Patty,

We have red-winged blackbirds year-round, but await the arrival of the purple martins, our start to spring. This will be a corn year for our fields, and if it a good rain year, we will have a 10-foot-tall privacy buffer surrounding the house. I've been known to go out in a rainstorm with a bar of soap. Great way to feel "at one with nature"!

Glad you enjoy the country life, too!