Friday, July 31, 2015

Bird House in my backyard


The Red Barn Bird House

 


















Many types of birds like hanging out in my backyard.  Could it possibly be that there is an ample supply of worms, flies or creepy crawling bugs?   They may be enjoying the landscape, the orchids, the water view (pool),  or the birdbath.

Maybe not so!
It must be the breadcrumbs I toss out to them every couple of days.

The bluejays have become very demanding.  On the days I don't toss bread, they sit on the fence gawking into my windows and beeping, honking and tooting like a bunch of neighborhood  hoodlums. It has become a nuisances and little bit annoying at 5:00 in the morning and the only thing that can sleep through it is the clock radio.

Not fair!

From the goodness of my heart, I thought I would give them protection and shelter for cold rainy days.



I ordered the barn bird house on line.  I painted it red and green, and build it up on a post.

Wah-lah!
Accommodations, a little bungalow, an inn, a B&B, a retreat!
But those ungrateful, greedy birds sit on top of the birdhouse and after having a good crumb meal they poop all over it .  They certainly are not interested in setting up a dwelling.

Could it be due to the pounds they have put on and can not squeeze their plump bodies into the little openings?  (Bad carbs).

Oh well, the birdhouse looks great in my backyard, and I enjoy the view. Oh, I did see a new tenant. It's a little dark lizard. He's shy, or perhaps hiding from the bluejays. I will name him Obama.  Welcome to the crib!

Construction of the Bird house:

Don't get me wrong,  I am the last person to dive into a neighbors garbage drum.  One day I took a morning stroll down my street and low and behold!  My eyes focused on these two black iron poles hanging out in a neighbor's trash bin.

Uh-huh!  They were detailed and looked pretty interesting with some fancy metal twisted around on one end.  Perhaps I thought, I could stick these in the ground and hang orchid baskets from them. (Kind of like a shepherd's hook).

I looked around, (my eyeballs searching from side to side and not a person in sight). The rusty iron poles came home with me.


They were actually outdoor oil lanterns like the ones Wal-Mart sells. (See picture).



The bottom base was missing so I tried to push the metal post into the ground and snap! Now I have two parts. (Darn it!).  The rusty poles ended up in their original destination, (the garbage dump / landfill). R.I.P.

I kept the top parts with the detailed twisted metal.  Most of the rust came off with sandpaper and a metal brush, (oh yes with some elbow grease too).  They were sprayed painted black and they turned out new, like right out of the factory.
Rusty iron


Sanded and sprayed painted black


Location for the new bird house


My dear brother helped me with this project.  He enjoys solving or fixing things up.  On the other hand, hubby said, "Just go out and buy a bird house stand".  (He likes things the easy way). Smart guy!  I am more like: "We can make it!"



 My brother buried a pressure treated 4x4 into the ground, and then attached the fancy twisted iron to the wood with clamps.  Next he attached the underneath of the birdhouse to the top of the fancy iron with clamps.  Very handy guy to keep around.  I love him dearly, but man can he eat.  Kind of like a buffalo, grazing all the time.  (Just kidding bro, I need more help from you with other projects).

Looking good so far.


On its way there


How about that!  Me using a power tool. (Careful not to break a nail).

Drilling holes to hang iron plant holders

One down and one more to go!

 Wha-la!   In the end I win.  I was able to use the found treasure oil lanterns as plant holders.  What a good find honey!



But a bad habit came out of this experience.  My eyes are always piercing around. One man's trash is another man's treasure.


Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed and excused my improper grammar.


Thursday, July 2, 2015

Chaise covers

Beach towel chaise covers 

 

Our pool chaise's have taken a whooping in the last couple of years from the sun, rain, wind, mother nature, and kin folks.  It is time to replace them again.  The inside cushion is in fairly good shape, but the outer pvc fabric is deteriorating like a cheap suit.   I believe if I dress them up, they can hang in there for another year or so.

I purchased eight inexpensive beach towels from Wal-mart.  They were under $4.00 a piece and they come in assorted colors.  I stuck to the blues.

Bargain beach towels


For the seat back, I folded the towel in half and stitched a seam about two inches long on each side. (On wrong side of towel). This will keep it from moving around or blowing away.

Stitch the sides and slip on over the back of the cushion

For the bottom cushion I folded back the two corners (triangle) and stitched.  This  made a pocket for the end of the cushion. They fit nice and taunt.   Let the wind blow, they're not going anywhere.






                                  Before:





                              After :


Easy fix, plus much prettier to look at.

Thanks for viewing