Oh no, they lay eggs just about anywhere on the plant. The eggs are small - about the size of a pin head- and reddish brown in color. I have had a terrible time with them on my crooknecks and zucchini. I have picked hundreds of eggs, but the borer prevailed and I lost 2 plants so far. The other 2 have been invaded - I had to cut the stem and pull out the larvae, then bury the stem to root and hopefully save the rest of the plant. It's up in the air as to whether I will get any more fruit. I think next year I will try row covers. Good luck with yours! Let us know what you spray with and how they do!

"It's not long now." I think you measure long in days - here we measure it in inches - lol. Here is a look out towards my back garden on Jan 31st - warmer temps this week have put a big dent in the snow cover - probably 1/2 or so is gone. Today the cooker is on bare wood, but Sunday AM thru Monday AM they are forecasting 8-10in of the white stuff. Only green I'm seeing is some seedlings in the basement under lights. By the way, there's a turkey breast and baked potatoes cooking in pic above, yum - it was a balmy 20 degrees above. Cheers from the wintry northlands. Paul

About four or five years ago, when I began actively feeding birds suet, I had a lot of Juncos. I try to add scraps to a tray that sits on my central air unit, and that's where they'd typically eat, but they'd also venture to my hanging suet. I also read that they love fritos, so perhaps adding crushed fritos to my suet attracted them as well. I don't use black sunflower seeds because the hulls contain a toxin that inhibits plant growth - and I'm an avid gardener / landscaper. In addition to suet I also provide nyger seed, safflower seed and wild mix bird seed. Ever since I added millet to my suet the wrens stuck around and refuse to leave. Huge mistake. At the same time I've added more evergreen trees & shrubs to my landscape, and they love the shelter it provides near my feeders. Especially considering we have chicken hawks (coopers hawks) in the area, so I try to keep my feeders near brush or trees.

I LOVE Australian Shepherds (and Border Collies), but I would never get either one because of their high activity needs. I know myself, and I wouldn't be able to work with a high energy dog enough. As others have said, if you want a dog that is not high energy, an Aussie is NOT the dog for you. Just because what you saw was a smaller version, does not mean they have any less energy or will be any less destructive without the proper amount of activity and training. The Aussie (as he is lovingly nicknamed) is a very active dog that needs a great deal of exercise on a daily basis to prevent him from become bored or frustrated and developing destructive habits. Because of their high energy level, combined with high intelligence, Aussies need to be given a "job" to perform, be it shepherding the children, herding livestock or competing in dog events. One of the most frequent reasons Aussies are turned over to rescue groups is because their owners didn't realize how much energy the breed has, and weren't willing to channel that energy through training. Aussies are also quite demanding of their owners' time and attention and want to be constantly with them, following them from room to room in the house, and going along in the car or truck on errands. They can be highly territorial and protective of their masters' possessions, which can cause serious difficulties unless controlled with proper training.