I am receiving lots of "cannot send to this email address" so please make sure you either forward an address where you can be reached or update your settings in GW. Unfortunately, I don't have time to track individuals down to make sure you are receiving the messages I'm sending. :) Julie, there seems to be a problem with GW and email addresses when you get the folloow-up replies emailed to you. When you hit 'reply' it should show the GW email addy, but often it is also showing the member name behind the address, and then that causes the email to show as 'rejected'. I know you will get this reply, so if you try and then 'reply' to that email, please note what is in the TO line before hitting send. If you then delete off 'the extra' stuff behind the email addy, it should send just fine. Clear as mud? I'm just being a busy body here and not wanting to take you up on your kind offer. I've reported the situation to GW via the Contact GW link. chemocurl...aka Sue

Hi Catherine: No bird feeders in my yard (except hummingbirds). I learned a long time ago that with bird feeders you end up with sunflowers, thistles, etc. growing wherever the birds drop them. By mouth or the other end. Only thing I can figure is I feed my cats dry food in the sunroom. Maybe it smelled it though the screen. Sandy: My first co-op job in high school was a typist at St. Stephens School. Being my first job my mom made me wear a white blouse, black skirt and nylons. Sister Mary Rita Mae the science teacher had a pet raccoon that she would let run around the room for exercise. While I was typing notes for her she let Bandit out of his cage. He ran across the room and bit me on my knee. It broke the skin and ruined my nylons. When I got home and told my mom she was more upset over my ruined nylons (they were expensive back then) than she was the bite. To this day I am terrified of raccoons and they seem to sense it. Before I leave for work I put all my work stuff on the side step, feed the fish, pull the car out, load it up and I'm on my way. One time last year after feeding the fish I reached down to close the garage door and saw something come running at me from around the side of the garage. It was a huge raccoon. I jumped into the car, slammed the door shut and pulled down the drive. The darn raccoon chased my car all the way down the drive. Whenever I tried to get out of the car it would try to get in. Of course my cell phone was in my purse on the side step. I was trapped in my car for about 1/2 hour till the raccoon got tired of this game and left. I was late for work and so shook up I almost blew chunks on drive to work. Now in the summertime I carry shake cans with me in the morning to throw at any raccoons that may be in the yard. I just seems like I am a magnet to sick raccoons. Maybe I have a certain aura about me. I like to bicycle down in the valley. Two weeks ago after descending the hill of the entrance to the park I was waiting to cross the road. Everyone on the all purpose trail had stopped what they were doing and were pointing behind me. I turned around only to see a raccoon charging me. I hopped on my bike and rode away. The next day after I finished my hour ride I decided to sit on a picnic table by the river and watch the Canada geese swim. I saw the grass move on the bank and thought it was a fisherman. Here comes a raccoon running straight at me. I had a towel around my neck and grabbed it and flicked it at the raccoon. All my other stuff was on the picnic table next to me (cell phone, water bottle, fanny pack). Didn't that darn raccoon stand up on it's hind legs and hiss at me. It grabbed the towel. It wouldn't back down. I slid all my stuff into the fanny pack, got on my bike and took off. It may have been the same raccoon. When I got to the parking lot there was an elderly couple. The gentleman told me something was wrong with that raccoon because they are noctural and shouldn't be out in broad daylight. Of course my family makes fun of me cuz the raccoons never bother me when anyone else is around. They think it's a "figment of my imagination." I guess it's the price I must pay for being a ponder and living down the street from the Metroparks. The pond is a big attraction for them. Jenny

that's a great experience! I was watering the other day and hummingbird started playing in the water spray. He'd zip in and zip out, he was having a ball! But the best part, I was standing right up against a large lilac bush and as he flew away he came right towards me and landed on a branch not 6" from my face! I don't know how he didn't see me. He sat and swiped his beak on the branches and shook himself a little. I tried not to breathe, and he eventually flew away. I've never had a close encounter with a hummingbird before, what a thrill!

I don't think any of it had dog hair (can't imagine that guy having tolerated dog hair); it was all on plastic hangers, all very nice things, some of it still had the tags. There was literally a truck load of it; we had to put most of it in the 'overflow' shed in the back. The man said that his wife bought some new things, not really a whole lot... but she never threw anything out. Isn't that just...normal? Isn't that the way we do?