Showing posts with label spring. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spring. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

"Love Birds" Adorable Recycled Soda Pop Can Birdhouses

"Love Birds"  Birdhouse created with wood and
 recycled soda pop cans.
 Created by TKDesigns on Etsy.Com (click on name to be brought to listing)


Spring will be here soon, and our resident feathered friends will be out shortly to search for a safe
  place to nest and raise their families!
 
I'm also getting ready for the spring with a new series
 of birdhouses called 'Love Birds'!
 This adorable birdhouse in the picture above is the
first design in a series of four.
Each birdhouse is one-of-a-kind!
 
Recycled soda pop cans and nails, create the
unique designs of the Love Birds,
flowers, and other embellishments that adorn each house.
 Outdoor paint in soft white and pale spring green, create the backdrop for this charming scene.
The front panel of the birdhouse is a door with a latch,
allowing easy access to clean and check on the birds if needed. 
It has good ventilation which is important for air circulation and cooling. Drainage holes in the bottom provide a place for water to escape, keeping a comfortable environment for your bird family. A decorative wire hanger is included for easy hanging.
 .


 
 
The best time to put out your birdhouses are in February for southern states and mid-late March in northern states. I am an avid birdwatcher and use Cornell Lab of Ornithology for any questions I might have about birds.
This site will give you all the information you need to place your nest box, protect it from predators, what birds are cavity dwellers (use bird houses), how to attract birds to your property, and so much more. eNature and National Wildlife Federation are two other great resources.
 
 
 

FUN PROJECT TO DO WITH YOUR CHILDREN 
 
A great project to do with your children is to gather bits and pieces of ribbon, yarn, dryer lint, hair gathered from your pet after brushing them ( horse hair is a favorite of birds), twine or anything else that you may have around, and put them into either a wire suet cake holder or other container that birds can easily pull materials out to use. I like to use colorful materials that can be seen easily. Hang it outside from a tree branch during breeding season, and birds will love to use these nesting materials to construct their nests.
 
Once the nest is empty in the fall,
 it's fun to peek and see if any of your nesting materials have been used.
Over the years, my children and I have always found the materials we put out used in the construction of a nest or two! We've also been very surprised by some interesting items found in their nests that had been collected on their own from around our yard. One year we found a shiny pink metallic strand from my daughters new bike streamers! They must have pulled it right off her bike!!
Have fun!

A heart flower on the back. Three hearts fall down the sloped roof.

Keep a look out for the next charming 'Love Birds' Birdhouse in this series. Check here on my blog or at my Etsy Shop, TKDesigns.etsy.com
 
I love creating custom designs.  If you would like me to create your own special 'Love Birds' Birdhouse, or one of the four designs in different colors, please contact me at my etsy shop or at tkdesigns4u@gmail.com.
 
Have a wonderful day!
Tracey :-)
 
 

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Great Blue Heron Came for Breakfast!



Great Blue Heron visits my yard!


Looking out my window on Monday morning I just happened spot a large blue/gray bird walking along my upper backyard. I had to look twice because his head was almost as high as my bird feeder that was set in the ground at approximately 3' high!  I've seen this Great Blue Heron once before during one of his visits, but I didn't happen to have my camera nearby. If you were wondering what this amazing bird was doing in my yard? You guessed it - He was looking to eat my pond fish for breakfast!!

Luckily, the first time I saw him in my yard last year doing exactly the same thing, I put a black netting over the pond to protect my poor unsuspecting fish! I solved the one problem of keeping the herons out, but created another one by keeping the frogs in or out depending upon where they were when I put the netting up! So a few adjustments had to be made after several frogs needed rescuing from the net! It took a little time, but we've all become used to it.


Great Blue Heron keeping an eye on our fish pond!

            This big guy is just amazing to see in a backyard setting - with a height of 39"-52" and a wingspan of 5', he looked so large and out of place!  When he noticed that I had spotted him, he flew up to a branch at the edge of the lawn and patiently watched as I took pictures of him.

  Notice his lower chest feathers which look a bit shaggy - I believe he is an adult since the juveniles are not supposed to have this yet.  His long neck has a pinkish hue to it with a black and white streak down the center of it. His face is mostly white with a black cap on his head. His long thin legs and dagger-like beak are very long and yellowish in color - perfect for fishing!

Although his diet is mainly of fish, they also eat amphibians, and occasionally small mammals and birds. Crustaceans are also on his menu!




