Here I am, Kate! Been missing in action due to a hip injury that kept me sidelined for a couple of weeks, but I'm back now! I have been feeding birds for about 50 years and have tried every product on the market, and then some. Many work for awhile, many are just a joke. Spring loaded feeders that close when a heavy bird or squirrel gets on them will work until the squirrels figure out they can hang from the roof of it by their back legs and reach down to scoop out the seed without activating the lever that closes the feeder. Feeders enclosed in cages with openings only big enough for small birds to pass through will work for awhile...until you find (as I did) a dead squirrel hanging from one of the holes, where it got its head stuck trying to get in. It's very unpleasant to clean up. Also, caged feeders usually don't allow any of the larger birds in...not even cardinals. Safflower seeds are a good idea for feeders that you want completely accessible, as squirrels don't particularly like them. BUT...they WILL eat them when they are really hungry and if they can't find any other seed around. I usually keep one or two feeders with safflower in them because cardinals and titmice love them so much, but now and then, a really hungry squirrel will empty them. Personally, I think the very best way is to find a baffle that works for you. All of my main feeders hang from "shepherd's hook" type poles. About 4 or 4 1/2 feet off the ground, I mount a baffle on the pole, just under the hanging feeder. It completely stops the squirrels from climbing UP the pole...they run up, get stuck under the baffle, and run back down again. And if you get the height right, they can't jump OVER it, either. You have to locate the pole where they can't jump to the feeder from a nearby tree, of course, but other than that they are very effective. No squirrels are getting to any of my feeders now, and I probably have at least 20 that live in my trees and yard. There are several kinds of baffles. I use the cone shaped ones I get from PetSmart. They are relatively inexpensive (I think less than $20) and last forever. IF an industrious squirrel manages to jump high enough to grab at the baffle, it tilts and dumps him off. There is another type that my friend uses, which is also quite good. It is a cylinder about 6" wide that fastens to the pole. If they run up the pole, they are stuck inside. And if they jump up and grab the cylinder, it's too wide for them to hold onto and they drop right off. BTW, my squirrels have no trouble climbing up PVC pipe at all, no matter the diameter...it gets scratched and roughened quickly, and they can hold on to it with their sharp little claws. And in the same vein, forget about greasing the pole with Vaseline and the like...it melts in summer, runs down all over the ground, and they are soon running right up the pole. Not to mention, dirt and debris stick to it and the pole soon looks pretty bad. The link below will take you to one place online that sells several types of baffles. You can see samples of both the cylindrical type and the cone shaped ones on this page. And if you have hanging feeders, there are samples of the domed baffles here, too. Hope this helps. Good luck! Marcia (ps...I have 2 squirrel chasers, as well, but the trouble with them is, they are just as happy chasing the birds as they are the squirrels! *grin* ) Here is a link that might be useful: Baffle Samples

Below is a link to a site that tells you more than you may want to know about the process of deriving sugar from sugar cane, and from beets. There are a bunch of tabs at the top, and you can move around the site, learning about all sorts of things such as how unrefined sugar is made, and also about the refining process that results in pure, white sucrose. One relevant quote is this: "White sugar is essentially pure sucrose and there is no difference between that derived from cane and that from beet." I did, however, read one part that said different refined sugars might be sweeter than others because they are composed of smaller crystals. I guess this would result in more dense sugar, with less air spaces between crystals. I don't know. Look for it, read it, and see what you think. You can also type in a page from the hummingbirds.net website-- http://www.hummingbirds.net/hainsworth.html. It will get you to an article by hummingbird researchers. In the article there is an interesting discussion about ranges of sugar concentrations in natural nectars, and in feeder solutions, and how this affects the frequency of hummingbird feeding trips. Although flower nectar can contain three different sugars--sucrose, glucose, and fructose, when given a choice, the birds show a definite preference for pure sucrose over pure glucose or fructose. As far as I can determine, once it has been fully refined, sucrose is sucrose, whether it comes from beets or sugar cane. Here is a link that might be useful: Sugar cane, sugar beets, and sugar refining

I was out at 3:30 this morning turning on the sprinklers in anticipation of a windy day. Turned out even windier that I'd expected with speeds of 30+ mph and gusts above 40!! While I was setting up the sprinklers, an owl was watching and screeching at me from the neighbor's garage roof. Still, when I arrived at the garden late in the afternoon - a small bunny raced out of the area where I've seen him twice before. Given enuf time, the owl will have him. I haven't seen another rabbit in the garden in weeks. If you aren't blessed with owls, I'm not sure what to do with the rabbits short of shooting them or running them off with a dog. Ground squirrels are different. Usually, their burrows are easily found and the squirrels don't venture far from home. Several times, I have dissuaded them by showing up at their burrows with a sledge hammer and a short piece of wood. Rocks are always at hand in my area. I select about 3 "burrow-sized" boulders and drive them down the holes with the sledge hammer and chunk of wood. That has proven to be a solution. digitS'

What a cool feeder! There are a number of PVC cement products out there that would work. I just saw an ad for something called Quick & Easy Performance Plus, saying its eco-friendly, which means it should be safe for the squirrels and any other little critter that comes in contact with it. It's from a company with the first name Bond...I think. If it is not thick enough to act as a grout, wait until the PVC cement dries, fill seams with grout and then seal the grout with a good water seal product. Hope this helps. Your squirrels should be thanking you!