Hi Robin, I just love gardening books! I'd be happy to put together a trade with you. I would be interested in the last two books, not the houseplant book. You can check my exchange page if you like, member name SHERI. I have others too that aren't on my list. Please LMK! Thx, Sheri

voles, the bane of many gardeners efforts.

Hi Debbie, Try not to worry that your Blues aren't coming now. I really think this is normal. They know where your nesting box is... and they won't forget where they get their worms. They leave us missing them for awhile, but they should be back. And btw, we usually let the Carolina Wrens and the Nuthatches take a few worms. We love them too and always delight to see them up close. Our Blues always get the majority of them. :) We use 2 little bowls mainly: One is for suet nuggets which we leave out most of the day. All our Bluebirds stop by for 1 or 2 nuggets at various times of day, and several other desireable birds (Mockers, Wrens, Nuthatches etc) also grab these. The other bowl is for mealworms which we feed 2 or 3 times daily. It's rare not to see our Blues come at these times, but we're not seeing them all at each feeding now like we did earlier in the season. We're preparing to miss them for awhile soon. Oh, there is a 3rd bowl which we fill randomly with suet, seed, fruit, peanuts or whatever... ha it's a Today's Special kinda thing. Hope you see yours again soon, and often. Kenn Here is a link that might be useful: Year-round Bluebirds

Sorry I didn't get back sooner. Thanks for all the suggestions. I was telling my husband that I had no ideas, and he said why don't you cook some of the halibut and salmon I just brought home? (he was on a fishing trip in Alaska last week) So I think that I'll cook in on the grill wrapped in foil with some olive oil and seasoning, then make a sauce with fresh tomatoes, marinated mushrooms and artichoke hearts, capers and lemon juice with angel hair pasta - this is something that I've been making for my husband and myself the past few months with salmon. I'm not sure how long I'll need to cook the fish though. I really hate overcooked fish!