Backyard bird feeders

One my husband's new hobbies (and I'm not kidding when I say he finds a new hobby every week) is feeding our backyard birds.  He bought a couple bird feeders at the local Orscheln farm store, which we discovered had quite a large selection of bird feeders and seed mixes.

My husband also built his own bird feeder, one that would also be accessible to squirrels, because he enjoys watching the squirrels just as much as the birds! He placed his wooden feeder on top of our burn barrel, which is currently sitting under our big evergreen trees.

It took a couple days before the birds got the courage to come to the feeders.  But once they found it, we've seen all kinds of birds.  The cardinals were the first to arrive.  We've also seen chickadees and woodpeckers. And the squirrels have been at the feeders, too.  We call it squirrel TV, because watching the squirrels is more fun than watching TV!

A fuzzy picture of the cardinal that lives in our backyard.

My husband says the birds really seem to like the black sunflower seeds.  I heard a DNR wildlife specialist on the radio a couple weeks ago who also recommended black sunflower seeds, because the birds really like the fat in their winter diets.  It's really fun to see all the birds in our backyard, especially now when the snow is on the ground.

Do you feed birds in the winter?  What types of birds have you seen in your yard?

Garden update: January 2012

Yep.  That's right.  I'm sharing a garden update -- in January!  We've been snowless here in central Iowa, and it's been wonderful!  I actually went for a bike ride on Christmas day.  No snow or ice, plus mild temperatures, have made for a memorable holiday season.

As you can see from the photo above, the spinach I planted in late August is a little frost-bitten, but still green.  I'm betting that even after we get a blanket of snow (yes, the snow will eventually arrive) that the spinach will start growing again when the temperatures warm up in the spring.  Spinach is very cold tolerant, and it's the first thing to pop up from my garden in April.

Here's a wider view of my backyard.  Can you believe the grass looks green in January?

A closer look at my perennial garden. Looks a little messy because I thought it would be covered with snow!

Last look at winter?

I am thrilled to report that the snow is finally melting!  Daytime temps have been above freezing, and we're expecting 40-degree weather this weekend.  Yippee!

Earlier this week, I looked outside I saw that our giant icicle fell off our roof.  It shattered into pieces on the ground.  Thankfully, the gutter is still intact, although a little bent out of shape.

Before the big thaw, my hubby and I drove to a nearby state park to see if there were any ice-fishing huts out on the lake.  We saw a few pick-ups parked on the ice, and more than a dozen snowmobilers scooting around on the frozen lake.

We also saw a group of kids sledding down a giant hill...

I need to get a sled!  Yippee!

Winter blanket

We received another 3 inches of snow yesterday. It's officially the fourth snowiest winter in central Iowa on record.  We've gone nearly two months with more than 5 inches of snow on the ground, which is also a  new record.  Actually, we have about 1-1/2 feet of snow on the ground.  In some places, the drifts and snow piles are over 6 feet tall.  It truly is an unforgetable winter here in Iowa.

But at least the days are getting longer.  I took a few pictures of our front yard when the sun was setting when I came home from work.  It's tough to show in a two-dimensional picture how deep the snow is.  But I gave it a try.

Oh, and if you're wondering about the giant icicle I keep blogging about, it's still here.  And it's growing!

We're planning to stay inside again this weekend since there is more snow in the forecast.  I'm sure I'll be doing a lot of baking to keep the house warm!

Joys of winter

We got another 6 inches of snow this week. This weather is beyond ridiculous.

Another huge icicle has formed on the opposite side of our house.

Possibly out of complete winter delirium, I decided to buy a second AeroGarden when I saw the little wonders on sale.  I'm growing herbs in my second AeroGarden.  And they are doing remarkably well.

 

 I ran into one snag, though. The aerator, or "bubbler," in the base of the AeroGarden isn't working.  I contacted the AeroGarden folks, and they agreed to send another base, no charge, no questions asked.  AeroGarden rocks!

My flowers are growing like crazy, too.

 

 Just a few short weeks, and I'll be planting seeds outside again.  But I wonder, how long will it take for 2 feet of snow to melt:

I think my garden is under there somewhere...

