Bird Brunch

So as you know, I posted about a hawk that I saw on my back fence the other day. Well, I think it has been confirmed that my birdfeeder has turned into Hawk Bird Brunch...

I was on the computer in my office just after having opened the shades on the office window. Because my office windows face the covered back patio and the patio is bordered by evergreen bushes, the windows can (when the office is dark) reflect that vegetation and make it look like the vegetation is on that side as well. I have heard a couple of birds in the past run into the windows, but nothing very hard. So when I heard the knock on the window yesterday, I knew that a bird had hit it pretty hard. When I looked at the window, I could see a small female finch out there, just sitting on the sill, and I knew she was the one to hit and it was sitting there stunned. My experience with stunned birds is to let them be and after a while, they will usually fly away after recovery from the contact with the window.

So I checked on it every once in a while, but it was still sitting out there. I moved over to the french doors to get a better look (without it seeing me and frightening it), and I could see the hawk sitting on the ground near the edge of the patio. Just as I realized it was the hawk, it starts to fly towards the little bird and the window sill. The little bird flies up out of the way, and the hawk retreats away from the patio (I think the small covered space makes the hawk nervous). So the little bird continues to sit on the sill. I start to move out the french doors right as the hawk comes back in and the little bird flees to a bush on the side of the patio that is much too dense for the hawk to follow it. The hawk retreats again to a neighboring tree. I walk out to the end of my patio and he sits up in that tree squawking at me for ruining his brunch. Eventually, he flys away. I never did see the little bird again on the patio but hopefully she recovered and is back to eating at the feeder with her friends.

Now each morning when there are about 20-25 little song birds eating at my feeder, I wonder if the hawk is sitting somewhere nearby waiting for one of them to make a mistake...

Hobbit Backyard Birds

I realized that I hadn't done a post about the birds in the backyard other than to say there was a feeder and mice, squirrels, a hawk, and a raccoon.

So here is a post about the birds I have seen so far in the backyard...

Blue Jay
Stellar's Jay
Western Scrub Jay
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
American Robin
Western Tanager
Spotted Towhee
Song Sparrow
Oregon Junco
Cooper's Hawk
American Goldfinch
House Finch

It is hard to get pics of the birds while they are at the feeder because they are so quick and it isn't close enough to the door to get close up shots, but today, there was an entire herd of Oregon Juncos (about 15 of them) at the feeder for about 15 mins, so word must be getting out.

Predator At The Hobbit House

As you know from this post...the birdfeeder seems to attact more than just birds. It seems that those new residents must have now attracted even more visitors.

I was walking through my office (the room with a view of the backyard) to the kitchen and I saw something big on the fence out of the corner of my eye...I backed up to take a better look and much to my surprise (because I was expecting the large thing to be a squirrel), I found this guy hanging out.

I am pretty sure he is a juvenile Cooper's Hawk because he is bigger than the juvenile Sharp-Skinned Hawk. According to my two reference books, Nat Geo's Field Guide to the Birds of North America (5th Ed) and Peterson's Field Guide to Birds of North America (2008) the Cooper's Hawk is bigger than the Sharp-Skinned Hawk. As juveniles, both of these birds are very similar in coloring so it mostly the size that is helping me to figure out which one my visitor is.

Note that my thoughts about the field mice being the attaction might also be wrong because according to both of these books, these two predators eat small song birds as well and since I have many small birds that visit my feeder, it could be a two for one deal...

Nighttime Bliss

They are gone. Have been for the last 10 days and I haven't slept better in 6 months than I have these last 10 days. I don't have to wear earplugs and I have not been awaken by any loud fights, laughs, wood being chopped, or bottles being thrown towards a recycle bin!! It has been awesome.

It also looks like no one has started to do anything at the house to prepare it for new renters...there is still trash all over the yard and furniture that was left. Hopefully that means it won't be rented for a while!!

New Birdfeeder Residents

I was working on the computer the other day and heard a bit of a ruckus outside...birds squawking and tapping around on the patio cover. I looked outside, and there were a ton of birds flying in and out of the birdfeeder. Then I saw something on the ground. I looked closer and I saw these little guys.

They, of course, disappeared as soon as I went outside. I went back in and grabbed the camera and then found a spot near the wall and stood still for a while...and it took a bit for the birds to come back and even longer for the little guys to be brave enough to come out for some photos. But my patience paid off and I was able to grab a few shots of new wildlife at the Hobbit House...aren't they cute???

