Can't help myself but count the flaws

I'm back in Tennessee now, where I'm likely to remain for the foreseeable future (barring unexpected catastrophe, natch), and boy howdy is it hot. We just wrapped up a week of days that cracked three-digit temperatures, and today it's only slightly cooler - but the rest of the week is looking more "normal" for summer, with highs in the low-to-mid nineties.

And in boring household news that I just can't stop myself from sharing ... we now have birdbaths and wasp traps hanging around the backyard, so it's starting to look like a glass salvage depot up in here. The wasp traps are the pretty recycled glass variety, baited with blueberry jelly, yum, SO COME AND GET IT ALL YOU NASTY STINGING THINGS;* and the birdbaths are my own creation - cobbled together on the cheap after I realized that birdbaths are preposterously expensive.

See the image at right for the end result.

I trolled Goodwill and the Homegoods store, and eventually I scored a pair of oversized pots and a couple of inexpensive (but pretty!) glass platters. These, combined with a big fat tube of vinyl spackle/sealant I already had at home, resulted in two groovy, unique pieces for less than sixty bucks.

I've already seen many finches, a family of jays, and a fluffy half-grown mockingbird taking a dip. Like I said, it's been hot as hell. I'm glad they're enjoying the refreshment.

I've had a few people complain that my homemade birdbaths look short enough for a cat to reach, but that's not really fair. Most birdbaths are under three feet tall (the size of my largest) and some are much shorter; the trick is to put them someplace nice and open - where birds can see if something is sneaking up on them. These two baths are ensconced in the open expanse of the backyard; they're shaded, but surrounded with nothing but grass for quite some distance.

Besides, our yard has an Early Warning System - read: the aforementioned family of blue jays, which I've watched harass the Tubulent Neighbor Cat right back into her own damn yard. That is some feline shit up with which they will not put.

(Aside: As mentioned previously, the Tubulent Neighbor Cat is too fat and apathetic to be a birder anyway - but is reportedly an excellent mouser. She is, therefore, welcome on these premises.)

Now it's less than a week and a half until my friend Ms. Spyder comes out to visit, whereupon we shall get the garden and landscaping back in order. (And also no doubt drink and watch trashy TV and giggle a lot, particularly once Mr. Upkins joins the party.) Before long, these premises might actually look kind of classy. Or at least, cluttered with lovely things in a fashion calculated to be charming.

Did I mention I just ordered a gorgeous vintage glass hummingbird feeder yesterday? Yes, well. We have hummingbirds, and they need to be fed too. They might as well get fed out of something pretty.


* I am led to understand that these traps won't nab bees because of their design. I hope this is the case, and will check after a few days. I don't want to kill the bees. The bees don't bother me. It's just the damn wasps and yellowjackets I can live without.