Way to go, Sped! Nice hummer shots. Claire's right, it's an immature somebody. I looked in my Crossley Guide, but, boy, for me anyway, it's hard to tell an immature ruby-throated from an imm.rufous. Your bird even looks like an imm. Allen's which the book says is strictly West coast. She's eating, she's happy, she's been 'filmed', that's all that matters. Peepo is just wonderful, thanks, T2D and Claire for posting. Hope you have a helper or a tripod, Claire, so we can see you holding Guthrie and feeding him a banana. At first I thought Peepo's human mother must have gentle energy for that woodchuck to allow her to hug him. The I Googled 'woodchuck eating banana' and found Gertie (gopher/woodchuck) who also eats bananas on a table. Maybe woodchucks are fruit gourmets that easily give in to humans if the food is special. So, will Guthrie and Griselda get bananas and cookies with a slug of Vermont Woodchuck Ale soon? Film at 11:00? Jane Here is a link that might be useful: Gertie the groundhog eating a banana

I love the photos of the foxes and the coyote. The photos of the otters are positively magical, Pixie! What a wildlife treasure to have in your back yard! The hermit thrush is our state bird, but I don't believe I've ever actually seen one. That's a great picture, Claire. As to wildlife around my house, all I've seen lately are the neighbors' two yellow cats that patrol my brushy areas in search of rodents collecting food stores for winter. One cat has a tail and the other doesn't, and they belong to two different families. My old cat seldom ventures out in this weather, and then only for a few minutes, and she never leaves the porch. These two relative newcomers have inherited her hunting grounds.

I replied in an earlier thread, but after hearing all your replies I was able to relate because not only did I experience firsthand your problems, but also caregivers constantly visited my senior center office looking for advice and services. So here we go: 1. The most difficult time in your life is the transition from being a child to becoming the parent. It's very difficult and heartbreaking. 2. As people get older they become less interested in activities they once enjoyed because they're just plain tired. As memory fades, they'll talk about the past. Don't fight it. My brother had Alzheimer's, and every time we visited he told us he had just come back from cutting firewood in the woods. Rather than correct him, we continued his conversation about this and he was quite pleased. Get a recorder, as mentioned above, and get as much family history as you can while the person still recalls more vividly past events. Be more accepting of their declining limits. If they just want to sit there and watch TV, let them. Try some simple chair exercises. One that helps keep legs strong is quite simple. Just sit in a chair and lift each leg. This builds the upper front thigh muscle and is one of the first exercises they have you do in physical therapy after a lengthy bedridden stay in a hospital. Also, most senior centers office similar programs just to keep people moving. Be nice to yourself. Take a break. Hire an older person who could more easily relate and also "babysit" for you so you can go out and have a few hours to yourself. If you don't, you will come to resent your caregiving. Also, there are people who would be willing to stay overnight to give you an entire weekend of freedom. Do it! And lastly, don't feel guilty if you're nice to yourself or occasionally lose patience. You're only human. Consider a day or two per week in an Adult Day Care program. Simply being among their peers can do wonders. I've seem an amazing difference in seniors who have participated in this. However, you may have to bring the person screaming and hollering at first, but very quickly they will begin to enjoy themselves. My last suggestion comes from a study I read years ago. Nursing home residents were asked what they would like to do. While activities directors thought they wanted loads of activities, when asked, the residents replied they really wanted to get out of the home for a few hours and take a short ride. We once had a program at our senior center where a local restaurant that offered a soup and sandwich type of lunch donated a number of gift certificates. We would choose an elder along with a volunteer, and they would go out to lunch. Most people really enjoyed this. However, you must keep the outing to no more than a few hours due to fatigue. Hope some of this helps, for I've been there, done that; and I have a special spot in my heart for the caregivers who look after others. It isn't easy.

I had a tape called Ace Cannon's Christmas or something like that. It had several beautiful Christmas songs done with his saxaphone. I played it every year for a long time. One year I took it to work for our Christmas party and it disappeared. I have searched high and low for another one. I went to his web sight a couple of years ago and there were a couple with some Christmas songs on them, but not the same one I lost. My mother plays music at some local clubs and local gatherings. One night Ace Cannon was there playing too. Mom called me and I went to where they were. I was able to talk to Ace Cannon, but he said he had nothing to do with his marketing and inventory and said to try his web sight. I told him I already did, but with no luck. He seemed genuinely sorry, but could offer no help. I haven't tried this year to find it, but I may try again. It would be so nice to find it. Linda