Hobbit House Neighbor News

The loud, immature neighbors are supposed to be moving...I just assumed that they had to be out by tonight, but since they didn't even start moving until last night, I have no idea if they will really be gone by the 1st or not. Obviously, they are not planning to clean...and to tell you the truth, I am hoping that it takes them a while to rent that place. It would be great to be neighbor free for a while.

The only reason I even know any of this is that they came over a few weeks ago to let me know they were having a party on the following Saturday and it would be their last since they were moving. They gave me a card with a phone number if the noise got too loud. They actually (the three I met of the five total that live over there) seemed pretty nice and I really thought that perhaps they would hear when I told them that the only time I can really hear them is when they are outside on the balcony or in the backyard area...hint, hint, hint. Turns out, the party ended pretty early because they started drinking about 2pm and by 10:30pm there was some kind of brawl and everyone cleared out. It was normal noise levels after that (which still means I had to wear earplugs to bed).

But for the last 5 nights, I have had to listen to them make noise...and not just in the evening...in fact, they are pretty quiet until 2AM in the morning and then that is when they decide to go outside to have conversations. Twice they have woken me at 4am and I have had to bang on my window or slam a door to get them to get the hint that it is time for bed. I was awake last night until 5AM because of them and I was so tempted to go over there and ring their doorbell repeatedly at 7AM but I just keep hoping that I only have a few more nights of dealing with them...please, please, please.

The place is now under property management and the rent increased...that is the reason that they are moving. I am thrilled...I am hoping the price hike will keep out other kids like them from renting it. It is a really cool house, 5 bedrooms, 3 full baths, 2 kitchens, 2400 square feet...and I am sure it doesn't look even remotely as nice as it once did on the inside because of these fools...I feel sorry for the owners. I noted the property management phone number from the ad so I have it for future reference should the new tenants be too much, however, I am hoping to move soon so it probably won't end up mattering to me one way or another.

Anyhow, hopefully this will be the last post about my bugger neighbors...

Halloween House

Okay, remember Leprechaun House? Well, now it is a Halloween House....and it is over the top. I need to take pics during the daytime but I did manage to sneak down the street tonight and get a few pics with it all lit up. I didn't get the big purple spider at the end of the front yard in, so perhaps I can do that during the day when it is more visible.

I haven't gotten the invitation in the mail yet but I am guessing that the neighbors are going to be invited like we were for the St Patty's Day bash...

Bugger Neighbors

They are at it again....noise seems to be their favorite thing to do. It is after 11pm and the city has a 10pm ordinance for noise but I have been trying to be nice with them for the past 6 months. I haven't yelled, gone over there, or even called the police yet...yet! It is a Saturday night but believe me they don't limit themselves to weekends...

I have been waiting for the next BIG party, and we know it is coming, and then the door is going to come slamming down on them...I will call the police on that party and then every single little bit of noise they make every day after. At this point, I have lived here over 6 months with no complaints against them, but I am tired of having to wear earplugs every night. It is BS and there are times when they are loud enough to get through my earplugs.

On top of all that, the next day, they are all out there rehashing how wasted they all were, spilling their secrets about how many drugs they did and who slept with who and who couldn't keep it up...I almost choked laughing when I heard that one. I am kind of looking forward to the day when the "after party" talk will center around how they all got busted and they start being a little bit more careful about what they say in public.

Curtains for the Porch

I have been able to use the mud porch on the front of the house as a place to hang dry the clothes that I don't put in the dryer. With the screen door and two windows, it gets plenty of fresh air and circulation. It is also on the afternoon side of the house so it warms up a bit once the sun moves around.

Since I moved in, I haven't had any curtains on the windows because I wanted to let the light in, but now that it is hotter, I really needed to figure something out so I could cool the porch down in the afternoons. I found some curtians online that I could just put on the rods that were already above the two windows.

I think they function perfectly for what I need them to do and aren't too bad to look at either. They are actually just the bottom half of a kitchen window set, since the windows I have are pretty short. It worked out perfectly.

Shower Fiasco

So picture this...naked, hair dye five minutes overdue on my hair, and while adjusting the temp of the shower to rinse out my hair, the faucet comes off in my hand and two streams of water (one very hot and one very cold) start shooting across the tub at me. I grab the faucet that is sitting on the floor of the tub and try to screw it back into place, but no luck. So I jump out, wet body and all, put on robe, run down to the basement and turn off the water to the house. I go back up stairs and try to screw the faucet back on, figuring that if I can just get the water in the "off" position, I can turn back on the house water and at least rinse my hair out in the sink. I still can't get the faucet on...

