a couple of goodies posted

[newt]

took the day off from work today --sort of, have to prep for a hearing in the morning tomorrow -- and am getting the RL house in some kind of order.

some anti-bug work is afoot. little bitty bugs and spiders are finding their way indoors, and the Katz are gathering ticks. and then there's laundry to do, and mowing another part of the yard, paying bills, just nonstop frolic!

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?? to do abt this: there are holes in the siding of the house. the holes are gifts from the winter visitor woodpeckers; the yellow-bellied sapsuckers are pretty, but unhelpful.

well, the chickadees have decided that one of the holes is a perfect place to build a nest. now, there are a nice variety of birdhouses out there in the yard, cleaned and tidied less than a month ago, and i've dutifully left some dead trees standing for the birds who like to build in those .... but apparently the siding is better?? anyhow, it's not a good thing for the tweeters to be in the wall. will have to figure out what to do to deter them. admittedly, they are just adorable as they go in and out of the wall, but still ....

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here are the goodies, gotten for the Pierce: a nice tray for wall decor in the kitchen, a game table for the fam room/attic, and a little cabinet that probably will be for the Secret Room. the cabinet has a lazy susan in it and so it is nifty.

[alycemina]

Ah, another bird lover. I fixed up my wren boxes (had two batces of babies last year) and waited and waited and finally gave up. Today they appears and chattered all day chosing which house they want to nest in first. I was so happy. And I heard the Baltimore Orioles today...they're back! I have so many birds, even in a suburban area. I feed year round. An evening Grosbeak came by yesterday and I havent seen one around here for years. My robins are nesting (dont laugh, I buy mealworms for them and put them in a little dish...do they love them and food can be hard to find in high density neighborhoods like mine - dont get me started on lawn pesticides!!) Also have red bellied, downy, hairy and flicker woodpeckers and hopefully my hummers will be back.I even have a bunch of pigeons stop by - they live under the nearby underpass for the highway - everyone in welcomed in my yard. Even the hawks. And the chippies and squirrels. Last year I couldnt believe my eyes when a wood duck and 5 babies crossed my lawn. I dont know where they were going. We even have an occasional bear walk up from Pennsylvania. Had one in my yard a few years ago...I think he was more frightened than I was.

[Minis On The Edge]

You got some neat items Gina!! I really love that Game Table!!!

[TinyJudi]

What wonderful litle things. The game table is so cool. Thanks for sharing.

[Deb]

?? to do abt this: there are holes in the siding of the house. the holes are gifts from the winter visitor woodpeckers;

Ah, the joys of having holes drilled into siding by enthusiastic birds! We have that problem too. We put up an owl decoy which is supposed to scare them away. Ha! They sit on top of the silly thing and continue to drill! And while the woodpeckers know that it's not real, the owls are easily confused. Wise owls? I don't think so. If they're so smart, why are they courting the decoy? I hear an amourous owl out there at night hooting at the decoy. He might be confused now, but he's going to be very disappointed if he pursues the matter further.

What I really want to know is how woodpeckers know how to tell time! Seriously!! Every*single*day for a week, that little bugger was out there pounding on the side of the house under our bedroom window at exactly 8:55am each day. That doesn't sound early to most people, but our bedtime is 4am so it's the middle of the night to us. It's amazing how a tiny little woodpecker can sound like a jackhammer going off in your bedroom when you're sound asleep!

the yellow-bellied sapsuckers are pretty

That's not what I was calling them, but it's close.

Deb

[Hallowell]

Love the game table, great finds.

[havanaholly]

We get the pileated woodpeckers but carpenter bees are what eat the holes in our cedar siding. The papernest wasps were bad about that, so that when we replaced the damaged shakes we invested in some Bengal spray just for them. I put a branch from one of our pear trees by the front door and the bees seem happy as clams to chew on that! One of the reasons DH & I sleep with a fan going at night is to drown out the owls. We have a large barred owl who loves our yard because we have so many 'possums and rabbits and mice for her to dine on! And then she'll sit outside our windows and sing all night about what a tasty feast she's eaten.

