Sue, As long as they don't add, "Crazy" in front of "cat lady"....I am known as the cat lady in our neighborhood and I honestly think there might be a sign at the end of the street, "Home for Wayward Cat/kittens" and it's pointed right at my house.... My Dh, like your's, has put his foot down, softly...(He's almost as bad as me.) At one time, we had 2 feral mommas on the patio and each had had a litter of 6...When the kits started getting older the mothers tried taking them into the bushes, to teach them to live on their own...That's when we bundled up all the kittens, put them in our basement and would bring them out for feedings...We had to sit with them and as soon as they were done eating, back in the basement...There were times when momma would start through the yard, make a noise and all the babies would run after her...My DH would run with a big box and be scooping up kittens along the way...As soon as the kittens were weaned, we were able to get them adopted...It was like giving up my own kids and boy did I screen the new parents...We were able to get those 2 females spayed and they are still living on our patio....I loved having all those little ones and often would foster for one of our local no kill shelters. From fostering, I did keep 2 little girls and now when I mention fostering, DH gives me that look....But what a thrill, watching them grow.....I keep saying, if I ever win that lottery, I'll have the best shelter around.....See, how I can go on and on when it comes to talking about fur babies.......You should be around when I pull out the pictures....

Ashley, Thank you. I need all the prayers I can get right now. My DIL is too much.. like having a room full of crazy BM's! I am wondering if she has multiple personalities. On Saturday, she accused me of wanting to take DGS so I can have a baby of my own... and when I point blank asked her if she wants him back full time, she said no. She says she can't have a baby full time "at this point" in her life. I mean she flipped from me stealing the baby to saying she can't possibly handle him full time. I was at work and while I was with a customer, she walked out taking DGS with her. By the agreement, she is supposed to have Saturday & Sunday. Well, Sunday she didn't call or bring him back. On Monday, I talked to my son and he told me what she said to him... everything was twisted. He is upset & does not need to be bothered with worrying about this. He has a job to do over there, he should not have to have her telling him to tell me anything. She can tell me herself, but she tells him & he is frustrated because he is over there and can't do anything. So, Tuesday she calls my daughter to ask for diapers. My daughter takes her diapers & DGS had been taken back to the doctor. I called the doctor's office & was told DGS has an ear infection, but is otherwise okay. So, Tuesday evening, I ask her if she is going to stick to the agreement... she says no, he is staying with her. So, I tell her that I still want a drug test & I had talked to my attorney about guardianship. She told me to bring it on and she would pass a drug test. I told her if she takes a drug test and passes, I will drop everything and she can keep DGS full time. (lol, even though she ranted for ten minutes on Saturday on how that was impossible!) She didn't answer me. Then today (Wed) she sent me a text at 5pm, telling me my son wanted us to talk. (my son told me on Monday that he told her to have a talk with me) but I did not write back. Less than an hour later, she called me at work & said she had DGS outside & I need to get him. I wasn't shocked but I was in the middle of working... it's a very busy weekend coming up & normally I leave work at 5, it was 6 & I had planned to stay til about 8. I hesitated and she says "well you do want him don't you.. this is what you want, right?" And, I could not say no to taking him. She said she was going to go ahead & stick to our prior agreement. I went outside & there he was... dried boogers on his face, gunk dried on his eye, his little eyes were red and he looked pathetic. She handed him to me without a word & huffed back to her car. She was visibly angry, like I just forced her to give up her child. I took him inside & then noticed he had a fever. I called her and asked when he had last taken medicine. In a very friendly tone, tells me oops I forgot to give you his medicine, I'll be right there. She came inside & this time (mind you, this was about fifteen minutes after she huffed off) she was being sweet & bubbly.. like we were besties. She said she took a video of him taking a few steps and she couldn't wait to show me but she forgot it at home. It was WEIRD. Like a totally different person. So, I cleaned up and brought DGS home, gave him fever reducer & a bottle. He took a nap and woke up in the evening... we played, he ate, and he went back to sleep. I may finally sleep easier knowing he is here. But, I know she only did this because she wanted to go somewhere tonight. I have to take it one day at a time, because the next time I see or hear from her, I don't know what I'll get.

I am very hopeful about the next hearing, that it will all be resolved. I found DIL's father in a roundabout way. I googled his wife's name & she happens to sell real estate. I sent her an email to her work email from her website & she wrote back... saying she talked to her husband & they fully support the guardianship. Notice is being sent to my son's father at his sister's last known address since I don't have any other info on him. I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed that the court accepts that. As for DIL, her attorney already said they are not going to take it to trial (contested hearing) so the only issue is getting everyone served. The court has already rejected the idea of going back to court every 30 days. I agreed to a review in 6-8 months, but DIL has done zippo to straighten out her life in the 3 months since this all began. I'll be surprised if she does anything before then. Of course, I do suspect she will try to reconcile with my son when he gets back. So far, this has cost me about $3000 and my attorney has not given me a bill. She did tell me that she does not want to bill me by the hour so she will give me a flat fee that will be substantially lower, but I would expect it to be at least 2-3k. If it went to trial, it would be twice that, at least. (she has been my attorney for a few years & represented me for the DNA case with my son & SD's custody case with DH & BM. I've worked some of our bills off with my attorney support services business, and she is very sympathetic to the current situation ~ maybe because my son is gone, trying to do the right thing... and it involves a baby.) It could get very expensive if it's dragged out but i think their goal is to prevent a permanent order so she can try to reconcile with my son when he gets back & it would be easier for them to get DGS back. That didn't work & I expect the permanent order to be made at the next hearing. If they were to reconcile when he gets back, I would not voluntarily return DGS to them... they would have to prove to the court that they should have DGS. Their entire history has been volatile. I pray it doesn't come to that.. them against me.

I'm just now seeing this post. Seeing pics of your many birds and hearing about their antics has been enjoyable, although I feel for poor little Scout. I hope that you'll continue to keep us posted on them all, as I'm a huge lover of birds of all kinds. I'm loving the landscape progress, too. Regarding Xeriscaping with rocks, gravel, etc. It gained great popularity here in New Mexico, as it did in many other arid and semi-arid locals across the Southwest, back in the early-Eighties. This was when I was studying to become a Master Gardener. I still recall many of my instructors telling us that people would soon see "the dark side" of using rock as mulch in their xeriscaped yards. And we did. On one hand, it's very practical, but even with the best weed barrier put down underneath, you'll end up with weeds within a year. That's because the wind will always blow dirt in, which settles down between your rocks, gravel, etc., thus creating a good environment for many weeds. The heat from our intense southwest sun is absorbed by the rocks, gravel, etc. It can easily create an environment too hot/ harsh for many flowers to do well, but our feisty, tough SW weeds seem to thrive on it. Yes, the accumulated dirt may be shallow, but those tricky weed roots can easily grow sideways to take hold. So then you're stuck with what to do with the accumulating dirt between the gravel, etc. You can, of course, pull out the weeds as they sprout, but you'll eventually need to shovel up the rocks -especially if you're using gravel or the crusher fines- get rid of the accumulated dirt around them and start over again. Gardening here in the Southwest can be trying, to say the least! I've used the crusher fines. I've used larger rock. I've left the dirt exposed. There are pros and cons to them all, but you end up with weeds, regardless (LOL). What works for me here is to forego the weed barrier and just use several inches of treated bark mulch around my plants. The blown in dirt just drops down to the dirt below. I add more bark on top every couple of years. It works for me, But regardless of what you go with, invest in a good narrow headed, long-handled weeding pronged rake for working around your cacti. The breezes and winds also blow in trash that is much easier to pull out with the right tool. Those cactus spines are vicious!