How to keep the squirrels away from the bird feeders

Well, since I hung most of my feeds on the laundry line I haven't seen the squirrels that much.  But when using the pole as a mount for my other feeders this simple and free trap works wonders. 

Just take a 2L pop bottle, cut off the bottom where the bottle's shape reaches full width.  Be careful not to cut yourself.  I used a box cutter to do it.  Then do the same to the cap of the bottle, so that the opening slides over your post.  Cut it to wide, use electrical tape to hold it in place on the pole. 

The squirrels will climb up the pole and have to go into the pop bottle opening and it doesn't get them anywhere. Of course the location of the feeder shouldn't give them a chance to jump on the feeder from a taller object like a fence or a tree. 

Here is a picture of it on my feeder containing the nuts and sunflower seeds. As you can see, this is also where my other "laundry line feeders" hang in the summer on the left and the right.  So that pop bottle is extremely important to have out here in the woods.  We also have lots of chipmunks.  The other deterrent we use is our Dog. ROFL.  She lives for chasing these critters before they even make it to the pop bottle. 

Any other solutions and suggestions are always welcome.

Feeding the birds in the winter time

I always love watching the birds feeding.  Right now I have found a new use for the laundry line.  The Kinglets, Chickadees, Nuthatches and the hairy Woodpecker (picoides villosus) are coming close to the house right now.  Got a picture of Woody through the window.  If you have any pictures, please post them with your story.  Any advise on what seeds to use to attract different kinds of birds?  I have different kinds of sueds squares.  Niger seeds, finch food and wildbird seeds.

HoHoHo! Christmas again?

Well, I am really not sure if it is true what I was told by my parents.  Time goes by much slower when you are a young.  I must be getting old, because I can't understand where this year has gone.  I guess part of it has to do with some major life changes, but hey, they were all for the better.  Let me tell you, if you ever need a fresh start and feel like you are stuck on a treatmill everyday, doing the same thing over and over, it is time to do something about it.  One can do anything.  It might not seem logical to do, but as long as you never give up, I believe you can make changes against all odds.  And if you are patient and believe in freedom of choice, your life can change.  Sure, depending what your goal is, it might be taking a chance.  But my experience has proven itself a few times in my life.  You want to change something, go for it.  Where there is a will, there is a way.

Hmm.  This was supposed to be about Mother Nature, right.  It is the nature of things that the world keeps turning, no matter what decision a single individual makes for themselves.  Earlier I was watching the beautiful night sky again, wondering if there is anyone looking down at us right now.  It is freezing, but totally clear sky.  The fresh air took my breath, my dog was running around in the dark and I hear the snow under her paws.  I called her back, I heard a big whoosh coming towards me.  And there was my girl, happily looking up at me with a smirky grin on her face saying: You called?  How can I help?

These are the moments that can make anything you do in Life feel right. So if something doesn't feel right anymore, change it.  Have courage and go catch your dreams.

Hmmm.  I think this is getting to philosophical.  So I am now going to grab a beer and sit back in front of the idiot box, knowing that again there is nothing to see that interests me but being by the fire and relax doing nothing useful during these lasts days of the year.

Cheers everyone!

Sensing Old Man Winter

Boy, is it getting crisp out there.  We already had our first snowfall, well kind off.  It lasted a whole morning and I absolutely disliked it.  My dog however loved it, as always.  The other day we got lucky again and spotted deer by the road.  They were actually kind of trusting.  We slowly rolled to a stop and observed them.  They were no more than 3m away from the truck.  I could have stayed forever.  To watch deer has been a wonderful experience this year.  There is hardly a day when we don't see any.  Unfortunately I have had no success in getting a shot of them to post on the blog.  Not that you don't know what a deer looks like. :-)

The other day the closest neighbor donated a bone to our dog.  He goes hunting.  Okay, I guess it also needs to be done to keep things under control.  But giving my dog a deer bone wasn't quite enjoyable.  Luckily my dog just snooped it, licked it a few times and walked away from it.  GOOD GIRL.  I tossed it in the garbage.  Have you ever fed your dog a deer bone? 

Time to go in the woods before the snow starts.  Getting dark out there and it is definitely in the forecast now.  GRRRR.

Dress warm, everybody!

Christmas Shopping time

Hi, everyone.

