birds 5 togd 1, wildflowers

BIRDS 5 TOGD 1
we have lived peacefully here at the country n now for the last
10 years with the birds
snakes lizards and other varmints around here
until recently

the birds have decided after 10 years that they like the rafters on
our upper deck to use to roost on at night
we have no problem with that
however it became quite messy so
i decided it was time to get them to move on to another site

i asked them to please not roost there any more
that was like talking to your kids and asking them
to keep their feet off the furniture

birds 1 togd 0

next i scared them off whenever they came up to roost
they were quite persistent
after i went back inside they would drift back up to the rafters
and have a good nights sleep

birds 2 togd 0

next i took netting and waded it up and placed it that is i stapled
it to the rafters

they just pulled the loose ends out or just nested on top of the netting
we now have black netting adorning much of our shrubs and trees

birds 3 togd 0

next i did a google search as google as the answer to everything
how to get birds off the rafters
hang an owl it said
so i ordered a realistic looking plastic owl and hung him off
the rafters

the wind would blow him around
heck he looked real
it even scared me more than once when i
went outside on the deck and saw that scowling owl at my
face level
even my wife she got scared when she woke up one morning
and there that owl was staring at her

the first night the birds flew in and saw those owl you could hear
them hit their brakes as they flew in
you could hear them shreak when they flew into the area where
the owl was

well this only worked for a few nights then they figured it out that
that was a fake owl
at least they didnt land on him

birds 4 togd 0

next i went back to google again
google know it all said try fake snakes
so i ordered these fake snakes

dang they look real and put them in the rafters
scared the heck out of those birds
you could hear them shreak again a they flew in to roost
i think they said oh  ^*#(
but again after a few nights they came back and actually pulled the
snakes out of the rafters

birds 5 togd 0

then i was talking to my friend on the phone and told him about the birds
he said i went down to ace hardware and got this sticky stuff and put
on the rafters and those birds wouldnt land on the rafters any more
got rid of them that way

so i went down to the ace hardware and got this stuff and
applied it on the rafters

and dang that stuff works great
no birds in over a week

birds 5 togd 1

and i scored last so i may have won this battle

WILDFLOWERS
the bluebonnets are beautiful this year
although not the best weve ever had as i had thought earlier in the year
but there appears to be so many other wildflowers that are doing good
that the combination makes the fields even more beautiful
heres a view of one of my pastures

the organicgreen doctor

weed free, monarchs, birds, bluebonnets

WEED FREE
how to be weed free
pull em up or hoe them
it is totally organic
also you get fresh air, exericise and get some dirt on your hands
i usually add them to my compost pile
the chickens will eat some of them also

weeds to compost for the garden
cant beat that
a bad thing becomes a good thing

cover them with clear or black plastic and leave them covered for a
period of time and the weeds will be dead
this is called solarization and is good for a large area of weeds
you want to get rid of
seal the edges with soil or rocks or boards and leave in place
the longer the better
this fries those bad weeds

cover the weeds with a board or piece of plywood
they will eventually die

cover them with newspapers and mulch
the weeds die and the newspapers and mulch breakdown to add
nutrition to the soil

if you use a spray please dont use roundup
would you spray that stuff on your kids or pets
there are other ways to kill those weeds without using something
that you dont want in the water system or on your family

use instead vinegar sprays
you can buy these at many nurseries or
you can make them yourself

i use pickling vinegar from the grocery store-it is usually about
10% vinegar
in 1 gallon add 1 tsp of orange oil and 1 tsp of liquid soap
put in a spray bottle and spray those bad guys
remember this will kill the good guys also
spray it on yourself and you will see why it works so well
i seem to do it everytime i use it
(at least it doesnt make me dizzy and blurryeyed like that other
product does-cant be good for you if it causes those symptoms)

you can also use just plain old hot boiling water
that kills the weeds
definitely dont get that stuff on your skin-ouch

the vinegar mixture breaks down fairly rapidly in the soil

lesson-pull, hoe, cover, or spray with organic mixture or hot water
dont use the bad stuff

MONARCHS
the monarchs are coming
a few have been sighted in this area
their plant host is milkweed and milk vine
plant them if you can
the numbers will be increased significantly this year
enjoy them

BIRDS
the blue birds are here at our place
have several blue bird houses for them to house themselves
they have  a distinctive bird song
as many of you know they were headed to extinction at one time
but now because of the use of blue bird houses and conservation of
some of their habitats they have made a comeback

their arrival means spring is almost here

saw my first purple martins last week
those are called scouts but really they are not scouts
they are on their way up north
we usually get several couples in our eight unit house
purple martins eat tons of insects and remind me of fighter jets
as they swarm around after the insects in the morning and the
evening

they need open space, water and need to be close to humans
if you get them to your place they are worth the effort


BLUEBONNETS
was worried the bluebonnets werent coming this year but it looks
like the season will be a fair one
it will be nothing like last year as that was the best in years

in our pastures and the surrounding ranches the blue bonnets are
here but with these reduced numbers
hopefully there will be patches of them for pictures for people this year

HORNS
they are on a downward spiral
reminiscent of last years decline
the ending may not be pretty again this year unless they get it
all together

the season which i wait for is just now beginning
will be do a ton of basketball game watching with the conference
tournaments and march madness then nba playoffs

my wife she has lost her househusband now for awhile

the organicgreen doctor