If you want your koi fish to eat out of your hand the key is baby steps. From personal experience I can tell you Koi Fish even in a well maintained pond are very sensitive to their environment. When you approach the pond it is key to make sure your in a calm state of mind. I have a koi pond in my home and I love to sit beside the pond and just rest. The more calm you are the closer they will come to you. Bring some worms with you and only use them as a treat for the one who is closes to you. One will likely be more curious than others if only slightly. He will likely be the first one to allow you to feed him from your palm. Once he does the others will more than likely follow. Its all about trust . Don't chase after a koi's attention. Any agitation in you and it will reflect on your koi's temperament. It will take time but the best friendships often do! Best wishes, nebuanhk

I thought Goldfinches had left after the summer. My neighbor said he hasn't seen them even though he has a feeder. I decided to put up a nyjer seed feeder to see what would happen. Now there are about a dozen of them flying around in the yard battling with the Tree Sparrow for space on the finch sock. On the downside, they seemed to consume about a pound of nyjer seed a day. Gold finches must eat a lot to keep warm. Good thing I purchase a big bag of nyjer seed in bulk. Unfortunately after I install a hoop device to keep house sparrows away, they seemed to have gone after the finch feeder, so I am installing a hoop on that, too.

I'd be interested in hearing more about your success, including your location (state and city), as well as the environment that you have about you. I live in Northern VA., in a generally forested area, with a regional park behind me. I have a fairly large lawn, with a number of small fruit trees, and a few large pines. I'm kind of new to this business of attracting bluebirds, but on Christmas Day, I saw 2 large bluebirds on the ground under my feeder. I think they were eating the suet seeds that my neighborhood woodpecker had broken loose from the suet above. It had rained all the previous day. I have just bought some mealworms online, and am waiting for them to be delivered. I was told by a knowledgable person to put the mealworms in a flat pan, nailed to a post, about 5 ft. off the ground. I will try that. I put out a birdhouse last year, but it is under some trees, and from what I just read, as I've had no takers, maybe I need to move it. I am open to any ideas to bring back my Christmas bluebirds. One was quite large, the male, I think I am inclined to think they might like suet. I'm especially interested in hearing any sightings here in Northern VA., in the Reston area. Thanks in advance for any thoughts. BobnRay

Hi everyone! I see that I posted to this thread a year ago, and I'm a veteran of all the Mojo threads, too. I'm very glad to see that Gibby, AWM, and others have had continued success! Last year, I started daily walks in my neighborhood and lost about 12 pounds between March and June. Then I was hospitalized for a foot infection, and by the time my foot had recovered, it was too hot for walking. I should have resumed in the fall, but I didn't, and, sadly, I've backslid on my dieting, too. So it's back to Square One for me! :-( I was SO enthusiastic last year, so completely committed to the new eating pattern and exercising lifestyle. What happened? I feel so discouraged now. Maybe one factor is that I drifted away from Kitchens and moved over to the Cooking Forum. I try to avoid the baked goods, but there are so many tempting recipes posted there... but I don't blame the CF, I blame myself. Besides, the CF is not responsible for my occasional binges. I know the cure for them is not to have "just a taste" of something sweet in the first place. There were other factors, too: I started working again (freelance), and I have other interests that take up most of my free time. I don't have space for exercise equipment at home and can't afford a gym membership right now. Also, my back injury limits the kinds of exercise I can do. Walking is great for me, as long as the terrain is level, but, as clg said, it's too cold for walking now. However, I'm determined to start again when the weather gets warmer. Does anyone have ideas on how to reclaim my Mojo? Did the Mojo threads really help most of you, or would/could you have done it on your own, without encouragement from the group? Sue