Uninvited Guests

In early summer, we had some uninvited guests move into our home- starling birds.  I previously shared how these birds built a nest in our stove exhaust vent (I originally thought it was my dryer vent).  Turns out starlings are pretty crafty and can sneak into vents even if they have covers.  But although the birds weren’t invited, we left them alone as they laid eggs and hatched their youngins’.  They might have been uninvited guests but I believe in good hospitality!



A short while later we could hear that the little baby birds had hatched.  We kept an eye on their parents as they flew in and out of the vent bringing them worms, Big Macs, or whatever birds like to eat.  But then it started to sound like the baby birds were getting closer and closer.  So close that it sounded like they were in our kitchen.  At first I thought my husband was crazy for suggesting that it sounded like they were behind our microwave (which connects to the exhaust vent), but by the next morning I agreed that it sounded like they were behind it.

So the microwave came down so we could get to the exhaust vent behind it.  And by “we” I really mean my husband took it down while I stood across the room in the corner hoping a flock of birds wasn’t going to fly out and attack me.



Behind the microwave was a metal panel with two small vent openings.  We could tell through the little openings that the birdies were really behind there. 



Hubby took down the metal panel so we could better access the birds.  Contrary to my fears, the birds didn’t just take off and fly around our house pecking at us as soon as the panel was removed.  Actually, Hubby had to reach into the vent to pull them out individually (wearing his Phillies gardening gloves of course).



He took them out one by one and placed them near a bush on our backyard.  They were actually pretty calm and didn’t put up a fight, I’m sure they were tired of being stuck in a dark spooky vent.  In total, there were four birds in the vent.  One flew away as soon as it got outside, but the other three didn’t know how to fly yet and hopped around our backyard for the next few days until they learned how to.



They hung out behind a big bush for a while and eventually worked their way over to our patio, cutely snuggling together.



After doing some research online, I learned that it was best to leave displaced baby birds alone and their parents would hear their chirps and find them.  Sure enough their parents showed up after a short while and continued to feed them and care for them for a few days as they hopped around our backyard before learning to fly and getting on their way.

I’m happy all of the little guys got out safely and it worked out well for them, but it was sure a hassle to remove the microwave and reinstall it.  Since the existing flaps on the vent didn’t stop the birds, we bought a vent cover from the Home Depot (also available on Amazon) to avoid future infestations of the avian kind.  To tell you the truth we didn’t get around to putting this cover up yet, as the birds didn’t come back for a second round, but we will definitely put it up soon so we don’t get another nest of birds next spring.
Have you ever had birds or other creatures pack their bags and move in without your invitation?  Any other tips for keeping these guests away?

Sweet Strawberries

Two years ago I bought two small strawberry plants and planted them in a container.  I got a whopping harvest of about 3 or 5 strawberries that year.  Last year, I replanted those plants into the ground and had a better harvest of a couple dozen strawberries.  They were spreading like crazy so when we built a garden bed in the back of our yard last year, I relocated a strawberry plant there.  It’s been the perfect spot for strawberries because they’ve spread like mad and have overtaken the left side of the garden bed.



Here’s a close up of the madness with salvia flowers growing in the background.  In hindsight, planting the salvia next to the strawberries wasn’t a good move considering salvia attracts lots of bees and makes strawberry picking a much more dangerous activity than you’d think.



I started picking strawberries this week and I’ve already had a bigger harvest than I did all of last year.  The strawberries have a wonderful flavor and are very aromatic, something store-bought strawberries just can’t compete with.



There are still a lot of green strawberries so I’m hoping my harvest stretches out for a few weeks.



Today I picked a big bowl of strawberries.  However, I did catch a certain garden pest trying to take a big bite out of them!



He’s lucky he’s so cute.  But who can blame him, no one can resist my big beautiful berries.



What’s growing in your garden this year?  Have you tried growing strawberries or other fruit?

