Monday, May 7, 2018

Homes for Birds . . . . . . . .


It was one of those weekends when great weather enabled me to get
 outdoors and work on jobs awaiting around the exterior of the cottage. 
 This required assistance from our great next-door neighbor - another Bob. 
 Working with two 'Bobs' was a lot of fun, especially when it came
to heavy lifting, working with drills and other tools etc.


Removed the old birdhouse which although a bit messy, was donated to
 neighbor Bob who will fix it up and set on a new pole in his side garden
 between our houses and we can both enjoy it a bit longer.  Plus his cat,
 Ms. Nala, whom I take care of when he travels, may get to 
watch birds come and go from her perch in the window.


The removal of the roof (it was screwed on) prove interesting as it had not been
 opened in several years - one of those jobs requiring a ladder, a drill, so one
 seems to keep putting it off and it never gets done! 

"Honey, let's try to get the roof off the birdhouse and clean
 it out today".
"Not today there are bluebirds in it." or
"Not today, I just saw nuthatches taking in nesting materials.
"Oops, there are babies in there and we can't disturb them now." 


On removing the roof we were overwhelmed by the contents - 
several nests on top of each other constructed of assorted materials
 including, twigs (the bluebirds), soft woven grasses, pine straw, dried skeleton
 leaves, pieces of thread, even a length of plastic. . . . . . 


. . . . . . and in the roof a hornet's nest!
I think the underside of the roof mimics a sunflower - quite stunning.
Nature's art.


We then mounted the new birdhouse on a new post - former one was warped. . . . . . 
. . . . . . . a new six unit 'apartment building' which hopefully,
 next year, will bring new birds looking for a nesting site.

I'm working on another outdoor project, started yesterday and will complete
today - more on that later as I'm heading out to paint right now. . . . . . 
and the chimney sweep will be here this morning so Spring Cleaning
is in the near future.


5 comments:

  1. Birds are amazing, they way they build their nests.

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  2. Ahh Spring cleaning in the yard. What wonderful bird houses, both the old one and the new. Your birds will thank you.

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  3. There's nothing better than a day in the garden...do you think spring is finally here?

    All of my birdhouses were filled with new tenants a few weeks ago. All house sparrows, which are loud and aggressive. I've read you should try to shoo them away to give the other birds a chance to nest. The've also tried to take over my bird feeders at the lake, but a nice man at the farm supply store told me to use a seed mix with sunflowers, which they do not like. Works like a charm!

    Thanks for your nice comments. Recovery is slow going. I can't start physical therapy for a few weeks as my body heals. Hope to get to the lake soon! I have two guy helpers and I really appreciate their support.

    Happy spring, my favorite lady! :)

    JANE

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  4. Well done! Oh that “ceiling” art really was unique and special. The new birdhouse condo is stunning!

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  5. Well that was a busy and productive day!
    The photo of the inside of the birdhouse roof was stunning - a sunflower, indeed!

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