For The Birds

Quite a ways back an online friend of mine showed pictures of bird feeders she’d made out of orange peels.  They were adorable and I was smitten and have wanted to make one every since.  Today was finally the day.  So here you go, so you can make one too of course.

You’ll need an orange (surprise!), some twine or string, something with which to remove the orange’s edible bits without destroying the peel, and something pokey.  Oh yeah and probably a knife to cut the orange and scissors to cut the string.

I cut the orange off center of half so it would be a little cup.  Cut how you like.  If you’re like me you’ll cut a thin slice from one portion and aim your macro lens at it for a while before finishing the rest of the craft.  Like so:

Resume your craftiness by scooping out the innards.  If you have a daughter obsessed with juicing oranges give them to her along with the other portion of orange.  If not, well, you’re on your own.

Cut three portions of string about a foot long.

Use the pokey thing to poke three holes close to the edge of the orange from which to loop the string.  If your pokey thing has a blunt end like mine did (I used a bamboo skewer) you can use it to poke the string through the holes.

Once you tie the three strings to the orange gather them up and tie them together at the top.

Then you just need to find somewhere to hang it.  I hung the string on the tree and then attached it to the feeder because I found it easier but do whatever works for you.

Fill it up before or after you hang it, again, whatever is easier. 

Isn’t this an easy craft?  So easy.

Then sit back and wait for the birds.

And wait.  And realize the birds won’t come because the kids followed you outside and are making too much noise. 

Luckily it was cold enough that the kids didn’t stay outside long.  Then my only problem is the dirty window. 

While I watched a Dark-Eyed Junco started eye-balling the feeder but didn’t check it out closer.  Maybe it has something to do with this:

The cats moved outside right after the kids came in and Maisy seemed to think the orange peel feeder was made especially for her enjoyment. 

Ah well, I got some pictures of the birds hanging out higher up, maybe one of them will visit the orange peel feeder tomorrow.

I’m happy to see a new species at the feeder, this is a Black-Capped Chickadee.  Adorable but the Chestnut-Backed Chickadees are still my favorite.

The Juncos were very active on the ground tonight but didn’t think much of the dried squash seeds that I put out for them.  Hmph. Darn picky birds.

I got quite lucky with this one.  I believe it’s a Nuthatch and you can actually the seed he has just plucked from the suet.

So there ya go.  A super easy craft that’s very rewarding for you and the birds.  :)

Back It Up

I have a back log of fun stories and photos to share.  I’m going to try to catch up a little.  These photos are from the 15th.  Rob was out of town and Gideon and Elias were both awake before Gabe was due home from school so I packed them all up, met Gabe getting off the bus and took everyone to the park.

It was cold.  Darn cold.  I made sure I had jackets, gloves and hats for everyone.  They turned down the hats but seemed grateful for the gloves.  Elias even kept his on the whole time we were at the park.  I couldn’t believe it, I don’t think any of my kids have left gloves on at that age.

Look out!  Here comes the bulldog!

Swing!   Whee!

I was so disappointed to see that this one turned out blurry but I still love it.  They are mirrors of each other and it’s just too cute.

 

CHEESE!

 

Zion and Gabe like to have races.  Hard to tell who wins though.

My crazy kids, fun despite the cold.  Which I guess is a good thing since it’s not going to get any warmer for quite some time. 

Feathered Friends

I’m a sucker for critters.  No surprise to those of you that know me.  Fur, fins or feathers, makes no matter to me.  Zion wants a bird.  I’d love to have one.  I’d hate to add another habitat to the list of cleaning chores.  I’d hate more for that darn Eva to get her paws on the poor thing and dealing with Zion’s grief if it did happen.  It is a good thing that we have plenty of birds in Washington.  In lieu of a pet bird we have dozens of wild birds that we feed and now that the weather is getting colder our visitors are increasing.  They also make great photography subjects and with my long lens I can get a decent photo without even opening the sliding door (which is good because when I do open it they all dart off).  Recently I bought a field guide for Washington birds, now I actually know what I’m looking at!

The first species we started seeing in the Fall and our most common visitor to the feeder is the Dark Eyed Junco (AKA Oregon Junco).

After that I noticed we have Red-breasted Nuthatches.  They are super cute.

A Nuthatch AND a Junco:

Then on Thanksgiving as we were rushing about trying to get out the door to my sister’s I thought I saw a Chickadee.  I didn’t have time to grab my camera or take a second glance though so I couldn’t be sure.  I’ve been stalking the tree ever since.  Yesterday morning bright and early I was rewarded, finally, with a sighting and he even waited long enough for me to get my camera.  My new little field guide confirms this is a Chestnut-Backed Chickadee.  These little guys are my favorite.  So far anyway.

Yesterday I was at Home Depot buying more seed and a baffler to keep the rain off the feeder and very nearly bought a tree – a whole TREE! just because I thought the birds might like it.  Uh oh.  I may have a problem.

We Did. Did You?

We supported Small Business Saturday.  In the tastiest way possible.  A local doughnut shop.  Oh they were SO yum!  I got my favorite, a maple bar with bacon.  Oh yeah baby!  The kids seemed to enjoy theirs as well.

We may have just started a new day after Thanksgiving tradition!

Thanksgiving

What a lovely Thanksgiving we had!  In addition to having so much to be grateful for we had a chance to just relax on Wednesday so Zion and I got to do some baking.  We made a pumpkin pie and pecan tarts (later I made a rosemary chicken mix for an appetizer and the next  morning a Tollhouse pie).

On Thanksgiving day we took the kids to see The Muppets.  Rob and I both were very excited that a new movie was coming out, it was just to share with them something we had loved when we were kids.  Though Elias was a bit fidgety, preferring to walk up and down the aisle giggling loudly, they all enjoyed it.  Especially the popcorn.  It is possible they enjoy the popcorn more than the movie.

After the movie we head up to my sister’s which is always fun.  It’s small and casual, fun for the kids and the food is fantastic, what more could you ask for?

A few people heading down Turkey Coma Lane.  Must be time to head for home.

Goings On

That’s one of my favorite titles for posts, I use it often.  It pretty much covers all the bases when I’m trying to catch up on blogging.   Elias’ little face gives a clue as to what I’ve been up to lately.

If you guessed “taking care of sick kids” you’d be right.  It’s a simple cold really and I’m glad it’s not something worse but boy can they linger and get passed around.  Elias, Zion and I seem to have the worst of it and me not even that bad.  Elias’ nickname for a week or so was Snot Face and Zion was Cough Girl.  I still managed to pick up my camera at least once a day.  Once was it on many days recently though.  I can’t complain about the shots I was getting however.  I’m learning better how to make them count, that’s for sure.

This next one wasn’t a pic of the day but it’s pretty cute.  Rosie is nearly always on the couch next to me but late one night she decided to curl up with Rob instead. 

I have to say I can’t complain when the kids stay home from school sick.  It’s easier when I don’t have to worry about buses and driving to schools and I like having all my kids home with me.  And kids who stay home from school sick have to take naps when the two youngest do so I actually get more of a break mid-day than otherwise.  And I liked my sick days when I was growing up, they meant dragging my sleeping bag and a stack of books to my Dad’s recliner where I’d spend the whole day reading and watching PBS and my mom would bring me Sprite and orange juice mixed together.  It does make me feel good to nurture my kiddos too so there’s an added bonus.  I hope that this week is healthier though, sick days aren’t so special when there are too many of them.  :)