Males also sing to "mark" their territory. Perhaps they are feeling a bit threatened this time of year...maybe competing rivals? Not sure, but I do know it is very common for mockers to do this. Also, have you guys noticed the FIRST song you hear nearly every day is that of the cardinal? And the LAST song you hear nearly every day is that of...the CARDINAL! I love that they sing us awake in the morning and to sleep again at night. Well, to sleep until the mockers wake us up again, anyway. Marcia

Well, darn. I have this family of grackles that have moved into my pine tree. I love most wildlife, but these things are raucous and unnerving. I also have tons of mantids. I don't use chemicals or anything in my garden because of the butterflies I raise as well. Any ideas? The trumpet vine is not located on or near my house. It's on the fenceline between my neighbor's house and my house. My neighbor did get rid of his by using Roundup. The trumpet vine I have is the peach flowering variety, and is still a baby. I have it growing up a pole on my metal carport. It's low enough that if it crawls over to the house (brick), I can cut it back. I do want to get a lonicera sempervivens (red honeysuckle). I have a yellow flowering one that has been there for probably 40 years. I need to replant my hibiscus coccinus (Texas Star) because the hummingbirds loved it, but I dug it up and replaced with milkweed. Thanks for all your tips. I read the article, Hummersteve, and 12 years! Wow! I just wondered because it is just that ONE little hummer that comes to the yard. I think it is a female Rufous. But, I'm not too good at ID'ing them yet. This is one of the four that frequent Oklahoma. Thanks for the suggestions! Susan

I thought of this thread today when I was watching This Old House Hour on PBS. A person had trees that were eaten similar to this. The show showed a good distance to prevent the plants from being eaten along with how/when/type of fencing to use. Although they used temporary fence poles I would be tempted to make perminant decorative poles at the distance they used. Perhaps to make them look like they should be there rather than an after thought plant flowers or one of the clementis's that must be pruned in the spring on the inside of the post so that it will wrap arround but in winter will not be stomped. You can probably look at the episode by checking PBS's or This Old House's websites.

Lydia, thanks for your response. The usual silence about the Mrs. Dubose episode has always puzzled me. I don't know if readers generally don't find it compelling or it is relatively unmemorable coming on the heels of the indelible image of Atticus shooting the mad dog. But I'm with you about that quote. It is Atticus's warning to Jem and foreshadows that the first baby steps of standing up to the status quo cannot be expected to succeed but are nonetheless necessary.It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what.It epitomizes Atticus's involvement, don't you think? I think it is one of the most powerful messages in all of TKaM.I am interested in how the novel is perceived by those from countries other than the U.S. Netla has already weighed in - I wonder if there is any equivalent to this way of life and the beliefs expressed in the novel in other places? Those of us from the industrial north might view the novel as though it is in fact from other country!Siobhan, I'm sure you would prefer to hear directly from readers outside the U.S., but your question interested me so I asked two of my non-U.S. friends about what they think. I thought I would share their responses. The first friend was born, bred, and still lives in Yorkshire. She says that she half-expected TKaM to be completely foreign to her. Instead she found that, although many of the characteristics make the place and people of TKaM unique to the American South, there were just as many instances in which she could identify. She feels that Maycomb could almost be any small town in England, with similar eccentrics, prejudices, and pathos. She sees the theme as universal to the human condition. My second friend is Argentinian. She says what enchanted her so much was the children's day-to-day lives: how they were left to their own devices and how safe their world seemed until, of course, things were no longer safe for them. I think I have profoundly thoughtful friends! An experience of mine: I tried to read Ne tirez pas sur l'oiseau moqueur, but I finally gave up because Jem and Scout speaking French just seemed too incongruous to me. It makes me wonder how many English translations come out sounding absurd to the speakers of the language the story was originally written in.