There’s nothing more wonderful that getting back to nature, even in small doses.  You can’t help feeling better and getting a better outlook on life, even in the worst of times, if you surround yourself with some of the beauty of nature.  All you have to do is take the time to look.  Most us hurry through our busy days without taking the time to “Smell The Roses.”

Some of the most beautiful creatures in nature are birds.  They come in such beautiful colors and are so interesting to watch.  By putting bird feeders, bird baths, and bird houses in your yard you will have constant access to these beautiful specimens of nature.  If you have a garden with lots of colorful flowers birds will love you.  These flowers provide them with food and shelter.  If you provide them with some extra food and shelter, your garden will truly be a place they will return to year after year.  Your yard could become their permanent year round home.

Birds are always attracted to water, they especially love moving water, such as water features. They will also flock to non-moving sources such as birdbaths.  They will really love your yard if you add some of these features, and you’ll be glad you did.  Birds are scared off by shiny objects, so make sure you use a non-reflective surface.  The yard with a stone or resin birdbath will attract more birds than one that has birdbaths or water features made of metal. Having a combination of moving water and a bird bath is a great way to attract birds. There are some great specialty bird baths that are made to slowly bubble water up in the center of the bath like a fountain.  The water stays in the bath an does not spray out, which could scare the birds, but it moves enough that the birds are attracted to it. Birds will be enticed to drink and play.

Be sure and take the time to watch the birds splashing around in the water, this can be a very enjoyable site indeed.  With all the fun features you have provided for these beautiful little birds they will want to move right in to your garden and become a permanent resident.  By adding birdhouses over time you can provide housing for plenty of birds to move in to stay.  You should see birds of lots of different species and size.  It is always better to have to many birdhouses than not enough to provide a place for all the birds that might want to call your place their home.  If you don’t have enough housing this could cause some territory battles between our fine feathered friends.

Now that you have provided water and plenty of housing for our little friends, the last thing they will need is plenty of food.  You will want to get lots of bird feeders and a variety of food.  Different species of birds like different foods.  By providing these you will be allowing yourself to enjoy all the different colors and sizes of these beautiful little creatures.  This is very important in the winter since they will not have the flowers in your garden to help provide them with food.  With your help they can survive even through the toughest months.  By nature, birds tend to come back to to the same areas every year.  With all of your love and care you will see the same birds year after year, plus many new ones will want to call your place home.

You will find that it is much better to put all your birdbath, feeders, and houses in the same area with your flowers, so the birds will stay in one section of your yard.  By doing this you won’t have to clean up your entire yard, deck, or patio.  Birds eating can make quite a mess of bird droppings.  Make sure you put you bird community in an area where you can watch them easily from your windows.  They will give you years of enjoyment.

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I have a 2 year old shetland sheepgod (sheltie) named Sadie, who is the friendliest, most energetic, most obediant dog in the world, all she wants to do is play, jump, lick, proove how many tricks she can do to please you, and follow you around with ever step you take. She has been around many many animals since she was a pup as i worked at a pet store and brought her to work every day, she stayed in doggy daycare, but always had a chance to interact with bunnies, hamsters, dogs, cats, rats birds, ect.

When we first moved in to our house, my cat (sphinx) just hid and never came out, for the last month he has been doing little things to the dog to see what he can get away with, now that he sees that the dog (sadie) is trained to like all animals and wont stick up for herself or fight back, the cat (sphinx) just runs her around the house. Sphinx will be laying at one side of the house and if sadie even walks by to go to HER water fountain sphinx runs after her and meows and chases sadie away, sadie just then comes to mom or dad and hides behind us..

She is so scared to even walk by sphinx because he always scares her away, sphinx has even taken to eating the dog food ( just cuz she can), and sadie just hides behind me. my dog is a little diva, like having a bath, getting brushed and putting bows in her hair, but i dont want a prissy dog, i love everything about her personality i dont want to change a thing, but she has never been put in the position to fight with anyone or anything but I want her to defend her territory and fight back atleast a little smack the cat around a little.. HELP!!??!!??

to top it all off, sphinx is declawed, so my dog is getting beat up by a clawless cat lol.

My questions.

why is sphinx being such a bully?

How can i teach sphinx that sadie just wants to play and she wont hurt him?

how can i train sadie to toughen up a little and fight back to sphinx without sending the wrong impression that its ok to growl or be defensive?

can anyone help? im all out of ideas?

Lawn

ie: water fountains; lawn ornaments; wooden swings; benches; hammocks; bird baths

Home Decor’
shelves; wine racks; candles; tables; lamps

Personal
lotions; gift baskets; makeup; est.

Household
coffee maker; pots and pans; blankets; est.

We also have a variety of different camping and outdoor supplies.

I am stuck….. I have been thinking for about 2 weeks now and I can’t come up with anything…
We are selling to businesses so I would really like to come up with something catchy and professional. Thanks.

You can use bird feeders and bird baths to attract wild birds to your garden but if you also plant a bird garden you can increase the attractiveness of your garden enormously.

Trees, shrubs and flowers can provide shelter from predators and the winter cold and provide natural food for the birds for the whole year. Providing a safe environment with a natural source of food will make your wild bird visitors feel safe and they will visit often. Your garden may already provide some natural food but small changes can easily increase the availability of the food and make your garden even more attractive.

Plan your Bird Garden

Find out which birds are common in your area and base your plan around them. You can find out from the local library or bird society or by watching birds that are attracted to bird feeders in your area. Include native plants in your plan as they are most likely to thrive and will provide suitable natural food for the birds.

