I've been enjoying the birds eating from my hand and off my hat as I walk around the yard for years. Chickadees are the easiest, but if I lean on a tree, the nuthatches will come hop-hop-hopping down the tree to my hat, or run down my arm, or go looking in my pocket for the cache of sunflower seeds they know are there, but they'll never fly directly to you and land ON you, like the chickadees - always above on a tree & then they hop down onto me. The chickadees are so bold they land on me in droves, but are actually usually quite polite. They'll perch on shoulders & arms, waiting to grab a seed, each in their turn, from my hand or hat. If I put my hand flat against my chin with knuckles up, like a landing pad, and put a single sunflower seed between my lips, the chickadees will land & take the seed from between my lips, like they're giving me a kiss. I had an idea that I'll work on. I'll fill a beer can with seed and tip it so the chickadees will reach in to grab a seed. It'll look like they're having a beer with their buddy in the back yard, and I'm sure I can come up with a caption when I get around to working on the shot. Al

tienle... Kasper's on the right track - nice going for a Viola newbie :) Sow seeds of any hardy violet in winter and allow them to be damp and cold, preferably sub-zero, for a couple of months. For most species that will break dormancy, though sometimes the seeds may have been put into deeper dormancy which will require longer to break. In the natural cycle of things that would mean another year, but in the fridge it should just mean being patient for a few more months! Protect the sown seeds from heavy rain and vermin. If you sow thme in the fridge, look in on them now and then, and move them into a cold greenhouse or frame as soon as germination starts. If, however, they spend some time trying to grow in the dark of the fridge, and have become tall and thin and pale as a result, move them out into the cold frame just the same and with a bit of luck they should green-up and survive. In the cold frame, keep them in good light, preferably not too one-sided (else thin seedlings may topple over), but out of direct sunlight. Use sterlized seed compost or sterile tissue paper to sow them in/on. That will help reduce the chance of the seedlings being killed by damping off (fungal disease).

TC: they aren't trying to cheat you as the guys said. When I lived in Seattle, rates were so low that I had to call them since my first 2-month bill was $12. I thought it was a connection fee, but it wasn't. Now, your rates are slightly higher than mine are here in the East. When gas was more expensive a few years ago, the cost difference would have meant more than now. But your gas rates have probably gone down as the electric rates went up (still paying off those 5 nukes that never got built?). The Seattle area has such a mild climate (for being that far north) that heat pumps work just fine. So its not a surprise that they get recommended now that they are more efficient. (And lets not start a war over the definition of efficiency.) Another consideration perhaps. A heat pump will run year round in your location. An AC unit may only run 2-3 months in Seattle, if that much. Hopefully the AC unit will last longer from non-use. Which also means you don't really have to go with the higher SEER number since you are not going to see any ROI. 14-15 would be fine.

Work and structure are part of rehabilitation for drugs BUT the person has to get clean first, and have the support to stay clean. As I mentioned, I know quite a few people who work professionally in work programs for FORMER addicts, these types of programs do exist. But getting the addict OFF of the drug and having it stick, that's a whole other ball game . . . I don't know the solution, but the revolving door of treatment does stop for some people after enough tries. I think we need to do more and be innovative. An addict who can't stop using and a person who is mentally ill and doesn't respond well to treatment are some of the worst ongoing problems anyone can face, its relentless. As a side note, I think that prevention is a big part of this, and in my experience, I think the reason we are seeing more and more drug and mental illness problems is the fraying of our social connections and social structures. Many of the folks I know who have drug and alcohol problems also seem to me to be somewhere on the autism or ADHD spectrum. In other words, they have trouble processing relationship and stimuli, and use drugs as a coping mechanism. They are much more susceptible to stress and disruption than average, and modern life these days is increasingly stressful and disrupted. The margins fray more and more under this stress. It's actually a biological phenomenon, happens in any ecosystem under stress. As I mentioned in my previous post, that's one of the reasons I live the show MOM. One of the main characters discovers she has ADHD through therapy and develops strategies to manage it. BUT, it's a step by step process. She had to get clean and stay clean first, before she could benefit from the therapy. Also, as more and more people fall into the marginal lifecycle, they have kids who grow up into this problem and the cycle doesn't stop, it multiplies. That's also what I have seen, in my generation, parents struggling with an addict child and then eventually raising grandchildren and then struggling as they sometimes fall through the cracks as well. A good friend's parents have three generations of messed up kid, grandkids and great grandkids, all of whom are involved in the revolving door of law enforcement, foster care, drug abuse, etc. They cut off all contact with the daughter other than just making sure she is housed for her lifetime. They don't even know her offspring. It's so ironic, because they have a great relationship with my friend and her kids, so it's not that they aren't caring grandparents. They just don't have the financial and emotional resources to fix the whole broken entourage. Their daughter is a lost cause, but still her brother and sister in law are both dedicated to medical and social service professionally, they keep trying to find something that works! Having no illusions on what is and is not possible though. My friend who is the social worker say that most of her drug addict clients are using just to numb themselves and help them cope with the discomfort of modern life. Obviously the solution is not remove discomfort, not going to happen, but to develop resiliency for coping with it as it comes along. There is a research base as to what that entails, so folks trying to help usually involve themselves in the components of that. Keeping people fed, housed and supported with medical and psychological treatment options. Also, my friend says a huge reason these problems continue and fester is we don't acknowledge them. There is way too much social stigma attached to them so folks just let them go untreated rather than admit to having any type of weakness that tjhey need help with. And then when they do need help, will it be available? Another interesting tv show that deals with the role of community in supporting resiliency is "The OG." It's an exploration of what does and does not work as far as keeping marginalized folks on the straight and narrow path . . . and the ongoing struggle to make it stick.