It was a balmy 3 degrees Farenheit in my part of Vermont this morning. (That's -16.11111111111111 degrees celcius says the farenheit to celcius converter on the computer.) It warmed up to a breezy 7 degrees - and I mean BREEZY! (By the way, 7 degrees F equals -13.8888888 ... well, you get the idea.) Most importantly, today, it was sunny! It seems like the whole world has been cloudy for weeks now. It's been the perfect time to learn how to blog!
A few years ago, I saw this wonderful idea for a winter planter in the December 2008 issue of the Better Homes and Gardens magazine. The basic premiss was to feed the birds. The picture they showed looked like it was from a sunnier clime but when it's frigidly cold like this, the need for bird charity seems keener. Well, this is my take on their idea.
The birds have loved it! I have loved seeing the birds but I haven't seen them for a while. (Too stormy?) Finally, today, with the sun, they've come back. Well, at least, I saw evidence that they'd been there ...
It looked as if Someone had taken a frosty, glittery bath
Actually, I think that this is more like a birdy landing pad.
I decided to set up my chair and to become a wildlife photographer but first, where in the world did I put my cup of tea?
I felt like Jeremy Fisher in that picture by Beatrix Potter, when he's sitting on the lily pad fishing and all of the minnows were jumping out of the water and laughing behind his back. The birds flittered and twittered in the lilac branches having a grand time - just out of clear sight.
Finally, they came. There are sunflower seeds in the clay pots and millet spray nestled behind them. Then his friend visited too.
Finally, my favorite fella came. He usually likes to nestle right down into the pot like it's a nest and stay for a while.
Three visits to my site!
I've been focusing pretty intensely on learning how to use a computer and how to blog. I just installed a site counter so that I can know if any of you are out there somewhere and I've been looking up what a copyright means and, have you spotted the tools on my site? Tools on my blog of all things! (If you haven't spotted them, you could go on a "Where's Waldo" hunt.) Well, I need to figure out what to do with those too. I think that I have "Blogger's Blurg"! (Actually, I'm pretty sure I do because I have a numb bumm.) Therefore, after I finish this installment, I am going to go and check if I need to make a move in any of my computer Scrabble games and then hand the computer over to Tom to hide from me this weekend. THAT should cure me!
By the way, if you noticed the wintery scene at the beginning of this post, that was a crafty Christmas card from my son. I can't believe that I didn't include that as one of my "winterscapes" yesterday. (I love the art teacher at our school!)
Looking forward to a pleasant weekend,
Katy Noelle
P.S. "Great minds think alike", or so they say! One of the blogs that I follow is by Rhoda Parry, the editor of one of my favorite magazines, Country Homes and Interiors. She had concern for the birds today too. She has fun sharing the multitude of beautiful things that come her way and today, she showed us a very clever birdhouse. If you want to have a look, here's her link : http://countrydays.wordpress.com/
I just love your blog! Your dad told me about it. I'm in Lynn Terry's group with him and I'm so glad he told us about your blog!!!
ReplyDeleteI would be very interested in a how-to post on that bird feeder/flower pot. That looks really cool.
I just love the card your son made - it is so cool! My kids had a very cool art teacher at their first school - she had them make really neat things!
It's nice to 'meet' you! I'm going to subscribe to your blog!
Thanks, Lisa, for your encouragement. It means a lot to me! Hmmm, I think that I'll just leave a "how to" right here.
ReplyDeleteIt freezes (obviously) here in VT. That means that when the first frost hits and kills everything in our container gardens, we clean up and have empty planters left. Before we hit the constant freeze and the soil in the planter hasn't frozen, we put our pine branches in. They're preserved nicely by the cold through the winter months and are pleasant to look at. That's what I did here. I just grabbed whatever was lovely around the yard - weed, twigs and a branch. I hadn't realized, however, that the small, twiggy branch would be so helpful for the smaller birds to land on.
Out west, I think that you would have to go and buy a small shrub to plant because your greens would get dry in a day. You need something that you could keep alive. You wouldn't only have to use evergreens. You could use something fun like boxwood or plant herbs - you don't even have to stay with a winter theme.
Then all you need is bird seed. You can find that in many places but try to make sure that you get organic and "real" seed for them. I don't think that birds need preservatives or unnatural sugar in their tiny bodies. It just isn't natural.
One more interesting thing that I've learned is that birds won't come to an exposed site. They like to have a nearby bush or tree to flutter to if they feel threatened.
Have fun feeding the birds - it's precious!
Katy Noelle
I stumbled upon your lovely blog and have enjoyed reading through your posts! Your photos are all so gorgeous and inspiring! I LOVE the beautiful feeder and am gathering materials to make one for all the happy visitors to my backyard here in Texas. Looking forward to following your posts...ss
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