In my garden they also eat goldsturm black-eyed susans, plains coreopsis (mahogany red and yellow) which seems to be the absolute favorite, and salvia - farinacea and lady in red. It is really fun to watch them on the black-eyed susans if you are close enough to tell the birds from the flowers. They perch high on the stem and rip the petals out of the flower head to get at the seed. I know I have had a lot of finches I missed seeing when I have a patch of bare black eyes with no yellow petals. We had squirrels and then mice under the feeder so the seed-producing flowers works better here.

Jackarias: 1. The Missouri Botanical Garden If you haven't been to the Missouri Botanical Gardens in St. Louis, I recommend that you spend some time visiting this extraordinary and wonderfully delightful garden. For a look: travel here to their web site - and explore it thoroughly. You'll find an online tour of various parts of the garden. http://www.mobot.org If you link to the site below, you'll be able to take a virtual tour of the garden. http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/Plant.asp?code=Q260 They have an excellent resource of information and one link - this one to Paeonia lactiflora 'Duchesse de Nemours' - will give you an idea of the extensive information you will find on line. http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/Plant.asp?code=Q260 2. The Art Institute of Chicago Of course, the Art Institute of Chicago is a must. The Art Institute is located on Michigan avenue near Adams street. If you walk out the door and head west on Adams for a few blocks, you'll find "The Berghof" - a very nice German restaurant and moderately inexpensive. This link will allow you to explore what's in store for your body, mind, and soul. http://www.artic.edu/ After a long, enjoyable, refreshing tour of the Art Institute, you'll be in need of some liquid refreshment and some excellent German food. So here's the link to the Berghoff: http://www.berghoff.com/ The second link will get you "inside". http://www.berghoff.com/Berghoff/home.html 3. The Second Presbyterian Church Off the beaten path - a bit - is the Second Presbyterian Church, which is once part of the "Gold Coast" of Chicago around the turn of the century. Hidden behind the facade of this old church are several huge stain glass windows by Louis Comfort Tiffany. Here's a link to explore: http://www.ci.chi.il.us/Landmarks/S/SecondPresbyterian.html 4. Prairie Avenue and the Glessner House Prairie Avenue is a short distance from the Second Presbyterian Church. Following the Fire of 1871, this street became the city's most fashionable neighborhood, home to the Armour, Field, Kimball, and Pullman families and once referred to as the "sunny street that held the siften few." Here's the link: http://www.ci.chi.il.us/Landmarks/P/PrairieAveDistrict.html 5. Located on Prairie Avenue is the famous Glessner House designed by Henry Hobson Richardson. If you're up to doing a little "homework" before your journey, I'd highly recommend the reading of Lewis Mumford's small book: "Sticks and Stones". It is still the best introduction to American architecture from colonial times to the beginning architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright. Tours are avaiable. Again, here is a link: http://www.ci.chi.il.us/Landmarks/G/GlessnerHouse.html 6. Then there is the "Biograph Theater" on Lincoln Avenue, which is near the campus of Loyola University - Chicago. When I was a graduate student in Library Science at Rosary College - now Dominican University in River Forest, IL, I used to take the Green Line "L" and "haunt" the many used books stores located just down the street from the Biograph Theatre. After exploring the used book stores - which are now mostly gone due to increasing rents - I'd have some good English food at a genuine pub - The Red Lion - I think was it's name - located on the opposite side of the street and just north of the Biograph. Fortunately, it is still there and the food is still very good along with the atmosphere. Here's the link to the Biograph Theatre: http://www.ci.chi.il.us/Landmarks/B/BiographTheater.html 7. Again - off the beaten path - a bit - is the wonderful Garfield Park Conservatory - a turn of the century conservatory of more than several huge greenhouses featuring a wonderful array of plants, sculptures, and other things that delight the senses. From their web site, it appears that this unique conservatory is growing into something even more spectacular. Again, here's the link: http://www.garfield-conservatory.org/ 8. Of course, what would Chiago be without exploring the home and studio of the world famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. His home and studio along with many of his designs are located within a very short distance of each other in Oak Park. Again, here's a link to explore. http://www.wrightplus.org/homestudio/homestudio.html And here's a link to the Oak Park Visitor's center: http://www.oprf.com/opvc/ 9. Of course, if you're traveling by car from St. Louis to Chicago, you'll probably traveling on I-55. On your way up to the "Windy City", you may wish to stop at the Dana-Thomas House in Springfield, IL - designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in the early 1900's. Again, here the link with extensive information about one of his better "Prairie Houses". http://www.state.il.us/hpa/Thomas.htm Had you been traveling during the summer, you might have enjoyed a concert at the Rees Carillon in Washington Park - located west of the Dana Thomas House. 10. While some folks would head you up to the Chicago Botanical Garden in Glencoe, I suggest, instead, a nice trip to the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL. This arboretum contains over 1700 acres with winding roads, hundreds of walking/hiking paths; an outstanding horticultural library; a wonderful restaurant and gift shop. The link to their main web page is listed below. http://www.mortonarb.org/ This link will provide a link to the visitor center and other related places. http://www.mortonarb.org/branching_out/branchingout_visitor_center.html Here's the link to the map of the Morton Arboretum with many, many related links. Here's the direct link to the Sterling Morton Library at the Arboretum. http://www.mortonarb.org/visitor_information/smlibrary/smlibrary.htm Again, for the sake of history, here's the link to the history and mission arboretum. http://www.mortonarb.org/visitor_information/history_mission.htm Of course, since you're traveling in October, what better way to enjoy some fall color at the arboretum than to link to here. http://www.mortonarb.org/color/Oct2005.htm Of course, if you have a little time available, I've also provided a link to events for the month of October. http://www.mortonarb.org/events/Oct2005.htm And, finally, if you're really interested in exploring the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL, you might also wish to have a link to visitor information in Lisle, Il for housing, dining, etc. So here it is: http://www.lislecvb.com/ 11. Finally, well - not really - there's too much to enjoy in Illinois or in the greater Chicago area, here's some information on the Chicago Botanic Garden. While it is a very nice place to visit, I personally much prefer the Missouri Botanical Gardens in St. Louis and, again, would highly recommend a trip to the Morton Arboretum instead of the Chicago Botanic Garden in Clencoe. So here's the link: http://www.chicagobotanic.org/ Well, I hope that this little "tidbit" of information has most useful in enjoying your visit to Chicago. Oh yes, there's one final thought - especially if you have the time and inclination to visit either the Garfield Park Conservatory or the Morton Arboretum, bring your camera!!!! Best wishes for an enjoyable journey to my former native state. Bill