Creature Comforts

I woke up on Wednesday morning to the sound of tiny feet pitter-pattering near my bed.  It sound like it was coming from inside of our heating vent.  So of course, I immediately pictured this (except less cute and more rabid):



A mouse in my house?!?!  I might be an animal lover, and I do think mice are pretty cute, but I don’t like the thought of my house being infested by any kind of creature.  We’ve never had any rodent problems before, thank goodness, so I figured it was just a stray mouse that had somehow gotten into our vents.  I wasn’t too concerned until I realized that a mouse could cause damage to our heating vents.  But then I did some Googling, and read other stories involving mouse droppings and their terrible odor when the heating or air conditioning is turned on and that’s when I started to freak out!  We bought a mouse trap right away (a no kill trap of course, we got the Victor Live Catch release trap from Home Depot, which doesn’t kill or use painful glue).  But a few days later, we still hadn’t caught anything.

This morning I heard some movement in the vent and was listening closely to it when I heard some chirping.  At first I thought it was just some birds outside, but then I realized they were coming from the same place as the “mouse.”  Then it dawned on me, there is no mouse in the vent!  A family of birds has taken up residence in our dryer vent which is right below our bedroom window.

I went outside and sure enough, there was plenty of bird “evidence” around the vent. 



And this also explained why our sliding glass door, which is directly under the vent, has been “marked” by birds as well.



After a little while, I finally spotted the culprits when I saw a couple of these birds nearby.  They are pretty cool looking with purplish-greenish iridescent looking feathers.



Luckily, I just bought a bird watching book at a garage sale last weekend!  This excited me for two reasons, first, because it meant I could use the book and secondly because I could prove my husband wrong for saying I’d never use that book!  (See, aren’t the illustrations cool, that’s why I bought the book in the first place.)



Sure enough, the book had just the bird I was looking for.  It’s a starling.  I did some more Googling and confirmed that starlings like to make nests in strange places, including dryer vents. 



See the resemblance?



At this point, we’re just going to have to wait for the baby birds to leave and then remove the nest once it’s gone.  I guess we’re going to have to avoid using the dryer in the meanwhile.  After they’re gone, there’s a netting that can be installed on the vent to make sure no other creatures make a home there in the future.

Any other tips for what to do when birds settle into your vents?  Have you had any brushes with nature inside your own home?

Flowering Trees & Scary Bees

Since planting trees in our backyard last May, I’ve been looking forward to when they’d flower this spring.  Our trees, a semi-dwarf peach tree and flowering Cleveland pear tree, have grown a lot since we planted them last year and are still small, but they are flowering and beautiful right now!

 

I was taking these photos when I heard a buzzing above my head.  It was a fuzzy bumblebee!

Someone told me that the fuzzy bees don’t sting, but I don’t think that’s true. I was risky and got close to the bee but would jump back every time it moved to fly to another flower.  My neighbors must have thought I was nuts as I was twisting and turning to get out of the bee’s way while I snapped photos.  I was ducking all over the place and even stepped in dog poop as I was trying to avoid the sucker!

The pear tree is flowering too and thankfully I didn’t have anymore brushes with wildlife while trying to photograph it.

Spring is such a beautiful time of year!  I could do without the insect encounters though.  Are trees blooming in your neck of the woods?

Outdoor Project Inspiration

I’ve been feeling a little sick…I think I come down with a case of spring fever!  The unusually warm weather we’ve been having (it’s supposed to get as high as 80 degrees today or tomorrow- in March!) has gotten me in the mood for gardening and other outdoor projects.  You know I love summer time, so a taste of summer like weather in March gets me very excited!  I’ve already been looking up gardening and outdoor projects I can try this year.

Here are a few of the inspiration projects I’ve come across online:

Flower Pots on each Step (from Garden Fresh Living)

 

Tiered Colorful House Number Planters (from Positively Splendid)

 

 

Moss Graffiti (from I Waste So Much Time)

 

Stone Paver Outdoor Bench (from Pinterest)

 

 

Gutter Rain Chain (from Curbly)

 

You might see me trying out some of these ideas this spring.  Have you caught a case of spring fever too?  What projects have caught your eye?

