DeeÂdeeÂdee, Yes your feathered friends may look sweet and innocent now but let us look a few short months into the future when your newly adopted family begins to sport their gang colors. Have you not noticed the ever increasing pitch to their call, if you record it and play it backwards it says "The higher destruction of the garden the bigger the buffet" over and over again!! Just think of yourself this August lounging on your deck loftily thinking of your feathered family when suddenly you hear from the tree tops "OH MY GODÂthatÂs her the voyeur Â.and dee, I donÂt have the heart to tell you what comes nextÂI just hope you have a good laundry detergent. kt

I am amazed at the friends I have here. I want to state that first and foremost. I am also in tears at the thoughtfulness, friendship and caring that has been shown to me. Dan, you are a wonderful friend for having thought of such a wonderful surprise and "cheer me up"! I have gotten a package from Dan, Linda and one today from Vic. You guys have no idea just how much it has touched not only me, but Cliff and the kids as well. From Dan I received: Shasta Daisy Musky Purple Columbine Mixed Datura Millet Grass- is this the tall one? Dianthus White Turtlehead- which has been on my wants list for some time and will be going in near my Snapdragons! and a wonderful note to cheer me up with smiley faces all over it :) From Linda I received: Seed envelopes Purple/white datura New England Aster Larkspur- unknown color Yellow Bells Trumpet Bush Chinese Lanterns Mammoth Sunflower Snapdragons- Tall Deluxe Mix Zinnia- Lilliput- something I've been thinking about adding for a bit! :) Flower stickers! Bookmark with the sun and moon!How well my friends know me! For those that don't know, I am Wiccan and my guiding symbol is the Moon. and another wonderful cheer up note! From Vicky: Charleston Gray Watermelon Jaradale Pumpkin- which I will have to look up, never heard of it Cilantro Pumpkin- Jack O' Lantern California Blackeyed pea Fennel Snapdragons- tall mixed Helianthus Microcephalus Hosta- Drk Green large leaved Black eyed Susan Queen Anne's Lace Dusty Miller- the boys will take this one from me, they ADORE Dusty Millers! Broom Corn- will be great for fall decorations next year! Cosmos- Single Sensation Mix Lufa gourd- I need more of these than the two I have now! Cleome Wild Sunflowers that grow all over where Vic lives :) Kale- Dwarf Blue Curled Spinich- Giant Noble Basil- Purple African Iris fan- no ID, unknown color Daylily fan- no ID unknown color- I enjoy surprises and can't wait to see what colors these are! A copper colored bird shaped decorative hanger with jacket hooks :) and another wonderful note reminding me of the wonderful things in my life to hold to when the world seems to be going nuts. You guys are the most wonderful friends I could imagine! The generosity of this brings tears to my eyes :) Thank you so very much!! HUGS, Kathy

Neopyte, I had my dh make my hole reducers, he has a drill press?? at work and used cedar. However I know you can purchase them also, hopefully someone else here will chime in with the where on that one. I had chickadees building last year but was a day late on the hole reducer, the HOPS ran them off. The box they had chosen wasn't one I could put a van ert in and I didn't, at the time, have a spare nestbox to use as a trapbox. Luckily the dees didn't get harmed but I was sad to see them not nest there, coincindentally the Blues ended up nesting in that same box, by that time the HOSP had either been eliminated or left the yard. They usually say to not put the reducer on until the chickadee lays the first egg as they don't care for the 1/8 hole as much but can get into it fine. If you have HOSP around though, I would do it before and hope for the best. Better to be safe than sorry. As far as seed the chickadees love sunflower seeds, hearts and chip or BOSS, the also like peanuts and suet around here. Also it isn't a good idea to put a nestbox near the birdfeeders, too much bird traffic that way. The closest nestbox I have to a feeder is about 50ft, the rest are much further away than that. It is best to point the hole of the nestbox away from prevailing winds, preferabbly towards a tree but away from the way the direction the rain usually blows during the summer months. Donna

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