Bat house refinements Re: building a bat house (April), partially closing in the bottom could cause a guano buildup, eventually blocking the front sections. To alleviate this, make sure the interior partitions do not go completely to the roof. In my design, I leave one to two inches above the partitions, allowing bats to move inside between the sections. - Frank O'Donnell Enderby, British Columbia Simple property layout We're moving to a five-acre Manitoba property. It is now a bare field and we'll plant trees around it immediately. We've been trying to decide how to set up our yard. Do you have information, contacts, websites, etc. as to placing the house, corral, barn, and pasture? We're looking for a simple property layout. - Helen Wabick Via e-mail What fun to be able to design your property from scratch! The PFRA website has guidelines on planning a shelterbelt. Go to: www.agr.gc.ca/pfra/shelterbelt/farm_e.htm. Check with your rural municipality concerning setback allowances from major roads, and other relevant bylaws. Terrain and drainage patterns will influence how you situate the various "rooms" of your acreage. You'll want your house and water source to be higher than the barn and corral, for instance. It is also good to plan for shelter from prevailing winds, and to consider energy efficiency (as in limiting north-facing windows). Think about playing up attractive views, too. It would be worthwhile to consult a landscape architect. B.C. Mountain Homes has prepared a series of articles about designing acreages, at www.bcmountainhomes.com. See the "site development" links, which include a typical site plan. Correction Our story on collectible corkscrews (April) contained an incorrect attribution. It was Sal Robinson who said an article's value reflects its rarity, condition and interest to collectors from other fields. She lost an eBay auction for a Dunhill corkscrew to a Dunhill collector. We regret the error. Write to us at: The Mailbox, Acreage Life Box 2500, 2310 Millar Avenue, Saskatoon, SK S7K 2C4 Or e-mail us: acreagelife.editors@producer.com