SoTier

Since I had my big ash tree removed because it suffered from ash die back, my nuthatches have largely disappeared -- along with the ants that had lived in the ash tree. I'm guessing that the nuthatches were feasting on the ants and whatever other insects lived in the ash tree. Now, they only come in the winter when they're hungry for sunflower seeds.

You don't have to give up backyard birding if putting out feeders is a non-starter. A birdbath or a small water feature like a fountain with a basin will attract lots of birds, including many that might not come to feeders. I have a modest garden pond -- about 5 feet long and about 2 1/2 feet wide and 2 feet deep -- with a waterfall that attracts all kinds of birds to a shallow basin that's between the small upper basin and the main waterfall that spills into the pond. Hanging planters of bright red/pink flowers like fushcias can attract hummers. Mandevilla vine, especially in red, planted in a pot or in a garden can attract them, too. Plant several hostas fairly close together in a shady corner or bee balm like "Cambridge Scarlet" in sunny spots. Create a "natural area" with some unmanicured shrubs that set fruit like virburnums, tartarian honeysuckle, blueberries, currants, etc provide fruit as well as provide shelter and nesting areas. Trees are useful in attracting birds too, especially choke and domestic cherries, crabapples, arborvitae, spruces, etc. Exactly right. I allow an area along my back fence to be pretty unkempt because it's not visible from the house, and my neighbor just has some large shrubs on the other side of the fence in that corner, and there are plenty of fireflies there. They seem to be most numerous on warm, muggy nights. Birds, too, love that "wild area" although I don't often see them but hear them. Catbirds and thrushes especially love bushy thickets. I also never deadhead my purple coneflowers because chickadees love to eat the seeds all winter into the early spring even though I have sunflower seeds, suet, and mixed bird seed in feeders for them all winter.

August 2, 2020 - 154,449 Americans have died of coronavirus Average daily deaths, July 29-August 1, 2020: 1298 August 1, 2020 - 153,314 Americans have died of coronavirus, 1135 single day death toll July 31, 2020 - 152,070 Americans have died of coronavirus, 1244 single day death toll July 30, 2020 - 150,713 Americans have died of coronavirus, 1357 single day death toll July 29, 2020 - 149,258 Americans have died of coronavirus, 1455 single day death toll July 28, 2020 - 148,056 Americans have died of coronavirus, 1202 single day death toll July 21, 2020 - 140,908 American have died of coronavirus. Average daily deaths, July 21-28, 2020: 1,021

I once erroneously thought that Richard Nixon was the worst POTUS in my life time, but even Nixon loved his country and respected the US Constitution enough to resign rather than face potential removal from office. Covid Donnie loves only himself and respects nothing. Nothing matters to him except what he wants and what he thinks is good for him, no matter what the cost to Americans and the US. His response to the coronavirus pandemic demonstrates that in spades. He's a would-be dictator perfectly capable of descending to the level of Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot, etc if allowed to do so. The immediate rejection of Trump's suggestion to postpone the presidential election by Congressional Republicans gives me hope that if Covid Donnie loses the election and refuses to leave that he will be forced out by total lack of support from both American politicians who love their country and respect the US Constitution.

Ad hominem attacks on posters who counter their claims with facts are the Trumplet's stock in trade since most of them lack critical thinking skills,

I think you give Pompeo and the rest of Covid Donnie's sycophants too much credit. They know about as much as about the US Constitution as their boss: zilch.

August 1, 2020 - 153,314 Americans have died of coronavirus.n Average daily deaths, July 29-July 31, 2020: 1352 July 31, 2020 - Covid Donnie visited Florida where the coronavirus is still raging and addressed a crowd on the airport tarmac without a mask in sight among Covid Donnie, his staff, and his audience. July 31, 2020 - 30 MLB games have been suspended since the league started 9 days ago after 2 members of the Brewers tested positive. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred warns that the season may be in danger. July 31, 2020 - 152,070 Americans have died of coronavirus, 1244 single day death toll July 30, 2020 - 150,713 Americans have died of coronavirus, 1357 single day death toll July 29, 2020 - 149,258 Americans have died of coronavirus, 1455 single day death toll July 28, 2020 - 148,056 Americans have died of coronavirus, 1202 single day death toll July 21, 2020 - 140,908 American have died of coronavirus. Average daily deaths, July 21-28, 2020: 1,021

Early in the pandemic crisis, Covid Donnie and his sycophants seemed to have put political considerations ahead of a national plan to combat Covid-19: How Jared Kushner's Secret Testing Plan Went 'Poof' into Thin Air

Because they have no arguments to defend Covid Donnie so they do what Vlad's puppet always does when things don't go his way: blame somebody else for his own incompetence or treason.