Common Yellowthroat-Geothlypis trichas
(Picture from wikipedia)

  
On the same day I saw the Great Blue Heron, I also had this cute little guy show up at my pond! I have never seen a Conmmon Yellowthroat in my yard before, so I was very excited to have both birds show up on the same day!! Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera this time to take a picture so this picture is from wikipedia. They are so beautiful I just had to show a picture! The female doesn't have the black mask, but the males look lide little bandits!

They are much smaller in size than the Great Blue Heron, measuring in at 4 1/2" - 6" ht.
They are in the wood warbler family and have a charming song.
They love to eat insects, which I could definitely use in my garden!



Blooming along my woodland path this week are my beautiful purple native woodland phlox. I also have a pale pink variety. They are wonderful creeping plants that bloom with their flowers raised above their leaves!


Bishop's Cap - Mitella diphylla
Saxifrage family (Saxifragaceae)




This small unassuming plant can easily be overlooked, even when it  flowers, However, if you take
 a moment to look closer, you will be delighted with the
 magical little white flowers with fringed edges!



Variegated Solomon's Seal

Gorgeous graceful plants that have beautiful emerald
 green leaves with white edged variegation. The waxy white bells dangle in pairs off of red petioles. I started with one plant I purchased from a local nursery at least 24 years ago. I now have quite a few plants that have colonized in several different areas along my path. They are always a delight to see! 


We have used large logs for seating along our woodland path.



Another huge branch from an oak tree fell onto our stonewall and damaged several
 of our smaller trees. It was so large we decided to leave this large section to use as a bench
 along our woodland path.

Remember to take a break during your day
and enjoy the nature that surrounds you!!

 See You Next Week!!
Tracey :-)

Saturday, April 2, 2011

No Joke!


It's hard to believe that this picture was taken yesterday!
It WAS April Fool's Day, but this was no joke! We actually woke up to this beautiful snowy winter scene on April 1, 2011! I'm sure our resident Red Bellied Woodpecker was wondering what happened! Only the week before we were enjoying 80 degree weather (Also not typical for NJ) and I planted these gorgeous Violas!


Aren't they amazing! 
Violas and Pansies are my favorite spring flowers to plant in early spring. They are extremely hardy and have bounced back already after being snow laden yesterday! My garden is in full bloom with white snowdrops and blue snow glories are just beginning to dot my garden!

A week ago during our short lived warm spell, things were just beginning to come back to life after a very long, cold winter. Anxious to get out and work in my garden, I got my first blisters of the season raking around my gardens! I cleaned up our two ponds and got the waterfall working again only to find out it has a leak somewhere along its path. The frogs came out to enjoy the warmth of the sun and watch me fuss around the pond, patiently waiting for me to leave.



Hopefully this snow melts quickly and we've seen the last of it until next winter! I'm so ready for spring!
I love hearing the birds happily singing, watching the chipmunks busy scurrying around looking for seed at the base of the bird feeder, and laughing how the squirrels have managed to make the feeder into their version of McDonalds, dining on my bird seed!

Spring is here ---- if only the weather would co-operate! !
Have a great day!

Monday, March 22, 2010

Wonderful Signs of Spring!!


  I spotted my first butterfly of the season!


This weekend was filled with the wonders of spring! As I worked in the yard enjoying the warmth of the sun and the sound of the birds, a fluttering of orange caught my eye! When I took a closer look, there was my first butterfly of the season happily flittering  from snowdrop to snowdrop!


'Peek-a-Boo' is a red earred slider.

I brought our little turtle outside to soak up some sun too! This upside down cheese cake container works perfect for his outdoor spa! His poor shell needs some sunshine after hiding under a stone all winter. It will look good after a few good days
 in the sun.:-)

When I finished raking some of our plant beds, I decided to clean out the filters in our backyard pond. With all the rain we had, quite a bit of debris had fallen into the pond that needed to be fished out. As I reached for a stick, I was startled by a little frog!
I guess our hibernating pond frogs were coming out to enjoy the sun too, because I spotted another one sitting between the stones underneath the waterfall! It was a long cold winter and I was so happy to see them again!



We have a family of gray squirrels that have made a home in the large tulip tree outside our kitchen window. Each spring they chase each other all over our yard, and before we know it, we have alot of little squirrels to watch! Finished with cleaning the pond, I turned around to see a tail sticking out of our birdfeeder! Hmmm, he almost got away with filling up on my gourmet birdseed! He was too cute! I almost felt bad chasing him out of there!



After a long weekend of working in the yard and driving my son back and forth to hockey practice I was ready to relax and wait for my husband and daughter to arrive home from their weekend in Maryland at a soccer tournament! Just as they arrived I saw my second butterfly of the season!

I'm so happy spring has arrived!!