Jean Advantage and most of the grub insecticides have the same ingredient(Imidacloprid). What my vet was telling me since he knows I am against putting things in my yard that could harm anything is that the same chemical was being used therefore I could have less worry about spreading the grub killer on the area my pets use. My vet knows I will look up anything he tells me before it goes in or on or around my pets. I do not use Advantage because it does not prevent the eggs from hatching but use Frontline Plus. Since many fleas are carried into the house from outside on pant legs and shoes it is important to treat the approaches and lawn for fleas. I have also used Bio Halt which at the time was sold as containing bt's. It worked when the grass was wet but not in dry conditions. If you could keep lawn area moistened to keep it active it might work. I am extra careful because about 20 years ago I killed my dog Walter because of fleas. He developed kidney failure after I over applied all kinds of flea medication both to him and his surrounding areas. He was such a wonderful pet that when he started developing problems he used the kitties litter box instead of telling us he needed to go out. The morning of the first snow when I saw the blood on the snow I lost it. By that time the only thing my vet could do with his advanced kidney problem was to tell us to love him and gave a kidney diet to Walter. He passed away the following spring. Since then I always do research before I use any chemical. Here is a link that might be useful: Flea med ingredient.

We got this one: Town and Country " GDV42" gas burning fireplace. The quote is for 5k installed. It is not in yet. We chose it because we liked the looks of the flames the best. When it is on, it looks very real. We have three other real fpl in the house, this is in our most formal room and i wanted it to be easy. One thing I noticed is that they look most fake when they are off and you can see the glass. A good trick is to buy a nice, large fireplace screen (I found an old beehive one) to keep in front of it, so that when it is off you dont see shiny glass.... I also recall that some burned tooooo hot. Never occurred to me they could be too hot, but the guy said if you want only supplemental heat, make sure you get one that has good flames even on low.