[jeninky]

CJ I like the items you go especially the wall picture for the kitchen.

We saw some Grosbeak for the first time yesterday.. They are so pretty!

Our Hummers are out in full force so glad to see them they are so much fun to watch.

[newt]

thanks, all! the game table and barrel cabinet arrived today, and are as cool in person as in their respective photos.

ooo, i'd love to see grosbeaks and wood ducks, send some, please?

Deb, the woodpecker who attacked the house siding did so on a regular morning schedule, too. they must have feeding times; apparently they are after the carpenter bee grubs, from what i've read. the birds and the bees, hmmmm ...

this morning i was having a bad dream abt a bluejay having cornered one of my cats. it woke me up. turns out there was a real jay, out in the yard, scolding. :lol: whew!

i have a medium-level phobia about birds (no, nothing attacked me when i was small) but they are such living miracles that i love to see them, provided i'm at a reasonable distance. so, they have houses and feeders all around, and i watch them.

Here's an off-the-top list of the regular visitors here, for those interested in such things:

there is a herd or two of white-tailed deer, and a posse of gray squirrels, and rabbits visit and possums amble through. the Katz have chased away the chipmunks, sad to say, but skinks zoom around on a frequent basis, and foxes and coyotes are seen and heard in the vicinity from time to time. there are scads of spiders and snakes, too, and lots of cool kinds of insects-- luna moths, praying mantisesssess.

there are the birds: goldfinches, house finches, beautiful little Carolina wrens (who like to nest in the hanging plant pots, or virtually anything that is available), turkey vultures (not pretty, but very helpful animals), wild turkeys, tufted titmice, chickadees, woodpeckers in the downy, hairy, and red-bellied varieties with an occasional visit from Pileated (WOW) ones, the sapsuckers who visit in the winter. there are cardinals (non-ecclesiastic), lots of courting bluebirds and adorable white-breasted nuthatches.

there are also crows, robins, red-shouldered hawks (they hang out in the yard sometimes), towhees, some really sweet white-throated and song sparrows, flickers, myrtle warblers (winter visitors), jays, wood thrushes and hermit thrushes, mockingbirds, catbirds, nightjars (chuck will's widow), YELLING owls in the throes of courtship (HH, you're being gracious abt yours), and the fascinating ruby-throated hummers. i know i'm forgetting somebody or other but presumably they'll forgive me.

once had a visit from an indigo bunting, wowzer, and there have been a kingfisher, tanagers, orioles and waxwings who've passed through. the house is on a creek, so Great Blue Herons come by from time to time, too; they're just amazing.

[havanaholly]

Great Blue Herons come by from time to time, too; they're just amazing

One of the questions I'm going to ask God about is how anything as magnificent as a Great Blue has to sound like it does! We also get the little red-shouldered hawks, but far & away one of the minor thrills of kayaking on a river is watching the ospreys. They have such sweet faces for such mean-tempered birds.

[MiniMadWoman]

C.J., love your little treasures! You did well!!

Ah, spring!! I love birds . . . I now have 22 of my own . . . and I also feed the neighborhood wild birds. We have Cardinals, Chickadees, House Sparrows (the ones who nested in one of my hanging baskets last spring), Wrens, Woodpeckers, et cetera. I also saw an Indigo Bunting last summer in my yard and I've seen one down in the park this spring. We also have Cranes, Canadian Geese and Ducks by the boatload.

Funny story . . . this spring I've seen bees zipping in and out of one of my bird houses. Well, last week the 'Wren' returned and basically has booted the bees out of the house! It was so funny to watch him empty out the bird house of the bee business. He's persistent!

Oh, and I also saw a female Cardinal sit on the edge of the dog water dish helping herself to a drink or two . . . not more than 10 feet from the bird bath!!

[kokkie]

Your round cupboard has just stolen my heart!