WILD! How I made a tray feeder for wild birds...

This morning my niece posted on Facebook about a type of feeder that she wanted to order from Wild Birds Unlimited

and I had been thinking of a similar type of feeder for my back yard because the BlueJays and some of the other larger birds could not access the round tube feeder that I have there....

So, as you know, I occasionally go off on a "tangent"!  Well this was definately a tangent! And took me less than an hour to put together, including locating the 'elements" or you might call it the materials and supplies...

I used things that I found around my house, yard or basement.  I spent not one PENNY!

I had an old office magazine holder thingy that I took apart to use the mesh screen of it for the bottom of the 'feeder' so that rain would not puddle in the feeder and ruin the seeds...

the wooden box is one that I picked up along with some other plant containers just to use in my garden....

an old electrical extension cord that for some reason didn't work 

The Tools: a screwdriver and pliers to take apart the magazine holder, heavy duty scissors for cutting the pug ends of the extension cord, my father-inlaw's electric drill from the 1950's that still works -- but you can use a newer one if you want!,  and a hammer to bash out the bottom of the wood box...

First I took apart the magazine holder thingy but didn't bother to cut or change its shape as it fit nicely to the bottom of the box and allowed a kind of ledge on the outside edge...  And bashed out the bottom of the wooden box, which was pretty easy to do as it was actually water warped and a bit rotted...

Did I mention the staple gun and staples?  I used the kind of staples that they use for upholstry, not the kind for paper... much stronger!  staples in the corners and two on each side edge...

 Once the bottom was on - I put the bottom on so that it would make the box a bit stronger so that it wouldn't go off square when I drilled holes beside the corners...

Then I cut the plug ends off the extenion cord and pulled the two long plastic coated wires apart so I had two long and strong cords to put thro the holes in the side of the box -

tied the 4 loose ends up into a knot and hung the thing on a bracket on my fence....

Hanging on the bracket with seeds in it...

took barely 15 minutes and the first visitor arrived -- a chickadee!  I think he was a regular visitor to our tube feeder so he knew where he could find LUNCH already!

and another chick-a-dee a few minutes later 

The last two photos are taken with my canon power shot at 14x zoom from the second storey balcony on our house.

Now I am going to have to keep an eye out for the blue jays and maybe some other of the larger birds in our neighbourhood...

Thinking Ahead! - Work in Progress

To be honest, I am the type of person who is always looking ahead and am ready with contingency plans long before they are actually needed!  My father instilled in me a sense of "being ready for anything" and I do wonder sometimes how anyone is caught unaware that a situation is developing or approaching!   I am the consumate ANT of the fairy tale The Ant and the Grasshopper !  (for the full story click on the story title)...

But then again...  Crochet does lend itself so very well, to making winter accessories, doesn't it?

At the beginning of our Victoria Day Weekend (in the USA it is Memorial Day Weekend) I had no travel plans or even any chores or work around the house to do so I decided to start on a project that I actually had meant to do a few months back...  Now, this is where procrastinating translates into preparedness -- if you wait long enough, what was late can actually appear to be early when you wait til next year!

So Leg Warmers...  and a Slouchy Hat.  The pair of leg warmers are complete -- they were actually a test to create my own design/pattern and they have actually worked out quite nicely -- mind you a few rows were 'frogged' a few times but now they are done and I am started on a matching Slouchy Hat.

I used a yarn of "unknown content" that I got in a thrift store, so even tho I plan to write the instructions and a tutorial for these leg warmers I am going to work them up again with a 'brand' yarn to make it easier for anyone who might like to try out this pattern.

I actually was inspired to create these because I was leafing through one of my books and found a stitch pattern that I thought would suit leg warmers nicely.  Do you think so?

So today, I am off to my local yarn shop to see if I can find a similar 'branded' yarn to reproduce this project and then write up the pattern instructions...

  

I am linking up with Merry Messy Life and the Needle and Thread Network  today.

PS.  If you are wanting the instructions for these leg warmers, please sign up to receive email notice of my blog posts (near the top of my sidebar on the right side) as I cannot promise exactly when I will post the instructions for this pattern -- hopefully within the next couple of weeks -- because it did not take me very long at all to work up this pair of leg warmers!

Work in Progress and Runaway Days

Yes, I am still working on the Jane Austen Family Album blocks (check the link in my side bar) I was away for a few days so I only worked on the one block and that one was quite simple and quick!  I did not layer or quilt last weeks block "page" so I have a bit of extra to do this week!  In the instructions on Barbara Brackman's site, she suggests two different methods for making this block -- I chose the easy -- fewer pieces version,  not because I didn't want to sew a few extra pieces together, but because I found a scrap piece of fabric that I felt suited this block very nicely!

Large print strawberries on a black background, with the corners in a hot bright pink!  This block is done similar to the earlier one -- the Cross within a Cross  with the centre square being set 'on point' and using the tip where you crease the centre square so that the four corner units are sewn on perfectly centered...  and be sure to read the entire post, because there is an update/correction of the 'variation' of this block!  Because I have not done the variation, I am not commenting on how or what to do if you choose the fussy cutting version!

Barbara calls this block Village Square and uses it to represent Jane Austen's oldest brother James.  He is the 'favoured one" in the family and the one who inherits what ever his parents or other relatives have to bestow upon him...

I did not get a whole lot done in the crafty department, even though I did have some extra time...

This past week - 3 days of it anyway -- I went on a little ride with my friend over the mountains, from here in the Fraser Valley, over the Coquihalla Hwy and the Connector (Hwy 97C) to Kelowna BC.

Now as much as I love quiltmaking and crochet, I love to ride as a passenger in a car and look out the window at the swiftly passing scenery!   I would rather go on a car ride than just about anything else!!

Now, once arrived in Kelowna we checked into a very nice hotel/resort -- Manteo Hotel and Resort....  My friend was in Kelowna for some meetings and business so I was left on my own for the daytime hours.

So contrary to my usual habit of sewing or crochet -- I walked...

There is a boardwalk along the lake front that makes for very easy strolling.  A private beach for guests, a marina, a putting green, a library building and a outdoor pool and even a small theatre all within the complex.

I watched some teenage boys practice their putting skills and wondered why they were not in school on a weekday.   And best of all, I walked and sat on benches all along the boardwalk totally  peaceful and simply enjoying the gorgeous spring day!  This early in the 'season' I suspect it was much quieter than would be usual in June, July, or August.  And I loved the quiet comfort!

Soon tho, it was time to head home and the drive over the high mountain passes heading west to home was a bit more gloomy than it was getting to Kelowna.  It is pretty high up and there is still snow on the hills, tho the highway was dry and clear.

I cannot describe how much I enjoyed this little 'holiday' -- it was unexpected but felt so good to be away from the everyday things at home.  I think I would have gladly spent another week away!   Do you ever get to go away for no reason whatsoever with no obligations or plans?  Not often, I would suspect -- there is not much in my world that can beat this kind of little runaway adventure!!