I would put up a second box for the HOSP. It doesn't have to be anything fancy (no baffles or anything since you'll be using it as a trap house). Set it up with the screws in place for a Van Ert trap. Let them get used to it and start building. Once they are attached to the box, put the Van Ert in and trap them. I know you're not supposed to put up the spooker until the first egg is laid, but in my humble opinion, I think you did the right thing under the circumstance. It is better than having them fight in the box and having a Bluebird killed. When the HOSP come back, if you have a spare box up, they will choose the box without the sparrow spooker (your trap box). Just plug up the hole in the trap box when you're not using it so no native birds try to nest there. I hope your Blues are already attached enough to their box that they won't abandon it.

I'd rather have the snow than the heat. We got 8 inches a week ago and it has been so warm it's almost gone. I hate to think of how hot it would have been without that nice white blanket reflecting the sun. A couple years ago we had our last frost in March, instead of May. Hard on the daylilies, the hostas didn't seem to care. Then we had a year of 50 to 60 degrees in Feb., March and early April, followed by a hard freeze. Everything was up and a lot of hosta leaves looked horrible. Lost a few trees, but no hostas. Last year was bone dry, no snow, cold - and the hostas were fine. Give them some mulch, cover the pips if you feel like it, but don't get too worried. The only hostas I've lost have been dug up for having HVX, gradually disappeared (minis and/or hard-to-grow) or died of crown rot. My first Liberty was a wimpy dud, four leaves in five years, and it still lived through the bad weather. Liberty II is vigorous! I'm anxious to see how much bigger it is this year.

Well, I do grow Haworthias now, Imontestella- keep up, man ;-). My experimentation with gritty mixes was about 2 years ago. Too bad you weren't there as the voice of reason then, Imontestello. I had planned to try just a few plants, but others on the site didnt think caution necessary, so I jumped in with both feet. More recently, I advised someone else to experiment with just a couple of plants first, and Al jumped all over me about it- simply because I warned the person of some of the downsides of gritty mix. It's an insanely contentious subject on this forum. It is true that I'm very new to growing Haworthia- like new in the last week, but I've been growing plants for 3-1/2 decades; I read, and my thumbs are very green. I had not read that Haworthias lose their roots occasionally. Why is this? That sounds like a reaction to some environmental stressor to me. Where can I read about the phenomenon? I can imagine root loss occurring as a plant uses that stored water during a drought, but it would be evolutionary suicide to lose roots at a time when there is adequate water and the plant needs it. Renee, now that the search feature on this site is working, search the cacti and succulent forum for "failing to thrive in gritty mix" and you will find 2 pages of threads about dehydration in gritty mix and other people having problems just like yours. Here's one of my previous posts attempting to draw attention to this exact problem. Lots of helpful commentary on it. http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/3068289/a-warning-about-gritty-mixes?n=31

Keep at it. I feel for your frustration, but it is important you find the root of this problem. The swelling could be a symptom of many, many illnesses (serious or benign) so you need to get to the bottom of it. As you've already read, get yourself to a multi-disciplinary facility where the specialists can work as a team. Don't be afraid to have to travel to find a center like this. It will be well worth the inconvenience to efficiently determine the cause of the swelling. Hope you have a quick resolution to the problem.