For the first time this year I noticed California Towhees (Pipilo crissalis) frequenting my flats of bulb seedlings. For various reasons, I put off doing anything about it, and I may have lost some Romuleas and Fritillarias as a result. Eventually I covered my flats with hardware cloth (also known as rat wire, a metal mesh with 1/4 inch apertures), which keeps short-billed birds out at least. No clams yet, though an owl or hawk once left us half a rat. Best, Max Withers Oakland CA Calochortus umbellatus and an apparently confused Kniphofia "Christmas cheer" flowering now. Date: Sun, 8 Mar 2009 15:00:36 -0700 From: Kathleen Sayce <ksayce@willapabay.org> Subject: [pbs] Washington recycling ....So now I need not only a crow-dropping-clams-proof coldframe, it needs to be rodent and bird proof too. Kathleen Nahcotta, WA.