I get on the phone with my sis, as I am picturing my hair frying at the scalp (since I had only put the color on my roots). I venture back downstairs just to see if there is another option for turning off the water, and I find one. There are shut offs for both cold and hot water to just the bathtub...whew!! So I manage to shut off the water to the tub itself and am able to turn the water to the house back on. I rush back up stairs and rinse my hair out in the kitchen sink. I put on the conditioner and then get back at trying to see what the problem with the faucet is. Since I didn't really see how it came apart when it did, I wasn't sure how to put it back together. I got on the phone with the landlord and he agreed to come out the next morning since I had visitors coming that night and needed to have a functioning shower.

I had to rinse my hair three more times in the sink before it really seemed that I got the dye out, and at this point the roots are much darker than the rest but at least none of it is falling out....LOL. The owner and his step son came over the next morning and with a trip to the hardware store were able to fix the faucet (although it is still very tight and might need to be replaced soon). I also showed them where the tub was leaking into the basement and they are going to fix that next week.

Visitor at the Hobbit House

I saw this big guy walking very slowly past my back door last night...it wasn't even dark out yet and I was very surprised to see him there. He was walking so cautiously like he was uncomfortable with the fact that it wasn't completely dark yet. My camera doesn't take great low light shots so he is a bit blurry but this one was the best of the 4 or 5 I took. He crossed the yard and then made his way to the corner, jumped the fence into the next yard over. A bird in the tree nearby was very irritated with the raccoon and didn't stop squawking until he had made his way to another yard.

Yard Work

One thing that isn't "Hobbit" about this house is the yard...and it has been neglected during this growing season. There are several vines that have taken over and today, I started the process to get some of the plants back. My plan when I first walked out there was to tackle the plants along the walkway, however, the vines near the back door grabbed my attention before I could even get around to the front walkway.

There are roses in the backyard, and until I pulled some 3 foot weeds and a few huge vines out, you wouldn't even know they were there. It has been months since many of the plants were even separated from being just one big clump. i worked for an hour before the sun got too high. I only got one corner done, but I think if I tackle a little bit each day, I can make a difference out there. This evening after it cools down, I am going to put all the stuff I pulled into the yardwaste can and see if I can make some headway on the walkway ones.

Decorations

Being that this is a temporary situation (and I refuse to think of it as anything else), I have been very hesitant to decorate much. First off because I already own more than enough decor than any one person needs (just not here), and secondly because it just seems pointless and a waste of scarce funds since I am only temporarily living here.

Needless to say, when I was visiting family for Mother's Day this year, we were at a craft fair of sorts and I came across this little guy and just couldn't pass him up. He is hanging outside the door I use to enter my house (which is not the front door) and adds a little bit of me to the place.

Hobbit Washer and Dryer

Okay, the title is a bit of an exaggeration...as the washer and dryer are both full sized. What is hobbit sized is the space that they are in. I have to duck my head in order to load and unload both the washer and dryer. There is a major supporting beam running exactly across where your head goes when you are loading these machines. I am so afraid of bonking my head that I spend most of my time in the laundry room hunched over and I am of average height.

The rest of the basement is taller, just this area where the washer and dryer are is short...and I guess I should have taken a pic of the door too because the door from the outside comes into the small area so it is of course short too.

Yard Work at the Hobbit House

Spring is still making itself known at the hobbit house. The yard keeps blooming...new plants every day. Today, I spent about an hour in the afternoon working in the yard...pulling weeds and getting some obnoxious vines under control. I am thinking I might need to do that for an hour each day (weather permitting) to get this yard looking less like a jungle.

The weather today was amazing. It was my first time to use my new lounge chair (the grass is too high in the yard to lay on just a blanket or towel), and it was amazing to feel the sun on my skin. I was only out there for 20 minutes on each side and it was after 2pm that I went out, so no burn, which is a good thing. I read one of my research books for my class while I was out there.

Windows are open and breezes are flowing and it has been such a long time coming.

Lilacs Are To Be Found!!!

Two Purple Bushes

Discovered just the other morning after being away for the weekend, that there are 4 huge lilac bushes in the yard of the hobbit house. I didn't notice them until the flowers started to bloom but now I am just thrilled.

Lilacs are one of my favorite flowers. I LOVE the smell of them and this is partly to do with the childhood memories that come along with the smell of lilacs. When I was in 4th-6th grade, we had a house that had lilacs bushes running all down one side and the smell as always brought me back to those carefree days of spending time in the yard with my friends.

Two White Bushes

Summers of playing in the sprinkler and then laying on the hot sidewalk to dry off. Eating unripe apples off the crab apple tree in the front yard with warnings of pending stomach aches. Watching Grandma mow the yard with a push mower. Roaming up and down the alleys behind the houses, eating blackberries off the bushes and sucking the sweetness out of honeysuckle flowers.

