...but Chelone,if I snuck up behind you and carefully placed a straw within my armpit and gave a nice puff...would you lol just a little bit? I bet that would at least make you grin: ) OK it would be short lived but appreciated.lol That's the thing. Life sends us stuff. Some of it is good, fun,happy stuff and then the yucky stuff slips in too-it's inevitable. I think you are going to handle the tax stuff OK-that accountant is a godsend. Your mom's situation just stinks-no one deserves that kind of treatment-or lack of.BUT because I know you-(well,you know)...you will say what you think about her care and that squeaky wheel certainly will get it's oil. She's new there-they just need your input and I think you'll get results. Your brother seems really on board so at least you are a team? Does he have the same worries that you do? No facility is better than what a daughter or son would realistically want for a parent but I hope you do see an attempt from them to do better for her. I think you are exhausted from all of it-look at how long this has been going on for you. That's why you are having sleep probs,you don't want to go to work,the construction stuff is bugging you....each of these things alone are things you are capable of handling(we're talking about CHELONE here; )it's just all of them clumped together and the emotion added to it are muddling things. Take one thing at a time-you'll be OK. It's not easy but I think you will get through this too. Hmmm we're home one day from our paradise weektrip and MIL was complaining on the phone, she wanted life to be over due to some stiff pain she's having...just what Chris wanted to hear... I keep thinking how things could be much worse than they are-it gives me perspective to deal with it. Sue I just wanted to tell you that while I'm sure you'll have some initital discomfort, all that walking/exercise you get will probably cut your recovery down considerably-just be obedient and take things slow at the beginning. I hope you are calm(especially with no wine or food!)and things go well for you tomorrow. I'll be thinking of you...say,does this mean you'll be slowed down enough to idyll more? : ) Drema-beautiful card! Thank you! I didn't know about the program at the CBG but I'll have to look into it. I hope your newly planted items survive-would a heavy mulch at the base help? I think everything that has sprouted now will be a little deformed but get some normal regrowth when temps stablize...(crossing fingers) Hocking Hills was fabulous if you don't mind hail storms,rain and cold : ) STRANGE weather all over the place. Hocking Hills had a couple warm weeks in the 70's before Easter but by the time we arrived they had been having freeze warnings and many plants/trees were zapped. The first night in our place we had a wind/hailstorm that brough an inch of hail!That was loud! I guess there was talk of a possible tornado but I didn't hear if it was true. Well, at least our cottage was built into a hillside so we were very safe. We had one day(Fri.) with warm breezes and full sun...and I got a sunburn from hanging out in the hot tub-odd but true. The ride back was treacherous with a slush rain snow thing happening-it was part of the storm that is going to blast the east coast-hang on you guys. Back here in Cleveland we were supposed to get snow-but they were wrong so it's dry now and the sun just came out-I hope the nor'easter is much less harsh than they predict. I don't mean to be short(I say that alot lately) but I need to finish the laundry and get things ready for the school week. If I have time I'll be back. Cynthia-Monty's illness sounds scary! I hope things are improving for Monty. I hope you are doing OK too. ~Babs

catcollector, You go girl! How wonderful it is when someone steps up to the plate to do the right thing despite being given the "run around" by all the proper wildlife authorities. Ya know ducks do that imprinting thing when they are little, so we'll just have to start calling you "ducky mom." I think what you are doing is amazing and wonderful. Funny thing is I bet you will learn as much from those little ducky babies as they will from you. I'm certain that once you give them the start they need in life, they will be fully capable of surviving on their own and that's what counts. I commend you for caring. Good luck with your ducks. BooBooBearBecky

Jeff-that would be my guess too. They have a unique way they bob their tail when they are sitting on a branch or line. We always get a mom that nests under our carport (Central Illiniois) and it is fun to watch how many bugs she brings back to feed the babies. Kara

We have a house finch nest in our wreath one brood already hatched and fledged, then they were right back at it again. I see a lot of people who don’t notice a disturbance in the nest when the babies go missing. One thing it might be is crows, we had 4 babies and an unhatched egg and a crow came and took all but 2. It tried to come back, but I think we scared it off. We have video of it going to the nest on our doorbell cam. Crows are smart and like to observe, they will watch mama and papa going to the nest and also people checking on it as well. If you are checking on a nest be very aware of your surroundings