Wren- Yes!! That's sounds great. I'm planning something similiar myself. In the meantime, I expanded our front stoop by using those concrete one foot square pavers. The red and grey ones. We just have the stoop just next to the driveway, no walkway, and the stoop wasn't big enough to navigate comfortably when guests come in. I dug down about 5-6 inches, hauled away that dirt, and tamped in some sand. Oh, almost forgot, my husband cut some edging for it from pressure treated lumber I scrounged from someone's trash. (Two rows of two by fours, mitred corners,screwed together) I decided on the edging to help keep things neater. I think we put the edging in first, then the sand. Be sure to pack the sand down firmly. My husband took a two X four (about three foot long, comfortable for me to work with,) and screwed a one foot square piece of plywood to the bottom for my 'tamping tool.' Then I set the pavers in place. Oh, I think I layed the pavers out before hand, so I knew how big to make it. But we were only doing a small area. Then I swept sand into the crevices. It's been about five years, and not a problem. No frost heave, nothing. It shovels easily in the winter too. Mine is on the north side of my 1959 ranch house. Even dear husband, who throughout the whole project said it wasn't going to work, that it would frost heave, that it would look bad, has since admitted it worked well. Those red and gray pavers aren't the most beautiful, but the price was right, they have 'aged' a bit, being on the north side. They blend in nicely with the existing stoop and driveway. The only thing is ants always tunnel under the pavers, so I sweep sand off during the summer. After five years, the whole thing has sunk down about an inch-inch and a half, so it's no longer level with the driveway. Amazingly though, it sunk completely evenly. This summer, I'll pick up the pavers, add some more sand; it should be good to go for a few more years. I'm thinking if I use some gravel, maybe the ants wouldn't be able to 'excavate.' I don't think I'd use pea gravel, as it might shift, being round. But see if you can find some sharp gravel. (I'm not sure what it's called, but a gravel yard would help. Probably just sharp gravel.) Good luck with your project. Someday, after we remodel the entryway to the house, I'm going to do that picket fence, with the patio behind the fence :-) cantstop

Wrens are pretty bold in the bird world. They frequently build nests really close to human activity, so they seem to know what they're getting in for when the babies come. Maybe they instinctively know their little ones will be safer from predators when they live so close to humans. I had a Carolina Wren INSIST on building her nest in my newly potted hanging baskets this year and even though I took out the nesting material every single day before it really got built, they kept at it. They KNEW I was there, that I knew they were there, and that I kept tearing the nest up on a regular basis. They still wouldn't stop. That says a lot. I took down that basket and put up an empty, with a bedding of loose dead geranium roots, then put their nesting material on top of that, hoping they'd accept it. They did. They finished it out the way they wanted and now their hanging basket is the closest to the steps and to the front door. They seem perfectly happy with it. After watching them from my yard as I worked, after a couple of weeks, it seemed they had abandoned it. I never saw them again. One evening, just at dusk, I tilted the basket to peek inside and scared the mother off the nest. Again... not a peep for days. I had to practically camp out at my living room window to catch one of them. I finally am seeing them again, regularly, as the little ones are keeping them extremely busy. They're flying in with lunch and out with fecal sacs all day long, but you never see them if you're out there. I wouldn't worry about your activity near their nest, like cleaning away spider webs. You wouldn't believe all the rowdy things I've done on that front porch since they moved in. They probably will have one or two more clutches, though, before winter, so you may want to set up an alternative nesting site and see if they'll accept it, if you want to use your front door again.

Hi Kendra, we must live very close to each other, I am about 20 miles west of Boston too! This is the 3rd winter that Bluebirds have visited my suet log. I feed them a home-made peanut butter/suet mixture made with ingredients similar to what is listed on Sialis.org. I fill the log, and also break the mixture up into nuggets. The Blues prefer to perch at the tray to eat the nuggets, but they will perch AND cling to the log to eat the suet mixture too. I have never fed meal worms, so obviously the Bluebirds seem to be doing fine on the suet mixture. The little flock visit every day. They are often waiting for me first thing in the morning to fill the suet. Of course, many other types of birds love the suet mixture too. Except for the Finches and Pine Siskins, they eat the BOSS. I really enjoy watching the Blues, they are my favorite, and am very happy if this helps them make it through the winter!

Don't know if you have a bear problem. I have property bordered by a large state park that I visit every other weekend. Can't have feeders up when I'm gone, so habitat restoration is an issue. Am sticking to planting trees and necter plants with high wildlife value. There are no starlings, house sparrows or house wrens so cavity nesters are plentiful. Check with your state DNR. State your objective (wildlife preservation) and you will get the local info you need as well as what to plant. You may even have a program in your state to allow you to put your property in a stewardship program in order to get a tax break. The big thing is selective thinning of forest to encourage understory plants. Linda