My Backyard "Pets"

Bird feeding is one of those things that has to happen in order for me to be happy. Plus, it helps keep the bugs down so the garden can do better. The best things are the colors and sounds that come with feeding the birds. It makes for entertainment that is far better than any programming on network T.V. I call it Backyard Bird Television!

 

This is the setting. A new-old bird feeder that I built out of scrap lumber and tin that was abandoned eons ago here on the farm, just for me to find. I love living in the country because people leave behind all sorts of junk that is useful.

I have the usual suspects found in the Mid-west. cardinals and bluebirds, goldfinches, doves, titmice, nuthatches, and indigo buntings. I have had migrants like red breasted grosbeaks too.

I like the bluebirds the best, because they are not common at the feeder. This guy is not interested in seeds. He is scoping the yard for insects to take home to his wife and children. I am lucky that they nest in my yard. Last year they used one of the nest boxes I put out, but this year I think they are in a cavity hollowed out by a woodpecker. A few years back, Missouri had a tremendous ice storm that killed off a lot of larger trees. In the years since they have become valuable real estate for woodpeckers and then other cavity nesters' such as bluebirds.

The open feeder is for birds that dislike having a roof over their heads. I did not know that there was a preference for this until I made the large covered feeder. The covered one keeps seed from getting wet, but the open one allows for the birds to scatter quickly in case a hawk comes.

But sometimes the threat is no more than a bluejay making a convincing act of a hawk. They do it to scare all of the other birds away from the food, the little boogers! I love them anyway and all of the birds are kind of like an extended family of pets that I look after. I help feed them so they can feed their young. They repay me with music, pest control and entertainment.

It's the Little Things

The garden last year was a bust other than the kohlrabi and the radishes. That's mom holding up our bounty. We both don't really know what to do with kohlrabi, but the radishes were good with butter.

There is nothing like a college algebra class to divide attention away from the things that really matter. That is where my entire last summer went and I had no energy left to tend to growing anything. Having finally conquered the dreaded math class I feel much more comfortable throwing some of that energy into this years garden.

The family helped put up fences to keep the chickens out and hopefully some deer as well. That's mom again helping out with her trusty mini tiller.

I am happy about this garden and have hopes for tomatoes so juicy that they run down my chin.

We also bought fruit trees from Stark growers who are located only 3 hours away from Waynesville. We bought three apple trees suited to Missouri, a peach tree and a cherry tree too. The first year of homesteading was about learning how to raise chickens. This will be the year to begin establishing our gardens.

 

 Seeds for perennials, I have only dreamed about having, are started and doing well. As a military family we have moved with too much frequency to consider planting anything other than annuals, but I think we will be here for a while.

So bring on the garden and all of the joys it inspires. Thank you God for all the blessings you have given me and my family.

Brightness

Like all people I get to a point where I cannot see straight. But God in his grace is stronger than I am and provides beauty that sustains, restores and heals.

 This is what the world looks like now. It is amazing how sunshine and color do wonders for the soul. Take a look around the Missouri countryside and just try to deny that there is a God who loves us and is good. Scripture says that event he rocks and stones cry out his glory. I believe it.