One thing we have to realize with CCD is that there are two parts to each challenge. The first is understanding what could be the 'smoking gun'. The fungus/virus combination was supposedly in 100% of the CCD honeybees found. Pesticides may play a role as well. The more important question is: Can we find a solution for the crisis? In the case of IAPV or the Varoa mite; not yet. In discussion with one of the ARS/Bee Lab scientist last week, finding a solution for a virus is extremely difficult. My true frustration is that most research funding is only directed to 'save the honeybee.' I realize that this is the backbone to our crops/orchards and deserves the lion's share of funding. However, when faced with a crisis of this magnitude, one should always have backup plans running in parallel. For example, BP had two side shafts in addition to their main effort. The Chilean minor rescue had 2 alternate rescue tunnels being bored in addition to the main shaft. In the US, we are ignoring our native bees. My company is working with like minded individuals to raise huge quantities of native insects to be used commercially. However, it takes years to get a sufficient quantity. After raising mason bees for 5 years, we have just enough to pollinate 200 acres. That's really nothing in terms of what is needed for Washington Cherries/apples with over 400,000 acres. One of our long range goals is to find manageable native bees in each region of the country and help local businesses raise/manage/sell the bee to local orchard/crops within that bee's native climate. It's not about making money, it's about having food on our table in 10 years. We have to start very soon if we are to have minimal numbers of native insects. To hope that someone else takes care of this is fine... but we need people to get the word out about determining what local bee seems to be manageable. Our website (crownbees.com) is built to help people be successful with raising mason bees. That's the first step. As more native insects are found, we'll help people be successful with raising them as well. It's a tough vision, but necessary for North America to consider. I pray the honeybees make it. I'm actively working on alternatives to buffer commercial pollination if not. Dave Here is a link that might be useful: Crownbees.com

Hiya, hiya! First, Suntide, I know what you mean about your male friend. I have one, too. (he's my male best friend, actually) Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined anything more than friendship between us. I've known him for 10 years, and he's NOT the cheating kind. Neither am I. But, slowly and surely, and very very cautiously, things seem to be edging towards something more. Would I leave dh for him? You betcha. I've always told his wife what a lucky woman she is (she agrees, and 5 minutes later, forgets all about it and takes him for granted again). Plus, during the last two years I've been in search of a job with enough creative moxy to keep me inspired, plus financial muscle to keep me off welfare, so I can get a divorce. Is it stupid to get a divorce this late in life? My choices are 1) Stay Miserable and Married or 2) You Ain't Dead Yet -- Take A Chance. And yes, the cream does help. Of course, I don't know if it helps just by itself (... ladies? please chime in :-) or if it's the combination of homeopathy + cream. The only thing it's not helping, is the insomnia. And bone pain. Muscle pain? My memory-foam mattress feels as hard as a rock nowadays. I'll be laying on my side and my hip will wake me up, hurting, like it's mashed against some immoveable surface ... like concrete. Am I making any sense, or am I just burbling? %-) Cindy

As a person with PTSD, I definitely appreciate the accuracy of this post's comparison. I'm one of those weirdos who actually likes decorating styles that came from the eighties or earlier. Those cringey little details that people hate? I love them. My fondest dream is to someday own an ugly house that was built between the 60s and 70s and looks like it, burnt orange, harvest gold, and all. I often visualize the confused looks on my neighbors' faces when they see a house that looks like the 70s threw up all over it, hear a random mix of big band, classic rock, and nu metal coming through the windows, and realize their neighbors are - GASP! - Millenials! These daydreams are how I cope with living in an apartment full of beige, beige, and more frickin' beige. That said, even I've got my limits: Carpet in the kitchen. My grandmother (God rest her soul) had her kitchen floor covered in some sort of flat indoor-outdoor carpet in geometric patterns of green, gold, and black...or, at least, I remember the shapes being green, gold and black. It was very old carpet, very rarely vacuumed, and always dirty. Sure, that's bad enough, but you know where the trauma came from? Well, Gran grew up in the South during the Great Depression and came from a dirt-poor family. You never got caught wasting anything around her; she even washed and saved disposable straws for future uses. During one visit with her, I was helping her prepare a modest lunch. (Green beans with butter and garlic, a small burger patty on white bread, and white rice with butter and salt. Yes, heart attacks run in the family.) I turned away for a moment, can't recall why, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw the butter fall off the knife halfway to the green beans. It landed right on that nasty, ancient, smelly carpet...but you don't waste food. Gran picked it up with her bare hands, looked it over, and brushed something off. Maybe it was gravel, maybe it was a hair, or even a toenail clipping - all were entirely possible in that house. And - AND! - she tossed it right on the green beans and stirred it in like it was completely normal. I suddenly "got a stomach ache" and went home hungry; after my mother heard the story, she started sending money for us to get takeout so Gran didn't poison me. To this day, the idea of carpet in the kitchen makes me want to sit in a corner, rock, and whimper. Spherical knobs on cabinets. Like stick a marble on a bolt and it's a knob shape. This one's simpler. When I was in fifth grade, my parents bought a fixer-upper dating back to the twenties. It's a beautiful house but as the kid (read "unpaid manual labor assistant") I got a good close look at all the horrors from the renovation. Over twenty years later, I can still recall the obnoxious shiny round 'clown nose red' knobs on the kitchen cabinets...which, by the way, matched the 60s era strawberries-on-butter-yellow wallpaper...so Bozo nose knobs and butter color on the walls, double-whammy. The horror! Wallpaper in general. Sure, I don't mind having paper on the walls, but if there's any possible way, I'm leaving that wallpaper up until I die. I can't stand the wallpaper? I'd almost rather not consider the house. This, too, dates back to that 20s era house. Previous owners, instead of removing the paper and starting over, put layer upon layer of wallpaper and paint on the walls...and it took my parents three rooms of countless layers of painted paper to decide to leave it in place and paint over it. In the half-bath alone, we found about a dozen layers of wallpaper and painted wallpaper dating back to the 20s...and one of those papers had simplistic designs of women in bathtubs, all with beady eyes fixed on the room. I still feel watched anytime I use that bathroom. Lastly, this one is actually literally a PTSD thing. Buildings without a safe room, basement, windowless interior room, external shelter, or other ideal place to take shelter during a tornado. To simplify a too-complicated explanation, in 2011 the apartment building I lived in was in the direct path of an EF-5 tornado and I was home when it hit. The building had the latest in hyper-paranoid fire safety but it had no posted plan for a tornado in the vicinity. My neighbors and I wound up sheltering in the corner of the hallway just yards from several big glass windows and four all-glass doors. Needless to say it wasn't pretty, and most of the buildings in that neighborhood were either flattened or nearly so. I won't go into detail beyond this: our building was brick, and there was non-brick construction obliterated for about half a mile in each direction of us. None of my neighbors were injured or killed. We were so far beyond lucky it's dumbfounding. Ever since then, my first response on entering a new place or checking out a house is "where will we go when s**t hits the fan?" Not if...when. The tornado in 2011 was only the second or third in my city's history; we've had two more smaller tornadic events since 'the big one' and I've lost count of how many "once in a decade/lifetime/generation/millennium" storms have happened since. Missouri isn't known for calm weather, after all. There was such rampant PTSD around here from the tornado (and so many people who ignored the sirens) the city upgraded to new models that test silently. People are finally building safe rooms into most new structures, but it shouldn't have taken that level of destruction. Put your mark on your place - include all the little details you love and ban those you hate - but for the love of Mike, when you're building, buying, or remodeling, seriously ask yourself where you'll go and what you'll do if your region's form of natural disaster happens, and consider whether or not your plans will keep you and your loved ones safe. That got heavy. Here are my cats modeling the latest styles in boxes and bags to lighten the mood. Goldie's sitting in three nested boxes. Those proud cheeks! Skidd just wanted to remind me that he's the present.

