Hi maizeylou, we have the same problem with house sparrows trying to build nests in our bluebird houses. I have read that removing the nests early on whenever they start nest building deters them, and after a while they will give up nesting there. Good luck!

Howdy, konrad, janie and luc! WOW, long time indeed!!!! Konrad, I keep reading and hearing that about my shots, about them looking like paintings. Since I had to stop drawing due to the carpal tunnel, the camera has given me freer rein in getting what I see down better than any ink ever did . . . for me, that is. There's still a time or two when I will sit down to draw, and this summer I will be working on 'cartoonish' owls and the like for our church, but these will be larger than life :) Janie- it has been quite some time. . .and it is good to be back here. I keep the browser open to this page and while I may not post every day, at least I can show up from time to time and share what I am seeing :) Luc, well, your English seems good to me! :) I have been working on photography off and on since 2001, when I acquired my first digital camera after years of working, again, off and on, with SLR. Joe in SW NH rekindled something in me that way when he was shooting photos everywhere he went while here visiting with me in October and part of November of 2000, and at one point during our visit, he let me use his camera to capture a couple of shots of Harlequin Ducks. I still have his shot of Nevermore gracing my wall. . .I miss him. . .I miss Nevermore, but think I know that she's the bird I keep running in to at MacKerricher State Park. . . Glad your RWBB's and Grackles are back. Power's flickering, gotta run, Feather

Thanks. There's no one across from me so that would not be an issue. The only potential issue would be...do you know if the mylar film can easily be removed without leaving any marks on the window? And is the mylar the type of thing that can created visible 'wrinkles' when it's put up? Will it diminish my own view through the window? (One of the features of my apartrment is the great view... ;-) Thanks!

'Letters to a Poet' by Rilke is an excellent choice - a book I return to often. I would highly recommend Francine Prose's 'Reading like a Writer'. I firmly believe you can't be a writer unless you are an avid reader too. I reviewed the book a couple of months ago on Amazon: Reading Like a Writer, May 29, 2007 By Adam (Adelaide, Australia) "The best books, to my mind, are those which give rise to discussion and thought. Prose provides these in sweeping doses here. Prose superbly evokes in this book, the need for the writer to read, and read widely, slowing down and carefully paying attention to the minutiae of the text. It is the focus on language: "lingering over every word, every phrase, every image, considering how it enhance[s] and contribute[s] to the story as a whole...[and by] reading a masterpiece can inspire us by showing us how a writer does something brilliantly." "Reading Like a Writer" encourages you slow down and absorb every word, sentence and paragraph. It also lets you ponder such things as: Narration, character, dialogue, and the details of text that makes literature dazzle. Towards the end of the book, there is an insightful chapter on Learning from Chekhov, in which Prose suggests that we read his many stories, and by doing so "admit that you know nothing of life, nothing of what you see. Then go out and look at the world." This is sound advice, I think. Finally, Prose details a list of Books to be Read Immediately. These range from Jane Austen, Raymond Carver, Tolstoy, Henry Green, Nabokov and Flaubert among others. These are books to be read and savoured, because we have to keep working at being better readers and writers, for we have an exciting apprenticeship ahead of us. Prose does not talk down to the reader, rather she treats the reader as an intelligent person, who wants to learn a thing or two about how to read more effectively, so that they can aspire to write effectively. Prose is a fantastic and witty communicator; her ideas are explained clearly and with passion. I highly recommend "Reading Like a Writer" to anyone that wants to be a greater reader, and indeed a quality writer." Also, if you can track down an essay by Raymond Carver, I think it's called 'On Writing', then you will be rewarded by his insight. I'm sure it is in his 'Fires' collection. Adam Here is a link that might be useful: Reading like a Writer