Ursula LeGuin's Earthsea Trilogy and Tehanu, and various volumes of poetry would be on my porch, as well. I'd also add Marassa and Midnight, Escape to Freedom, and The Monument to the J Fiction list.

I love the mental picture I have from Janie's wren invasion. When I lived in a tiny shed here in Maine, a screen fell out of my window one sommer. A newly fledged eastern phoebe fluttered in early in the morning, landing seven times before I scooped it up and sent it on outside. Within hours, the mites that fell out of its feathers had infiltrated, and within days, they had reproduced to the point that I had to evacuate to a tent outside. It took two months to get rid of the tiny biting nuisances!

Our "porch" is out back, looking out over the young orchard and across to our neighbor's hayfield. The birds are everywhere, from hummers and warblers to turkeys, ospreys, eagles.

maeve