Column: Barn Swallows part of Dinsmore Homestead

Its a pretty safe bet that Barn Swallows have always had a place on the front and back porches of the Dinsmore Homestead in Boone County. Built in 1842 by patriarch James Dinsmore, family members and more recently, employees of the homestead have been cohabitating with the swallows for 170 years now.

The Barn Swallows were obviously special to the Dinsmores, said Cathy Callopy, education coordinator for the Dinsmore Homestead. Julia Dinsmore (daughter of James) loved nature and all of the girls spent a lot of time outdoors and paid attention to nature. The back porch, also referred to as the back gallery, was really just another room in the house.

The swallows were so meaningful to Julias niece Patty Flandrau, whom Julia raised, that Patty painted five of them on her bedroom wall. In a letter dated Nov. 14, 1882, Julia wrote Pattys sister Sally Flandrau: Patty has been trying her hand at decorative art there swoops a flight of swallows five in all and named for all of you children according to age. By lamplight they are very pretty. You and Patty are the only ones with the bill turned towards each other and though I dont believe swallows coo, it makes you look affectionate and glad to see each other. The swallows tell me life is short but love is long

Those same swallows, still that original artwork, adorn Pattys bedroom wall to this day at the Dinsmore Homestead.

Easily identified by their deeply forked tail feathers, Barn Swallows are the most widespread swallow species in the world. They breed throughout the Northern Hemisphere and winter across the Southern Hemisphere. Before man-made structures became common, they nested on cliff faces or in caves. Now however, they live hand in hand with humans, nesting in barns, stables, under bridges and, as at the Dinsmore Homestead, on porches small and large.

Humans have always thought highly of Barn Swallows. They are voracious insectivores and a joy to watch. Famed naturalist and artist John James Audubon wrote, In the spring the Barn Swallow is welcomed by all and is looked upon as the harbinger of summer. As she never commits depredations on anything that men consider as their own, everybody loves her, and, as the child was taught by his parents, so the man teaches his offspring, to cherish her.

Gayle Pille is a Burlington resident. Visit the Dinsmore Homestead to see Barn Swallows inside the homestead and outside. The homestead is open every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. with tours hourly through 4 p.m.

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Column: Barn Swallows part of Dinsmore Homestead