Icy mess

What's worse than a winter of record snow?  How about a week of freezing rain and ice.

I tried to drive to work yesterday even though my truck was covered in one-quarter inch of ice.  I ran into a curb just outside my house because I couldn't stop.  But instead of turning around and going home, I got on the Highway to drive to work. I could tell right away that was a big mistake.

I ended up sliding off the road just 10 miles outside of town.  My truck actually slid into oncoming traffic and stopped on the opposite side of the road, right before I hit the snow drift.  I'm very lucky that traffic was light and no cars were coming down the hill.  But it was so icy on the shoulder of the road, I couldn't manuever myself out.  My husband drove down to rescue me.  He brought a bag of ice and a shovel, and he managed to get my truck off the ice.  I'm still pretty shaken up about the whole experience.

When I got home, several large branches littered the ground. The branches broke under the weight of the ice.

So I spent another snow day stuck inside my house.  I've been day dreaming about my summer garden quite a bit.  I even went ahead and bought a few seed packets from Renee's Garden.  Many of the seeds are promoted as good for small gardens or container gardening, which I'm planning to experiment with this year.

The seed packets include:

• Baby lettuce
• Kohlrabi
• Carrots
• Parsley
• Basil
• Nasturiums
• Radishes

I'm also going to try to start a few tomato and pepper seeds this winter.

And, no, you aren't just seeing things.  That's shag carpet, baby!  We still have one room in our old house with the original shag carpet.  We took out the olive green shag that covered the entire first floor and steps when we moved in.

Also, here's a week #4 photo update of my AeroGarden:

The plants are growing slowly, but they are definitely starting to pop up.  It's been fun to see them grow literally right before my eyes every time I walk by it everyday.

Hibernation

So far, we've had three consecutive days of subzero temperatures here in central Iowa. Tonight, the temps are dropping to -14 degrees F, according to the weather forecasters. It's literally an icebox outside, folks. Iowa has turned into the new North Pole.

I'd like to say that I've been taking advantage of the 2-foot snow drifts by breaking out cross-country skis or snow shoes and making fresh tracks in the powdery snow. But I'm not. Instead, I'm in full-blown hibernation mode.

Between my extra busy days at work, the holiday rush, an awful head cold, the shorter daylight hours and the frigid temps, I have to force myself out of bed or off the couch. If there's a plus side, it's that I've finally caught up on my TiVo recordings of "The Office" and "Glee." I probably shouldn't be bragging about that, though.

I came home from work early on New Year's Eve and saw my backyard in the daylight for the first time in weeks. Everything is covered in at least a foot or two of snow.

I'm conducting an informal neighborhood contest to see which house on my block has the largest icicle. I'd say we're winning the contest, hands down, with this giant icicle. I'm thinking it's got to be at least 4-feet long. Of course, my husband reminds me that's not a contest we should be proud of winning. It means that the insulation in our roof, which we added when we first moved in five years ago, isn't doing its job. Also not a good thing to see a giant icicle hugging the power line to our house.

It makes me giggle to see all the rabbit, squirrel and cat tracks in the snow. Shouldn't they be hibernating like me?

Anyhow, I want to apologize to my fellow Martha Mondays colleagues for taking a break from the projects. It's been hard to find the motivation to leave the house to shop for supplies. Plus, I'm heading into my busy season at work, so I might miss a few weeks this month, as well.

And although this may be a few days late, I do have some New Year's resolutions I'd love to put down in writing. I'm already a fitness junkie, so my resolutions have more to do with my homemaking goals than my health goals (although I think those two things go together for me).

Here are more goals for 2010, in no particular order:

• Learn a new skill by taking cooking and crafting classes through Des Moines Public Schools Continuing Education.
• Practice the art of bread-making.
• Finally, finally, finish the quilt that I started three years ago.
• Remodel one room in my century-old house. (Every room could use some sprucing up.)
• Make better use of my small backyard garden through container gardening, etc.
• Laugh more, stress less.

That last goal is especially important to me because I've been taking life way, way too seriously. Do you know what I mean?

I look forward to sharing my homemade journey with you all in 2010. Thanks for your support! It means so much to me!