Roger—a plant pathologist specializing in foliar diseases of peanut
Ethel—Roger's ex-wife, a schoolteacher
Louise—Ethel's mother
Eula—Louise's sister; Ethel's aunt
Tom—Eula's son, a forester. He is divorced from his wife Judy, who lives in California with their son Andy.
Andy—Tom's son. He spends summers in Georgia with his father and his grandmother Eula.
Hilma—a retired schoolteacher who taught with Ethel during her last ten years in the classroom
Meade—Hilma's best friend, also a retired schoolteacher
Gawain—an old forester
Lewis—an ornithologist studying the endangered redcockaded woodpecker
Delia—a wildlife artist visiting the area to study and paint local birds
Bruce—a vacationing typographer
Jim Wade—a collector of electric desk fans
Lucy—a nematologist