hpw, I don't have any numbers, but I don't doubt that some US citizens become ill from food-borne illnesses contracted from consuming 'raw foods' every year; but, I suspect they're fairly low in number, and since the vast majority of people in this country get ALL of their food from the grocery store or restaurants and the minimal numbers of folks doing the raw thing, the small numbers of illnesses are probably sporadic and random, not triggering an epidemiologic investigation by FDA and CDC. When we have a situation like the recent Salmonella outbreak which FDA 'finally' traced back to Mexican-origin peppers(Duh! They're largely a third-world country with poor to nonexistant sewage/water treatment facilities in much of the nation, and it's likely that the farm workers aren't provided toilet facilities, so they are probably 'relieving themselves' right there in the fields), in which a large quantity of contaminated foodstuffs from a single source are widely distributed across the nation, then we get large numbers of persons affected. I would have no qualms whatsoever about consuming raw milk from my own personal cow - because she would have been tested negativefor brucellosis/TB, and *I* would be in charge of every aspect of cleanliness and sanitation from udder prep and monitoring for evidence of mastitis to refrigeration of the 'finished product'. But, I wouldn't necessarily trust anyone else purveying raw milk to take the same care that I would. There is no doubt that milk is a healthy food, but the claims that raw milk is so vastly superior to pasteurized milk are without rational scientific basis, and it's ludicrous to make claims that pasteurization completely destroys milk's nutritional content, and in fact renders it into a toxic substance.

I have a dwarf goat. She is a sweetheart BUT.....she doesnt like cats and will head butt them hard, she killed a sleeping kitten that way. Doesnt like small dogs either, same treatment. She does like the large dog and will hang with him as long as he will put up with her, if she gets too bouncy around him, he will give her an annoyed bark and walk away. She 'flocks' with the chickens and turkeys during the day. What i absolutely hate is that she will eat some of my plants (bananas) unless I spray them with a habanero pepper solution. Other plants, like my brugmansias she will 'fight' with. Basically if it's not edible she will break by rubbing her horns or body against it. She is a pet, so she gets the run of the 2 acre backyard, but breakfast time she is by the kitchen door waiting for a slice of bread. She is cooperative in the hoof trimming. I find they are absolutely smart, she observed the dog use the doggy door a couple of times and that night I woke up to a goat sleeping in the living room coffee table ( after snacking on ALL my house plants). I guess it would be a better situation if she has her own fenced area separated from MY plants and the smaller furries. I love it that she enjoys sitting with me outside so I can scratch her. she greets me when I come home from work and is a sweet pet. If I need some weeds trimmed, all I need to do is start shaking them around a bit, and she assumes I'm eating, so she starts eating it. That same behavior gets her in trouble with my garden plants, we are working on it, thou. Make sure you learn what is toxic in your area and either remove it or fence it from the goat. Enjoy

Here's my 2 cents on Aruncus. I have Misty Lace, Horatio, Dioicus and Zweiweltenkind. Trying to stay with the question asked(hard). Misty Lace to my eyes does not appear significantly different then Astibe. While a pretty plant with all the Astilbe I have it added nothing different. Horatio is to new to comment on. AD and AZ I love for their size and brought a new dimension to the garden. In a normal year my soil is moister retaining and astilbe and aruncus do well for me. I'm struggling to understand growing them in dry soil. I've had AD and Az for eons and mine never have looked heathy in droughty years. Don't know why? I have also been unfortunate as to lose a tree that gave the north side of my house most of it's shade. Everything now receives at least 5 hours of hot afternoon sun. AD and AZ are very unhappy and struggling. Even with additional water. In it's previous moist shady environment blooms stayed nice for easily 6 weeks or better. Foliage lush thick and green' Never actually recorded bloom time. Now blooms fry as soon as weather gets hot or the soil runs dry. Remember please I'm only speaking of my experience with aruncus and that said, I would only recommend it for moist shadier spots or sun with very damp soil for it to look its very best. O'kay I didn't stay with the question asked. Darn!

Hi lyfia! and congratulations on your baby girl. I have a 10yo dd. Both dh and I are introverts. I was painfully shy as a child. Neither of us had a lot of parental support growing up, and I think this is a major cause of our social insecurity. My DD is probably the most extroverted person I've ever met. She will go up to anybody and strike up a conversation. She went on a sleepover with a group of girls she never met last week - no fears, she said "It's another chance to make new friends!" So, your daughter is not absolutely destined to be shy or insecure. I didn't do anything special. I couldn't stand being cooped up in the house when she was tiny so we went to the park almost every day. I soon met lots of other moms (depite my shyness) and other kids her age. The going to the park and hanging out lasted for her first five years, by which time she had a large group of people she knew, and felt comfortable with the moms as well as the girls and boys. At five she started school, and that went very well for the first couple of years. She loved her teachers and got along well with the other kids. But in second grade the whole alpha girl/wolf pack mentality kicked in and she just didn't understand what was going on. The playground can be a really cruel place. In addition, she was getting tons of homework that seemed downright silly and timewasting, so we decided to pull her out of school for a break and try homeschooling. The homeschooling was my dh's idea. I felt dd was much to social to do it. As it turns out, the socializing she gets from homeschooling is far superior to that at school. DD has kept a couple of friends from school, some old buddies from the park days, and has scads of friends from dancing, science class, Girl Scouts, gymnastics, swim team, etc. - and is able to interact with them all without the kind of survival-of-the-nastiest mentality that comes when you put 50 kids of the same age onto a playground. And the greatest thing about homeschooling is that you get to stay close to your kid. When she was at school I really felt like my role as a parent was being supplanted by teachers, school administration, and most of all, by other kids. Now we are just as close as when she was younger, and I think that bodes well for when she hits the adolescent years. But I didn't mean to write an ode to homeschooling! Really, my main thoughts are: *Stay close to your daughter. There's no such thing as too many hugs and kisses. *Don't compare her to other kids. Yes, other kids will talk sooner, walk sooner, be potty trained - whatever. Let her go at her own pace. They'll all walk and talk sooner or later. *Take all parenting books with a grain (or a pound) of salt. In fact, I would minimize the reading of parenting books altogether. They make you paranoid. *Get out of the house. Expose her to lots of other kids and adults. *Let her be alone sometimes (as she gets older.) Let her learn to enjoy her own company. *Have people over. Family, neighbors - the more people she meets the more she'll feel capable of dealing with. *Don't worry about making mistakes. I sometimes think that my own concerns about dd - that she would be shy and extra-sensitive like her mama - actually helped her out. For example, I didn't want to leave her at kindergarten (the parents were allowed stay for the first day) until she finally said "I think this would be more fun if you went home." I guess what I'm saying is, let her be the one to decide when she is ready to fly solo, rather than pushing her out of the nest. Okay, this has been way too long a break from work! You are a great mom, and your daughter is going to be just fine. Amy