Too cold to work outside in the yard!! Extremely cold weather after months of a mild Winter. So I did a few “creative” things with baskets–in preparation for Spring. I recently purchased The Joy of Birding, A Beginners Guide, by Kate Kowinski. I’m learning a lot for my bird watching experience. Cardinals will nest in a cavity with an open front. (The last picture [above] is a decoration [from Garden Ridge] of a Cardinal on a nest.)  I’m creating such an environment with baskets and a wood bowl (on the left, first picture). Next to the bowl, a bamboo box that entered my apartment full of exotic tea bags.  I thought it would be nice to return the bamboo to nature.  The basket on a limb is just an example of what I will do in the nearby woods.  In the future I should be able to report back regarding the birds’ acceptance of my offerings.  ~~  While working on projects, a big kettle of homemade beans was simmering.  Yum yum!!  Smells good, too!!

Forty-four degrees when I ventured out (briefly) at 3:00 PM to fill the sunflower seeds feeders. My weather channel reports 44 “but feels like 34.”

Scrapes of paper, cotton from nutritional supplement bottles, string, and ripped rags to assist the birds building a nest–in a new clean suet feeder. I read this suggestion in The Joy of Birding, A Beginner’s Guide.

Postscript, 1:00 PM Sunday 2/12/12: A cold and windy 37 degrees when I drilled a hole, for the hook, for the nesting material. I was anxious to complete another project!! The container is outside my patio door, under the eave (so things [hopefully] won’t get wet) where I’ll be able to see the birds appropriate stuff for their nest.