Backyard Birds - feeders

Well I had to start with something to talk about my new obsession - BIRDS!
I feel like such an old woman! But it's so much fun to watch birds and also to try and see what kind of birds you can get to visit you. All the birds are migrating right now, so a ton of birds are here (or there) for the summer to mate and have babies. So I'll start by talking about the feeders I have in my yard (again - my husband thinks I have too many) Anything is good - in moderation right? Well I completely ignore that term in most cases.

This is a Thistle sock... It has in it Nyjer seed which is a seed that Goldfinches love, and other finches as well. We don't have American Goldfinches here in New Mexico but we have the "lesser goldfinch" and a lot of other ones too. Currently I have about 5 pairs of Cassin's Finches visiting my feeders regularly (all day long!) And they now have babies and the babies are the ones who first discovered these thistle socks. I'll be posting actual bird photos sometime soon, although my pictures aren't great because I don't have a good enough zoom (yet) to get quality bird photos. The reason I have two of these socks, one black and one white was an experiment of sorts. I had the black one up (photo below). I made it myself with some mesh I had left over from something I had bought. I just folded over a little of the top to make a drawstring area and sewed it there and at the bottom, and down the sides and turned it inside out, threaded a string through the top and filled it with seed. It hung out there for a couple weeks, with no visit from any bird. Then I thought maybe the birds didn't like black, but I learned that it shouldn't matter from a local bird store here. But I bought the hideous white one (the bird doesn't appeal to me) anyhow and filled it with fresh nyjer seed from the bird store, while the other one was full of Walmart seed. Just to see if it would get any visits at that point. And after about a week, the baby birds came and they regularly feed off the white one now. The white one normally has about 4 birds on it and the black always has the ONE straggler. So I'm thinking they like the fresh bird store feed better than the other. I think one bird is just hungry and can't fit on there with the rest so it just uses the black one as a backup.

HUMMINGBIRDS!

Hummingbirds are truly amazing birds. I have so much fun seeing them at my feeders. I have pictures from when we lived in Mississippi where I had like 6 visiting my feeder at once. They are so cool! Did you know that hummingbirds can fly backwards AND upside down?? So neat. Right now I have a couple black chinned hummingbirds coming to this red feeder every day. No visitors have come to the green feeder. Ok I take it back, they have occasionally but not regularly. I actually have an oriole feeder, shown below and the hummingbirds love it, and were using it instead of theirs so I moved it to the front yard and put this red one in it's place. Now he visits the red one. And probably sneaks a lick or two out of the other one in front occasionally too. But he can do whatever he wants, cuz he's a hummingbird. Speaking of him doing whatever he wants, I was lucky enough to see the male hummingbird do his mating trick for the female. She perched inmy tree and sat and watched as he very fastly flew way up straight in the air and then did a huge U in the air back up the other side. He did this about five times before they both flew away. I wish I knew if he got her to be his mate. hehe.
 BEAUTIFUL Birds!

This saucer style feeder is supposed to reduce the spill factor in windy conditions. I really like the look of my other one better though. But I think this one does the job of attracting the attention of the birds. Hummingbirds also love the sound of running water. All birds do! But hummingbirds especially love a mister! They will run through it and get all soaked and then perch on a branch and primp. I don't have a real mister as of yet, so I sometimes turn my hose on to the mist notch and hang it from a hook and the birds will fly through it for a little cool off.

This is a suet feeder. Suet is made from raw beef fat. The fat can melt or go rancid if it's not rendered. Suet is the best food to attract woodpeckers. You can render it yourself and serve it as is, or make "suet cakes" using seed and other ingredients. Or you can just buy suet cakes from your local bird feeding store. Suet comes in a block at any feed store in many different varieties. Suet with peanut butter is especially attractive to Woodpeckers, goldfinches, juncos, cardinals, thrashers, jays, kinglets, bluebirds, and wrens. I would give you a recipe to make suet at home but I haven't tried it myself yet, but will definitely be working on that.

This is a temporary bird bath. It's a little silly but the birds really use it. Ok not really any cool birds, so far only the doves have used it. I have a fountain type thing but the motor on it stopped working so I'm in the process of getting that fixed. And birds need water. So a simple bird bath 1 to 1 1/2 inches is perfect. I put sticks around mine to provide perching spots for the birds. It also makes it seem a little more natural. But I have a bird bath plan in mind that I'm going to be trying sometime soon as well as getting my fountain working. Birds were drinking from my fountain constantly while it was working. If birds will drink from your water source but not bathe, it usually means that it's too deep. It can also mean it's not in an area where the birds feel safe. And running water is always better than still water for attracting more birds to your yard. Or BOTH is even better. Even a small drip would be great. I read somewhere online that you can use an old pail and hang it above your bird bath with a small hole in it, so that it will drip drip drip into the bath. ? I shall try this out.

