I never had any of the common hybrids make more than 2 spikes at a time. If you leave the old spikes, that's different. My impression from the OP was, how many spikes would form at one time? I'm not counting old spikes. I don't think the OP was asking about species. Jane

In Central Illinois- usually only see a few towhees the whole summer and have never seen them in the winter. There must have been a small flock of them that spent their days under the feeders in the yard this past weekend. Really enjoying all the photos.

Your kempas has much the same coloration as your fir, which I bet is long leaf heart pine and not fir. How are your stairs constructed and from what wood? Wood usually looks good with other wood, unless it is colored to look unnatural. What wood you choose and what color you go for is your decorating decision. Good luck.

Are you going to stain or paint your doors? I know you're trying to make the room feel homey while you're finishing things, but I think I'd wait until you get the trim up, finished and the walls painted. I like teacups idea of doing a shelf across your doors. But again I would wait and see how it all looks finished. I think the sayings are a great idea, and doing something across the top near the ceiling either using a stencil or wall words is a different look than the wording plaque in the dining area, so I think it's ok to use both. You have a large area, so you have lots of space to spread them out across. I know it's hard to live in a construction zone - I remember how frustrated I got when we redid our kitchen and ripped out soffits and a dead wall between our eating area and kitchen. But, if you make it look too nice, you'll just delay finishing it because it won't look so bad! Once your trim is up and you pick a paint color (I guess I'm assuming your going to paint something other than the white, so if I'm wrong, please excuse my comments!)the area will look so much different. Then do some wall words, and accessories. You might change your mind and not like what you pick out now when it's all done.