There hasn't been much happening around the house and in the woods.  I guess Dr. Bernstein, my beloved toad, has gone into hibernation.  He stuck around for some time still, but one day at the beginning of November he disappeared.  I hope to see him next year.

I also find the birds are not very active right now.  They went deeper into the woods.  But the forest is so nice now to walk through.  I love walking on the leaves, between pine cones and stuff.  Looking up to the tree tops makes one feel so small.

So have you started your Christmas shopping yet? Check out Shop for Bargains.  The site is being overhauled, but I have seen a bunch of beautiful collectible items and affordable too.  Totally cool are the calendars about Nature.  These images of dog breeds, birds, horses, and much more, are really beautiful and will bring nature into your or your family and friend's home all year long.  I also love Thomas Kinkade stuff. Have a peak. Maybe you find something there.  There is tons of stuff in toys for kids too, and outdoor gear.

And there is always Astro's Treasure Chest and another one of my favourites sites is Sweet Candy Temptations.  A great selection, and more to come on that site.

Starfiregifts – there to help you with these tough decisions on the search for the right gift! «Starfiregifts – Let us guide you to find the ultimate Gift for any occasion!

Starfiregifts – check out their charity links

Toms Shoes Charity - Let us take the stress out of shopping.

Toms Shoes Charity - Let us take the stress out of shopping.

Support Toms Shoes Charity. Buy one pair of shoes and a needy child will receive a pair as well. Buy one - give one!

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Sheba's Snack Pack

Sheba, a black Labrador Retriever, is a breeding dog for Helping Paws, a non-profit organization in Minnesota that trains service dogs for people with physical disabilities. She lives with her caretaker home, Bev and Herb. This is the story of Sheba's second litter, better known as the Snack Pack.

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How to build a treehouse

How to build a treehouse

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Neat and Easy Pumpkin Carving Step by Step Instructable

Neat and Easy Pumpkin Carving Step by Step Instructable

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Dr. Bernstein is sticking around!

Just a quick update on my favourite toad in the yard.  Dr. Bernstein is staying by the garden sheds now.  After he reappeared a few days ago and kept checking back along the flower bed there.  I lifted up the leaves of the plants and checked for "toad beds".  I thought I found one under the big leaves of my Delphinum, but he wasn't in it.  It has been pouring buckets here for the last week, so I haven't been out much.  Yesterday I actually found him sitting in that particular hole.  In a way very smart.  The leaves are right above the hole and the water was running of them missing the hole.  Smart thinking, Dr. Bernstein.  Couldn't take a shot of him because of the rain. Didn't want to bother him too much, so I just had a couple of peaks.

Frankie, my Phasmid friend and Dr. Bernstein, my Amphibian Friend, returned yesterday

I couldn't believe my eyes yesterday.  It has been a little while since saw Frankie.  He was back, but what was wrong with him?  See for yourself:

Frankie in Flowers

Poor Frankie.  I wonder what happened for him to lose one leg.  I watched him for a while and he wanted to go back along the siding, but because with one important leg missing he kept slipping back into the flowers.  I held out my hand and he willingly walked on to me.  I was wearing a bright orange shirt at the time. He was all over me in no time.  I tried to control where he went.  So he was okay as long as it wasn't a smooth surface.  I moved him over to the garden sheds.  There was a thunderstorm moving in quickly.  They are wooden sheds and it is rough wood, so he was able to climb and went into hiding up on the wall between the shingles and wood.  Poor Frankie.  I hope he will survive.Click on the images to enlarge to see more details.

Next I know right in my flowerbed, something hug is jumping.  I had startled Dr. Bernstein, my big fat toad.  He had disappeared on me from his bed by our deck a while ago.  There he was.  Mobile as hell.  Totally different creature than last time.  Boy could he jump despite all the weight.  I let him be, didn't have time to get the cam again for him.  Damn I put it in the house before moving Frankie to the sheds.  Now the lightning and thunder and rain was picking up.  I had to go.  I am sure Dr. Bernstein is fine and will stick in the area.

The story about the wood pile in the shed.

In our gardenshed we have a huge amount of firewood for the winter. Some is hardwood, the other softwood, all nicely stacked for airflow.  It was a warm period in September.  We were moving some more wood into the shed. Guess what is laying on top of the softwood pile?  A garter snake.  That is something I really don't like very much.  I respect them and don't want to hurt them.  And there were more.  They were gliding through the gaps in between the wood.  Baby snakes.  At least another 6 or 7 about a foot long.  Probably half of them we didn't see.  Does this snakepart belong to the same snake or is that another one?

