We have ducks who return every year to lay their eggs in our high school courtyard and every year there are vultures who fly over and try to eat the eggs and steal the babies after they are born. We have placed a huge realistic looking owl near her nest (we heard that helps) but still need something else more substantial to protect them. What can we do???

Just yesterday I was digging around trying to feel if I had some potatoes worth digging up under my plants (planted around 4/1, and I felt a couple of big ones down there. I wasn't brave enough to go ahead and dig and now I'm feeling sheepish because I actually have potatoes on my shopping list. OF COURSE I should dig up a plant for the pound of new potatoes I need! (at least, I think I should... I've a novice potato grower. Other than size -- which I don't think they'll gain any more since the weather is going to be in the eighties -- is there any reason to wait before harvesting a few?)

YES.. it is Catherine!! It's the cirle of life!! (Ha ha) I love Vultures! Really cool birds.~~Angie

petalique You may print these for various greeting/birthday cards. Contact me and I can send you better images. The images in this post have been severely compressed and have lost some definition. I do not have a photo account on-line. (For a short time, I have changed my profile to allow members of this forum to contact me.) These birds are very wary and it is rare that I can get close enough to make a decent image of them. I approached these in an a SUV and shot from a window exposing not much more than my camera. A couple shots were made through the windshield. Also, these are zoomed at about the maximum that I can do hand-held. These birds are commonly refereed to as buzzards and are absolute masters at riding thermals and finding updrafts.