 I couldn't help myself and already cut some for the house but they aren't open enough to be very fragrant just yet. I guess my lilac candles and perfume will have to do until I get some open ones.

More Spring Coming Out

I was waiting for a ride the other day...and the light was so great, I just had to take a few shots. These are all little guys hanging out in and around my yard.

Pieris Brower's Beauty

Need to find out the name for this one

Need to find the name of this one too.

Exciting stuff!!!

Herbs Are Done

I finally got my herbs into their containers, watered and put out in the sun, or at least where the sun will shine eventually...haha.

I had to add some dirt to the Christmas tree too since the poor thing has been knocked over several times since December and it needed some extra cushioning...

I still need to repot my three house plants but that is for another day.

Hobbit Feeder Visitor

So since I have put out the feeder, I have gotten quite a few birds on it, but just no images as of right now. I have managed though to catch my local squirrel...the WC Rufus. He was hanging out on the fence and underneath the feeder trying to figure out what his options are.

I am in the process of getting some video footage of his attempts to eat from the feeder but for now this image is a cute one of his little fat belly.

Hobbit Basement Stairs

The door to the basement stairs is short and narrow. The stairs themselves are short, steep and narrow. Fortunately there is a light switch at the top of the stairs and there are lots of things to hold on to, or I would already be a rotting body at the bottom of the stairs.

You actually have to hold on to something on the way down because the ceiling is also low. In order to duck in the appropriate spots and not lose your balance, holding on is a must. This means I have mastered the laundry basket with one hand (yes folks, the washer and dryer are in the basement).

The basement itself is pretty big but you can only stand up (and I am of average height) in it, in half of it. And it is not the washer and dryer half...so when I am doing laundry, I have to hunch over a bit or my hair is up in the rafters of the basement and who knows what might live up there...haha.

There is a door from the outside into the basement, so perhaps when the weather is nicer, that will be an easier way to get in, but for now, I just laugh at my temporary life, as I am walking up and down these stairs.

Birds In, Squirrels Out

I got this birdfeeder and shepherds hook today because I miss being able to feed and watch the birds like I did when we lived on the East Coast.

The birdfeeder boasts that it can keep the squirrels out...we'll see if it lives up to its claims. The idea is that if the squirrel gets on it, it slides shut from their weight. I will be interested to see if the squirrel doesn't either figure something else out, or get pissed enough to try to tear it apart. I don't know if I will have another Rufus on my hands or not...could be funny.

I filled this one up with black sunflower seeds because if any of them go to seed, I won't mind having sunflowers to look at...haha. I put it in a spot so I can see it from my desk if I want and if I do get some cool birds, I can get some photographs too!!

Hobbit Herbs

I have a front porch at this house but it is not covered so I don't use it since I have a big covered patio in the back that is much easier to access. So to keep people from using the front door, I have plans to put up a little sign but also to fill the porch with plants. It has the advantage of having one of the spots that gets a lot of sun too so it is ideal for some herb pots.

This weekend, I purchase the pots, dirt and herbs to do three planters. I will have a medium one that only has lavender in it, and then I will have two larger ones that will have three herbs each in them. One will have basil, sage, and oregano, and the other will have mint, chives, and rosemary in it. I love fresh herbs on food, the difference in taste is amazing.

I am hoping to get the pots actually planted in the next few days, and even an indoor plant replanted. I am thinking of getting a few hanging pots for the back porch too...plants make me feel better and right now, anything that makes me feel better is a good thing.

Lighting the Path

The walkway at the hobbit house is long and dark from the street. This is compounded by the fact that I don't use the front door, instead opting to walk around the house to the covered patio.

From day one, I have wanted to put some kind of lighting along the path to at least show the way, even if it wasn't enough to actually illuminate the path fully. So I looked every time I was in the DIY store, specifically solar ones, since I am only rented and didn't want to wire anything, but the prices were always a bit high.

A few days back, I was in our favorite one stop shop and saw these solar lights on sale for 1.99 each and buy two get one free as well...I decided to give it a go and bought 15 of them.

They sat around the house for a few days before I had time to get them out, but they are out now and they work great to show the path. They have a led light in them and a solar cell on the top so they stay lit all night long and turn off in the morning.

You might still need a flashlight or keychain light to see the steps in the dark, but at least these little guys give you a direction in the dark!!

And I Thought The Hobbit House Was Small

Just read this article over on Yahoo about a woman living in Manhattan in a 90 sq ft place...watch the video to see how she does it.

