Shed Building Plans: yard

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Birds Of My Yard

This pretty Northern flicker was busily building a nest in the hollow of one of our older willows. She worked for weeks and I was sure that she was laying eggs any day. Unfortunately the starlings got in there and threw all of her eggs out. Doyle has now been given the OK to kill all starlings on site. Dang rotten birds. They seem to do this every year. I am amazed anything survives the starlings in Idaho.

This little nuthatch was building a nest in our barnwood Christmas house from the kids. She seemed to be building in tandem with a pair of tree swallows who were also trying to nest in it. They seemed to take turns adding to it. This went on for weeks but now no one is using it. Apparently sharing was out of the question. I am bummed because nuthatches are really fun to watch.

And finally our mystery bird. I think it may be some sort of tanager but not sure at all. Very orange in color and we cant find it in the bird book. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

We have also spotted finches, Cedar Waxwings, grosbeaks and juncos. This year we are growing lots of sunflowers to feed all the pretty birds. Sunflowers dont take up that much room and birds really love them. We have also dried and stored them to be brought out in the winter time. It always seems to be a nice treat for them when there is way too much snow on the ground.

Birds Of My Yard

Wood Shaving By The Yard

Our friend, Dolan, asked Doyle if he would like a truckload of wood shavings from the mill in town. We were needing to get some for the chicken house so the timing could not have been more perfect. Dolan said he would bring them early the next morning and he was right on the money. I thought he was bringing a dump truck load. He brought a humongous truckload. 44 yards to be exact. That was much larger than a dump truck, it was like 4+ dump trucks. He put it way in the back of the coral and it is a monster pile. We filled as many bags as we could find places for and stored them in the loft of the barn. We had to lock the cows out of this area until we could finish. It was scheduled to rain so time was of the essence.

We finally let the cows back into this area. The cows love to be up on any hill they can climb. Doyle says this will "enrich" the future compost these shavings will become. This is basically how we got the last mountain of compost. We made it with a similar pile of sawdust. It took about 3 years and lots of stirring with the tractor but it made some very good stuff. It is wonderful to have a huge pile of pretty compost at my disposal.

The pile has been smooshed down considerably since is first arrived. The cows went ape-crazy over this fun stuff. It liken it to ball pits at Chuck-E-Cheese. Except for cows and not children.

Even the bull had his turn in it. I wish I could have seen this sight first hand but Doyle got the pictures while I was away at the dental conference. I would rather watch cows frolic in the wood shavings pile.

We added more to the chick brooder too. They love this stuff! We waited until they were here for about 5 days before we uncovered the shavings and removed the overlying newspaper. I didnt want them eating it and not the food we put out. Once they know where the food is, that isnt a problem anymore. This little one thought she was hidden from sight. Pretty close but not completely.

Here you can see just how far down she burrowed into the fluff. I thought that was cute. They are still afraid but I do have a friendly one, a little barred rock that comes right up and isnt fearful at all. She lets me pick her up and comes back for more when I walk in. I wish the rest of them would get over their fear of the new mommy (me). I think that looking down at them makes them feel like prey, it should get much better when they are out of the brooder. I hope.

Wood Shaving By The Yard

11 Must Dos for the Front Yard

Guest post by Jennifer Riner of Zillow

Source: Brookstone Builders

Home exteriors are the first thing buyers see when examining potential properties. Brown grass, broken planters and cracked driveways can deter house hunters. Buyers might even think unkempt lawns are signs of improperly-cared-for homes, and therefore show hesitation with subsequent offers.

11 Must Dos for the Front Yard