I am in N.E. Ohio (5 miles S.W. of the point where I-80 crosses the Ohio/Pa state line). I am 62 yrs old and for the first 20yrs of my life I lived on a dairy farm about 6 miles from here. In those days this entire region was polluted by the steel mills, but the mills closed in the late 70's and the every year we see more and more species of birds and animals returning here that we only read about as kids. Just this year I got my first look at Bluebirds & Baltimore Orioles. We currently have two families of bluebirds nesting in a pine about 60ft from our back door and the orioles are nesting in a pine right beside it. Immediately to the east of our house is a 18acre field and we see upwards of 12 deer out there every day. Sometimes the deer actually come in our back yard. Two weeks ago i got a quick snapshot of a flock of 21 wild turkeys out in the field and we have Bald Eagles nesting in a woodlot about 250 yrs behind our house. I actually got to see the mother eagle teaching a pair of eglets how to fly. What an experience that was. One of the eglets actually landed in our yard and the mother sat on a limb about 60 ft above the house encouraging it to fly again. There is one pair of birds that frequent our yard that I have not been able to identify. They are bright yellow with coal black wings and a black crown on their heads. at first i thought they were goldfinches but when i saw them up close they are much larger than finches. These birds are as big as a robin or bluejay. We have flocks of gold finches so it is easy to see these are not finches when they are all together in the yard.

I think you did the best thing, Chris, but I must comment regarding your mentioning that bluebirds are portrayed as timid and lacking in skills to defend their territory. In the past, bluebird territory differed from that of house wrens. As someone who has been a bluebird enthusiast and monitor for many years, I must say that wrens are no longer reading the manual and are not following the rules on where they are supposed to nest! Bluebirds can and do defend themselves and their nests (Dave, you need to repost your bluebird/hosp battle photos), but house wrens are the sneakiest of birds. They are quick and can be in and out of a nestbox in a matter of seconds. BlueBars can tell you of the battle between a bluebird and a house wren inside a nestbox and I'll simply say that the wren left minus some feathers. Unfortunately, even an incubating female bluebird must leave the nestbox occasionally and that is when the wren seems to appear. House sparrows are another thing entirely. They are non-native and are extremely aggressive towards not only bluebirds but towards all other native cavity nesters. A bluebird, tree swallow, chickadee or titmouse is simply not equipped to battle a house sparrow inside a nestbox. I have witnessed the result of such attacks too many times and hope it is something you never experience. Since man, in his great wisdom, brought house sparrows to America to "help", house sparrows have wreaked havoc not only on crops they were supposed to protect (from insects), but on native bird species as well. House sparrows do not need cavities (nestboxes) to nest in but studies show that if a house sparrow is allowed to fledge from a nestbox, it will look for one when it is time for it to breed. That is why it is so important for people to monitor nestboxes when they put them up. In all my years of monitoring bluebird trails, I must say that the word timid is not a word I would associate with this beautiful, brave, determined bird. You will come to see this for yourself if you monitor your nestbox closely and let them teach you about their battle to survive. I promise that your heart will be broken now and then--Mother Nature will have her way--but you will also come to know just how precious their lives are and why we all work so hard to protect them. Kathy

Thanks guys for the comments. I just want some professional advice before I make my final decision on the furnace. I know the best choice is a variable speed, 2-stage but nobody makes them in a 45K 80%, period. They are all 65-70K or bigger. Bryant makes a 2-stage 45K (312AAV) but it only has a bad old PSC motor. I could ask the installer about replacing the PSC motor in the 312 with a 'green' variable speed motor (www.evergreenmotor.com) as he gave me a brochure on it, but replacing a brand new motor doesn't sound very wise. The Bryant 313AAV has an ECM (X-13) motor but only a 1-stage 45K burner. I looked at the spec sheet on the Trane XV80 (somewhere on the net) and the smallest size I saw was 60K, no 45K model in the XV80. Did I miss something? I know probably the low stage (32K) of a 45K 2-stage burner would likely be sufficient 90+% of the time. The furnace usually runs Nov-Feb and perhaps a bit in March depending how could it gets. This past March it never ran at all. During April, May, Sept and most of Oct. i rarely use any heat and not much AC in Sept. The condo mgmt. sent out a notice last year that if our condenser units needed replacing, that we would have to replace our evap. coils at the same time (the coil would be at our expense-$400-$800, the condenser at theirs). I figured it was because the new condensers would all be R410 and the old R22 coils in current use would have to be replaced. the installer said he would replace my coil with a R22/R410 compatible unit so I will already be taken care of when the condenser finally fails. Yes, I thought on my own that the new coil might be too much of a strain for the old condenser. However, if I want the condenser replaced now I have to pay for it. As long as it is working they will not pay for a new one, even if I am getting a new furnace and coil.

@nosoccermom - good questions! :) I really love my kitchen. Both the function and aesthetics of it. I must have spent a gazillion hours researching, looking at options, reading, etc. And in the end, I am very happy with my choices. But, there are a few things I would do differently: 1. Prep/bar sink - I would skip it if I were to do things over. I hardly ever use it. I drank the "Gardenweb Kool-aid" regarding prep sinks and should have known it wouldn't be that useful for me. That said, I do like how it looks, and it makes a handy "hiding" place for things on the counter. ;) 2. Ventilation - we have a challenging configuring that was better suited to a downdraft unit. But I love the look of the overhead hood, so went for it. It's not terrible, but I am sure it would function better with a downdraft. I would probably still have the hood facade, but then have a DD for actual ventilation. Favorite things: 1. My appliances (hopefully I won't jinx myself by saying this!). They've all performed beautifully. Love my microwave drawer - so much easier and more functional. French door fridge is great (adore the filtered water dispenser inside); and my induction cooktop and ovens have been wonderful. I got brave enough to try the self-clean function on my ovens not long ago, and it worked great. 2. My backsplash. Makes me happy to look at it. Even though it was a splurge, it was totally worth it. 3. Drawers! Love, love them - especially the ones for pots/pans, bowls, serving dishes and baking supplies. 4. And, similarly - drawer inserts/dividers for spices, knives, utensils, etc. Love having a place for everything! Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any questions...