Debbiesunshine, I did rabbit and hare rehab here is SD and I got them from every part of SD. So it could very likely be rabbits. Wittle brown cottontails...ahhhh so cute! But love gardens. Beatrix Potter filled us in on that.... I used to have people call me that wanted me to get rid of the bunnies for them. (Not allowed to do that.) It is not that simple. Not like trapping a feral cat. I know it sounds ridiculous but I often *thought* of telling them to put something like hay or Romaine lettuce that they love to eat in their yard! Or better yet just, let the wild dandelions grow(you can yank the tops off when they get fluffy) the foliage is their fav. When there is construction around the area they end up having to eat in the yards because their home is gone. Also SD has had a break for the last three or four years from Coyotes so the little critters have made a comeback. The coyotes are back though (lost an indoor cat that got out at the beginning of July :-( and I am in the city. Have you noticed all the missing cat signs lately?) So, if it's cottontails, chicken wire or equivalent will help tremendously. They have green colored at HD. Small gauge the young ones are small. What area are you in? Allison

A simple answer "NO"!! First off the neighbor is actually my parents neighbor, I have known her since I was a baby. With that said there is a major difference in walking on someones property that you do not know, and taking seeds from someone you have known all of your life. Where I live now there is a neighbor of mine and she is always out in her flower beds. I have waived to this woman, tried to talk to her. One time I did talk to her and that is cause she came to my house to ask a favor (she is an elderly woman that lives by herself) I quickly obliged to help her. I would not dare walk on her property much less take seeds from her plants. Believe me she has a beautiful blue spider wort I would love to get seeds from also. I personally think that each situation is totally different. If I do not know you and know that you will not get mad, I am not going on your property. A farmer is the only exception here, they do not want those flowers, if they did they wouldn't be killing them. Do I dig up flowers?? NO!! Also I would never go to the store with the intention of collecting seeds from plants, but if I was just looking at the plants and I saw some that had seeds. Yes I may consider pocketing some, not all but a few. I use to work in a nursery, and believe me I collected the seeds. The owners laughed at me, they thought I was stupid. They actually told me that, they said go ahead collect all that you want but they will never come true. Like ha ha you idiot, well I just went ahead and collected my seeds. Thinking the entire time you guys are the idiots, and ya own the nursery, ha ha ha. This spring I will take some pictures of before and after the farmers and the county spray. Yeah our county sprays also, lol. Maybe that will help you to understand where I am coming from, when you see beautiful natural rose bushes, hibiscus, foam flower, black eyed susans, virginia creeper, mulberry tree's, all on the roadside one day. Then a few days later you see the horrible destruction these trucks have with their herbicides and and also just there shear size of the truck. Maybe that will help you to understand a little more. I understand that no one can totally understand if they themselves have never witnessed it. It will break your heart, I promise!!

Kudos for being aware of copyright issues and for wanting to do the right thing! You've asked a very good question that far too many people ignore - to their potential peril - so I hope you don't mind if I take this opportunity to try and educate everyone on some important - but all to often ignored - aspects of copyright law as it pertains to architectural drawings. lzerarc is mostly correct. Typically architectural drawings do belong to the architect...but not always. By contract, an architect and his client can agree that the copyright to the completed design will belong to the client. Or, if an architect is an employee of, say, an architectural firm or a design-build firm, the firm would own the copyrights under a "work for hire" doctrine. Architects can also transfer their copyrights to others at any time. In this case tho, if you can't find out who owns the copyright of the floorplan you like, it doesn't matter who actually owns it. What you know is that somebody (not you) has the copyright and, therefore if you copy it, you would be infringing that right. So, since you want to do the right thing, you basically have only two choices: 1) Find out who owns the copyright - if you can - and get permission to copy it, or 2) DON'T COPY IT! But, you say, you don't want to copy the entire plan, you want to make some changes so it wouldn't be a true copy. Sorry but making "some changes" won't cut it. Copyright protection is not lost simply because the infringer makes some changes to the design. Making a copy with some changes is often referred to as "making a derivative work" and, with a few exceptions that are not applicable here, making a derivative work is still infringement. Both you and the builder could still be held liable for copyright infringement. In the case of a copyright infringment suit, the plaintiff basically has to prove two things: 1) that an ordinary person would see the overall form or "the arrangement and composition of spaces and elements" of the alleged copy as "substantially similar" to the original and 2) that the alleged infringer had access to the original design. There is no hard and fast rule that says "if you change a floor-plan by X%, it is no longer a copy so you don't have to worry about copyright infringeent." It all depends on whether an ordinary person would think the two designs are substantially similar. Obviously, the more you change the plan from the original, the less likely you are to be found liable for infringement. But, 15% is not really very much of a change. And, the more unique the orignial plan is from the run-of-the-mill stuff you see everyday, the more likely it is that any copying you do will be obvious. This is because it is very probably the "unique elements" in the design that caught your eye in the first place... so those are probably the very things you would not be changing. True? Yes, every architect and designer draws "inspiration" from the works of others. But, when "drawing inspiration" crosses the line into "copying" (even with a few changes) - THEN one is stealing the intellectual property of another. And that is both ethically wrong and illegal. So, you've found a floorplan you really really like. Great, let yourself be "inspired" by that plan but do NOT copy it. Instead, think hard about what it is that you like about the plan. Make lists detailing what you like (i.e., the kitchen and living room are open to each other; a soaring view out the windows to either side of the fireplace; a study right off the kitchen so cook can chat with spouse working at the computer; a cozy breakfast nook with windows all the way around it; master bedroom is tucked back behind the dining room so that noise from the living room won't reach it; secondary bedrooms surround a computer room/playroom instead of opening off being off a long hallway; etc., etc., etc.,) Take all that information to the architect or builder of your choice and let him/her create an original plan just for you. Or, keep searching online until you find a plan that is very close to perfect for you, purchase it (along with a license to make alterations (I think all the online plan places allow for that option), then take your plan and license to a local architect/draftsman to make the alterations you want. Here are some links to some articles that might be helpful... http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2005/08/22/focus1.html?page=1 http://www2.gtlaw.com/pub/articles/2004/valcarcelm04a.pdf Again, mcfromct, you are very wise to have asked the question you did! I do hope this all works out well for you. BTW - while it might be a bit awkward to go to the builder and say "I don't want to use you to build my home but I do want to find out who your architect is..." there is no law that says you can't have a friend stop in, chat with the builder, look at his plans and casually ask who the architect is. Builder may not tell them, but HE just might. You can then call the architect up and find out from him if he has an exclusive contract with that builder or if he is free to design a home for you to be built by another builder. Best of luck!