Hobbit Sized Fishtank

When I lived in Japan, I had a clear glass vase in my kitchen with plants, rocks and fish in it...little fish. Didn't need filtration because of the plants, just cleaned the tank out when it would start to get cloudy or too algea'd up. This was in addition to my 20 gallon standard tank with fish, heater, and pump that I had in the livingroom.

Since I don't currently have my 20 gallon tank here with me, I decided to do another small kitchen tank.

This is the new hobbit tank for my counter top in the kitchen. The tetras seem to be happy and I am enjoying having them and the extra plant life around. This tank is only about 6 inches tall and 5 inches square.

Hobbit Doors

I don't know if I mentioned before but in this older house, when the new carpet was put in, two of the doors weren't put back in. One of these doors happens to be on the bathroom. This doesn't matter when I am here by myself but it makes things a bit uncomfortable if anyone comes to visit.

Needless to say, doors have been a priority. My sis and I found the two doors I want to rehang up in the attic and brought them down. Unfortunately the hinges were only in half shape, and the doors were too long with the new carpet. Two days ago, I was able to get the painted on hinges off the doors and today, I was tasked with cleaning up the doorframe hinges as well as mount the hinges on the doors so we can measure and cut off the bottoms before trying to rehang them.

So today, I did it, used the chisel and managed to clean up the door frames, and attach the new hinges to both doors. Tomorrow I hope (with help from my sis and b-i-l) to hang both doors after measuring and cutting the bottoms to fit. This will just be in time since my mom is planning to spend the night at my place on one night of her visit here this weekend. I have to say with all the chiseling I did today, I really missed having someone here that I love that is also an excellent wood worker. I did send him an email about it.

Spring Has Sprung

Starting to get some blooms around here. I can tell from the things planted in this yard that I am in for a treat all through the summer.

Here is just a smidgen of what has started to bloom in the yard. We have camellias, trillium and Pieris 'Brower's Beauty blooming at this time and there are rhodies, roses and a number of other things I am sure will be lovely later in the season.

As the season progresses, I am sure I will be taking lots more photos of the lovely things blooming in the hobbit house yard. I am looking forward to some of the trees and bushes to leaf out so I can have a bit more privacy as well.

Kitchen Is Done

Everything is put away in clean cabinets and drawers. Still have a few things I might need to pick up at some point, but for now, it is workable and I am willing to wait and see what might happen before spending any more money...haha

Next projects include getting the door for the bathroom done (big deal), get bedding for the "guest" bed, getting the DVD player set up wirelessly, killing the moss and cleaning it off the sidewalk, and putting out my solar path lights.

The hobbit house continues to be an adventure that I am sure will keep me on my toes for the time being.

Making Headway

Yesterday, I managed to get the rest of the kitchen drawers stripped, cleaned and re-contacted. This allowed me to put quite a bit away. Still need to clean a few cabinets out so I can put groceries away in them.

I also was able to get the bathroom window cling applied so that the window is now translucent rather than transparent, which is great, since the neighbors backyard can see right in the bathroom.

I needed to finish the bathroom window project because I needed a squirt bottle for it and for another project and I only have one squirt bottle. Once I was done with the window, it freed up my squirt bottle for the next project....CLRing the tub.

I managed to knock that one out last night as well, and the tub looks and feels a million times better. It is actually shiny under all that hard water stain, and lime build up. I took a bath last night (first one since I left Japan) and it was so awesome. I read my book for a bit and warmed up my body from the inside out. It was pretty great!!

Leprechaun House Update

Okay, I finally got the pictures downloaded from the party down the street at the leprechaun house for St Patty's Day. I took one during the day and then a few that night so you could see all the lights.









As of today, the yard is still decorated, not sure if it is going for the rest of the month, or if it is a year long thing or perhaps will be replaced by the next big holiday theme...we'll see.

Contact Paper

So, I discovered in the midst of kitchen cleaning that several of the drawers were lined with contact paper...yet they weren't really what I would call lined. It looked like someone just slapped down a piece in the drawer without trimming it or even cleaning the drawer before putting it in.

While removing the contact paper from some of the drawers, I realized that there were two layers of contact paper so the previous tenant just slapped down this layer over some old cruddy paper that was already in there.....gross.

I, of course, purchased some new contact paper (not my favorite color but oh well) because the drawers are not painted inside. And it is being put in on nice clean drawers that have all the old paper torn out of it. I am also trimming the edges which is, I think, mandatory.

I have my silverware drawer done and 4 other drawers stripped, cleaned and drying on a towel in the kitchen. This is part of the steps that have to be done before I can put the kitchen stuff away...