Greetings from Birds & Blooms magazine! We hope you enjoy this month's newsletter, which includes garden ideas for kids, a birdhouse "building code", tips for discouraging backyard raiders and more. Read on and you'll discover...

> Year-Round Yard Fun For Kids
> Building Code for Birdhouses
> Outsmart Those Backyard Raiders
> 800-Pound Marigold
> Want Answers Fast?
> Love Visits from Colorful Songbirds?

Building Code for Birdhouses

WHEN IT COMES to building safe birdhouses and bird feeders, Curtis H. of Jackson, Mississippi is an expert.

He's built more than 700 different houses and feeders using wood salvaged from old cedar and cypress fences.

"While studying other houses and feeders at craft shows, I noticed many were pretty but not very practical...and many weren't built with bird safety in mind," Curtis reports.

Curtis took it upon himself to come up with a safety code for building birdhouses and feeders. Strict adherence to his code won't guarantee residents in your birdhouse or use of your feeders...but ignoring some of these rules will guarantee no occupants.

Rule 1--Use nontoxic materials.

Rule 2--Place in low-traffic areas, but in sites where activity may be observed.

Rule 3--Place your houses accordingly for birds that like sun and others that like shade.

Rule 4--Use proper size entrance holes for the birds you wish to attract.

Rule 5--Design all houses with a removable roof or wall for easy cleaning.

Rule 6--Clean the houses after each fledging.

Rule 7--Lightly sprinkle sulfa powder in houses to get rid of mites after nesting season.

Rule 8--Do not spray insecticides in houses to kill wasps.

Rule 9--Drill a few holes in the bottom of your house for drainage and ventilation.

Rule 10--Underlay metal roofs with wood for insulation from heat.

To view a photo, click here.

LET'S FACE IT...backyard critters are smart...and persistent.

No matter how hard we try, it's difficult to stay one step ahead of their tomato-raiding, birdseed-eating, cedar-siding-beating antics.

We asked readers to send in their time-proven tricks to outwit their garden or backyard nemesis. Here are a few that may put you a half-step ahead--for a while!

> THE DEER stay out of my gardens and orchards because I do two things. First, I put out a salt lick, some corn and a water tub to feed the hungry critters.

Also, I sprinkle human hair clippings from the hair salon around trees and plants. So far, this combination has worked like a charm. --Janet B., Nash, Texas

> TO KEEP the birds out of my strawberry patch, I place a clock radio in my garden and set the music alarm for early morning. I put the radio in a bucket turned on its side to protect it from the dew. --Grace S., Blame, Minnesota

> A RED-HEADED woodpecker looking for breakfast in my house siding was ruining my sleep!

So I mounted a plastic woodpecker on the side of the house. It's fooled the noisy fellow into thinking he's too late and his territory has been taken. --Linda S., Venetia, Pennsylvania

WHEN FRIENDS brag about gorgeous black-eyed Susans and sunflowers with 16-inch faces in their yards, I tell them about the 800-pound marigold that makes its annual winter appearance in my yard.

After their jaws drop, I confess "Marigold" is a brown-eyed cow moose who frequently visits my yard just after the holidays.

I named her Marigold because she treats herself daily to the remaining blooms surrounding my log cabin.

She nibbles on such winter delicacies as snow-covered petunias, brittle daisies and icy lilies.

Even when the weather was 50 degrees below zero, I found her feasting on her favorites--frozen marigolds.

Marigold became a mother recently and introduced me to her calves. Of course, I've already named the babies...Petunia, Lily and Daisy!

To view a photo, click here.

Want Answers Fast?

THEN TRY the Birds & Blooms on-line Bulletin Board!

This easy-to-use service allows readers with access to the Web to post questions and share information and ideas on-line anytime.

Feel free to ask your question or respond to other readers searching for help on various subjects, such as bird feeding, flower gardening and butterflies. The Bulletin Board gives you a chance to quickly find solutions to your backyard dilemmas. And you'll see for yourself just how friendly our readers are.

To access the Birds & Blooms Bulletin Board, click here.

Here's a recent conversation from our Bulletin Board:

Subject: Compost Question
Posted by: Katydidnt

Hi. I'm a newcomer here--just wish I'd found this site ages ago! Our backyard is chemical-free and critter friendly, and in that spirit I would like to start composting. I've been looking at the plastic barrel-type composters. Can they be placed close to the house? Are there odors? Any comments or tips would be greatly appreciated.

RE: Compost Question
Posted by: hostalover_ON

As long as you cover food scraps (no meat or dairy products) with soil, leaves or shredded newspaper, you shouldn't have any odors. The main difficulty is turning the compost inside to speed up the process. You can get a claw-type gadget which is pushed down inside and turned. A little manure or compost booster from time to time helps, too. Remember to keep the mixture a little moist. Good Luck!

RE: Compost Question
Posted by: flowermama1

Check with your county extension office. If you ever get an odor from your compost, it is probably too wet. You would be amazed at all the materials that are compostable--cardboard, EVERYTHING from my kitchen and all flower clippings go into my bin.

RE: Compost Question
Posted by: petalpushers

I use a round wire cage right beside my house. It works fine to just leave it alone and let nature do its thing. That's called slow composting. Add alfalfa (Litter Green cat litter) to the mix and keep it damp for a natural booster.

To access the Birds & Blooms Bulletin Board, click here.

IF you're looking for new and better ways to host more backyard birds, this brand-new book will give you over 1,000 tried-and-true tips that'll make you say, "Why didn't I think of that!"

1,029 Backyard Birding Secrets will make your backyard the most popular spot for all the neighborhood birds. And you can count on these tips being down-to-earth, workable ideas...not extravagant, high-priced projects.

You see, this book was "written" by readers of Birds & Blooms, avid bird-watchers who shared all their homegrown methods for attracting, feeding and housing their favorite backyard birds year round.

This book is like chatting over the fence with a neighborly birding expert, whose sage advice is guaranteed to keep your birdhouses occupied, your feeders "busy" and your birdbaths sparkling!

To order 1,029 Backyard Birding Secrets from Country Store On-line, 
Click here.