I was about to resize that bunny photo when I hit the submit button by mistake. My fingers are getting confused going back and forth between two keyboards..I use them differently. I can't wait to have a new computer and be settled into my old routines again. Good morning... :-) Status quo here at our house at the moment. March is birthday month. We have three family birthdays here all within a week of each other. Haven't given it a thought yet, but I need to. I am about to start rearranging a home office. Wondering if anyone here has any tips? Do you all have home offices? Missing Gardenbug and Kathy ...hope the computer situations will be straightened out soon. Woody! How nice to see a post from you! It must be so nice to have that procedure behind you. You wonder why they don't explain a little more accurately what to expect. Well, I am glad you were able to get out for a walk. In a few short weeks, the landscape should start looking a lot different. Great time of year to be recovering from something, just when spring is starting. So, will you be expecting more nasty effects later, like the last time? Great that you are making progress..! Saucy, how interesting that you are going to try raising bees. Do you have to purchase a hive? How does your family feel about having a hive in the garden? Do you raise veggies at all? I am just wondering if you will get better fruit set with a hive. Norma, I have boat shoes that I use in the garden. Well..that is my term for them, for some reason. They are the loafer like rubber footwear that LLBean sells? Very convenient, I just slip out of them at the door. They are great all year. Cynthia, I didn't realize your sister was going through something similar to Woody. Was it Tricia that said most of us have someone in our family/friends circle who has gone through something like that. Amazingly, I think I have t agree with that. Plenty of that at our house too, just not at the moment. It seems so strange to me, when I think of what things were like growing up, it was very unusal and such a shock when anyone you knew was seriously ill. At least that was my experience. Hope your sister has good news from the doctors. How long does she still have to wait to find out? Imagine, she doesn't want to take your word for it?! :-) Eden, I hope your Mom has good news too! Mary, Eden reminded me, of your felted dogs...so cute! My fav was the little black one. My parents told me we had a dog like that, though the only thing I remember about him was we had a doorstop of a black dog like him for the longest time. You did a great job on them and I still can't imagine how small they are! Hello again Tricia! Pretty birdbath...and I am amazed at how much further along you are than we are. Still about 6 inches of snow on the ground here. V...Wow, you have had a LOT of snow..lol. I am finding it surprising that you haven't gotten sick. Do you usually catch something in the winter? When did you start taking the Airborne? Babs...what an adorable toothless wonder you have there! lol He is so cute,...It's Ryan, right? They grow up so fast, enjoy this age... Michelle...is that Kenzie? She is so sweet in that monkey towel...lol. Martie...You are so far ahead of me and your not that far from me. Nothing green here yet. Sorry, can't get back to the previous thread...hello to Ei, Denise, Marian..and Chelone and anyone else I have missed.. :-) pm2

Woefully behind (no hope of catching up as the field rounds the far turn and heads down the homestretch). I am mastering the woodstove in the Salon (where I've been puttin' in quality time). It's an interesting exercise in how to maintain the comfortable temperature without having the furnace come on to augment the heat over night. I feed the stove 3 times/day; early morning, upon return from work, and before going to bed. I have a nice bed of coals at the end of every burn and have not had to start a fire "from scratch" in nearly 5 days now. I have asked Santa to bring me a new poker (long handle) and a coal rake. The coal rake will allow me to save the coals and empty accumulated ashes at the same time with minimal inconvenience. Christmas decorations are not yet finished, but could be by the end of this snowy day. :) It's beautiful outdoors today which reminds me to tell Michelle your snowy door shots are terrific. I have not poached the topiary idea, BTW. I love watching the Cardinals here. The colors of both Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal are just beautiful; one so bright and the other a restrained variation on the color scheme. I like to study the detail of the feathers in your shots, Deanne. It reminds me of Larry. Knowing a bird personally over many years (17) gave me a great appreciation of them. OK, I have to go play with the stapler and greenery. :) Waving to all, esp. Woody!

That's a great photo of your baby crow, Marg. Sharon, butterfly looks like it is the Northern Pearl Crescent. Thanks. I googled some other photos and the colors were a bit brighter than on the Alberta Insect site. I think the ladybug is the Three-banded lady beetle, though. Check it out...there seems to be white outlines around his black markings. Thanks for that link. Here is a link that might be useful: Three-banded Lady beetle

Robins are birds that I enjoy viewing, but not as they try to build nests under our porch lights which are on both sides of an area right by our front entrance door. For three days my husband has removed the straw, twigs, etc in order to prevent a completed robin's nest. They put the straw, twigs, etc. up, he takes them down immediately. Today after reading these posts, I sprayed the area with ant and roach spray that I use when the ants try to visit too close to our outside walkway. Two robins just came with straw in their mouths, but they flew away. I hope this is a long-term solution. This is the first time that we have had this problem in the nineteen years that we have lived here. I am already tired of the mess on our porch and the potential health hazard presented if the robins succeed in building a permanent nest. We have plenty of trees that the birds usually choose for their nests and are still quite welcome to do so. However, why our porch this year is a puzzle. Thanks to all who have posted for their solutions. To the haters, because one does not want a bird's nest in an area that he/she frequently uses in his/her home, does not label the person as an animal hater. Why should my quality of life be compromised daily upon trying to enter my home for the sake of a bird's nest? The answer is that it shouldn't and will not. We will win this fight and reclaim our safety and keep our good health.