Several yrs back crow was caught in fishing string in neighbor's pine tree very high up. He would try to fly & take off & fall about 15 in.over & over again & come evening as sun was going down the neighborhood suddenly had over 100 crows, they were everywhere all cawing & some would get close & sit on branch near him(giving him encouragement I guess)I was going to call someone next morning but he was gone. Last week as I came out of alley, I saw a crow looked kind of odd way he was walking then I realized he had broken his leg & his left foot was backward & useless & he was actually walking on the leg & not the foot that had managed to heal. I see him all the time now. Another time 1 lost it's mate & the 2nd bird would not leave it. I finally asked the neighbor man if he would pick it up & still the bird kept walking around until nightfall & came back several times following days. Dad thought they mate for life but don't know if that is so or not. We seem to have 3-4 up in pine tree but that's all. I like them. Hope you crow thing works out!! jan

Ken, the yellow weeper is 'Boyko's Sundown'. Some are more golden then others, this one I hand picked because it had such great bright splotches. It also seemed fairly narrow which is good considering it's spot! As for the property line, this is probably the best aspect of my piece of earth, it's both vague *and* heavily forested. I am next to a corner lot(their backyard extends to my left side yard) and there is a greenbelt behind me for about 150 yards. It has been designated native habitat by the county and thus without serious zoning changes can never be developed. Most of the large, existing trees on my property are huge already. There are hundreds of doug-firs exceeding 50' and many well over 100' tall with the only thing visible to the gardener or visitor are the elephant trunks shooting upwards. A few of my younger doug-firs out front are about 10-15 years old and still have limbs to the ground. These are what I mean I will slowly trim up, exposing new spaces for conifers that take some shade or part shade. Dougs grow like *crazy* here, so in 15-20 years I'll be surrounded skyward by plants exceeding 150' at which point the only problem will be trees dumping branches and needles in storms and the occasional large tree coming down(a scary thing indeed). Long term, many of the plants that it becomes apparent will be much too big to stay will end up in the local botanical garden which I am helping to design. Almost 100 acres of space, over half undeveloped so there should be plenty of space for these trees to settle in for the long haul. We've worked out a nominal trade/price of about $5 cash/$10 trade per year per plant. Not a lot of money, but that's not the point anyways. Finally, I *welcome* the day I run out of space. It'll be good on my back, budget and nice to know I have a 'complete' garden, with plants that are really nice to have around. Two or three years, I'd guess! -Will

Hi all! I finished several projects and have moved on to a matching purse (for mom --to match her baby's anouk I made from the knitty), a made a superfun and pink fuzzy felted purse for myself, and now I am knitting up a super warm shawl for myself to keep on my computer chair and snuggle as I surf the web!!! My goal is to chew down some of my yarn stash so I don't have to feel quite as guilty when I give in to my next yarn bash. I saw someone looking for slipper patterns.... I don't have the addy but do a search under knit a longs and there is currently a great knit along for slippers with loads of free patterns for you. Hope this helps. I like looking at the knit a longs as it gives great ideas and different color/yarn combos. Also for my next quick projects am thinking of making stripey pocket pals http://www.theknittinggarden.com/gallery/aug-free-3.htm a skele fish (cool glow in the dark one) http://www.fjsmjs.com/Mary/skelefish.htm and a few free toy patterns (love Monty the Monkey)on sullivan knitting yarns site http://www.sullivans.net to help use up some of my yarn stash and make it a bit of fun. Happy knitting/crocheting all!

Hi Anj, thought I'd check the forums before I go to bed. No, I haven't worked at this store before. It is just down the street from the other store where I used to work. The two owners were friends so I got acquainted with this owner when he would stop by. He called a month or so ago to see if I'd run the store for him while he and his wife went on this trip. With just a few basics, it is pretty much the same as the other store. I'm actually really flattered that he trusted me enough to ask for my help. I really enjoyed myself today, the store is small and cozy. I had about 63 customers, and tonight was market night. There was a band playing country music and all the vendor booths in the street. Tomorrow probably won't be very busy, but I should be busy on Saturday. He told me I could bring a book, but I won't. I plan to go around and do allot of dusting for him. He has a bad knee, so the lower shelves get a bit neglected. I had fun today checking out all the merchandise--and yes, found a few things I'll have to have. There goes my paycheck! LOL Glad you are getting your new privacy fence. That will be so nice. They say the vinyl is great, lasts a long time and never needs painted. I'll check in tomorrow night when I get home. Have a good day. Luvs