Thanks from me, too. I ought to say more, but am in a non-posting mood; still, I appreciate the threads and photos. Now, back to my burrow. Melissa

Great story Dave, I've always thought the fox snakes were pretty cool snakes. I have only found two glass lizards myself and both of them were found when it was extremely cool. They were easy to handle and check out. Have heard they are a lot more difficult in warmer temps.

Any time there is something the general public wants that you don't, it is a huge opportunity for a bargain. Supply and demand...the best way to get a bargain is to demand something that others DON'T demand. But if you focus too much on "resale value" then you end up looking for houses that have things you don't need or really want because "others want it and it will increase the resale value". Last time I looked for a place I specifically said I wanted to avoid open floor plans (I hate them) and didn't care about the kitchen (I don't cook much). Confused the heck out of the realtor, who kept trying to persuade me high end kitchens increase resale value. Half the time the things people say "increase resale value" are current fads that may change 10 years from now. A house that has what the current trends demand will often seem overpriced when the trends change. One thing some people will tell you is "buy the most house you can afford". This is truly terrible advice...if it's the most house you can afford, it's more house then you can afford if you lose your job or have a medical problem or any other setback. Life happens...you should plan for disaster. This post was edited by edlincoln on Thu, Sep 4, 14 at 9:50

My father had a few college courses at age 17 before the Depression intervened. Years later he worked with a man who was quite proud of his degree in engineering. Days after my parents moved into a new house, my father was out on the road, selling. My mother was going crazy with mice that had 'moved in' when we did. Mr. Engineer said he knew how to take care of the problem. He provided the mice with some cozy 'tunnels' by running piping here and there across our living room floor. He set mousetraps inside the pipes. Days later my mother was out of patience with stepping over these pipes and re-baiting and re-setting the traps. No mice had been caught. My father came home, peered into a pipe and laughed. There wasn't enough room within the pipe for the mousetrap to spring.