Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Better late than never…

Almost eight years ago, my children built birdhouses with my dad.

Laura birdhouse 2004Matthew birdhouse 2004

We never could figure out where to put them in the yard (pathetic, I know) but the kids kept them safely in the garage because they were made with Grandpapa and therefore the kids will never ever let them go.

Eight years ago, the kids made really good use of the sandbox.  Now, not so much.  We’ve spent the last couple of summers trying to figure out how to dispose of all that sand (it was quite a large sandbox, and deep too) so that we could make that corner of the yard prettier.

Last week the kids helped me clean out the garage during spring break.  There were the houses.  Inspiration struck and both problems were solved at once.  Perhaps my brain was just desperately trying to find some garden-related task to do in that lovely un-March-like weather we’ve had,  This required a trip to the store for a few sample size cans of paint and some lumber. Notice that painting is a much tidier job now than it was 8 years ago!

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I shoveled sand out of the sandbox, my husband obligingly dug a couple of holes between the tree roots and planted some posts, and the kids shoveled the sand back into the box again.

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It like it!  It will look even better when the hostas sprout to hide the neighbour’s compost pile and the honeysuckle leafs out.  That could be any day now, with this warm weather.  A touch of sunshine wouldn’t hurt the picture but we had such beautiful sunny weather last week that I can’t complain just because it’s raining on the day I remember I need a picture!

We might even get some birds nesting in there.  Prospective tenants popped in this morning. We’ll see if they come back and stick around.

5 comments:

  1. Just in time for nesting season! I hope some birds move into the new houses in your neighborhood!

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  2. Perfect! And I bet your kids are thrilled that their birdhouses are finally in use. I do hope the birds find and like them already this year. Will you be planting anything in the sand? Or maybe add a load of topsoil for a raised flower bed?

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  3. Um, how about adding some plants that attract birds? Like sunflowers, maybe? All in all, an excellent idea!

    Liri

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  4. Cute keepsakes, and a nice addition to that corner! Put a birdbath and feeder out there, and believe me, the birds will come --- and stay! ---"Love"

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  5. That's a great idea to solve both problems! The bird houses look great there, hope you get lots of birds in your yard!

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