Jane, if you only have one feeder out, you might try a good mixture with black oil sunflower seeds stirred into it. Don't get the cheapie kind with those little reddish-brown "BB's" in it. I have never seen ANYTHING actually eat those. I get mine at PetSmart, and I really love the Stokes mixture that has no hulls in it. I feed it, black oiler sunflowers and safflower seed. Safflower seed goes into a feeder that doesn't have squirrel protection, because they don't really like it, but cardinals and titmice do. HOWEVER, no matter what you are feeding, there will be times when birds are not around for various reasons. I have hardly any right now, mostly due to a pair of hawks hanging about our neighborhood. And even without the hawks, birds often disappear for a few weeks now and then. One more thing...don't forget that WATER is probably even more important than seed in luring birds to your yard. You'll notice that most of Maureen's pictures feature her great birdbath. Be sure to provide several "baths" around the yard. They can be anything from decorative features to trashcan lids on the ground with 2" of water in them. I often turn clay pots upside down and put a clay saucer on top for water. Keep the water CLEAN and shallow, maybe even adding a rock in the center for birds to stand on. Good luck! Marcia

Looks like you have plenty of House Sparrows, one with white in its wings, a Carolina Wren and a Downey Woodpecker. All of your Sparrows are House Sparrows in these pics, a mixure of juvies, males and females. There was one year I had a young House Sparrow that had white in its wings and tail feathers, never did get a pic of it but it looked really different like that one of yours does. Not sure what you have in your feeders but if you are feeding seed with millet or corn in it you may want to switch to something without those in so as to not attract the House Sparrows as much. Donna

Hi, I think "eye candy" also refers to pretty women. Or, anything pretty, such as flowers. Su, where did you get the little red shot cups? I found some with a child's game. They work very well and are sturdy. I would like to get more. I was able to just get a few. I love the pics of the little baby plants and mouse ears. Truth to tell, they are my favorites! Somewhere, you asked if it is a good idea to wick a small solo cup size pot. Yes, it it possible and a good idea! We just returned home from fours days away. I put all the small ones in the size and shape of your photos with wicks in covered clear plastic containers. I watered everything well then left a bit of moisture on the bottom of the trays with the wicks. The plants that were wicked stayed moist longer. I could tell by the relative dryness of the potting mix when compared with other babies that did not have wicks but were simply placed in covered plastic containers. They were more dried out. This was a trial run, as we will be taking an eight day trip shortly. It was such a relief to not have to worry about the violets while away. Joanane

Esther, yes Lakeside Zinger is also in this pot. I have to take a new picture, they have really grown this week. It's just funny that we both have such a pot with STGN. I also planted a few new ones today.Found seven of those pots at the scrap metal dealer and planted Masquerade, Tortifrons and Cameo. They are short pieces of gutter closed at both ends and are standing on small metall feet. They fit perfectly on my new wooden stairs and I will plant more of my minis tomorrow.