A NEW OWL HOUSE

My dear husband made a new owl house this week. The squirrels and ants can have the old one! That one was set deep in the trees and although we did have an owl roost in there one time we have never had a successful nesting. It was also difficult to watch over.

Here is the new box in a much more open situation. The bonus is I can keep my eye on it from our shower. The new box has a hinged door on the front which will make it much easier to clean. Any signs of squirrels setting up house will be quickly interrupted.

Originally there was a regular bird house in this spot, which David removed yesterday. He only put it up last spring and to our surprise there was a beautiful nest inside. Should I have been surprised? Not really, because the wrens make nests all over our garden. I have no idea if they used this one but it is beautifully made with a deep cup lined with soft materials like wool, insulation and feathers.
One of the nice things about this bird house is that it has a sliding panel across the back which makes it easy to clean out. We plan to put this up again in the front garden.

We are keeping our fingers crossed for an owl family this spring.

THE BIRDS AND BEES ARE GOING TO BE VERY HAPPY

Advertise that you have bird houses and garden things at your garage and I'll be there. I was a little late in checking and discovered that the sale had started on Friday. So by the time I got there on Saturday I wasn't really expecting to find those bird houses. But, for some reason I am the only one looking for such items. They were all still there and they all came home with me.

I doubt this one would last too long in the open as it is more decorative but I can find a nice sheltered spot. The others are more utilitarian. The wrens will have quite a choice next year.

Among the other things I brought home was a nice glass hummingbird feeder. I have never put out food for the birds. The hummingbirds seem to find plenty of nectar from the Salvias and the goldfinches seem happy with the seeds on the coneflowers but next year they will have some easier-to-get food.
There was a roll of greenhouse shade cloth, two tomato cages, bags of vermiculite, potting soil, peat moss, cactus soil and worm castings, a box containing 2 portable sprinklers, trowels, forks and various garden necessities. I was a happy gardener. Then later in the day I went over to my friend's house to pick up some bamboo that they had been cutting down.

These are for my new bee houses. All mine are filled up and every hole in my four patio umbrellas is filled too. Clearly there is a shortage of rental accommodation. I think it will make a good winter project.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH A BIRD HOUSE?

I keep asking myself, "What is wrong with my birdhouses?" This one I carted all the way back from England about 4 years ago. I saw a wren pecking at the entrance one time, but no one has made a nest in there. I thought it was perfect for my English garden.

Then this beautiful dovecote, also in the English garden. Austin gardeners will recognize this as once having been in Pam's former garden. I know birds made nests in there because I had to empty their old nests. No easy job because everything that went in through the small doors had to come out through the small doors. On the wall behind is the only birdhouse which has ever been inhabited. So what am I getting at?

This. It is not a birdhouse but a planter hanging on the front gate. Inside is a plant shared at one of our blogger meets. I thought it a perfect spot, being a plant that required no watering or sun.

They have moved so much furniture in there and reorganized my plants to the point where they are now starting to wilt. Not to mention that we will no longer be able to use the front gate. This all happened in 2 days. The question is, will they actually use the nest? You know those wrens. Make several nests and then bring her along to choose the one she would like to lay her eggs in. Will we be honored? Only time will tell.

When I was in Dallas at the weekend I went with my son and grandson to the new butterfly garden at Fair Park. There I learnt that shortly before the butterfly emerges from the chrysalis it becomes darker. Yesterday morning I saw changes. I left at 11am and when I came home at 4 pm the butterfly was out. I had missed the emergence.

It was hard to get a shot for all the fluttering. I wonder if it sipped from the sugar water I had left in the container. Now free to go and lay more eggs on the few parsley leaves they haven't eaten!