the hint that not only didn't I appreciate it but let them know they could be seen. I mean, what is it about windows, they think you can't see out?? And I don't care if they pick it up, it's STILL there. If you doubt me, go step on the grass where someone has just 'picked it up' and then sniff your shoes. Nice, eh? It's still on the top of the grass and you're gonna track the smell everywhere you walk. My favorite is what happened recently - I walk a treadmill in the evenings after dinner when many people walk their dogs, and I can see out two windows, one on the side of the house and one in the front. One evening I see a couple come walking two big dogs, a couple I've seen before, not every day but off and on. Never really paid much attention to them, I just see them through the window when they go by. On this particular night I'm walking, and I see them coming back from the end of the street, and I saw a bag in her left hand and thought, Oh, well that's good, at least they're one of those walkers who picks up. And as I'm looking at them - and this all happened in a matter of seconds - she suddnely turns towards her husband (which meant she was turned away from my house so I'm just seeing her back), she kind of leans in towards her husband, like she's saying something to him, then straightens back up and continues walking. As they continued walking, I notice a bag at the edge of the neighbors grass across the street and immediately looked at her hand. No bag. So here you have someone who probably picks it up but then will simply drop the bag somewhere so they don't have to take it home. As hubby said, not only is that a really low thing to do, it's littering. So I got in my car and followed them to see where they lived - which was in a completely different neighborhood than ours so obviosuly they come to OURS to do this - and then after dark I retrieved the bag and 'returned' it to them by tossing it up onto their driveway. I was really hoping it would still be dark when they left for work in the morning and they would drive right through it. At any rate, no one has seen them since, which I would hope is because they're too embarrassed to be seen on our street knowing they were caught doing something so unkind, and also because they now know WE know where they live. And like my husband says, we're pretty sure this probably isn't the first time they've done this, they just never got caught before.

Wrap pants are very flattering and comfortable because they are so adjustable. Very tropical and beachy. I had some in the 70's when I lived in FL. I think they are used as yoga-cover ups now. If you tie the back first and then the front, they stay closed along the side of the leg more than if you tie the front first, then the back. If you Google for them, you can see lots of different images and several different patterns. Simplicity made some patterns for them and you can find them on Etsy and Ebay. And you can buy them already made.

nickjoseph and nippstress: The name of the rose is Spectra, and that is how it looked yesterday. In 2014 it emerged around July 15 after that brutal winter. It did not flower, and was a weakling in 2014. Now it has 12 basal breaks, and is back to normal. Spectra is a large flowered climber; in France it is considered a hybrid tea if memory serves me correctly. Usually we cannot grow large flowered climbers in the Midwest. I planted two of these elsewhere in town and they died within 2-years. Behind my office where this is grown I have a microclimate that is probably more like Zone 7, with a southern exposure. I have buildings on the West, my shorter building on the North, and a longer one on the East that block the wind. In other words this rose bed is in the inside of a U facing south. I planted a small bed of 5-roses about 15 years ago when I moved in and they grow amazingly well. I have had almost no disease issues in this bed. The Prince gets 4 feet wide, and 5-6 feet tall. Spectra when it comes up timely like it is this year usually gets 8-9 feet tall. About 8-years ago I put a cane in the ground and it grew into a rose bush (Polarstern). If you have any tips how to post pics, I'd appreciate it because it is hit or miss for me. I posted pics on this site more than a decade ago, and even 4-5 years ago on the fruit and orchard subsite, when this site had a different interface. Now, I cannot figure out how to reliably post pics within a post.