I probably only have enough sun around the patio, and I'll probably just stay a little envious of her bountiful vines:smily:

I have American Holly volunteers in several areas, none very sunny, so I'm looking at them more as eventual screening (and shelter for birds) than as berry producers. I'm sure you planted yours in much better areas than the birds did in my yard, Sally!

Not really, Muddy. I knew they could take tree shade, so they are in competition with a couple maples, and an oak, and a few pitiful scraps of privet hedge, from way back when the yards were young and the trees little, or not even there yet. I am viewing holly as taking the place of the privet. Holly grows thickly as an understory in some woods near here, so don't give up hope on those berries.

End of last year, I bought a 10 pack of Suet "Plus" (+ what??) at Aldis.
The pack has been in my fridge, unopened, all summer& fall.
With the cold weather upon us, I decided to put up 2 suet cakes.
They look OK and have no odor. I thought they actually smelled nice.

So far--not one bird has shown interest in them. Even saw a Downy
check it out but it then flew away.
Wonder what may be wrong with the suet? Or--no one has "discovered it?

G.

What other ingredients does it have in it? The label should say.

I don't see any action yet on my suet, but seed is getting eaten. Just give it time. It really hasn't been that cold yet, and they may still be eating natural food sources. Sparrows were working on the sandmat weeds in the cracks of my sidewalk, seemed to be finding a lot to eat.

Birds have taken up residence in the stacked wood piles outside the basement door. Bonnie's puppy River is beside himself with all the bird dog instincts he has. He is so cute with the pointing. He doesn't know what to do with it though, so the birds are quite safe

so, he's doing the Mannequin Challenge?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

Never heard of the Mannequin Challenge but I guess that is an apt depiction of River in his point stance LOL. Good gosh, I am so out of touch with what is popular and trending. You should have seen the looks I got from my 21 year old nephew and 17 year old niece yesterday when my sister asked them to "spotify Thanksgiving" just as we were sitting down to our meal. Even my sister rolled her eyes at me when I said I had never heard of that before and asked what it was. Apparently it is a streaming music service and she was using it to play soft background music during our meal

I'm in that boat with you, Terri -Someone mentioned Pandora (another music service) and I thought of something related to jewelry..

Love it!
Watched the American Kennel Club Dog Show after the Macy's parade yesterday and wondered how so many of the breeds represented fared in this evolving world where their traits must be translated into 'pets' and 'urban' living.

I was surprised to see so many of the Best In Show wining dogs jump up on their owner/ trainer/handlers when their win was announced. Wayne says that they read the excitement of their human and want to join in on the joyful moment!

Muddy, I think squirrels and Blue Jays get each other and I have seen other cooperative behavior between them. They will both dine together on same platform while excluding other birds.

Once had a dog, Scupper, who would sit on his hind legs and beg the cat , Mittens, eating on the window shelf out of his reach for some kibbles which he enjoyed more than his own dog food. We thought it was hilarious until three or four times one of the cats would play clumsy and knock down a few! Then we started to find a cat dish on the floor about once a week and started feeding the cats on a less dog accessible place with the same results. Curious we saw Mittens finish her meal and then paw push the dish off the shelf!

Terri and Sally, its a crowded boat, quit shoving!

sallyg said:I'm in that boat with you, Terri -Someone mentioned Pandora (another music service) and I thought of something related to jewelry..

I must have been among the first to board this boat as my reference is to her box with nothing to do with music.

Just heard a report this am that Black Friday is on its way out. Not yet available in USA, shoppers in China can do the Mall via Virtual Reality with click on purchases of what catches one's eye.

Wonder how much of my bucket list is VR doable?

http://time.com/4273885/virtua...

quite comical mental picture of me and many friends in a lifeboat in the sea of 'Newfangled'

In my defense=
Pandora A/S is an international Danish jewelry manufacturer and retailer founded in 1982 by Per Enevoldsen. The company started as a family-run jewelry shop in Copenhagen. Wikipedia

Ahoy, mates.

Save a place for me on that boat!! Siri and Alexa "live" in my house. They seem to be somewhat helpful, but I have no idea how to take advantage of their talents. My husband can turn lights on at our daughter's house for fun if he wants to, and I have no idea how he does that.

Hope there are some good books and music on board, like this one:


"The Beetless’ Gardening Book: An Organic Gardening Songbook/Guidebook, edited by Chris Roth. Softcover published 1997 by Carrotseed Press.

What’s not to love about a book of organic gardening songs set to Beatles tunes? Here are some samples:

To the tune of “Love Me Do”:

Bug, bug me do
You know I love you
You’ll pollinate too
So please – bug me do.

Or, to the tune of “A Hard Day’s Night”:

I’ve got a hard, clay soil
And I’ve been working like a dog
To add humus so that when it rains
I’ve got a garden, not a bog.

And to the tune of “I Want to Hold Your Hand”:

Well I’ll tell you something
I hope you’ll understand
I don’t want no rototiller
I want to dig by hand
I want to dig by hand
I want to dig by hand.

Well tractors make me queasy
Their noise I cannot stand
Their fumes, they sure are stinky
I want to dig by hand.

Not singing along as you scan the tunes in this songbook/guidebook is the only challenge that you will be taking on in reading The Beetless’ Gardening Book. The lyrics in every song are amusing, educational and dripping with compost, while the music is compliments of John, Paul, George and Ringo. Various gardening tasks are explained to the tunes of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (Loosely Firm the Edges of Seedflats), Maxwell’s Silver Hammer (Maxwell’s Plastic Bucket) or you can dance in your garden singing out Mulch! to the music of Help! If you know any Beatles songs, you can probably find an organic cover of it in this guidebook. — Michelle Urso, Healing Currents Journal, 1997."

what a hoot!!!

There are used copies for sale on Amazon for under a dollar! I just ordered one, and will pass it along via the seed swap gift table if I can part with it after reading - er, singing - it

Hey Muddy, if you do another amazon order p l e a s e get one for me?

I tried looking for 'recordings' but no such luck probably copywright laws and residuals like 'Happy Birthday' Maybe we could release a Mid Atlantic version and go viral!

I have to say it was Sequoia I envisioned singing "Mulch"!!!!!
And RickM 'loosely firm the edges of seed flats'.

...and you saw me singing "I want to dig by hand", right?

The bookseller from which I bought the book used only had one copy, or else I would have offered to order more.
If this link works, it should bring up sub-links to the other booksellers offering used copies at various prices. If not, google "The Beetless Gardening Book" and look at the Amazon results.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/offe...

Edited to add, the link works for me.
Judy, you're right, there isn't a recording because of objections from those holding rights to The Beatles' songs. I read that in a long online review of this book. Thanks for the tip about the book!