Purple Martins are much-loved birds in this area.
When they still lived in their own home, my parents had two large Martin houses. Dad kept the houses freshly painted and built the pulley system to raise and lower them on the sturdy tall metal poles that rose far above the back yard. Mom lovingly tended and cleaned the houses each autumn in the anticipation of their beloved Martins returning in the spring to build their nests and hatch their young. My parents were good landlords to their feathered tenants.
On my walk yesterday morning, I noticed this back yard, so I took a photo to send to my Mom. My caption was, “Do you think they might have some Martins, Mom?” She got quite a laugh out of it.
“They’re the only songbird that is entirely dependent on humans to provide housing for reproduction.”
“If I told you all you had to do to save a bird from disaster was put up a bird house, would you?”
Daryl Lindstrom
Radically Retired 
How clever of your dad to have built a pulley system to raise and lower the houses! I have always liked seeing purple martins and their houses because of how many mosquitoes they eat! We don’t have purple martin houses at our house, but the lake across the street from us has several. I do have to say, you are always finding something interesting to post from your walks!
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Thanks for stopping by and commenting, Betty! Yes, my Dad was an inventor. He’s well known in our hometown as a brilliant man 😊
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