Being not used to them at all and worried about bringing them in the house, we wanted to get rid of them.  I did some research online and thought luring them out of the wood with food and then grabbing them and moving them into the forest would be a good plan.  They came for the food, some worms I dug up and slugs, but grabbing them was another story. Gives me goosebumps thinking about it.  I tried with gloves, but couldn't get a grip.  I succeeded with a stick on the biggest one.  I managed to sneak it under the center of the body, lifted up and carefully balancing I managed to run away from the sheds with it.  I lost it much too early.  It was still on our property close to the waterfall we build.  It went hiding under a huge rock.  Later it snuck out from there to curl up in our decorative canoe.

From there I basically had no more luck.  We waited and kept finding snake skin in the shed.  We also noticed that something was chewing on our wood and had to empty it all out to find the source.  We think it was carpenter ants, but we didn't see any.  We heard this gnawing sound in the shed and we had thought it was the snakes.  I think it was a bug or carpenter ants chewing away in the wood.  Wen moved all the wood out of the shed, we didn't find any more snakes.  GOOD.  We got rid of all the dust from whatever creature was chewing on the wood, restacked the wood and it seems fine now.  We now keep the wood for the wood stove in a closed large plastic container.  Can't have carpenter ants or whatever in the house! 

Does anybody else know anything about how to protect the wood from insects destroying it?  I think the snakes only came in there to do their shedding.  It was nice and warm in there at the time.  Anyone else with other snake stories?

Now to the other kind: Frogs in my Garden.

And here some of the frog images I was able to shoot this summer. Some
were just hopping around the yard. A couple of them actually lived in
our waterfall for about a week. Then they disappeared. Does anyone know
what kind of frog this is?

More Toad pictures as promised

As promised here a few more of the shots I got of my toads. I think
this is the same one that is sticking around. The images were shot over
a period of time. Here is Dr. Bernstein the first.

Toad in Grass

Toad in Grass

Toad in Grass

My favourite special friends. Toads and Frogs

When we moved from the city into the country it was a big pleasant change.  My very first experience was kind of weird for city folks, even though I am not one at heart.

I came back from work and wanted to use the bathroom.  I lift the toiletseat and what do I see?  This big pile of you know what I thought.  I am just about to accuse my husband of forgetting to flush, when this thing moved.  It was a big fat toad the size of my hand.  I couldn't believe it.  I nearly sat on this thing.  Well.  Wondering how it got in there, I had to get it out of there.  It wasn't hard.  I had some rubber gloves and just grabbed it and carried it outside.  What a creature!  How did it get there?  I still don't know.

Ever since I met these things in all sizes outside.  Tiny little babies the size of the tip of my little finger, big fat ones the size of my hand.

Last week I had a visitor right in front of our newly build deck in the new flowerbed.  It must have liked the mulch and used it as bedding.  It is amazing how they blend in.  I was doing some weeding and watering.  Nearly gave it a good bath.  When I noticed it I left that section alone.  Totally cozy in its bed the size of my hand.  It wiggled itself in there.  I called it Dr. Bernstein.  He stuck around, didn't seem to go anywhere for days.  Then once I found him at the other end of the flowerbed in front of the deck.  Yet, he went back to sleep in the same spot he was before.  He stuck around for a few more days.

 

I am going to post some more toad images later. I love to have them around.  After all they also eat mosquitos. YEAH.

     

Praying Mantis

Secret Cottage Garden: Praying Mantis

Frankie - goes to Hollywood

Its another sunny day out here in the hills.  I love the warmth of the sun today, even though normally I stay in the shade.  Its just right out there. Comfortable.  I will dedicate some time to weeding later. After the rainshowers we had, some of them thought they had a free pass to my garden.

The one recent experience I would like to share today is Frankie, as I named it.  I looked up at the siding of our house a couple of weeks ago and wondered. What is this?  It looked like a stick and it had legs.  Cute as a button it was to me.  I wanted to pick it up, but then again I didn't want to hurt it.  So I just watched it for a long time.  It was a stick insect.