 This is a homemade oriole feeder. It's made to hold fruit halves, particularly oranges. Orioles love oranges and they also love grape jelly. I made this feeder to hold a small glass cup of Grape Jelly and a prong for orange halves on each side. I used cedar fence posts (the skinnier ones) for the bottom and roof, then used cedar 1 x 2's for the sides. I then used a large 2 inch hole saw to saw a place for the glass cup to rest, and then drilled holes where I wanted my "prongs" for the oranges to go. I read that the oranges should be placed meat side up for the birds, but I did mine sideways before reading that. Does it matter? I'm not sure. I haven't had a visit yet. I DID have a visit one day from a Scotts Oriole and he only stayed about 1/10th of a minute. It took my breath away to see the bright yellow and black color he was. So pretty! I beg him to come back and eat from my awesome homemade feeder! I've tied orange ribbon onto them as well to attract them even more. Birds don't smell, so they go by site. They can see seeds, see colors, see plants and that's what draws them in. Other birds that enjoy fruit include Gray catbirds, and Western Tanagers in the west, and Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Northern Mockingbirds, Brown Thrashers, Orchard Orioles, Baltimore Orioles, Scarlet Tanagers, Gray Catbirds, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks in the east. When it comes to bird feeding, I sort of wish I lived in the east. But I'll enjoy the west.

Orioles are also nectar loving birds as I mentioned earlier my hummingbird was visiting my oriole feeder which is the photo here. Orioles however, need a place to perch while feeding unlike hummingbirds that can hover. Hummingbirds are the F-22 of the bird world. This perch is what differs the oriole feeder from the hummingbird feeder as well as the size of the hole to get the nectar. Hummingbirds have long beaks and a tongue that is 1 1/2 times the beak I believe. So amazing. Orioles need a place for their beaks to fit, so this feeder has larger holes and a nice perch. Hummingbirds actually don't mind perching either. My feeder above in the hummingbird section that is the saucer style also has a place for hummingbirds to stand and rest but I've yet to see one do it.
Ok that's just the beginning of the bird info I have for you. I know I'm leaving lots of basics out, but I promise I will get to them. This was just some random information. I apologize if I jumped around a lot. Thanks for reading!!

Please leave a comment if you enjoyed this post, or have any questions or input!

Handmade by me Nightstands

These here nightstands were built with my own two hands! They were so much fun to build! And in the end, really fulfilling!

I followed plans from my favorite "blog" ever! knockoffwood.blogspot.com This is literally THE only blog I feel necessary to check every single day to see what else I can add to my list of things I want to make. I've already got like 13 things on my list, or more. I have built about 5 of them already, so I will be posting about them eventually. But tonight is about these nightstands!

Other side. Does anyone love my bedskirt?? The room is a work in progress. We are between projects right now, so just ignore that lovely tackiness.

You should also ignore the headboard because I plan to build one of the headboards on Ana's site. She is one of my best friends and she doesn't even know it (or me) yet. But I truly love her! - and all the inspiration she gives me and many other women (and men) out there! I've always liked building things myself and I would make my own plans even but she is amazing and has made that all the more possible and easier!!

Stay tuned for my other wood builds!

Orange Star Flower

~ Isn't she lovely? Isn't she wonderful?~
Information on this plant is lacking so I shall share what I've discovered myself!
This is the Chesapeake Series Star of Bethlehem. Botanical name: Ornithogalum Chesapeake Sunset. Also in this series are the Chesapeake Blaze, and the Chesapeake Sunburst. They are truly beautiful flowers! This is my second year having them around, but these pictures are from this year, as I couldn't find my last years pictures upon lots of searching. They were designed to be container plants. They are generally kept as an indoor house plant although I've read about incidences where they can be kept outdoors over winter - in zones 9 and 10. They do not like frost! They also like to be below temperatures of 90 degrees, anything above that will cause them to become dormant. Preferably a temperature between 65 and 75 would be best. They like bright indirect sunlight, so something just short of full sun. I had/have mine indoors in a window shaded with blinds. (mine is dormant already this year, hence this post -it's me living vicariously through these pictures) and I might go buy another one too. =) I took a few photos to see the different views of the plant, rather than just seeing the blooms in the first picture which is my favorite. I just thought I'd show the full plant in case anyone was interested. Flowers should be pinched off at the base of the stem when spent. This will give the plant the ability to work on giving energy to those flowers that are still healthy, rather than wasting energy trying to help the dying flower. (I tried to word that in a non botanical way considering I'm not a botanist) - though I wish I was!

