A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor

In case you are wondering why a summer letter, it's because I found this great paper and wanted to use it appropriately. That means I must tell you about summer birdwatching from the porch here at Stillmeadow.

The best and most used room in the house this time of year is our front porch. Sitting in a glider or swinging on the swing the birds entertain us all day long. As we sip our morning coffee we are greeted with a flyby of the hummingbirds. They are delightful as they eat nearly a gallon of nectar a week. Randy and Chance counted thirty hummingbirds one morning several weeks ago.

The bluebirds who appeared in March and nested in their bluebird houses have since raaised their young and abandoned the houses to the sparrows. But we occassionally see them sitting on the wires looking for grubworms.

The goldfinches are extremely spoiled by the pleasure of their year-round diet of Niger thistle seed. The males are bright yellow and look like Christmas decorations sitting atop the pinetrees. The duller females (in color only) share the 18-hole feeder as well. Sometimes as many as 9 or 10 finches hang upside down and every which way as they eat from the feeder.

Our favorite pair of cardinals have recently been doing some fine dining from the dogfood bowls. The male lands in the pines then moves to the top porchrail. He then hops to the bottom rail and peeks around the post to check for canines and humans. Then it's on to the dogfood bowl where he eats a bit of food for himself or takes some home to the female. Sometimes he heads back to the pine trees and whistles an " all clear " call to his wife and she comes down for her own meal.

Last weekend friends Paulette, Debbie and I enjoyed identifying and watching a chipping sparrow gather Spanish moss from the bottle tree to build it's nest. It's distinctive "chip chip" helped us to identify it.

Then there was the Carolina wren who built her nest in our newspaper box by the road. She actually flew in the car windowwhen we were checking our mail one day. A quick buzz of the down button on the opposite window allowed her to fly right through. We have played "dodgem" with her all summer.

There are also ever delightful chickadees nesting in the "Bird and Breakfast" birdhouse. For the past three years they have made it their permanent home. They, along with many other species of our feathered friends have entertained us and brought many a smile to our faces during these summer months.

One last memory takes place not from the porch but from a recent day trip to Chillicothe. At the same moment Randy and I spotted a bald eagle on a small strip of island in the Scioto River. He/She was enjoying a picnic meal of freshly caught fish. The sight of the eagle took our breath away !

Well... we need to "fly off" now, but you will hear from us again in December. We may have some "people" news for you then! Until then...love Linda & Randy

Stillmeadow — where life is good and children come to play.