 

Its long legs, even the colours in these thin legs were totally cool to see.  He kept walking on the siding, took a break, kept walking a bit.  He was still there until we went to bed.  I even went out with the flashlight at night to check on him.  He was still there.

Next day though he was gone.  But just yesterday my husband noticed him again on the siding during the day.  I guess Frankie didn't go to Hollywood, but he seems to stick around.  Is that what sticks do?

Of course now I am constantly keeping my eyes open for more stick insects, but so far Frankie is a loner.  Check out LizandProfessor's blog for another kind of stick story.

Liz and the Professor: Walkingsticks and My Coffee

Liz and the Professor: Walkingsticks and My Coffee

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» Garter Snakes - Educational Info profession articles site about pet: If you have pets, then you should Favorite this site, a large number of articles on pets here

» Garter Snakes - Educational Info profession articles site about pet: If you have pets, then you should Favorite this site, a large number of articles on pets here

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Top 10 Cutest Creatures

Top 10 Cutest Creatures Ever

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Technorati: Discussion about “DIY Grass Clock”

Technorati: Discussion about “DIY Grass Clock”

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A member of the genus Canis (probably descended from the common wolf) that has been domesticated by man since prehistoric times

Now to my favourite creature in the world! The dog. As I said before, I always wanted one, but couldn't have one as a kid. Well, once on my own I at first didn't get one. Everyone is so busy working and a dog needs the love, companionship and the space and exercise. With my now husband things changed. We were able to have a dog. We adopted Cleo, a black lab/border collie mix. 110 pounds, longer fur with some white spots. A total sweetheart. I took her in the woods. We played, ran, had tons of fun. Training her was not hard to do and she was the sweetest dog you can imagine.

 

 We got her at around age two from a family that was getting a divorce.  I couldn't believe the way she was locked up in a cage all day until the family got home.  It was a very sad story.  We had her for a short period of time and noticed some blood in her urin.  We took her to the vet and it was discovered that she had bladderstones!  She urgently needed surgery.  My urgent request to everyone is to check the urine color and not to take it lightly.  Thank God we noticed.  It was blamed on poor quality dog food during the first two years of her life.

I was devestated having to leave her over night at the vets, but she made it.  A couple of small stones and one as big as the top part of my thumb was taken out.  I still can not believe that Cleo never showed any signs of pain at all.  She was just like that.  Never a whine at all.

It was tough times after, because she wasn't allowed to eat normal food.  Just special canned food.  Eventually we switched her over to Natural Choice.  The first two years of her life she didn't get quality food.  I knew about the differences when we took her .  We fed her Natural Choice Lamb and Rice from day one and it is our brand of  dog food  ever since.  She never had another problem again.  She went with us whereever we went.  We went camping and swimming together.  She played with other dogs.  She loved her rawhide bones!

One cute story in particular comes to mind:  My husband went to work at the time and he had his morning routine.  He made his sandwich and it stayed on the kitchen counter when he went for some other morning routine.  Then suddenly he thought he was loosing it.  "Didn't I make my sandwich yet????  Oh, well.  I am loosing it."  He made another one and went off to work.  

Next day roughly the same thing again.  Totally strange.  He checked on Cleo, but she was laying on her blanket fast asleep.  Couldn't have been her.  It wasn't me, the wife.  Yeah right.  I insisted I didn't touch it.  He made another one and went to work.

Well,  then nothing happened for a day.  On and off the story kept repeating itself, with no explanation.  Until he decided to carefully watch.  Liverwurst sandwiches seemed to be the main trigger.  There just had to be an association with Cleo.  She "kills" for them.

He made it, left it on the counter and went to the bathroom leaving the door slightly open.  And sure enough, the big black sneak got off her blanket very quietly, went in to the kitchen, raised herself up to get the sandwich, enjoyed it, licked her jowels, and went back on the blanket right back to sleep.  Hilarious.  So unbelievable.  Next morning we repeated it again, this time catching her in the act.  Telling her NO, leave it,  that is bad!  Go to bed.  She just turned around and went back to bed, closed her eyes and went to sleep.  Yet she never did it again.  She got the odd liverwurst sandwich piece, but with permission.  ROFL.

She lived with bunnies, guineapigs and other creatures. She was nose to nose with baby guineapigs once.

