I may be hideously wrong, but I don't think Fox Sparrows are social birds, ie: hanging out in groups (which is why you saw only a single bird before). I think your birds must be something else. -O-

Easy, tasty, and attractive dish: chicken with capers and corn. Use skinless deboned thighs (tastier) or boneless skinless chicken breast (prettier). Heat pan to as hot as you can, add oil, brown chicken in batches without cooking them through then set aside, also cook some diced onion or shallots and minced garlic and set aside. Reduce heat to medium, pour out oil, arrange chicken pieces in pan. Add corn kernels, can be fresh, canned or frozen. Mix in onions, shallots and garlic. Add a dairy liquid, which can be half and half, cream, or whole milk, with or without chicken stock. If you're using thinner liquids like stock and whole milk, include some flour or cornstarch to thicken; if you're using half and half or cream, no need for a thickener. I expect that soy milk or other non-dairy alternative would work too. No wine, as it risks curdling the dairy. The chicken pieces should be mostly covered. Whatever herbs and level of salt/pepper you like. When liquid simmers, reduce heat to med-low and braise, uncovered, for an hour. Half an hour into that, add capers and some of their liquid.

I would be happier with wood floors, even though they do show dust more. And if it ends up that we stay here, I'd be happy with either 3 or 5 inch. Although now that you mention it, the 5 inch would probably take less time to clean with less grooves. We have to replace wood in the living room and hall, and most likely the carpet in the master. We had a water leak that damaged the current wood floor and stained the carpet in the bedroom. I didn't notice it until last night so don't know what the insurance company will say about that. Either way, it needs to be replaced. I don't want to live with a big wavy line in the middle of the floor. Posted by kirkhall : What is going in in new construction in your area? I'm not aware of any new custom homes near me. Mostly it's tract homes that call themselves custom because they are very nice (nicer than my house) and let the buyer pick the finishing touches. From the photos on Zillow it looks like most have carpet throughout, but a couple have wood. Houses in my neighborhood don't go on the market very often, but most of the ones I have been in that have been upgraded in the last 5 years have wood, at least in the living room. There is a nearby older neighborhood with high end custom homes with several for sale. Photos on Zillow show a few of them have wood floors, but it doesn't look like the others have been updated since the 80's or 90's. Posted by cmarlin20 I would be consistent throughout the house. That would be more important to me as a buyer. I don't like houses that change flooring, looks like piecemeal updating. We have carpet in the family room and bedrooms now and can't afford to replace that now, especially since it is in perfect condition - except the new stain in the master. Ideally, I would put wood everywhere, but from the photos of our comps, I don't think it will hurt us. This post was edited by marti8a on Fri, Aug 2, 13 at 12:39

Another classic from a classic.....those were the days. Real Nawlins Muffuletta (Weed) 1 Cup pimento-stuffed green olives, crushed 1/2 Cup drained kalamata olives, crushed 2 Clove garlic, minced 1/4 Cup roughly chopped pickled cauliflower -florets 2 Tbl drained capers 1 Tbl chopped celery 1 Tbl chopped carrot 1/2 Cup pepperoncini, drained 1/4 Cup marinated cocktail onions 1/2 Tsp celery seed 1 Tsp dried oregano 1 Tsp dried basil 3/4 Tsp ground black pepper 1/4 Cup red wine vinegar 1/2 Cup olive oil 1/4 Cup canola oil 2 (1 pound) loaves Italian bread 8 ounces thinly sliced Genoa salami 8 ounces thinly sliced cooked ham 8 ounces sliced mortadella orcappicola 8 ounces sliced mozzarella cheese 8 ounces sliced provolone cheese Directions 1. To Make Olive Salad: In a medium bowl, combine the green olives, kalamata olives, garlic, cauliflower, capers, celery, carrot, pepperoncini, cocktail onions, celery seed, oregano, basil, black pepper, vinegar, olive oil and canola oil. Mix together and transfer mixture into a glass jar (or other nonreactive container). If needed, pour in more oil to cover. Cover jar or container and refrigerate at least overnight. 2. To Make Sandwiches: Cut loaves of bread in half horizontally; hollow out some of the excess bread to make room for filling. Spread each piece of bread with equal amounts olive salad, including oil. Layer 'bottom half' of each loaf with 1/2 of the salami, ham, mortadella, mozzarella and Provolone. Replace 'top half' on each loaf and cut sandwich into quarters. 3 Serve immediately, or wrap tightly and refrigerate for a few hours; this will allow for the flavors to mingle and the olive salad to soak into the bread.