July 31, 2020 - 152,070 Americans have died of coronavirus July 31, 2020 - Dr Anthony Fauci, Dr Robert Redfield, and Admiral Brett Giroir will testify about the government response to the coronavirus pandemic July 30, 2020 - 150,713 Americans have died of coronavirus, 1357 single day death toll July 29, 2020 - 149,258 Americans have died of coronavirus, 1455 single day death toll July 28, 2020 - 148,056 Americans have died of coronavirus, 1202 single day death toll July 21, 2020 - 140,908 American have died of coronavirus. Average daily deaths, July 21-28, 2020: 1,021 Average daily deaths, July 21-30, 2020: 1,116

This is simply untrue because there is no "universal mail in voting". The states determine how they run their elections within the limits set by the US Constitution and federal law (mainly the Voting Rights Act of 1965). Some states have early voting, some don't. Some states limit the voting rights of convicted felons while others do not. Most states have had various forms -- some more limited than others -- of mail in voting (including absentee ballots) since the Civil War. Where your state stands on mail in voting

What do you consider "anti-social goals" ? Have you actually read their mission statement or are you just spouting white supremacist bull manure trumpeted by some politician or talking head? I went to the Black Lives Matter website and read their mission statement. I've printed it below so that you can tell me -- and everyone else -- what exactly is "anti-social" about it. What We Believe Four years ago, what is now known as the Black Lives Matter Global Network began to organize. It started out as a chapter-based, member-led organization whose mission was to build local power and to intervene when violence was inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes. In the years since, we’ve committed to struggling together and to imagining and creating a world free of anti-Blackness, where every Black person has the social, economic, and political power to thrive. Black Lives Matter began as a call to action in response to state-sanctioned violence and anti-Black racism. Our intention from the very beginning was to connect Black people from all over the world who have a shared desire for justice to act together in their communities. The impetus for that commitment was, and still is, the rampant and deliberate violence inflicted on us by the state. Enraged by the death of Trayvon Martin and the subsequent acquittal of his killer, George Zimmerman, and inspired by the 31-day takeover of the Florida State Capitol by POWER U and the Dream Defenders, we took to the streets. A year later, we set out together on the Black Lives Matter Freedom Ride to Ferguson, in search of justice for Mike Brown and all of those who have been torn apart by state-sanctioned violence and anti-Black racism. Forever changed, we returned home and began building the infrastructure for the Black Lives Matter Global Network, which, even in its infancy, has become a political home for many. Ferguson helped to catalyze a movement to which we’ve all helped give life. Organizers who call this network home have ousted anti-Black politicians, won critical legislation to benefit Black lives, and changed the terms of the debate on Blackness around the world. Through movement and relationship building, we have also helped catalyze other movements and shifted culture with an eye toward the dangerous impacts of anti-Blackness. These are the results of our collective efforts. The Black Lives Matter Global Network is as powerful as it is because of our membership, our partners, our supporters, our staff, and you. Our continued commitment to liberation for all Black people means we are continuing the work of our ancestors and fighting for our collective freedom because it is our duty. Every day, we recommit to healing ourselves and each other, and to co-creating alongside comrades, allies, and family a culture where each person feels seen, heard, and supported. We acknowledge, respect, and celebrate differences and commonalities. We work vigorously for freedom and justice for Black people and, by extension, all people. We intentionally build and nurture a beloved community that is bonded together through a beautiful struggle that is restorative, not depleting. We are unapologetically Black in our positioning. In affirming that Black Lives Matter, we need not qualify our position. To love and desire freedom and justice for ourselves is a prerequisite for wanting the same for others. We see ourselves as part of the global Black family, and we are aware of the different ways we are impacted or privileged as Black people who exist in different parts of the world. We are guided by the fact that all Black lives matter, regardless of actual or perceived sexual identity, gender identity, gender expression, economic status, ability, disability, religious beliefs or disbeliefs, immigration status, or location. We make space for transgender brothers and sisters to participate and lead. We are self-reflexive and do the work required to dismantle cisgender privilege and uplift Black trans folk, especially Black trans women who continue to be disproportionately impacted by trans-antagonistic violence. We build a space that affirms Black women and is free from sexism, misogyny, and environments in which men are centered. We practice empathy. We engage comrades with the intent to learn about and connect with their contexts. We make our spaces family-friendly and enable parents to fully participate with their children. We dismantle the patriarchal practice that requires mothers to work “double shifts” so that they can mother in private even as they participate in public justice work. We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and “villages” that collectively care for one another, especially our children, to the degree that mothers, parents, and children are comfortable. We foster a *****‐affirming network. When we gather, we do so with the intention of freeing ourselves from the tight grip of heteronormative thinking, or rather, the belief that all in the world are heterosexual (unless s/he or they disclose otherwise). We cultivate an intergenerational and communal network free from ageism. We believe that all people, regardless of age, show up with the capacity to lead and learn. We embody and practice justice, liberation, and peace in our engagements with one another.

