Rob, they were doing their job, so be glad that they were around, be glad that perhaps they were over-reacting, it is much better than ignoring a threat. There appears to be so much anger around and so much acting out on that anger. The tragedy in Oakland, where a five police officers got shot, four of them are dead, makes me glad that I am not living in any densely populated area. I am sure that Law-Enforcement is getting paranoid also, don't blame them, wish it were different. Just "be careful out there"

ruthie, You bet --- I get that prideful feeling every time I walk past my pantry/laundry room (which has no door in the doorway, the better to admire the rows of lovely jars of canned goods each time I go by!). But I think I like even better the wonderful feeling of anticipation and *relief* when I realize I can have something yummy made with fresh ingredients without doing much work NOW. Especially in the mornings --- sitting groggily over our coffee, my husband and I will often start to think wearily what do do about breakfast---we are NOT morning people, and I'll start to be deciding whether this is a day for something boring but easy (cereal, say) or something satisfying but that takes work (eggs or pancake), when I suddenly remeber "Hey, there's zucchini bread in the freezer and home-canned applesauce in the pantry!" It feels like a little miracle, every time.... Z

This from wiki on cfl bulbs: Dimming: Only some CF lamps are labeled for dimming control. Using regular CFLs with a dimmer is ineffective at dimming, can shorten bulb life and will void the warranty of certain manufacturers.[63] Dimmable CFLs are available.[64] There is a need for the dimmer switch used in conjunction with a dimmable CFL to be matched to its power consumption range, many dimmers installed for use with incandescent bulbs do not yield acceptable results below 40W, whereas CFL applications commonly draw power in the range 7-20W. The marketing and availability of dimmable CFLs has preceded that of suitable dimmers. The dimming range of CFLs is usually between 20% and 90%.[65] However, in many modern CFLs the dimmable range has been improved to be from 2% to 100%, more akin to regular lights. There are two types of dimmable CFL marketed: Regular dimmable CFLs, and "switch-dimmable" CFLs. The latter use a regular light switch, while the on-board electronics has a setting where the number of times the switch is turned on & off in quick succession sets a reduced light output mode. Dimmable CFLs are not a 100% replacement for incandescent fixtures that are dimmed for "mood scenes" such as wall sconces in a dining area. Below the 20% limit, the lamp remain at the approximate 20% level, in other cases it may flicker or the starter circuitry may stop and restart.[66] Above the 80% dim limit, the bulb will generally glow at 100% brightness. However, these issues have been addressed with the latest units and some CFLs may perform more like regular lamps. Dimmable CFLs have a higher purchase cost than standard CFLs due to the additional circuitry required for dimming. A further limitation is that multiple dimmable CFLs on the same dimmer switch may not appear to be at the same brightness level. Cold Cathode CFLs can be dimmed to low levels, making them popular replacements for incandescent bulbs on dimmer circuits. Google "dimmable cfl bulbs." You'll come up with lots of sites selling dimmable cfls, including Amazon. Here is a link that might be useful: Google search: dimmable cfl bulbs

This was the most insane WIND day I've ever know here in Denver (Thornton), and I've lived here since 1964! I'm used to gusts up to about 50 mph, but this was WAY beyond that! It lasted until sometime between 7:00 and 8:00 when it started to get better. The middle of the afternoon NOAA was showing SUSTAINED wind up here of 51 mph, and gusts to 64 mph! I was guessing I had gusts up to 70 mph, and then I heard on the weather that Broomfield (straight west of me) had gusts up to 84 mph, so now I'm wondering if what I got here was even over 70 mph! I was out digging up iris for the swap--when I went out it was 72º and the winds were "coming and going." After about an hour it got really bad, but I had to finish what I was working on! At times the wind sounded like I was just a couple feet away from a speeding freight train! The NOISE was incredible! Then the wind shifted to the northwest and got even worse--and it started to get COLD! I kept hearing things "snapping and cracking" and the cottonwood trees behind me started to Snap, Crackle, and Pop! Two of the worst ones had been taken down in the last few years, but the three remaining were "loosing branches" left and right! I MAY have mentioned a time or two around here how much I "dislike" cottonwood trees!!! A couple times I almost blew away myself! If the wind had been out of the east, Max, I think I just might have wound up blowing past YOU! I was getting really scared a tree was gonna blow down on my head, so I finished what I was doing as fast as I could and came back in! Since everything was blowing away, everywhere, I brought in all my plant stuff off of the deck, and brought in the Iris to put them in pots inside. A few minutes later I looked out of the slider just in time to see a couple flats of the plants I had potted up for the swap start blowing away! Opened the door to go out and "rescue" them, and as soon as I got the door open about a foot, ALL the "debris" from the deck blew straight into my face--and into the house! I have a couple loose pieces of carpet on the deck--they were weighted down with bricks!--and they all blew toward me and halfway into the door--the bricks went every-which-way! One flat--luckily it was just stuff left over from last year, most of which I didn't think was gonna make it anyway!--blew completely away, so I was out trying to "collect" all the styrofoam cups and pots from under the deck--freezing by then--and still listening to the "snapping and cracking!" The actual swap plants only blew "halfway" over, and I got them settled back down, patted the plants back into place, and put bricks on top of them! I had some birdseed in a tub on the deck, and THAT was EVERYWHERE--including in my eyes and mouth! Just as I was starting to get that mess cleaned up I glanced across the yard and saw "half" of the neighbor's cottonwood in my yard! I was NOT imagining the Cracking Sounds! The limb is at least 4" in diameter, 12" circumference, and it was "hanging" on the fence and juniper tree!!! I naively went over to "push" it back into the neighbor's yard, but the "heavy end" had slipped past the fence and crashed into the perennial bed, so I was pushing the "wrong direction" and it didn't take long to figure out that what I was trying to do was impossible, so I managed to pull if off of the fence and onto the grass! This is a part of one of the biggest limbs on the tree--the whole thing came down but the "main part," the BIGGEST part was heavy enough to fall straight down into the neighbor's yard! Laying sideways where it is now it's sticking up at least 10-12'!!! It's sticking above the top of the privacy fence a good 5-6'--RIGHT next to the fence! The diameter where this thing broke off of the tree must be at least 8"! Like I said, MAJOR limb! WHY do people keep cottonwood trees??!?? By the time I got back inside to stay it was 55º out--and I was frozen stiff! Didn't get warm again until several hours later when I took a HOT shower! Max, when the wind shifted to the NW your chickens stopped blowing by! I figure they were going by Colorado Springs or Pueblo after the wind shifted!!! Sorry I didn't know Amelia's name when she blew by or I would have wished her Good Luck! Sorry about your Chicken Losses today! ;-) I hope everybody else was safe today, and that nobody had any serious damage, Skybird