Pleasant Surprises

Yesterday while swinging with the kids, I noticed a brown spot in one of my young, maple trees. Upon closer inspection however, I discovered it was an abandoned bird's nest. I can't believe we had birdies and didn't know as nest watching is one of the kids and my favorite garden hobbies.

I've always thought my backyard trees were too young (think low to the ground) to be sanctuaries for nesting mamas but turns out that's not the case. After all, I've had several nests in hanging plants on the front porch and just this spring, in one of my front hedges. So next spring, I'll expand my nest search and see where else they set up.

Upcycling McDonald's Mik Jugs

Not too long ago the kids and I picked up Happy Meals for dinner. As I was peeling off the labels from the milk jugs to toss them in the recycling bin, I noticed simple instructions to upcycle the jugs into bird feeders. Yes please! It took a few weeks to actually get around to it, but the finished product is too cool.

Start with a clean jug.

  

Drill a medium-sized hole for feeding and two smaller holes for the perch. Make sure they line up. We used a straw per the instructions, but a bamboo skewer would also work.

 

 

Drill a hole in the lid for the hanger. I used wire because this is what I had on hand, but you can use rope too. (In a pinch, I've also used dental floss and it held up quite well.)

 

Fill with food and hang.

Super cute right?





More Nests...

Every time I think the hubby and I are empty nesters, I find another nest.

Weeks ago, my baby bluebirds flew away. But I get tp see them from time to time at the feeder. Too bad their nest was beyond the reach of documenting in photos.

Walking by one of my many overgrown shrubs this afternoon, I spotted a mockingbird darting into it. Upon closer inspection I found a nest tucked neatly away in the middle with a lone baby mocking bird in its midst. So for a little while, I have a baby again.

More Babies On The Way

The DH and I haven't been empty nesters for long. A few weeks ago the kids and I discovered a bluebird nest in my newest birdhouse. Yay!

This one is too high though for daily viewings. Still, can't wait to see the babies.

Empty Nesters

I knew this time would come, I just didn't think it would come so soon. Yesterday, my last baby birdie flew away. Just earlier this week I took this picture of the babies in the nest. As the flash went off, one actually flew out and away.

My three-year old still insists on peeking at the nest, which triggers a multiple of 'why's about growing up and moving on. In stark contrast, my almost two-year old daughter doesn't seem to mind. As long as she gets her snacks on the porch as usual, she couldn't care less about the empty nest in the fern above her head.

The babies are here!!!

Sometime this week the eggs hatched. Aren't they precious...[insert audible aaaaawwwwwwww]

Progress

I'm so excited to show how well my crinum bed is developing. (To call this a crinum bed really isn't fair. There are stella d'oro lilies, firepower nandina, tulips, daffodils, spider lilies, 3 types of asiatic lilies and Louisiana iris.)

My two-year old asparagus roots have finally sent up shoots. I had serious doubts for a minute (more like a month), when almost overnight, shoots appeared everywhere. As excited as I am, I'm a bit frustrated at the conflicting information I read about them online. Apparently my plants will last anywhere from 5-50 years. Talk about a wide margin of error. Well, I paid $5 for the bag of roots. Asparagus runs about $4/lb at Wal*Mart. If I score at least a pound from my bushes next year, I'll be happy.

As for the fruit trees, if you look closely, there are tiny pomegranates and plums developing. Yay! Just need to focus on keeping the birds away now.