It is indeed a long term commitment, Nancy. One of the benefits of participating in parrot-owner groups is finding someone who can take your animals should life conditions change. Sometimes it is not death, but economics which force a rehoming of a parrot.....like large noisy macaws especially are rehomed when folks in recent years lost their homes and moved in with family or into apartments etc which did not accept such noisy pets. Of course, once night comes, parrots are quiet and asleep, but still, a macaw is a wood-eating machine and to consider what is fair to the bird is also important. They need space, and time out of the confinement. So, having someone who can permanently or temporarily care for the birds is a big issue for parrot owners. And as you say, they can life as long a life as human beings. I discovered parrots late in life, maybe when I was 45, and so any young birds I take will outlive me, given a normal longevity. My adored African greys are just now sexually mature, around 15 for one, and my big boy Kimali turned 14 on March 18.....I had him from the time he was 5 weeks old, fell in love with the little dinosaur when he was hatched only 3 days. So he's known me all his life. We have a special relationship. One of the major concerns with most people is the long term care of the parrots after we pass on. So, the parrots are in my will. I am a fan and supporter of Iowa Parrot Rescue near Muscatine Iowa, and have taken several parrots to them for my vet when folks cannot keep them. IPR is a 401c3 or whatever it is, tax deductible etc, and it is a great place out in the middle of huge expanses of corn fields, with an outdoor aviary, and a large permanent care facility along with an active adoption program. Parrots coming from a home frequently need a new family to love, and prefer to be touched and handled. Yet others have been so badly abused for whatever reasons, that they are custodial candidates. Mike and Abi evaluate potential homes before and after an adoption, and I trust their judgement with this. I have a bequest to the IPR in my will, and definitely support them during the present time. In most cases, family members are not inclined to share legacies with a bird, and in my mind it is not an optional commitment. Before everything else, my animals, dogs as well as birds, are to be provided for. My external hard drive with 10 years worth of photos on it failed, and it also contained the backups for the whole computer. So, now I must send it off to be salvaged if possible. All I have left are albums on Flickr. I might have a couple of pictures accessible but what a sad thing. I took 10 gig of photos of just my hosta garden last year, so those are gone too. Real bummer. Dolly and Dixie. Dolly is the puppy. Keno, a male eclectus parrot adopted when his mama died of esophageal cancer Kimali male African grey in the dining room Rumbles, a tiny female African grey adopted last May when her mama was diagnosed with brain tumor and lung cancer

Exactly. We have seen the rust here. But it doesn't go after a few other junipers. We have an orchard and a once thriving apple tree is now dead too. I ask others about the border because I know not every plant can avoid problems; heard the boxwood had a euro blight recently that gets carried by tools and new plants. I am hoping to also avoid fungus that will hurt our fruit trees too. Something with no current issues at least.

I don't mind the table and mirror and can't really think of anything besides art that would fit on that wall. Can't see the table details well but could it be painted? How about red to match your lovely door? What would say "fresh and cozy" to you for that space? Have you thought of a new light fixture? A runner and a larger rug in the entrance could look good. I don't find the clock visible from the door to be welcoming so I'd be tempted to remove it.

I am not sure you can make it appear much larger. And a mirror needs something to reflect to be effective. I vote for simple. Here is my front hall and it is about the same size. I have framed photographs on each side. They are my own work and the plan was to change them out periodically but I have been too lazy. The outside of the door is painted Fabulous Grape and I tried painting the inside as well, but it just didn't look as good as I expected. The plain white works for me. I love my door, last year the Trick-or-treaters had a big time looking in the low windows....