Hi... i've posted my story on the stepfamily forum- am currently breaking up with BF after 13 months- came to realization that he is a controlling person. Just posting here to vent about his terrible gift giving. Some of this may be selfish of me: Birthday - his daughter's birthday was 2 weeks before mine. For her birthday, he told ex he would pay for the party ($300). Ex bought snacks for the kids (?$50)We went together to get her birthday presents- he picked out at least 5 or more outfits for her, wanted to make sure she had lots of gifts to open (his own words), spent $150? My birthday two weeks later: I got flowers sent to my work. Got home, he gave me a birthday card, handed me a small box & said "Sorry, I kinda ran out of money, but I wanted to make sure you had something to open". Inside the box was a decorative coin jar, the lid had a baker figurine, and the jar was titled "Extra Dough". I was very disappointed, but hid it. He explained that since cooking together was a thing that we liked to do together, he thought it would be cute. Then took me out to dinner at a really nice steakhouse (I don't eat meat except for seafood- which they had), and given his money comment, I was very budget conscious that night. I tried to let go of if, but it kept eating away at me so a few days later I brought it up that I felt he didn't place much importance on my birthday - compared it to how he basically spared no expense for his daughter (didn't ask ex to split cost), but then when it came to my birthday it was "sorry, i ran out of money". Wanted to make sure she had lots of presents to open, but got me a coin jar! He then told me I was wrong for making him feel bad about spending money on his daughter. He told me that he could have chosen not to take me out to an expensive dinner, and not to get me flowers. I just felt that he could have budgeted better - knowing he had two birthdays, he could have asked ex to split the party costs, but chose not to (another issue that always came up). 1st Anniversary - relationship was already on the rocks. The week before, I mentioned I was thinking of buying myself some jewelry (had some gift cards to use). He didn't want me to, said that he was thinking of doing something nice for our anniversary and buying me a necklace to match a ring that I have. I said he should do that if it's what he wants to do - me buying a necklace for myself would not be as meaningful as something from him, and that besides I hadn't bought anything with the gift cards yet, and might still choose to buy something else. I didn't have much enthusiasm when discussing the anniversary, but since he brought it up, after that i kept bringing it up - asking him what he would like - should we go out for dinner, cook a special meal, etc - he said we'll play it by ear & never made any definite plans although I kept bringing it up. Day of our anniversary, he said "happy anniversary" in the morning. We met up after work. I had my gifts and card laid out for him on the bed. He got me nothing. I was furious and hurt. Even afterwards, he didn't make it up by planning something for us, or even getting me a card or a gift. His reason - he didn't think I was very interested in celebrating b/c I didn't seem very excited about it so he didn't plan anything (true I wasn't all energetic & excited, but I did get him card & gift b/c I thought it was the right thing to do), and he didn't "want to be the jerk who shows up with a present" when the other person doesn't (so I was the jerk?), and that he never made it up afterwards because I made him feel so bad about it.