SM & DF,

Thanks for the info. No .17 or high end pellet gun then. Maybe a low end pellet gun. I had a friend once who taught neighborhood cats not to use his wife's flower beds as their toilet by shooting them in the butt when they came into his yard. And I've been noticing one of the neighboring cats in my yard lately, and we plan to begin flower beds and gardens this year.

Crows can be annoying, but I like most native birds, and fortunately haven't seen any starlings at the new house yet. Speaking of wildlife, I was down at the bottom of my hill last weekend prowling around, and the deer have created a highway and freeway system of trails down there. I've only seen five, but there are trails for a hundred.

Sg