– Feeders n Tree Rats –

So a little over two weeks ago the Wife-Unit says: ”lehper, we should get some bird feeders!”

So lehper replies: “So go get them!”

As the Wife-Unit is heading for the car the oldest BIL says: “Get squirrel proof ones.”

The Wife-Unit returns with these two.

Neither one is truly Squirrel Proof but at least the Tree Rats can’t really damage the feeders. They do hang on the caged one and they can lap up the seeds that collect in the bottom

The Wife-Unit “suggests” that I somehow hang them from the fence of the “Dog Pen.”

Lepher complies. I wired Shepherds Crook basket hangers to the gate posts of the “Dog Pen”.

A few days later lehper cringes when he hears: “Oh lepher.”

I walk down from my little hole in the wall home office to see what is planned for my next project.

I am handed a couple of sheets of paper that the Wife-Unit has just pulled out of her printer.

“I found these plans on the internet for a bird feeder” , she sweetly says.

You know what’s coming next – –

Do you think you could make one?

You don’t have to do it right away. (Yeah, right.)

But, I did take her literally and waited a few days before I went into the barn and got one of the salvageable wood rails from the fence we replaced. In a couple of hours construction was complete.

I made a couple of changes from the plans and I have a couple of other modifications I will make on the others that I will be making.

Wife-Unit looked at the finished feeder and said it will have to be painted.

What color I asked?

White, she replied.

Off to Ace Hardware I went.

When I returned home I handed the quart of white exterior latex and a brush to the Wife-Unit.

Oldest BIL asked if I had a line and something we could tie to the line to toss over a limb on the oak tree closest to the house.

I went inside and came back out with a plumb bob on a light nylon line.

Great, said Oldest BIL B.

After numerous tries OBIL handed plumb bob and roll of line to M2, my youngest Grandson.

After numerous tries M2 handed plumb bob and roll of line to me.

Shit!, said Oldest BIL after my third toss. Right where it should be.

I’m not that good, just PDL! (Pure Dumb Luck)

Next day when the paint was dry I attached a snap swivel to the ¼ inch line we had pulled over the branch of the oak tree.

I didn’t like the feel of it and back to Ace I went.

I got a small pulley and “wired it” to the branch.

Much better

Put seed into the feeder and hoisted it up into the tree.

Here’s a couple of shots of the completed feeder.

Yesterday and today this guy showed up.

You may have noticed this hanging on the fence in the photo of the two purchased feeder on either side of the gate.

The BIL living in Texas didn’t have anything to do one day so he dug in his trash pile for some barbed wire, old railroad spikes and horseshoes. He welded everything together and ended up with a bunch of these that he distributed to family members.

Very definitely an outdoor decoration unless you have a very rustic family room.

You may also have noticed this.

The bell and the sheet of Plexiglas and the PVC pipe above the roof of the feeder I constructed are to discourage these:

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BTW +Pelican, I did make end caps for the fence rails.

I cut up one of the short pieces from a trimmed rail into flat sheets. Made some necessary cuts and screwed them to a sized and shaped piece of 2 x 6. I used a hot air gun to heat and soften the plastic and then folded over the sides and ends. Plugged the screw holes with silicone caulking and ran a bead of the silicone caulking around the inside to seal them to the rail once put in place.

And then we have this little piece.

BTW: The Oldest BIL thinks I have too much time on my hands.