Category: Avian Obsession

Turkeys

Longtime readers know that turkey encounters are fairly common in my neighborhood, but I was treated to something special this week. Their mating ritual normally stops when we appear, but they were really frisky that day, because I was 30 feet away from them with my camera, and they seemed ambivalent. If only I’d had time to grab my zoom lens.

They strutted and stomped, she lay and retreated, and the dance continued, while I watched like I was Marlin Perkins of the neighborhood. Thing One was able to enjoy some of it with me since we were headed to his bus stop when we encountered this scene in the middle of the road. They made me think of Smokey Robinson and the Miracles…..the dominant tom with his backups had a very Motown performance vibe to it.

Modfrugal/Wild Turkeys in Love

Modfrugal/Wild Turkeys in Love

Modfrugal/Wild Turkeys in Love

Modfrugal/Wild Turkeys in Love

Modfrugal/Wild Turkeys in Love

Modfrugal/Wild Turkeys in Love

Modfrugal/Wild Turkeys in Love

Modfrugal/Wild Turkeys in Love

 

 

My Sprinkler Brings all the Fawns to the Yard…..

Triple digit heat and no rain for weeks has our woodland friends gasping for a drink. We’ve started running the back sprinkler at dusk (no water bans yet) and it’s been drawing in a show every night.

This drives Otto nuts, and he’ll scare them away by barking through the window, so he has to be crated while we watch the wildlife and let them have a nice long drink. When they are up the hill, he’s cool with them, but when they come in this close, he gets territorial.

Oh, and if you ever wondered if fawns lift a leg, or what not…the answer is no…female dog style squat.

The fawns aren’t the only visitors to the sprinkler in the evenings.  We’ve had baby owls too….I can’t seem to get a good shot of the “wing spread shimmy” they do in the water. I really need to take a photography class!

Good idea wildlife. It’s too hot to be outside without water, so the CC picked up a mister at Lowe’s for $16, and it has made a huge difference. We love it so much that we now have plans to install a hidden misting system so we can be outside all summer without keeling over.

The lady Vizslas love this shot……..

Estate Sale

I headed to Holt Hills in the pouring rain this morning, and when I arrived at the estate sale 40 minutes after opening, everything I’d had my eye on from the photos was sold. I was feeling a little dejected, since what was left seemed to be crazy cat people stuff. (These people didn’t just like cats a lot…it was a full on obsession.)

But then I discovered the quilting room. I don’t quilt, so I had passed it by with a cursory glance on the first round, but there were some great books buried in there. Oh, and an awesome brass bar cart in great shape with smooth rolling wheels. All for $38.00. Totally worth getting soaked for.

Remember how I wanted to find a cool cart for when we have Dim Sunday? I’ll now be the swanky Dim Sum Trolley Dolly of the ranch. A little Noxon will get her gleaming.

There was an amazing woodworking shop in the basement, but the pricing was high on the tools and they were not wheeling and dealing on opening day.

 

Holiday Insta-dump

Fun with photography apps!

A few favorite ornaments seemed to be a good place to play around…..

These first two are from my childhood….my parents picked them up for me on their travels in the 70’s.

A family favorite was “Pancho Claus”  picked up south of the border.  He was a candle in the form of Santa wearing a sombrero….the wick came out of the top of his hat.  One brutally hot summer he melted in the attic and we mourned his loss, not unlike a pet.  What?!  It was the 70’s and Pancho Claus was cool I tell you….Trust.

These glittery little beauties were found at estate sales in my 20’s….from someone elses childhood.

Um…all birds.  Sorry.

The red flocked deer below belonged to my parents, and I adored them growing up.  They used to be on our dining room table every year, in front of a silver punchbowl full of poinsettias. Sometime in my 20’s or early 30’s, I begged for them, and they were kind enough to oblige.  The vintage brass deer candle holders are a recent Etsy purchase.

Felt circles bought from Fred Flare a few years ago are sill holding strong….

On the puppy front, Otto is growing very fast and into everything…..he even tried to chew the lights!

He is Ottofabulous the LoveShark.  Sometimes he’s Pushkin (the CC wanted to name him that at one point, so it’s one of his bazillion nicknames.)

What are some of your favorite holiday decorations?  Hannukah, Chinese New Year, etc..  Is there a piece from your childhood that you cherish, or have you gotten something new that will be a keeper for years?

 

 Photos brought to you by Diptic, Hipstamatic, Big Lens and Instagram.  I found a plug- in that imports the Instagram photos to the right sidebar, so the latest snaps will be there.  I swear, I will pick up the SLR again at some point.

Crafty Time: Caged Birds

About 6 weeks ago, I saw an ad on Craigslist that got my attention.  A former flea seller was looking to unload a few boxes full of primed rattan/wicker birdcages.  Boxes full?  Really?!  When I asked how many he had left, he said he’d sell me the remaining 29 for $40.  He was clearly over it.  Dealio.

So first things first, I had to lose the matte primed finish, so I decided on glossy black and gold.

So what am I going to do with these, you ask?  Well, you know that I’m a crazy bird lady, so that’s a given.  I have a few feathered ravens, but those peeps ain’t cheap, and I have many cages to fill.

Time for paper crafts (again).  I downloaded some clip art (my favorites came from here) and printed off some creatures on a vellum cardstock.  By printing them on vellum, the translucence of the paper allows the image to ghost through to the other side, so you can still get the idea from almost any angle of view.  It was the best way I could think of to make a 2-D figure work.

Once trimmed out, they look like this.

Then I threaded some fishing line through them and hung them from the top of the cage.

 

I think these guys are going to be a fun addition to the forest,  as well as the buffet table.  I might explore snakes and rats and bats…but for now, I’m liking my birds.

To Do: Chickens?

I know….some of you can excuse yourselves to go throw up while I discuss my metamorphosis into a Trendy Mindy.  Don’t forget to brush your teeth.

Still here?  OK, well last year’s CSA gave us fresh eggs on a weekly basis, and we desperately miss them.  We opted against the CSA this year after our 9th week in a row of zucchini exclusive boxes brought the entire family to tears.  The Things were begging for it to STOP.  “Can’t we just compost them?  I can’t eat them anymore!!!  I’m even sick of the fritters!!”  I digress….

Eggs. We can go to the farmers market and get them, but some weeks I just can’t get there.  We’ve got a few friends who have been keeping them and we are fascinated.  Replacing our beloved pooch doesn’t seem likely, and a pet with such a tasty habit might be nice?

My Pinterest followers will recognize some of these images from my growing collection of coop inspiration.

 

So many beautifully designed coops out there!  If money were no object and we weren’t planning to build it ourselves…then these might dot our landscape.

Via Dwell

via Nogg.co

This is one of my faves…and we could probably make something similar, but I think we might like a walk-in coop?  Dunno..details, details.

via gastronomista

So, if we are to build said structure, would it look more like these?

via my pet chickens

via star apple

via backyard poulty mag

And we have all loved and admired this couple’s super coop….

via Dwell

So why am I talking about chickens anyway?!  Don’t I have the interior of a treehouse to paint now that the temps are cooling?  Why, yes.  But finishing up pesky details isn’t nearly as much fun as planning something new, that may, or may not, ever happen.

 

August 24 UPDATE:  Oh my GAWD..I just saw Karen’s coop over at The Art of Doing Stuff…and that is the mac damn daddy of all coops…..go check it here!