Hi Lisa, Thats an amazing story about the grackles! Though, it doesnt surprise me much because Ive seen similar smart behavior from them and from Curve-billed Thrashers. Both of them seem to be very smart birds. Thereve been studies on crows that show they make tools, make plans to figure out problems, and so on. IIRC, they were at least around 3-4 year old human level in thinking. Most humans would be surprised by that! Especially my mother-in-law-to-be whom called grackles "junk birds" which I found shocking as a concept. I understand the worry over native vs. exotic species But "junk"?! When I first saw the flock of grackles last year, it was like the Hitchcock movie The Birds! There were suddenly two decent sized trees totally black with grackles and they were all squawking about something. I thought it might be a baby, went out to see, and though most of them flew to a safer distance, a few did stay to see what I was doing. I didnt find a baby but they left shortly after with me none-the-wiser to what they were going on about :P I just want you to know, Im not anti-grackle. I love all creatures, though I did kill a couple of Black Widows last year, I usually move insects that scare me :) Either that or encourage them to go elsewhere. When we had a HUGE ants nest in our walkway, (the giant black ants that bite), I started putting sunflower seeds down so the doves would keep the area busy. The ants soon moved, taking some sunflower seeds with them! Id read to pour boiling water down the hole but thats just horrible to me. Anyway, most of our tadpoles are gone, so Im not going to net the pond. Since the grackles bully the other birds we got some big bowls and put them on the other side of the yard and moved our birdbaths into the shade over there, too. The other birds have found them and seem grateful. The weather here is *so* harsh, and with drought even worse. There really is a desperate need for water. It would be nice if it didnt draw *every* cat within 10 block radius since they sometimes kill birds. Its so heartbreaking :( But since we have the shadiest yard with the most water for at least a one-mile radius, we probably get the worst of it. Totally off topic, but now thinking about it, before we took in our cat that was abandoned (in the desert! in the summer! ugh humans!) the cat situation was a lot worse. He is *completely crazy* and tries our patience to the absolute limit, daily, and now has to be kept in until after sunset because he was killing birds Probably because he cant get over being abandoned and starving. He will fight any cat over his "territory," even our other semi-feral cat we found here years ago. This drives us mad, but maybe his craziness has paid off for us in the other cats killing birds area as weve had fewer cats hanging around probably not wanting to deal with him! Take care, -A

Thanks to everyone for all of the help. I was really kind of hoping it wasn't a Siberian Elm but I'm glad to have it identified nevertheless. We would probably consider having it removed but because it is a street tree and not technically on our property, the city and HOA would have to get involved which always makes life a little more difficult, LOL! It shouldn't surprise me really. One of the previous owners (or the builder) planted a Crimson King Maple (ugh) in the front yard too.

Yes, almost all the American Elms died off in many areas through out the Northeast years ago but there where some that survived. Winged Elm is susceptible to Dutch Elm Disease but there is a chance they are somewhat more resistant to DED than American Elm also the disease did not spread as fast or as much in areas that were not covered in tons elms lined up and down through streets and cities. I'm about 100% sure it is a Elm by the looks. And the bark and leaves look exactly like a Winged Elm. I think Winged Elms can vary in how much they make wings but I'm not total sure. I have a Winged Elm in our woods that you can't see hardly any wings but only few small wings in the high branches are noticeable. But most Winged Elms I see are covered in Wings.

I am going to sell my house due to financial changes that will occur when I turn 65 - 2 years from now. I will no longer have the income I have now (it will be reduced significantly; it's the pits to become a true senior citizen). The following summer will be spent getting the yard "salable" so I'll be giving away a lot plants and getting rid of those that most homebuyers are not looking for, and trying to give it more "curb appeal". It's going to be a lot of work. I'll be trying to find a small apartment with a courtyard area that I can have a few butterfly/hummer plants in, so I won't be giving it up entirely, just a much smaller scale. I hate to do it, but on the other hand, I just not physically able to handle home ownership, gardening, and all that entails as I go forward. I'll probably keep up with the forum and stop in to say "hey" because I consider so many of you "friends". It's gonna be a reality check for me. But, I am single and finding it increasingly hard to maintain everything on my own, financially, physically, and to be honest, mentally. I'm a worry wart, yes, and I need to not have as much to worry about, lol! Also, since my daughter has been ill all summer, it's been especially difficult to care for all my stuff and me, and care for her and my 16 month GD. I am there from about 9 a.m. until about 5 or 6 p.m., and she challenges my energy for sure. But she's so darned cute, and it just amazes me to see her learn everything, and she expresses such wonder when she purses her lips, sucks in a bunch of air, and goes "what's that?" I found a Ladybug the other day and let it crawl on my hand til it flew off. She was just fascinated! She loves bugs! I've really had to push it to handle everything this summer. I'm home on most weekends but it's still a time crunch to get it all done. Kenna will be 10 yo next month, so she's a breeze to care for, when she's home that is! So that's the long and short of it. Susan