Reviving this threa, what a great discussion! 1) Easy plant that you found really difficult - bird of paradise. my absolute favorite flower, gorgeous plant, but I can't seem to grow it in my area. rotted the roots of my largest, and I have 4 seedlings hanging in suspended animation... don't know, I just can't get them right. 2) Difficult plant that you found really easy - Persian carpet flower, Edithcolea grandis. I've heard they rot very, very easily (almost overnight) even at room temperature... I've had mine for a few months now and it's doing just fine. Hopefully I'm not speaking too soon, as it has not flowered yet. 3) A difficult plant that was such a disaster you will never try it again - Desert Roses. I was gifted a dozen seeds, and bought 3 six month old seedlings. Every seed germinated, but they all shriveled out of nowhere and dropped their leaves. The larger plants leaves yellowed and now they're a little shriveled and kind of doing nothing... very disappointing, won't be buying any more :( 4) An easy plant that you find so rewarding that you collect them/push them/get too excited about them - cacti, specifically Gymnocalyciums. Love love love their flowers, and most are just interesting to look at. Easy to care for f given the right conditions and very rewarding in the springtime!

I appreciate your hard work, but I think an "average" date would be misleading to people who are new to hummingbirds. These people don't understand that hummers don't migrate en mass - there can be months between birds heading north AS the data you've accumulated shows (62 days! WOW!). Furthermore, the dates for the FIRST hummers is important for atleast two reasons. 1. Early in the season there may not be as many natural food sources and a feeder out early enough may mean life or death for an early hummer. The first dates are a great wake-up call, as in "Really, they've been sighted nearby - I need to get my feeder out" 2. People who are trying to attract hummers to their yards probably don't want to wait until the migration season is half over to put out their feeder. They want EVERY bird who comes by to discover it, remember it and return. The earlier your feeder goes out the more migrating birds that can use it - the more fun we have watching! I hope this doesn't sound like I'm criticizing your work. I understand your frustration, seeing that hummers are in your area but not seeing them. Maybe Lanny could put a disclaimer on his actual map page noting that hummers migrate individually and it may take months for migrating birds to pass through an area. Remember even his map doesn't neccessarily show the first hummers - just the ones humans spotted and reported. Thank you for your hard work - it's a great chart!

Congratulations! This is our first year with birds in our new house, so we're new too. We order them online also from drsfostersmith.com When our geriatric kitty was alive, we ordered her supplies from them, and they were always friendly, affordable, quality, and prompt. This year we first ordered 2k mealworms, then another 2k, then since we had a decent routine of feeding & cleaning, this last batch was 5k. We keep them in the fridge, except during weekends when they come out for their 'dinner'. The grocery store clear-plastic Salad clamshells work very nicely for punching holes in the top & top-sides, and make a nice worm-home in the fridge. We just pull the worm-homes out of the fridge, pick 20 or 30 worms out of them, then take them out to the feeder. Hope this helps !

twogirls, slightly differing opinion here....given the things you have told us about the two areas and what you are finding out about the 2 acre country lot, for me it would also be a no-brainer (buy it if you like it!) It would be nice if we could all find/afford/enjoy acreage large enough to ensure we never saw another building, close to conveniences, with a guarantee that our view would never change. ;~) Okay, back to real life...yours...with the facts you have shared about land around there being difficult to find and afford, your budget, etc. I can see more "pros" than some posters...just my opinion of course. I can see that there are already other houses on your street (if it becomes yours) that have acreage around them (so there will always be a feeling of space and more land than houses) and lots of open space behind you and a nice view. Yes, there are lots behind you and there is a chance that whoever purchases them could put their house farther back and thus more in your line of sight....it'll still be a long way from your house and chances are high they will prefer to build at least a bit closer to the road (so you would still have quite a bit of space and land behind you to enjoy.) So you will have a house beside you, and maybe someday another one, and be able to see some other houses...okay. ;~) You'll still have lots of open space and big lots around those houses and that is a very nice thing to live with. I do understand the point some are making, that large lots and long, narrow ones give you more space to take care of while still not ensuring complete privacy from the world...but in my book, more open space (around and behind the houses) and more "sky" and views around the area is still more open space and a desirable thing to live with.