So the smaller dog is under the desk muttering at the bigger

dog who made off with half a pound of butter.....I've got yo get shorter dogs or higher kitchen counters!

A recipe for people who aren't proud -

My adult children came up with this. We haven't tried it yet, Sunday will be the acid test -

Combine their favorite vegetarian Thanksgiving leftover treats -

Line a pan with dressing ( bread, egg, celery , onion, garlic, mushrooms , thyme, sage, salt pepper, savory )

Bake it

top with mashed potatoes

Maybe brown them?

Top that with green bean/mushroom soup/ crispy onion cassarole.

Bird Seed Poisons Wild Birds

You see the Scotts Miracle-Gro Company had been in the habit of applying banned pesticides to its wild bird food products. In particular, the company applied a chemical known as Storcide II to its bird food despite a warning label for that product that reads "Storcide II is extremely toxic to fish and toxic to birds and other wildlife."

Why add a compound toxic to birds to food meant to be eaten by birds? Because Scott didn't want bugs infesting its bird food during storage.

By the time Scotts stopped adding the pesticide in March 2008, the company had sold some 70 million bags of adulterated bird food. The company also submitted false documents to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, distributed pesticides with misleading labels and distributed illegal pesticides. As a result, the EPA slapped the company with $12.5 million in criminal fines and civil penalties.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=bird-seed-poisons-wild-birds-12-09-16

More than 1 in 10 Americans takes SSRIs -

Have more than 1 in 10 Americans engaged in violent assaults?

http://psychcentral.com/news/2009/08/03/antidepressant-use-up-75-percent/7514.html

Can we please have an end to the "SSRIs made him do it threads"?

http://www.webmd.com/depression/ssris-myths-and-facts-about-antidepressants

is the name "Bushmaster" racist?

It sounds like something a colonist would carry to fight African independence fighters.

Pit bulls and guns: I realized this morning that the arguments tend to follow the same lines:

- "the gun used wasn't a (fill in the blank), it was a ###, which proves how ignorant people are"
"the dog wasn't a pit bull, it was a ###, which proves how ignorant people are"

- "guns don't kill, people kill."
" there are no bad dogs, just bad dog owners"

- " it's foolish to try to ban certain types of guns"
" it's foolish to try to ban certain breeds"

- "people who don't own guns don't understand the hobby"
" people who don't own one don't understand how sweet they are"

Do you know someone who owns a gun whom you consider to be a hazard?

I'm thinking of the neighbors who are constantly arguing more than of the mentally ill. We had a neighbor who used to get into it with young men who thought it a hoot to drive across his lawn. My dad always worried because he knew this guy kept a shot gun handy and was afraid that one day he'd come out shooting.

Also - once someone obtains an order of protection, shouldn't the person involved be required to turn over all fire arms?

Ya know, I collect little images of hedgehogs, stuffed toys and porcelein figurines, mostly.

Coyotes and a BB gun - I need advice

I haven't had any problems yet. The coyotes generally stay out back in the woods, well away from the house. I don't want to kill them, just scare them away from the yard if they get bolder. I have some vague notions about rock salt. Anyone have any advice for something that will sting but not cause permanent problems for the beast?

Why did the gunman's mother own guns?

If she owned them for protection, then we should take a moment of silence and consider how that worked for her.