We'll have our mid-summer bird club meeting on Monday evening, July 28th, at the home of Nelle Chilton and Connie Bergmark, where we met last year.  They live on Middle Ridge, near Kanawha State Forest.
 
We're setting the time for 6:00 p.m., but it's fine if you come a little earlier or later.  You'll want to have some time to walk around their property, which includes woods, a pond, and horses.  We'll have some food there, and you are welcome to bring something to add to the assortment.  At these mid-summer meetings, instead of a formal program, we'll take turns describing the birding and nature and travel experiences we've had since the last meeting.  It's always fun to hear what people have been doing.
 
I'll forward directions from Connie in a separate e-mail.  Hope to see you there!
 
Also, to update you on the Coonskin situation, you may have seen the article in the Charleston newspaper describing the "heated" meeting between park users and the board of the county Parks and Recreation Commission.  The good news is that Kan. Co. Commissioner Kent Carper told me today that he agrees the public should have been part of the discussion before any trees were cut down, and he said he's embarrassed by how citizens were treated at the Parks and Rec meeting.  He said if we submit a list of changes we'd like to see made, to improve communication in the future, he will work to have them implemented.
 
Jim