Yes, that must have been it, Omar. It was pixies playing tricks on us or else it was me who was somewhat "pixilated' after all the talking and trading ... LOL I have a question: someone brought a jar for the door prize table containing something brown that looked like preserves of some kind, but it had a picture of a cleaning woman on it. I asked the contributor and she told me that if was for cleaning your hands after gardening and contained brown sugar. I'm fascinated, but can't remember what else the cleaning compound contained. Anybody remember who brought it and what else it contained besides brown sugar? The dates for both SAPS next year will be announced by Lorelei soon ... :-)

We switched to feeding safflower, thistle and upside down suet feeders along with fruit, jelly and nectar, after our first year living in the country. We moved from the city to a rural area in Wisconsin and decided to put nest boxes out for bluebirds and wrens, our first year we had mostly HS but we also had one set of bluebirds and one set of tree swallows. Before the little ones had a chance to fledge the HS killed them and nested on top of them, we were sick over this. I removed all the nest boxes and started researching on how to keep the non-native and rough birds away. The switch to the foods we place out on our property was the biggest part of not attracting the non-natives and rougher birds. When the HS try to take over the nest boxes in the spring I shoot them, it is the best way to keep them out of the box, plus it gets rid of another non-native invasive bird. I tried removing their nests at first but they are persistent and do not give up until you get rid of them. We now get one or two nesting pair of bluebirds and usually four to five nesting pair of tree swallows and a pair of nesting wrens(all have fledged within the last week and a half) the few starlings that come in the yard to feed on bugs in the grass do not stick around long ( they get shot as well). This is not intended to offend any bird lovers ( we are bird lovers at our house ) it is only to tell how we deal with the invasive non-native birds that are taking over the territory of our native song birds.

What I've become convinced of is that in my short time as a mother, everyone thinks they've figured IT out once they find something that works for them. But really, you haven't figured IT out, you've only figured IT out for you and your child - and no doubt about it, the relationship between mother (or parent) and child is a relationship like any other, requiring give and take, and you have to figure out what works for BOTH personalities, not just one. There are also many paths to the same outcome. Just because your 7 year old or even your 7th grader is not yet capable advocating for themselves in a school setting does not mean that they won't be when they are a bit older. I wasn't, I was painfully shy and would have just "suffered in silence" if I had to handle it all on my own - yet by the time I went to college I was most of the way toward being capable of taking care of myself and went the rest of the way while in college. By the time I went to grad school I regularly went head to head with people far smarter than I am and learned a lot in the process and I can assure you that even as a freshman in college, mommy and daddy did nothing but offer a sympathetic ear or sage advice even though they had been more involved in the 7th grade. It is not about the perfection or lack thereof in life, it's about recognizing what is the best way for you to help your child become the person you (and they) wish them to be. Babies do not have to be "independent" at 3 months old, kids do not have to be mini grownups and "get it" (all of it, the big picture) by middle school to become independent, capable young adults. I know there is a lot of lamenting about the current generation and their seeming inability to act like adults but I would argue that this is the product of lack of attention when they needed it as children rather than too much attention (and substitution of "stuff" for involvement by parents). The kids who turned out that way are most often belonging to parents who never bothered to think about how their choices would affect their children in the long term at all - not about the parents who thought about it in the first place and "chose wrong" by speaking to a child's teacher or homeschooling or whatever else you think is wrong with what other parents are doing.

I looked and looked until I found my camera to take pictures again, I have given up on my cell phone. Everyone who has tried to help me says I need to take it to the Frontier Store for help. Anyway, Annie I loved all my bird goodies. Annie sent: Penguin Socks (Clever-Just in time for the Holidays) Cardinal - Kitchen Towels (Cardinals are my fav.) Feather earrings-thanks Gift card for seeds-I find much pleasure looking for seeds on line so this will be fun! Thank you Annie, sorry the post office gave me such a fit over this pkg. The funny thing is they had another pkg there for me from Oct. Yes Oct. Upon opening it I found it was from Susan. Sorry Susan I never knew it was there. It was filled with chocolates, thank you so much. They sure are good. Shirley