Spring Already?

Usually about this time of year I start complaining about how winter won’t end.  But this year, I’m elated that it feels like spring already!  We had gorgeous 70 degree weather all weekend in these parts and it felt like a beautiful start to spring.  In the past, we’ve had snow in March so its hard to believe that 70 degree weather is already here.  But I’m not complaining! 

Even some spring bulbs are already in bloom, weeks ahead of schedule. The daffodils are out in full force.





And so are the hyacinth.  I wish I could cut a bouquet of these for each one of you because they smell absolutely heavenly.  I stop and smell the flowers every time I pass by them.



By comparison, about this time this year (even a little later), my hyacinths had only just popped up and were not blooming yet.  I’m not sure what’s going on with this wacky-nice weather, but I’m going to enjoy it while it lasts. We hit our garden this weekend and started cleaning up our front and backyards.  I’ve already bought the seeds I’d like to plant for this year and am excited to get started with them.

Were you lucky enough to experience spring-like weather this weekend too?

Fall Door Decor

I spent some time yesterday sprucing up my front yard to get it ready for Fall.  I added some seasonal colors to spice up my door décor.



Here’s a look at the door-before.  My front door décor was much simpler over the summer:

For the fall, I decided my door could use some brighter colors.  My red planters actually started off in a plain color.  I picked them up at a yard sale for just a few dollars (and later found a receipt inside showing that they were originally $30 each at Michaels- score!).  I was going to paint them a neutral color or ORB, but at the last minute decided to try something fun and paint them red.

I’m so happy that I did because I am in love with this red color (regal red by Rustoleum).  Our home owner's association won't let us paint the front door (they all must be this dark greenish color), so I really like these pops of color.

I popped in some orange mums and I love how cheery the orange and red look together.

To add some more red to the décor, I added a cranberry wreath.  I think the wreath looks nice along with the red planters, but I was a little hesitant to hang it because it looks a little Christmasy.  What do you think?

Somehow, I misplaced my front door mat (I have no idea how, it’s a pretty strange thing to misplace) so I decided to try something fun for the welcome mat.  Inspired by a chalk door mat I found on Pinterest (originally from Suitably Cool), I drew a welcome mat with sidewalk chalk!  I thought this was such an easy way to try something fun and new.

So that’s my fall door, y’all!  It makes me so happy to see the cheerful colors!

Have you decorated your door for Fall?

I’m joining the fun at Rhoda’s Door Décor party, the DIY Showoff, and Hooked on Houses. 

Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Purple Peppers

Since it's humble start earlier this summer, my backyard garden is looking much better these days:



Not bad considering that less than 2 months ago this area was an empty canvas (well except for the patches of crabgrass).  But these days, I have an actual vegetable garden!  Check out these pepper plants:



If you look closely, you might notice something a little odd:



Purple peppers!  I never knew it, but in addition to red and green bell peppers there is such a thing as dark purple (almost black) bell peppers called Purple Beauty.  I found them at a local farmer’s market where I bought all of my herbs and veggies and decided to give them a try.



And beauties they are!  They’re not very big and the flavor is similar to a regular bell peppers.  They're just a a little less sweet than red bell peppers and a little less crispy than green bell peppers.  Strangely, I used the peppers on a pizza and after baking they turned from purple to green!



In addition to two purple pepper plants, I also have two banana peppers and two red bell pepper plants.  I have yet to harvest those varieties, so in the meanwhile I'm enjoying these oddballs!  Have you ever tried a purple pepper?

Doggone Welcoming Committee

Visitors to our home are getting a special greeting these days.



Not one schnauzer, but two, greeting visitors upon their arrival!  Except the new addition barks a lot less than our existing pup.



One of Rob’s birthday gifts was this cutesy schnauzer welcome statue.  I’ve been known to like things that are a little on the kitschy side, so the doggy décor found a home right on our front steps.



Nothing says “welcome” like an adorable pup- or two!