Sorry but the Department of Justice does NOT get to decide. Only Congress can change the date of the presidential election. That's written into the US Constitution ... y'know, that document that Covid Donnie and his pack of sycophants in the Department of Injustice and the Department of Non-Defense all took oaths to support. A presidential election has never been postponed, not in 1952 during the Korean War, not in 1944 during World War II, and not in 1864 during the Civil War when Abraham Lincoln fully expected to lose until Union victories in Atlanta in September and at Cedar Creek in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia in October changed his prospects. BTW, the 1864 election was the first presidential election in which significant numbers of voters used absentee ballots -- tens of thousands of Union soldiers stationed away from their homes voted overwhelmingly for Lincoln.

It must be really frustrating that you're so intellectually challenged that you have to resort throwing around the same tired epithets when you have no real arguments but need to say something . I believe that that's a sign of serious lack of cognitive ability ... you and Covid Donnie. ?

Adios. Arrividerci. Auf weidersehen. Aurevoir. Don't let the door hit ya where you keep your brain

Point 1: Herman Cain tested positive for covid-19 and had been hospitalized for more than a month because of it. I think you wouldn't need a medical degree connect the dots, Westly. Point 2: Of course Cain's death is political. He was a candidate for POTUS in 2012, and he attended Trump's Tulsa rally without face mask and without social distancing within 2 weeks of being admitted to the hospital suffering from the coronavirus. He wasn't some nameless working stiff that Trump and his sycophants like yourself can pretend don't exist.

There is no such thing as "universal mail-in voting". Each state runs its own elections. Some states have had it for a long time, others are just starting it. I suppose some states don't have it at all.

I would hope that this would be a wake up call for the anti-maskers and covid deniers, from Covid Donnie on down, that the coronavirus doesn't respect wealth or politics, but I suspect their stupidity and selfishness runs too deep for even the death of someone they knew or supported or shared political ideas with to change their attitudes. Sadly, Herman Cain will have died in vain and just become another faceless, forgettable victim among the ever growing number of Americans needlessly lost to Covid-19 due to the failure of Donald J Trump and his sycophants to provide national leadership. RIP, Mr Cain.

It can pass to big cats. Apparently at least one tiger or leopard at the Bronx Zoo tested positive for covid-19. I don't think the face shields for the police horses were for covid-19 protection but for protection from things that might potentially be thrown at the horses' faces.

I doubt it. I think the GOP is a prisoner of its own ideology, much as Herbert Hoover was a prisoner of his own ideology back in 1932 which made it impossible for him to effectively respond to the 1929 stock market crash.

I don't think that this was unexpected, and I expect that the third quarter, July through September, will likely to be as bad or even worse as areas with high coronavirus rates now struggle to contain community spread and Covid-19 spreads to new areas like the Upper South and Midwest.

July 21, 2020 - 140,908 American have died of coronavirus. July 28, 2020 - 148,056 Americans have died of coronavirus. Average daily deaths, July 21-28, 2020: 1,021 July 28, 2020 - 1202 Americans died of Covid-19. July 29, 2020 - 149,258 Americans have died of coronavirus July 29, 2020 - GOP Congressman Louie Gohmert tested positive for coronavirus just prior to boarding Air Force One to travel to Texas with Covid Donnie for a campaign trip. Gohmert is an anti-masker who refused to wear a mask unless forced to do so (as in House committee meetings) and was seen on July 28 chatting with AG William Barr, both without masks on the House floor, as well as other maskless Congressmen. According to a letter from one of his own aides to Politico, Gohmert insisted that all staffers work in the office (as opposed to working remotely from home) and berated staffers who wore masks to work. July 29, 2020 - 1455 Americans died of Covid-19, the highest number of deaths since May. July 30, 2020 - 150,713 Americans have died of coronavirus

Oh, come on! Watch the woman's videos and tell me you're willing to put your own or your family's health in her hands.

That's the Right Wing story line but it's not supported by historical fact, especially in the early 1930s when Hitler was establishing and consolidating his power.

July 28, 2020 - At his coronavirus briefing, Covid Donnie touted a doctor turned preacher who claims that masks are unnecessary and hydrooxychloroquine cures Covid 19 -- and that women can get pregnant by "astral sex" and that scientists use "alien DNA" to make medicines. July 28, 2020 - Covid Donnie whined about Drs Fauci and Birx having higher approval ratings than he has. He claimed it was just because people don't like his personality. July 28, 2020 - more than 1,200 Americans died of Covid-19. July 29, 2020 149,258 Americans have died of coronavirus