Which Is It

Which is it? Genius? Or redneck?

I guess you're wondering what that's all about, don't you? I got it into my head last year that I could save my dryer lint and put it out for the birds to make nests. After thinking about it for a while I figured I could use Don's wire collapsible fishing basket to put the lint into, but it took me a while to figure out how to hang it outside for the birds. I wanted to keep it dry.

*cue the inspirational music*

I used a shepard's hook that you can hang flowers on and got Colt's big old umbrella to put over it. I wedged the umbrella handle down in the middle of the lint and hung the basket on the pole. Scout wired the umbrella to the hook with a coat hanger. Wa-laa! It worked. It even survived the storm that went through our area the first night so I hope this will keep my lint from getting rained on.

Well, which is it? Redneck, or genius? I think it's brilliant but I'm prejudice.

I used to feed the birds in the backyard near the mulch pile but had to quit. It was like a fast food restaurant for my cats. I bought a couple of big feeders and hung them in the front yard under my magnolia trees. I can see it from the kitchen window. The feeders hold five pounds of food so I don't have to refill them all the time. I just have to take my bucket of seed and step ladder to reach them. They're higher than my head. I have them hanging from the limbs of the magnolia with coat hangers. 

I have a cute little hummingbird feeder that I like to hang on a shepherd's hook outside the kitchen window. It's time to dig it out and hang it back outside for the summer. It's fun watching them jockey for a spot on the feeder. 

One year our garden was damaged by a storm and knocked the corn over. The pole beans took over the garden. Weeds sprung up everywhere. Hundreds of little yellow goldfinches came down and feasted on the garden. I never saw so many yellow birds in my life. It was beautiful. Ever since then I've tried to keep a feeder with thistle in it for the goldfinches. 

You may think I'm weird for saving my lint and putting it out for the birds, but I think I'm paying if forward for nature. It's all in the eye of the beholder. I think the birds are beautiful to behold. Don't you?

AS ALWAYS

PIO

Raising Cane

I love having Scout around here again. Everything went to pot when he was gone. He likes to stay busy so he decided to cut the cane that is growing in our backyard.

Scout cut down the cane because it gets too big every summer and looks like it's falling over the fence. He has his old trusty dog, Buddy, helping him.

He stacked the canes to save for some other project around here. Hopefully, we can use them to grow some pole beans this summer. They might make good fishing poles, too.

Scout cut the stalks down to about a foot high. Some of the stalks were thick. It took him a while to get them all cut down but it will all grow back before we know it, unless Vinnie has his way.

Vinnie helped Scout clean up the clippings. I noticed that he's already been nibbling on the new shoots of cane that are coming up.

The cane was this tall a couple of years ago. I'm only five feet tall. The cane was easily fifteen to twenty feet tall. I like the fluffy plumes at the top of the cane. It gives the backyard a tropical feel. It reminds me of playing in the woods when we were kids. We used to play in the "monkey trees" which were covered in vines, hence the name. 'You Tarzan? Me Jane.'

AS ALWAYS

PIO

APRIL

It's springtime in Georgia. Everything is growing and blooming. Last week we cooked out on the grill, and I mowed the yard, so the summer rituals are just beginning. I love looking out the back window and seeing my well-manicured lawn and watching Scout's goat, Vinnie, munching on bushes and vines growing outback.

When Scout goes outside all the animals follow him around hoping he will feed them. He looks like a pied-piper with Buddy, Vinnie, and a bunch of cats trailing behind. He never can feed the chickens without his entourage.

We get a kick out of watching Vinnie try to reach vines to eat, or jump on the picnic table. I run him off a hundred times. He lowers his head like he wants to butt me but changes his mind and jumps off the table before I can get there. One time I tipped the table over and made him get off so he knows I mean business when I tell him to get down. I even conked him on the back with a stick to make him get off. He knows I'm not afraid to make him behave. I'm learning as we go because I've never had a goat before.

The chickens are fat and nasty. Really, they're nasty looking. They're supposed to be white but their feathers are a buff color and we're not sure if they are just dirty or they turned that color. They aren't the pretty white color they were when they were young. I wonder how hard it would be to wash a chicken. Can you imagine that? I bet that would be a hoot. Oh well, I'm not trying that any time soon.

Scout and I saw a hawk circling over the backyard the other day. I wondered aloud if it was looking for a cat and Scout reminded me that it might be sizing up our chickens. They're pretty fat. They can't even jump a foot to get on a stick to roost. I don't know if a hawk could carry them away, or not. I sure hope he doesn't try it and we find out the hard way.

*****

One night I ordered a magazine online, and then I forgot about it. I got the magazine in the mail Wednesday. It was the Georgia Travel Guide. Andy Lincoln, of The Walking Dead, was on the cover. It's filmed in Senoia Georgia. I'm hooked on The Walking Dead and try to never miss an episode, or a rerun. I was so happy to get my magazine. If you're interested in exploring Georgia you should go to www.ExploreGeorgia.org, or on Facebook at Explore Georgia, and order one.

Happy Spring Y'all!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Sanna, Patricia, Susie, Debbie, Aja, Allan, and Kathy

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY
Myra and Noodie, Ann and Jim

RIP
Beulah Burchfield, Henry Cornwell, and Donna Shoates

REMEMBER
It's Tax Time

AS ALWAYS
PIO