Today Was for the Birds :)

What a beautiful Sunday! It was such a nice break from all the rain and cold weather! We decided to get outside and get some fresh air this afternoon.
One thing I had to do was refill the bird feeders.  I just love bird houses and bird feeders!  I hang them all around our yard. It's cool to see the different kinds of birds that are attracted to different areas and different types of feeders. We bought some of our feeders at various stores, but some we made ourselves. Now, I admit, some of them aren't exactly beautiful. If your yard looks like something from Southern Living, these will probably not be for you. (Ha!) However, if you want to bring birds into your yard and not break the bank, these are some ideas that worked for me.

This one was made from a lid from an old pot. We just drilled holes and used and old wire hanger to hang it. On another one, I used the hanger from an old hanging basket. The basket was no good, but I gave a new life to the hanger! I read once that these are good for larger birds that might have trouble sitting on the perches of smaller feeders.  However, I've seen tiny birds sitting in them feeding.  The only thing I don't like about these is they collect water when it rains, so you have to keep them cleaned out.

I got the idea for this one from http://www.natureskills.com/birds/homemade-bird-feeders/ . We just put paper towels into the bottom of a 2 liter bottle. We used kitchen skewers for perches. (We broke the sharp ends off, as they were a little too long anyway.) We cut the holes for the skewers with a utility knife. We then made small slits above each perch. Not beautiful..but useful. :)

I'm planning to let my little girl make a feeder from an orange rind. Maybe we could do that tomorrow on our day off.

I'd love to read comments and ideas about how to make more bird feeders!

Lastly, I found this buttercup getting ready to bloom today.

Of course, my daddy has always told me that buttercups are liars. He says many's the time he has seen them blooming in the snow. Oh well, it's still a sign of encouragement that spring is coming!