Rustic Fence Has Birds Lining Up for Their Baths in the Community Pools

This is the famous Yale fence, where undergraduate men gathered."The tradition of the Fence began in 1833, when the picket fence fronting the Old Brick Row was replaced by a rail fence on which one could comfortably lean or perch. 
It soon attracted students in great numbers
for the sharing of news and idle chatter."

I was pleased to see the birds take to the rustic fence in the backyard. The cardinal was using it, even balancing on the wobbly upright branch, before we built it across the yard.

The fence consists of the dead tree we cut up and the young tree our helper cut down. The branches from the young tree are still attached, and so are the leaves. It was growing into the house's foundations, so it was better to cut it, tree huggers. Our helper dragged it a block.

More rustic and a lot less weedy than this one.

I learned in Midland that birds will gather on branches near the ground. We had a large pile near the curb, for bulk pickup. The truck did not come for some time, but the birds sat there chattering like the happiest critters on earth, oblivious to car traffic.

We used to gather discarded Christmas trees and toss them in the snow near the compost bin in Midland. Birds like extra protection and warmth. I bought garbage bags of popcorn after a local event and kept it for the birds. Soon we had a choir of birds singing praise whenever I entered the backyard.
We had very heavy snowfall right after I cornered the market on popcorn.

The intensity of color in the sunlight cannot be captured in a photo.

Birds on the Fence
Why do the birds not stay up in the trees? some are asking. The birds like a low perch that gives them a good view of the insect life in the grass. In our yard that also includes a view of various food sources, 12 bird baths and 2 community pools. They overlook sunflowers ripening, mulched beds teeming with life, seeds, nuts, suet, and fruit.

Casual observation shows that the contented chirping of birds will bring more species to the same pile of brush. A little bit of preparation yields a lot of benefits.

Today we had three starlings splashing in the first community pool. They like to push their wings under the water and let the water flow across their bodies. They splash around together and get plenty of bathing time.

I do everything possible to enhance bird food, bathing, and shelter. They reward us with a constant show. The platform feeder, finch feeder, and Jackson EZ Bird Swing create a constant display of birds and squirrels eating, swinging, and trying to establish dominance, just outside our window.

Opening the back door or back gate means seeing 20 birds launch into the air at once. If I stay outside a few minutes, some of them come back to be the first at one of the feeders. I often see a goldfinch, cardinal, or robin from a short distance away.

Mutual Help
Helping one group of animals will also nurture another. Plants for butterflies and hummingbirds will also feed the bees, who really feed everyone.

Logs for birds will shelter toads and generate more critter life for everyone by rotting into the soil.

Leaf litter for the soil is also a blanket for beneficial insects throughout the winter. When the warmth and rain of spring end the leaf litter, the hatching and emergence of immature insects feed the birds.

Compost builds the earthworm population, because building and spreading it means distributing the earthworm egg capsules as one singular bonus.

Compost also builds beneficial soil life by nurturing the bacteria, fungus, and soil creatures that battle and feed while capturing nutrition for the top 12 inches of soil where the plants and trees feed.

Variety in plant life means more creatures can live in the yard. Butterflies favor certain plants, such as the Swallowtail on the parsley, the Monarch on the Milkweed and Butterfly Weed. Various bloom times not only keep the bees fed, but the kinds of blooms attract a variety of wild bees, which are far more varied than just the bumble bee and honey bee.

The often despised weeds are intermediaries in many ways. Tap roots bring calcium up to the surface - usable calcium, unlike crushed egg shells. The entire gardening world wants to crush eggs shells for the soil, but they do help birds and earthworms, just not the soil directly.

Weeds also provide a constant supply of pollen, nectar, and seeds for bees and birds.

Leaf litter and dried grass are building materials for bird nests, as well as building blocks for healthy soil.

Radish seed pods are mild with that typical radish flavor.

Radishes germinate fast and help the gardener with planter's remorse -
"My plants will never emerge. Oh, there are the radishes. I have hope again."

Creature Convention Center - A Big Hit with the Birds and Mrs. Ichabod

"You feed them?"