This year I had a long leaning stem as you can see in the background here. They are supposed to grow about 8-12 inches in height. I'd say that stem was about 10 inches maybe. I speak in past tense because mine has already died off this year. It's a perennial so if cared for right, you can enjoy this year after year. It first blooms in spring (or summer depending) and then dies back. Once the flowers on the whole stem are spent, stems should be cut back, and the stalks and leaves left until they are turning brownish, then you can stop watering and let them become dormant. Don't be sad that your plant didn't last as long as you expected. This is normal. It can produce stems for several months, but individual stems last only about 3-4 weeks. I just dug up my bulbs and am going to let them dry out. I haven't done this before, so it will be an experiment for me. And I plan to replant them next spring early. Perhaps outside! If I'm digging up bulbs anyway, why not plant outside? - after ALL danger of frost that is.

It's a breathtaking display, that's for sure!

Spring has sprung!

April showers bring may flowers! .... except there were no april showers. That's the desert for ya. But with my persistent hand watering, we have signs of life! This is the most exciting part about spring!!!! When something that was once dormant has come to life again! I believe this is a Liatris coming up. One of my favorite flowers (although you'll hear my say that a lot!) -especially in cut flower arrangements. Exquisite! I had some bridesmaid photos taken on the beach and stopped at a little sidewalk flower shop on the way for some gerbera daisies mixed with some liatris. So much fun! I wish I had the pics somewhere digitally.

Stay tuned for future posts about my newest hobby, backyard birding! Oh gosh, it's a lot of fun! This is my new hanger that I got. It's made as a system so you can design it how you want it. What hooks where, different deco'd posts and tops and hooks and all sorts of stuff. Highly addicting and not so cheap. But if you're interested...it's from wild birds unlimited.

Oh my goodness, look at the detail in this flower, are you kidding me? Light pink, bright pink, BROWN, yellow and then gold and then even a reddish gold at the very center. Wow! I have a lot of these and their name has completely slipped my mind right now. I'll have to share photos of other colors, but this one has the most color in it. They are all very stunning though! And one of the most magnificant flowers of all times...

The Fuschia. Wow! If any of you know this plant, you are lucky because it's a charmer. Hot pink outside with beautiful purple ruffled middle, not to mention the sugar crystals hanging off the ends. Let's be serious now... and no politics involved... and some say there's no God?

The front flower is a bit spent. This is a very hard flower to grow. Very picky, very tiffy. It doesn't like wind. Most are grown indoors, but I can hardly stand not having this out in my garden as it is a big time hummingbird attracter! It loves shade, especially in hot places like here in New Mexico. And it's very thirsty... all the time! It also is a fertilizer lover. Must be regularly fertilized, or it will be unhappy. BUT, if you can manage to keep it alive, it will bloom and bloom and bloom for years. I saw some pics online of someone's "fuschia garden" and they were enormous and magnificant looking. One of my favorite combinations are the white with pink centers. So pretty!! I might be getting some soon. We'll see.

Gerbera Daisy. Everyone's favorite right? I love them. I have had a hot pink gerbera daisy in my life consistently for about 4 years now - although I've had many other colors over the years before and during as well. Except this one is a replacement for my 3 year long plant because when moving here from Vegas I didn't want to bring any pests with us, or diseases which were prevalent there. So here's my replacement, although I'm still mourning over the loss of my other one. She was good to me! I know I sound like a freak...but there's a story behind my gerbera daisy. Someday I'll tell.

Verbena. I have tonz of this. White, pink, red, purple. etc. It doesn't love me, but it's a great hanging basket specimen because it trails and spreads. Very nice looking though!

Me and Black eyed susan go way back! My parents have been buying one every year for a LONG time. They are annuals, but they are well worth the year they are around because they grow fast and well! Need a good trellis for a nice show!

Not to be confused with this black eyed susan which is also a very lovely flower indeed!

Are you ready to get your hands dirty!?!?! I know I was. I had anxiety for two months about getting this (food) garden going. It's May and I feel like I'm late. I have to remind myself that most of the loved ones I have are in places where there's still snow on the ground, so I'm not doing so bad.

So I finally got them in the ground! Or the raised ground I should say. These planter boxes were homemade by me using these plans... I love how they look and they make gardening much easier for me here in the desert - the dirt is ROCK SOLID. They are about 24 inches high which makes it a great spot to sit down while caring for your garden, and come harvest time, it will be nice to sit and pick, pull, and reap.

Squash, peppers, tomatoes, watermelon, cantaloupe, herbs, herbs, herbs. I can't wait! and this is only the contents of one box. The rest are sEeD so they are photoless at the time but they are in the ground too. Yay!