Make your basic plan and include trees, power lines, buildings, paths, shrubs etc and ensure you plan sunny as well as shady areas. Fond out of there are any native plants that can be left to grow in your new garden. Have the soil tested before you start to find out the type of soil you have and any deficiencies that may be present. You can then add nutrients or minerals to restore the soil quality first and also ensure you buy plants suitable for the type of soil.

You will need a source of fresh, running water in your bird garden. This could be a pond with a fountain, a bird bath with a dripper or a spray in the trees. Plan to place a bird bath away from any bird feeders as birds need quiet for bathing away from the noise of birds feeding. A good place is away from any hiding places for cats or other predators under overhanging branches to allow the birds to escape into the branches if a predator approaches.

Plant Your Bird Garden

You should plant shrubs, trees and flowers that provide seeds, nuts, berries or nectar the whole year round in your bird garden. Trees need to have enough branches to support nests but not be so thick they prevent the birds from freely moving through them. Sketch in the plants on your plan and ensure you have some sunny areas and some shady areas. Take into consideration the size the shrubs and trees will eventually grow to and decide how many you can fit into the area.

When you begin to plant your garden involve the whole family. They will enjoy the fun! It’s a good idea to take plenty of photographs to document your progress. Taking pictures of the same spot throughout the seasons can give a lovely record of all you have achieved.

Maintaining Your Garden

You will need to plan on time to maintain your garden. Keep the area round your new plants moist and use a mulch to help retain the moisture and discourage weeds. This will also help to maintain the garden without the use of harsh insecticides or herbicides which should be avoided. Many are poisonous to the birds and they will also cut down on the number of insects that are a major part of the food source of many birds.

Place bird feeders around your garden, hanging from trees or posts and place a bird bath away from the feeders but visible from your window so you can enjoy your bird visitors while they bathe.

It may be many months before you see the results of your hard work but once your garden is thriving you will be rewarded by the many wild birds visiting your bird garden.

My wife and I built a pond and waterfall (what is known these days as a water feature) seven years ago and we love it. Our pond is about 12 feet in diameter and holds about 1000 gallons. In our pond we have several Shubunkin gold fish, many, many frogs and a multitude of water plants. As soon as we built the pond, I mean within days, we had frogs and birds and all kinds of creatures visiting us. The pond produced water skimmers, water bugs and literally hundreds of damselflies and dragonflies, as well as all the frogs, in very little time.

There is one thing that I feel is important to mention here. Maintaining a healthy pond is fairly labor intensive. This is especially true if you have fish in your pond. You must check your nitrite and ammonia levels,check your water hardness (KH – a pH stabilizer), keep your pH balanced and maintain proper salt levels. The whole idea of a fish pond is to create a natural environment for the fish. Goldfish and Koi like their water to be slightly alkaline. A pH level of 7.5 is perfect for them, 7.0 being neutral. To keep the pond slightly alkaline, the water hardness should be above 100 ppm to help stabilize the pH level.

With a good biological filter, the nitrite and ammonia levels in an established pond should always be at 0 ppm. Electrolytes are absorbed from the water by the fish’s gills and are essential for the uptake of oxygen and release of carbon dioxide and ammonium across the gill membrane. Keeping a salt level of 0.1% in a pond with plants will maintain the proper electrolyte level in the pond water for Goldfish and Koi.

The other important attribute of water quality is the oxygen level. If you have a waterfall feeding your pond this should not be a problem. Keeping a pond in a natural state of balance is not as hard as it sounds if you have water plants and fish. If you have a biological filter and a waterfall, and you check your water weekly (and don’t over feed your fish), you will be fine.

There is an alternative however if you want to have all the benefits of the soothing sound of the water and the visual waterfall, without all the maintenance. It is called a pondless or vanishing waterfall. This is how it works.

Instead of a pond at the bottom of the waterfall, the water cascades down a short stream and dumps into a pondless basin where the water pump lives. It pumps the water though a hose back up to the top of your waterfall where the process starts all over again. The pump chamber and pump are covered with rock and the flowing water disappears into the rock-filled basin.

The great thing about this flowing water system is that all you have to do is fill up the basin with water occasionally as it evaporates and you’re good to go! These pondless waterfalls come in kits that you can install yourself starting at around $500. There are also self-contained, artificial rock fountains made of fiberglass and resin if you don’t want to do any digging.

If you are not interested in a water feature in your yard, the next best thing is a solar powered water fountain. These water fountains are the latest technology in birdbaths and fountains. They are powered entirely by the sun, they have a hidden reservoir so you don’t have to fill them up everyday and they are made to keep a constant water level in the bowl. Another alternative is a simple container fountain with a decorative pump that will produce the flowing water that is so attractive to birds.

Whatever you decide is the best solution for you, a clean water supply is essential to attracting birds, even if it is just a shallow ceramic bowl. Just remember the water must be kept clean and if the bowl is more than a couple of inches deep you need to put some rocks in the bottom for the smaller birds to climb on to keep them from drowning.

If your backyard habitat is missing a water source this is a good time to consider what kind of flowing water system you want out there! You will be amazed at the amount of wildlife in your neighborhood that will come to visit, no matter where you live.

Happy Birding!

Lots of leaves fall from a nearby tree so small pea gravel is not an option b/c I could never keep it clean..it has to be something I could sweep or blow off easily.