But I just wanted a Birdhouse!

In the middle of my back yard, where that massive New Years storm blew down 3 trees several years ago, there is a new open space, just looking for something to move in.
The Salmonberries saw the opportunity, and moved fast. There used to be
about 6 smallish bushes, spread around the edges of the back 40. Now that the space has opened to the sunlight, there must be 20 - 30 of those suckers! And they're 7-8 feet tall now.
I cut them back in the spring, to about 3-4 feet, hoping to clear a space around the tree stumps left from the blow downs.

"That would make a great bird bath" I thought.
"There's room on that taller stump for a bird house, next to the bath."
"What more could a bird family need?"

So I asked my hard working hubby to build me a bird house. We had 2 wooden pallets left over from the concrete stepping stones that had been off loaded onto the front drive. There was lots of wood in those pallets, & making a bird house would be better use of it than dumping them for fire wood.

The sawing and hammering started in the garage. Designs were drawn on shingles, and cardboard. The sound of drilling drowned out the crows in the back yard. Then, requests for picking paint colours came across my desk.

The final product was nailed into its place of honour on the large stump 2 weeks ago.
No, we will not be hanging out a "$2.50 a night" sign. This is a better neighbourhood than that!

Progress!

Been a long time since I was here, but there's a good reason:
we've been working!
But we have got a lot finished in the Back 40:
* The patio area is finished, planted and best of
all - we have a water feature!
* The gravel path along the back of the house now has
stepping stones all the way to the corner by the Veggie
Planter!
It was a joy to sit out on the patio in those warm
evenings at the end of August, with just the light from the
candles in the lanterns, listening the the snaps and
crunches in the bush behind the yard.
(Is that a footstep? No, just the wind).

This work has finally produced the result that I'd hoped
for - to make our back yard ("The Back Forty")
pleasant enough to really use. At long last.