This lovely trellis was also homemade using these plans. I really love how it looks despite the few incorrect parts of the plan! If you decide to build this trellis, maybe don't go by the exact product numbers. The ball on top could have been a wooden - non painted one instead so that it could match the rest of the wood, although it's not a big enough deal to me and I think the different color gives it character. My husband went to the store for me on this one and got EXACTLY what the list said like he was asked to. The other problem was the color of the Australian Timber Oil could have been lighter to match the box, although the box gets oranger after time. You'll notice if you look closely in the picture of my dirty hands, that this last box with the trellis is the lightest and that's because it's the newest made so it hasn't seen the sun and watering that the others have. Those elements make the box more orange...which I really like.

My husband added some tweaks to their plans to make the bottom more sturdy (those two small boards supporting the middle post), and one of their measurements were wrong for the bottom two boards shown in this picture. You'll want to measure that distance and go with your own measurements instead. Let me know if you have questions!

Sorry for the length of that post. Lots of details I wanted to add. It's all about education. =) One more little tip is that on this link, you can find garden plans that fit the size of these raised garden beds. I didn't use any of them although I think they are extremely lovely! Especially the flower ones!

If I can make a garden happen here in the dryest, roughest, windiest place, then you too can make it happen! Don't have the space?... container gardening is amazing. Grow vertically. Don't have the time?... well I have no solution for you there. Time is something I need more of. Don't have the climate? You can grow something in every climate there is. I've lived in 4 different states! But let's all remember one thing... I'm just a beginner!!

Happy gardening! Happy hobbying!

Mod Podge Letters!

This is a really cute way to spice up a childs bedroom! I made these for my sister in law for her baby shower with the pertinent info of the childs sex and therefore name. =) I could have afforded to vacuum before taking these pictures but I'm always in a huge hurry so if I wait til things are picture worthy, you won't ever get to see them!
First of all, I shopped around for letters sold in various shapes and sizes. Shapes meaning - different fonts. These letters are sold at Hobby Lobby, Joanns, Michaels, Roberts, and even Walmart. I'm sure many more places! So it might take a few stores until you find the ones that are perfect for you.
Then I shop around (or scavenge the house) for coordinating scrapbook paper, or fabric, and embellishments such as buttons, twigs, ribbon, tuille, cord, anything really! The skies the limit!
And I apologize for not having step by step instruction photos but I then turn my letters upside down and lay them on the back side of my paper (or fabric - I've definitely done both!) and trace around them in pencil. Cut them out, and then turn them around and mod podge (Mod podge can be found at any of the above listed stores in Matte or Glossy - they also sell it in other varieties specifically for paper on paper that I've never tried yet) them to your wood letters by brushing the mod podge directly on the letters and then laying your paper on there and pressing down everywhere eliminating bumps or creases and rubbing it to be flat to the wood. Then you will want to mod podge with a sponge paint brush over the top of the paper as well. Sometimes with fabric, if you are using them as decorations in a room with say a matching quilt (as I will show soon in an upcoming post), then you will want to maybe skip the mod podge over the top as it will make your fabric a little bit darker and a "wet" look.
End your project by choosing and laying out embellishments as you choose to spice up the name a bit and tie together the whole effect. In the picture below, I used ribbon, twine, and buttons to embellish this set.

Clean up your floor woman!

Also note that these pictures were taken pre fastening the embellishments. So unfortunately there are no final photos, but you get the idea! And I could probably provide some of the project in the room in the end. We'll work on that! Thanks for reading! More mod podge letter examples to come!

Beginner Gardener!

I'm just a beginner vegetable gardener! However, it's that time of year! Yay! Oh gosh, it's so much fun to have a food garden. Going out each day and finding new flowers blossoming to signify the coming of fruit or vegetables. The flowers are always such a fun sign and you can watch them as they transform into budding food. And all knowing you did it all yourself! So rewarding!
I prepare a spreadsheet of all the vegetables that I am going to plant and and the planting instructions and facts so that all the information is right there together when I begin my planting. It's no fun trying to read each packet whilst doing it, but it's also very nice having this sheet for later on when you are wondering when to thin the seedlings, or when to transplant your vegetables, etc. Then I made some labels for mine because I was experimenting with different brands of seeds to see which would do well or better and therefore these labels help me to keep an eye on which was which. A simple garden label works well too. These homemade ones are laminated with my fancy little laminator but they didn't quite keep all moisture out so I reccommend maybe making sure you cut farther away if you decide to do this method, or just going with traditional plant labeling.

~ Seeds, seeds let's plant our seeds! ~ Every year I buy some fun kids plants so my children can plant their own seeds and watch their own little garden grow. I also have my son go out and water his own bucket(s) each day. We have a lot of fun! Lots more gardening to come!!

A really good website that's fun to use is bhg.com. They have a program on their site that allows you to plan your garden and you can actually draw it out and stuff. They also have premade garden plans that are really great too!