My wife Chris (aka Mrs. Ichabod) was amused by my plans for Creature Convention Center. When the first version tumbled down, I said, "My dreams were too small!" (Notre Dame reference)

I realized the soft ground argued against vertical height, and the birds did not need a skyscraper. Why, we have new building in the area that is prit-near seven storeys high.

I used two sheets of plastic, 60" by 30", separated by concrete blocks from Mrs. Wright's yard. This gives us three levels, many nooks and crannies, and plenty of space on top for food and water. The middle layer is more protected from rain, which really mattered last week. Our extra storm alone gave us 3 more inches of rain and turned the soggy yard into a rice paddy.

I had to re-position version 2 of the CCC, because it was too close to the house to observe from the bedroom window. Now the Jackson Bird Spa and the CCC are linked by a mulched lane, where the first version tumbled down.

The view out the bedroom window is now:

• A bird feeder for finches and chicadees, a few inches away, on the right.
• Jackson EZ Bird Swing, just to the left of the feeder, a little above eye level.
• Hanging platform for food, to the left of the swing.
• CCC - down below, next to the Butterfly Bush.
• Jackson Bird Spa - the mulched area just beyond the CCC, between the trees. Ten bird baths.
• Pounds of suet hang everywhere. Seed everywhere. Plenty of food in the mulch.

The birds were quite wary of the bird swing, for several weeks. I expected that. They adopted the feeding platform and CCC immediately, perhaps because they already felt safe in the general area, well fed and watered.

The platform and swing give birds a high, safe view of the yard. They need the view to watch for danger and to spot critters in the soil. The goldfinch that landed at my feet was working the soil for a long time. That is what gives the birds that interesting look as they turn their heads left and right to scan for food.

The squirrels use the platform, CCC, and window ledge for food. Instead of eating all the food, which will happen in one small feeder made up of sunflower seeds, the squirrels hop around, feed, and let the next group take over for a time. The birds often eat around the squirrels, a short distance away.

The Results Are In

Mrs. Ichabod now realizes there was method in my madness (Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2 - for those who went to a WELS school). 

We have constant entertainment to watch through the window and the cheerful sounds of birds (except for the scratchy squeaky grackles). Their noise attract more birds, and they all take turns.

When the sun sets, the animated shadows play on the wall behind my computer. I can watch the birds in silhouette as I pretend to work.

In a big rainstorm, a baby squirrel will sit on the window ledge, oblivious to us. Squirrels are smart alecs - they know the power of window security).  He holds his damp little parasol tail over his head as he eats the sunflower seeds and corn left there. The birds do not like to land on a slant, so that is his alone. The big squirrels avoid the ledge too.

Of course, I did all this for the grandchildren. That is one great advantage of being a grandparent. I can have fun in my second childhood because I get to see the world again through the eyes of a child.

Mrs. Ichabod said, "How can anyone glance at a garden and remain an atheist?"

Luther saw birds as God's professors, because they wake up every morning singing cheerfully, not even knowing where the next meal is coming from. Having nothing to eat, they praise God first.

Very few of them store food. Blue jays store acorns, but they actually create oak forests by "hiding" the acorns that are most promising for germination - better than smart scientists can. Squirrels also aid in the spread of the trees they need and enjoy.

But birds start out each day hungry, listening to their hatchlings chirping for food. Without complaint, the birds fly off to work and return with worms, grubs, and insects for their scrawny babies.

We watched blue jays out of our Bella Vista window, growing from naked and skinny to fluttering their baby wings, to gone. The parents never attacked me when I got near the nest, because I was dropping off piles of sunflower seeds for mom and dad. Instead the parents watched me approach the bush where the family lived, dump the seeds, and depart. I never heard a screech, never felt a dive-bombing and pecking attack.

If all birds sang like me and the grackles, life would be tough in the morning and no lyrics would be written about them. But the Creating Word fashioned them to be examples, teachers, harbingers of joy. We lost a dear friend on Sunday, David Pearson, married to a Moline classmate. I hope the birds comfort and remind her often of the Savior's words.

Matthew 10:29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.

30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

Matthew 6:25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

Plant Food Falls Free for the Taking - Creature Convention Center

A crepe myrtle bush, like all plants, creates its own free mulch,
which most people rake away so they can add the damaging fertilizer
they just bought at the gardening center.

