It's been an odd winter here in SW Florida. With all the rain I think the animals have all gone a bit crazy.
This vulture is just hanging out on our "fountain" by the pond. But I've seen odd behavior from all different kinds of birds the last few weeks. It started with owls coming in 2 months early and lately the blue jays have gone crazy, showing up in flocks and making a racket. A pileated woodpecker, one of the shyest birds here has been flying back and forth right over my head. I don't know what's going on. Maybe it's just signs of spring.
Dusty has a voracious appetite for stuffed animals and I like to find them cheap. I managed to acquire a huge box of childrens toys for just $4 and inside were plenty of play things for her to rip apart. Some of them were beanies and I had to rip a seam to get them out. I don't mind having to sweep up the fluffy stuffing but those little plastic bits have to go.
I ended up with quite a double handful of those beanies and decided I needed a project to re-use them, somehow. So I gathered up some other things I've collected that were just waiting for me to find a use for; Pringles cans, packing peanuts, googly eyes, some really cool tiki guy stickers.....
And this cardboard outline of a crazy looking bird!
Meanwhile back to nature.
A few shots of birds I managed to catch here and there.
Mike is busy with his own project again. He's by the pond measuring and cutting and pounding in old metal fence posts. I wonder what he's up to.
And more than just crazy birds my fish are acting weird. There's a school of about 20 of them with their noses up out of the water.
Usually this means they are oxygen starved although some have said they are breeding. The other fish in the pond seem fine, it's just this group. I don't know. I think these are the tilapia but they're very hard to see.
I needed a closer look so I went fishing.
None of those fish shown were interested in biting but I did manage to catch 2 perch, 2 catfish and a small bass. Look at this guy. No, look at Dusty looking at this guy. She absolutely loves to go fishing.
SQUIRREL!!!!!
Back to our projects. We are making some progress. Yes, I broke out the paints. It took 3 coats to cover those Pringles cans.
And Mike has the makings of really nice walkway over the low spot on the pond.
What's next?
This Kite! He knows when I have my camera and swoops low when I don't. So far this is the best one.
Taken through the window, kinda swoozy but I liked it.
Here we go, the finale!
I call these my Tiki Shaker Cans. I put different materials inside each to make mini hand held maracas. One has those plastic beanies, another has beads and some packing peanuts, another has jingle bells, and the last has a handful of tiny washers. Each makes a unique different noise.
And I painted my Crazy Birds.
And Mike pulled the walkway and the dock over and attached to this bridge.
Now we have a different view of the pond.
See ya'll next time.
