Using Your Hair As Bird Nesting Material

   I have a lot of hair stuck in my brushes and combs, but nothing goes to waste at my house. I was reminded of this when I cleaned out a comb a couple of minutes ago. I actually had to cut the hair out of the comb to get it off. I threw it outside for our little feathered friends to use to make their nests with.

  Did you know that squirrels make nests too? One of their favorite items is cut up newspapers. I did this one time in my garden. I cut up the black and white papers and dumped them into the garden beds, and when I came out later on, there was a trail of newspapers leading to a tree in the back. The squirrels must have thought I put the newspapers out just for them!

   What are some other items that birds use to make their nests with? What are some advantages or disadvantages of having birds in the yard?

   The disadvantages are obvious; birds will eat any berries that are ripe and ready to pick, so you have to get out there before the sun comes up and pick them as soon as they ripen.

   The advantage of having birds around is that they can transfer seeds or even pollinate plants. They really are a good part of our ecological system.

   I have a pet bird and she has made nests out of material that was used to make her cage cover. She made a pretty nice nest too. Now when I cover her cage, I have to remove the coverings in the morning or she will chew up the blankets covering her cage. She finds nest making using the blankets covering her, very therapeutic.

Easy, Convenient Greenhouse for small potted plants

I saw this picture on Facebook, and it looks like something worth investigating. Now anyone can make a small, portable greenhouse where you can even put the lid on top to keep moisture in and cold air out. I have done something like this already, and my big mistake was to let water sit in the bottom. I would recommend never to do that. The water is stagnant and already has bacteria in it and it could be sickening. It doesn't look like you have to do that though with this kind of 'green house'. It looks neat, and clean, so perhaps I will give it a try too.
 
   The picture came from a Facebook page called, 'Grow Food, Not Lawns'. They also have a web page found at: http://growfood-notlawns.com/

Picture from "Grow Food, Not Lawns"