Early spring means the trees are shedding pollen, maple tree seeds, various bud coverings, and the normal debris one expects, from twigs to large branches.

Those cleaning out their gutters are thinking, "This is disgusting. Maple trees are growing up there." In fact, that was an annual site at our home in Moline. A giant maple tree showered its leaves into the gutters in the fall, rained down its helicopter seeds in the spring. The kids loved catching the maple seeds and enjoyed the next sght. We saw rows of perky maple trees in our gutters, in neat rows -healthy, green, and growing.

The slimy dark mass in the gutters should give people pause before they despise it, scoop it out, and throw it away. How does the dark slime manage to create a nursery for so many trees?

Answer - rotting leaves absorb moisture easily, and hold it well. Dust and pollen add to the mix.  The leaves never dry out in the spring as the rain falls. The maple seeds flat spin into their compost, which is ideal to hold and nurture the little trees.

I pruned the crepe myrtle bush with my finters alone, taking twigs away from the branches, to give the bush the Lyle Lovett look. The bark is attractive, so I can understand the reason for this treatment, leaving the lower part free of growth. All the trimmings landed on the wood mulch, adding to the food supply for the roots, as the pile decayed into the soil. I have been adding grass clippings, mushroom compost, bush trimmings, and wood mulch to the base for a year, and the pile continues to be worked into the soil by God's soil creatures - earthworms, springtails, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and nematodes.

Creature Convention Center
The Jackson Bird Spa has been a bit success with birds and squirrels. I mulched an area under the trees for baths and feeders. Birds like to search for food in dry mulch rather than soggy soil, and our soil was muddy for a long time. Besides that, wood mulch is a natural environment for enticing more soil creatures to breed and come to the surface as food for birds and spiders.


All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.

Each little flower that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
He made their glowing colours,
He made their tiny wings.

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all

The purple-headed mountain,
The river running by,
The sunset and the morning,
That brightens up the sky;

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all

The cold wind in the winter,
The pleasant summer sun,
The ripe fruits in the garden,
He made them every one;

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all

The tall trees in the greenwood,
The meadows for our play,
The rushes by the water,
To gather every day;

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all

He gave us eyes to see them,
And lips that we might tell
How great is God Almighty,
Who has made all things well.

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.

Mrs. Wright had concrete blocks only a few feet across the fence from the spa, so I asked to use them. They were once a way to keep her dogs from going under the fence, but both dogs passed away  recently.

Our helper came by to help move the blocks (toss over the fence) and build the Creature Convention Center. A few hours later, it tumbled into a heap.

Like the founders of Notre Dame, when the school burned to the ground, I said, "We dreamed too small."  I put together a new version with the blocks, more stable and closer to the house - too close. The third version will move out from the house so we can look down on the birds and squirrels enjoying food and water there.

The idea is to have nooks and crannies for food and shelter, various levels for food, a screen layer to keep food dry, and space for baths.

Logs for Food and Shelter
Our landscaper neighbor, a former Army Ranger, cut an enormous number of excess branches from five of our trees. That left several large logs and quite a few small ones.

Creation and nature lovers know that a log is food and shelter for many creatures. One will go near the Spa as a convention perch. Birds love to have a place two or three feet off the ground to use for safety and critter spotting. One log is has an upward sweeping branch, and I saw a bird using it already.

Smaller logs will go around bushes. As the logs rot into the soil, the wood will host more food for the bushes.

Don't plant sweet corn in kale weather.
Funny - people are afraid to plant peas in the cold, ideal weather for peas.

Sweet Corn Days
A butcher and I agreed that tomatoes and corn do nothing when planted early. They need warm, sunny days or they just sit there, refusing to grow. That makes tomatoes more vulnerable to cold temperatures and corn more likely to rot in the soil or be harvested by critters.

I have seen wild strawberries with lots of flowers, but no fruit so far. I suspect the fruit does not form so easily in the cold

Meanwhile the roses, far more cold hardy than people suspect, are bursting with buds and blooming, about 10 flowers so far among the KnockOuts.

Some sunshine will help wild strawberies fruit.
The bees are already working the rose blooms.