Patrick - do you have any pulmonarias? I can't remember from when I was there a while ago. If not, I can give you one or two, they're good for early-season hummingbird food. Andi

Wow... I'd be quite worried as well. It's beyond late, so I have to think the chance of this hummer making it to central America is pretty small. Heck, if she has remained in Connecticut through October and November maybe she's just not programmed correctly. In that case, there's not much anyone can do.

Have to second Mindy on digging the fence into the ground -- we had woodchucks (large family living under the garage) in our old house, and a 4-foot fence around the vegetable garden which wasn't sunk more than a few inches (maybe 6) into the ground. Woodchucks had a field day with the green beans and peppers in particular (for some reason, they were particularly fond of the jalapeno plant ... I think they must have had the makings for margaritas in their den, needed some salsa for the chips, or something...) We found one fat one sitting right smack in the middle of the garden not five minutes after the trapper had left one day, having retrieved his empty trap, inspecting the perimeter of the garden, and declaring "no signs" of digging (no entry, or "plunge" holes inside the garden, either). We never did figure out how he got inside but either he climbed the fence, or he (or she) was exceptionally neat when it came to digging (and they were NOT neat anywhere else -- I had a mound of dirt about a foot high on the side of the garage where the main entrance to the burrow was!) We fought/trapped them for three years. Every year, a new family was back. GOOD LUCK!!!

matriarchy...you'd be surprised what you can pack into a small space! My yard is pretty small. I have a 30 year old half twin on a corner lot. It's less than 1/3 acre on the deed. Realistically it MIGHT be 1/4 acre between front/side and rear. For perspective, the side yard is 24 x 36 and the front is 28x48 and is bissected by a walk to the house which is about 4.5 ft wide. My back yard is about 44' long and an irregular 48 wide. (You have to net a large shed and a driveway out of that width across most of the length so for all intents and purposes it's 28 wide. The meadow just fits into an area about 15x30 but bisected with a 3 foot path going through and around it to enjoy the insect life and the flowers as you meander through it. Not sure you can meander through such a small space...! I had specific goals for the yard and knew it was beyond me to design it on my own. So I hired a landscape design professional with a degree in horticulture and landscape design and who specializes in native/natural landscaping. We are beyond pleased with the results! I was intent on providing habitat and welcoming birds. I wanted to attract and sustain butterflies and hummingbirds. I like to enjoy a garden but I did not want to spend tons of time working in it. Truth be told..I spend more time working in it than I would like to but I am having a terrible perennial weed problem this summer from the early hot summer! I did not want much grass. So the front yard is primarily flower beds...a long one flanks the front of the house (there's goldenrod and aster in this one among other things) and the fence line that divides the front and side yards. There is a huge island in the center of the front yard...huge being relative to the side of the yard. There's a tree in each end....and it is jam pack full of flowering native perennials throughout. (A neighbor said I had a jungle and my little GS said yes, a jungle for insects. The birds love it!) Then, the strip between my walk and the neighbors is another perennial bed. There is a swath of grass surrounding the island...but it's only about two mower widths wide. The side yard has beds...a raised and a ground level...on all 4 sides of it (along the house and between side and back, front and side and along fence on side). There IS grass there...not a lot...but grass for the dogs to potty. The back yard is no grass. There's a row of privacy arbs/red cedars/hollies along the back....and a series of gravel paths. Flower beds under trees...a lot of trees (I created a shady microenvironment in a SW aspect in the upper part of the small back yard)...a small pond...a boulder/rock outcropping, the little (teeny!) meadow below it, ferns up under the trees. There's about 12-1500 plants + trees. About 65 varieties in all. Anyway. The only grass in my back yard is native tall grasses...not turf grass. I wanted lots of flowers, seeds and fruits and that's what I got. Now it's quite charming and very tended...but not nearly as tame as most suburban plots. My neighbors are accustomed to very manicured things. But they all love and comment on the variety of my flowers, the birds and wildlife the garden attracts...and the impact they make in such mass. But it took a lot of work (we installed with some help) a lot of research finding the plants some of which are rather obscure and not a small amount of $$$. Just not all at once. It's always evolving. But, once you get past the keeping and tending grass idea you'd be surprised how much impact you can pack in a modest space. I'll take some pictures when I replace my digicam. DH took mine to a fishing trip and fell in the river. This is the third camera of mine he broke so from now on he gets disposables and I will replace mine...I have my eye on the Canon s5 is. Robin