Strange Day....

 I looked out the back door this morning and saw this... I ran for the camera! Not a great photo, but It gives you some idea of the size!

It was a new hawk! Sitting on the back of one of the patio chairs! He was watching the birds by the bird block closely... Picking from the breakfast menu...

I let him look for a few minutes while I got the camera and took photos. Then I told him to go elsewhere for breakfast!

I have gotten as far as cutting a bottom hole for the door in the tower that I am using.  It is going to have stairs going up to the rooftop and a door in the other side to get into it, down at the bottom.  There will be a door above the one that you see for getting to the roof.

The layout of the inside is going to be pretty much like Zar's. 

It will have a lot of different stuff that Zar's doesn't have.

I got this far and then had to leave for witches...    

Letty is making all kinds of lists of things that she wants installed in this one. It may take a while, but I think that she is going to be pleased when it is done... If she can keep it away from Terrible Tessie.

Tessie is breathing over our shoulders.  I think that she is having second thoughts about giving it up.

I am just going to keep plugging along and let the two of them decide on ownership.

Wish me luck.  See you tomorrow.

For the Birds!

Remember when I put the Forest Fantasy Cottage outside? I decided to try to make it useful out there...

It was looking pretty sad until this morning.

I cleaned it up some and decided to make it useful for the birds...

I sprinkled birdseed in front of it and up the steps.  Then more seed inside.

It has been raining since the middle  of the night. I felt sorry  for the little wet birds.  They were sitting all over the back yard with their puffed up feathers, trying to keep warm...

So. I thought that they would like a place to get out of the cold and have a bite to eat...

Well. It sounded like a good idea at the time.

Now I am not so sure...

Immediately, the doves took over. The "Head Dove" took over the outside and wouldn't let anyone else on the table... Then three others came at her all at once.  She let them join her... I think that discretion is the better part of valor in this case.  She was either going to let them join her or she was going to have to run for her life!

By this time there was an army of doves on the ground and one had gotten inside through the side and taken over the living room.  No place for her to hide!

There are now an army of doves and the poor smaller birds are excluded altogether.  Thank goodness for the bird feeder to the left.

So much for my vision of everyone living in peace and sharing the shelter...

There is even a waiting line of doves on the top of the fence.

I give up... No more playing peacemaker for me.

It's every bird for himself!

I am going back to work on Christmas presents for real people! They are more co-operative.

See you tomorrow.

For the Birds...

I read somewhere on the net that Orioles were supposed to love oranges... Does this look like an Oriole?

The only completely red Oriole in the universe...

Well. At least someone is enjoying the oranges.

And where was Mr. Oriole?  Yup.  He thinks he is a hummer.  I don't really care what either of them eat, as long as they just keep coming back for more.

They are both really fun to watch.

 Of course both are not particular what in in the feeder, as long as it's sweet stuff.

They take turns at the hummingbird feeder and tend to keep the hummers away.  That's why I have five small feeders, instead of a couple of large ones.

I even have plain old sparrows and house wrens that think that they are hummingbirds.

This is the lady Oriole. She's not as bright as the male, but very pretty in a more subdued way.

In case you didn't catch it, Mr. Oriole is that yellow blob that you see in the feeder.  He is on the other side. His tail is the only real part of him that shows in the photo...

Now. On to minis.  I was going to re-do the trees on the castle today, but unfortunately, they are going to have to have all greenery replaced.  It looks like green rat's nests. I will probably be able to save the branches, but the green stuff is all going to have to be replaced. 

That will probably have to wait until Monday, when I can get to the store. 

 Back to tearing out rat's nests. See you tomorrow.