An awful lot of fluttering going on...

You may recall the "Living with Wildlife" entry where I had sparrows behind the sheetrock in my livingroom over July 4th weekend. The Bird Man had told me not to worry about additional/new birds making their home there, because the family of sparrows who was living there had marked the entrance as theirs with their body oils. (He really did have some very interesting little known facts...)

Well, the oils must have expired (and not expired as in "shuffled-off-their-mortal-coils type of expiration -- more "your-lease-has-expired" type of expiration, because Tom noticed new sparrows been a little too keen on that area of the exterior of the house. That was over a week ago. We had talked about plugging that hole months ago, but... well, you know how that goes. I had even purchased the recommended steel wool and clear caulk... but somehow the ladder never came out of the shed.

So now it's done! We'll pay attention to the sparrows there in the coming days, and I will check the area again in a month or so to make sure the steel wool hasn't come out; I opted not to use the caulk -- only the steel wool. I did a few other under the eaves areas... and frankly could have gotten quite carried away... it was oddly gratifying. Unfortunately I didn't have a week to spare, up on a ladder with a tool belt full of steel wool and tools to poke it into holes with. And I don't think Tom could have handled me watching me tear steel wool apart for a week -- it has that "fingernails-on-a-chalkboard" affect on him. Ayeee!

Whimsy out the Window

This is the winged woman windchime that I posted about earlier -- I got her to show up on film. She's about 8 inches tall and twists in the wind... I love to walk by my dining room window and see her out there!

Radish Men

I found this in a little shop in historic downtown Grapevine, Texas. Aren't they cute? I have them hanging near my kitchen sink. I can't remember the name of the artist, but when I remember to look at the back of the sculpture when I am home, I will edit this post. He has a lot of pieces online -- and they are all so full of character!

UPDATE: The artist is George Carruth. His web address is http://www.carruthstudio.com/

Projects but not photo worthy ones...

It's been cold here -- well cold for Dallas -- and it makes me curl up inside my house in fleece pants and dream about gardening. I did emerge a little over the long New Year's weekend and got a few projects done with Tom's help. Nothing exciting enough for photos though. But just so you don't think I am a total slacker, here is a run down of the mundane:

We covered almost all of my windows with clear plastic on the inside. Amazing! It's so clear that you can't even see it's there until you bump your nose on it. I was afraid it would be thick and waxy but not at all. It's a huge improvement in draft control.

I also bought an insulated wrap for my hot water heater, which is up in the attic. The heater looked very happy in its new winter coat as I folded up the attic stairs. I hope it rewards me with good behaviour and a reduced gas bill.

Tom installed my security lighting ... I had an electrician here a few weeks ago to provide wiring for the fixtures but needed the fixtures. Tom and I had bought several, only to figure out they were the wrong types -- dawn to dusk vs. motion sensor. I needed both, but managed to buy all the wrong ones. Frustrating! (Note to self: Niche market exists at Home Depot and Lowe's, advising them on their target market for lighting displays.)

Santa brought me a rain gauge and outdoor thermometer... got those installed. The rain gauge is just perfect mounted on my new fence! (The thermometer is out on my porch and is stuck on "cold." I have a standing rule at work -- I did author the employee handbook after all -- that any morning that the temp is 40 or under when I leave the house is a blue jeans day. I've been wearing jeans a LOT. Did I not move far enough south?? Apparently not.)

And covering plants? Covers on. Covers off. Covers on. Covers off. Stop the madness! I know, I know, many of you just have snow and I get no sympathy from you. But I am weary of it.

I got the coolest "woman with wings" windchime for Christmas! I hung it outside my dining room window... she is enchanting as she twists in the wind! Makes me happy. I tried to take a photo of it but she isn't very visible on "film" ... hmmmm... lol

I've been looking at a LOT of paint swatches but I am vapor locked with indecision. Just about every room needs some color, but choosing them is pure agony. Usually I am pretty decisive/impulsive about paint, but I am struggling for some reason. I am chalking it up to owning versus renting. It must seem permanent.

I'm in the same state with bedroom window coverings. Of course, I had the same struggle with kitchen window coverings, and I really had to work up to committing to going to Home Depot and resolving not to leave until I had ordered something. So... I've been down this road before, I just need to buck up and go there and make a decision. I can't choose paint until I decide on window coverings. And the cranberry velvet curtains are smothering me in there! They were great at the other house where the room was huge, but this bedroom is too small for such heavy, long curtains.

I've been dreaming of gardening. I didn't get to dig in the dirt at ALL last Spring between the trial and moving. My timing was all off, and then I had to unpack... so this year -- ! OH! I am so excited. I've ordered and received my metal corners for my Square Foot Gardening (google it) and also bought plant markers. I am reading and researching about considerations for starting a garden in a plot that has not been planted before... and am making lots of notes. I think I am going to start a garden journal setting out what I did when, year to year for comparison. A weekend with a rental tiller is in my not distant future... And my obsession this weekend has been with sunflower seeds to plant. My friend Kelly grows the most amazingly huge sunflowers, and I must admit to sunflower envy. I've been poring over websites and reading about them all weekend! It's a sickness. Hopefully this Spring I will be able to post sunflower photos!

Now I must go stoke the fire... it's dwindling... and tomorrow is Monday.

Chain Link? Be Gone!

Those are some before and after photos of the alley fence...

I had my old fence lining the alley removed this week, and had a new one installed. The old one was too short (about 4 feet) not asthestically pleasing (chain link) and not in the best shape. It was patched with odd bits of mesh here and there, and totally overtaken with vines. Greta hadn't realized yet that she could jump it if she wanted to (and let's be honest, to what better place would she be going?) but she demonstrated her fence leaping ability at my old place so I figure it was only a matter of time.

I hadn't really planned on taking this project on until Spring when I plan to start landscaping and gardening in earnest. I knew I wanted it done before those projects started, so that my new plants wouldn't get trampled during construction...

Aside from being easier on the eyes and better security, I got 2 bonuses with this fence: One, I now have a gate to my alley. Okay, yes, the alley is abandoned -- you couldn't drive back there if you had to (just ask my cable guy) but I still need access for weed control... The second bonus is, just think how great that new wire fence will be for climbing vegetables in my garden! I'm pretty pumped.

Abe at the fence company (major kudos Top Quality Fence for a job well done) said my fence was sort of fun to do because it is different than 98% of the fences they install. You KNOW I loved hearing that! :::grin:::

I also was forced to clean up the myriad of clay pots and things behind the shed to make room for construction. The sellers had left several pots and bags of lawn chemicals (eeewww!) back there, and when I moved I just piled my pots on top of theirs. So that got all sorted out, and hey, I found a cement pad off the shed in in back! Shelving will go there, and it will be my place for re-potting plants. Plus it just feels good to have cleaned that out back there. It was sort of a yucky project hanging over my head.