Turkeytrott- your ss sounds like my ss. Generally he manifests the same behaviors. (disrespect, smoking, drugs/drinking, stealing, bullying, overall unpleasant to be around etc.) If you have the patience to deal with this you are truly a saint. You did not mention how your ss was performing in school. This is very important because it is the key to getting assistance. If he cuts classes or school, has behavioral problems (disruptive to the class), poor grades, or failing, the school system is going to become your best friend. By law the school is required to provide an education. This is a great resource and your tax dollars pay for this. The school can allocate additional services your ss needs. Like counseling, resource rooms, special education, even a residential/therapy school. They do not want to pay for these services, but you can fight for them. (dont expect too much cooperation from the school system.) -First you need to find out where the behavior is coming from. Get him to counseling. Someone who can address all of his issues. Be sure that this person has the qualifications and experience to deal with your child. The school should be able to recommend a drug/alcohol therapy program. (if YOU need to talk to someone, get a counselor also- because this is going to create a huge stress in your life & your family) -Second, contact a Child Advocate. This is an attorney that specializes in troubled kids. They will ask you many questions to determine if it is a physical handicap or a mental issue. Some advocates only deal with one or other. They will normally consult with you at no charge and know the ins & outs of the situation. The school will not recommend someone, because they donÂt want to offer/pay for the additional services. They are there to guide you though the system to get ss help. This is calling out the big guns- or getting lawyerÂd up. You need to get an IEP evaluation. This test is to determine if the child qualifies for special services through the school district. The evaluation given by an educational specialist focuses on understanding how the child learns in order to help him become a more comfortable and efficient learner. The testing is designed to investigate and define how a child processes information and how those cognitive skills impact academic learning. The tests measure visual and auditory memory, phonemic awareness, word attack skills, comprehension, spelling, mathematics, processing speed, logic and reasoning, and attention focus. In addition, an extensive questionnaire is given to the child, parents, and teachers. You may be able to get the school to do this or you may have to pay for it yourself. Speak to the school psychologist about getting an IEP evaluation. This is the first step to getting the school to help him and you. Between a good councilor & the IEP- you will be able to learn how to deal with him and understand how he thinks and processes information. He may have ADHD or ODD (oppositional defiance disorder) From here several things can happen. A CSE (committee on special education) should be held to determine a course of action. They can recommend a residential facility that will address his behaviors, education and substance abuse, or a group home etc. This is not always done, but it puts a child in a structured/ controlled & monitored place. The advocate will guide you through this process. They can even represent you at the CSE meeting. Someone may also recommend filing a PINS (person in need of supervision) application. This goes to family court, he would be assigned a probation office to deal with and follow up with him. I have heard complaints that this system is not very effective. Unfortunately, if he does not want to help himself, this will be very difficult. If he continues down this road, you will end up before a judge and they are going to want to know, what have you done to help him. My other big piece of advice, cover your self/family to protect yourselves from you ss. Your ss has come to you with baggage and is a huge liability. Anything he does your DH is responsible for. If for instance he damages someoneÂs property, you will be responsible to pay for it (could be $1000 or 2.5 million) If you have not adopted him, assets held in your name are not at risk. They can only go after the custodial parent & their assets. The kid needs help. It will be a tough battle if you are willing to step up. Use and abuse all the resources you can get. I hope something in this monologue helps you. PS- If ss was in child aid (child protective services?) because mom is not fit to deal with him, you cannot send him back there. You canÂt kick him out of the house either, that is considered abandonment by the courts.