o_a, the lack of a carfax report does not necessarily mean no accidents. If you pay the body shop directly and don't go through insurance it won't show up.

Zen, the main advice I have with regard to bird feeders is placing them in a place or way that keeps squirrels away, much more difficult than you would think. In Otter Lake there is the added fun of keeping them away from bears! They did a number on one of Mom's bird feeders.

Hummingbirds get kind of a liquid sugary type thing. Google images of hummingbird feeders. I'm sure that Audobon or the NWF can fill you in on what to look for.

Yeah, I can see how those issues would make you wonder what else the "160 point inspection" missed.

o_a, the lack of a carfax report does not necessarily mean no accidents. If you pay the body shop directly and don't go through insurance it won't show up.

Ah. Good to know. We discussed how not all repair shops report to carfax. Some reports show every service visit. Some show just a handful. Which says to me, either the owner didn't do a lot of regular service, or they did it themselves, or they took it to a garage that doesn't report it. Either way, Carfax isn't the be all end all. It's a tool, but not gospel.

Yes, I would still look at Carfax, but I know both my mechanic and our body shop don't report. I've had all my regular maintenance done at the Ford dealership so it is on the record. But the body repair I didn't go there. Places like Carmax or others will still know if you had body work done. They have their ways! Of course I love my car and never want to sell it.

I don't want to work. I want to nap. By the time I all I have to do to get out of the house and get to the office I am worn out. Wah Wah Wah

I've never seen or heard of a bear in this neighborhood. I haven't seen any squirrels here either, which is probably due to the feral cat population, but the TNR program has been successful and it seems we only have two ferals left. So squirrels may appear this summer. We definitely have more songbirds than we did with lots of cats around.

I'm going to hang the bird feeder from my porch. I don't know for sure what kinds of birds are here, so I'm going to use a generic mixed bird seed from the grocery. It's been good enough for them to regularly visit the bowl of it on the porch, so it'll do.

Hummingbirds are the ones I actually know how to feed! That feeder will go on the patio, because that's where I see them the most. Along with a little bird bath. I never use that patio, so the birds might as well have it!

I enjoy watching the birds at the feeder, but I have many squirrels. Squirrels are also entertaining, but they make buying birdseed way too expensive. I've had some supposedly squirrel-proof feeders, but at best they could be described as "squirrel inconveniencing."

Not so good for birds, but great for entertainment value. And hey, squirrels gotta eat.

I've hardly ever seen anything funnier than watching squirrels defeat my father-in-law's array of supposedly squirrel-proof birdfeeders.

You could just go ahead and get a squirrel feeder.