It's really a joy to see a traumatized animal adjust to a new home and just be happy and well-adjusted. My one cat (well, the one that's left) was so skittish when she first arrived she hid in the basement for days. Wouldn't eat or drink, hid behind the dryer and I could tell that she had been kicked a lot. It took a while for her to calm down and for a while would nip when she was touched wrong. Again I could tell she was abused. But after enough time she's relaxed and enjoying herself. And she's very pleased to be back to a single critter household again! Cute little Dox. I keep expecting to see them snap in half sometimes though! Poor little guy must have trouble negotiating the deep snow! A good friend has one. Very affectionate.

Most of these types of fungi are saprophytes (any organism that lives on dead organic matter, as certain fungi and bacteria) so seil is partly right about the water part. Mainly they need lots of organic matter (mulch) & then water to keep it moist so they can grow. Most of these kinds of fungi are benign to our plants. Other fungi like mycorrhiza (those white treads you see woven thru your mulch) are beneficial symbiots. It turns out that the Clint Eastwood movie, THE GOOD (mycorrhiza), THE BAD (black spot, etc.) AND THE UGLY (stinkhorns), is a good way to think about fungi in your garden.

Why no stairs? Aesthetic or safety reasons? It's fairly high and like I said the tile is *really* slippery. I'm thinking of using a small step stool for the time being, a cracked skull would negate the effects of a nice, long soak, no?

" hope Shades will be back, too. And ML." I do too! i'm glad you're back and that phoggie posted here! i'm glad to see the heat go - not that I want the really cold to show up... it can get down to 30 (or even less) here. that's usually only a few nights tho. but I have to remember to cover the pump when that happens! I am (just mentally so far) planning on what I have to do to move the printer stand/printer from the 'winter place' of the heater/fireplace. That'll come up quickly - I want it in place before eye surgery, so I'm not caught with a really cold night and no heater. the really cold ones don't usually come until maybe Feb tho. and I need to get my blanket out (ok, it's about 5' away from the bed). OTOH, things don't seem to go the way I think they should, so we could have snow in Nov - lol! And I need to be looking for a different vehicle. going to look at Honda CRVs, maybe 8 yrs old or so. planned to do that this month, but the days have gotten away from me. i'm going to email the local church to see if their 'ranch guys' can come here and put up a fenced area (out front) for my dog. It's right outside my bedroom window (so hopefully I won't forget she's out there) and the front door is close to my bedroom door - so not far to go to let her out and in - especially at night. I've got some fencing out there and my 'helper person' says there seems to be enough metal posts on the land that can be used to put it up. they'll just have to dig the post holes and put it together. They do this to fund the 'ranch' (halfway house down the road a way). my 'helper' has been sick (she's been having seizures) and has another job that has been hard on her, so she hasn't been by here to help lately. hopefully, she can get on disability. I don't see much chance of her getting a regular job - she's a liability to companies - as was I, when I had to quit working. They don't want to take on a known liability.