She was our  baby and spend nearly 17 years with us. We had to put her to sleep, because her arthritis was so bad that she wasn't able to walk anymore.  We were with her when she went to sleep.  It was the hardest thing we ever did.  We thought we would never be able to be happy again.  A piece of our life had gone missing forever.  We had her cremated and I am keeping the urn and all her tags and things still.  She will always be in our hearts!  I hope she found a nice spot on Rainbow Bridge.

If you lost your pet check out http://rainbowsbridge.com/Poem.htm.  A wonderful site I discovered during these sad times.  It is good to share your grief with others.

Sarah Miller: The Great Goldfinch Rescue

Sarah Miller: Reading, Writing, Musing...: The Great Goldfinch Rescue

Want to see what you see from way up there?

My pet friends

When I was a kid I could never have a dog, because my Dad was allergic to them. I actually never had a pet as a kid except for a turtle. That was the best my Dad could do. There was a phase when all the neighbors kids had turtles.  Believe it or not, at times they would run away. So all the kids painted their backs with a patch of colour or something to tell them apart when found.

Later on I had some dutch bunnies, guinea pigs, gerbils, degus and of course hamsters. Digger was my first hamster and he had the run of our apartment most evenings.  He didn't do any damage.  Just stacking things in various places.  Once he disappeared in the wall of the apartment building.  I was very upset and could here him in the wall.  He wouldn't come out.  I sat there beside his cage and waited forever. Then I thought of luring him back out with his favourite treat.  Cheese Whiz.  I put his cage by the hole in the wall.   After another hour or so at about 4 in the morning here came Digger.  Dusty and dirty, but otherwise just fine.  Right for the Cheese Whiz he went.  He was with us for quite a few years.

BTW: I think now is a good time to order your calendar for next year. They make great gifts too. Check out the cool calendars at this link:

Order your pet calendar for 2010 today!

If you are looking for any pet products, check out the following links: 

Click here for a great source for pet products for any kind of pet.

If you need anything for your pets, check the links on this page.

However, a dog was always my dream. They are truly man's best friend. Boy can we ever learn from them.

Nature Lovers Meeting Place!: Robin Rescue in the City

Nature Lovers Meeting Place!: Robin Rescue in the City

Robin Rescue in the City

 Where there are trees, there is life! When I used to live in the city I had a wonderful experience right at the start of my vacation once. Two robin babies fell out of their nest in the tree on my street. The parents were definitely not looking after them, so my rescue mission was on.

I had a deep flower pot and made a bed out of branches and leaves in there for the two. Then searched the web on what to feed them. One was very weak and didn't make it through another day. It wouldn't take anything from me. So the one left, I named it Junior, became my baby for my vacation. It opened his beak and took the squasched strawberries and the watered down dog food no problem. I also dug for worms for it and it took little pieces. My husband and I went to by mealworms for it then. Junior grew and I actually got up early every single day during my vacation to feed her. I do believe it was a female because the red chest didn't seem to be the bright red that the males have.

When it got stronger it jumped out of the pot. I put her back in the pot being worried about the cats. She got stronger and at some point made it up in a bush. I found it in a bush by the wall and kept feeding her there.





She learned flying and I dug for worms in my flowerbeds while it hopped around and actually tried to dig herself where I dug.



Her flying skills improved greatly. I sat her on the bird bath and she had her first bath. What a fun.





She followed me around the yard and sat on my shoulder and wanted to get fed. At some point I had to let her go and ignore her. She flew quite well.


There was a dramatic turn of events just when it started to fly better. It flew into the glass of the patio door trying to follow me. She hurt herself. I was worried it wouldn't be able to fly again. But after a couple of days back in the pot she made it out again and was fine. What a relief.


One can actually buy decals to put on windows that are hardly visible to the human eye but will stop the birds from flying into them. They come in different shapes, like a heart, maple leaf or other. I always have them on my windows now.


Anyway. When I stopped feeding her she eventually gave up and continued to socialize with the other robins. What a pleasure. She picked her own worms etc. and one day she disappeared.


I truly believe that the next year she came back, but I couldn't be sure. After all they kind of look alike. But there was one coming back and sitting in the bush and it was a touch larger I thought than the others. Could it have been the dog food? :-)


It was a once in a lifetime experience I will never forget. And here are some images:









Did you ever have a similar experience? Feel free to share it on this blog!

Great creatures on youtube by Stick2662

 
Here you can see some great mpg movies about stick insects, birds and butterflies. Really cool.