Dear friend,

Greetings from Birds & Blooms magazine! We hope you enjoy this month's newsletter, which includes a winter-weary wren, some surprising flower boxes, a sound suggestion and more. Read on and you'll discover...

> Wren Made Itself at Home
> Window Boxes "Bloom" in Winter
> Holiday "Reruns" Bring Joy
> That's a BUNCH of Birdhouses!
> She Loves to Listen
> Nesting Pockets Are Neat

Wren Made Itself at Home

WHEN a blizzard hit the Washington, D.C. area, one feathered friend sought shelter from Mary Jo Q. of Derwood, Maryland.

"We found a little Carolina wren in our basement rec room," Mary Jo explains. "For the life of us, we couldn't figure out how it got there. We weren't too keen on the idea of a bird flying around in our home, so my husband shooed it out the back door.

"Within an hour, it was back. We showed it the exit again. I became curious about how it was getting into the house, so I sat quietly, waiting for our uninvited guest. Sure enough, the wren returned...through our dog door!

"I started to feel sorry for our new little friend--the wind was ferocious, and the temperature was frigid. I decided to let it stay in the basement.

"Later, when the storm passed, the bird must have sensed it was safe. It quickly exited the same way it entered. If I didn't know better, I would have guessed that Carolina wren was actually a house wren."

Window Boxes "Bloom" in Winter

FOR a simple and attractive way to add color to his home in Lees Summit, Missouri, Tom G. uses window boxes.

These aren't ordinary window boxes--they require no planting, watering or fertilizing, and they're filled with blooms year-round. The key is custom-made wooden inserts that hold bright silk flowers and are easy to drop in place even through second-floor windows.

All it takes to make your own inserts is 1- by 6-inch pine and a little time in the shop, Tom says. The inserts can be built to fit into any size window box. He drills several holes in them to hold the stems of silk flowers. Holes in the bottom front of the window box itself allow melting snow to drain through without dripping down the siding.

Tom says the flowers are easy to change with the seasons. "I use heavy staples to secure the flower bunches," he explains. "Brilliant geraniums are show-stoppers anytime. Spring, autumn and holiday arrangements look great as well.

"Passersby often stop to admire our window boxes. They usually leave with the plans to create this look at their own homes."
 

Holiday "Reruns" Bring Joy

AVID GARDENERS Art and Evelyn K. are the nicest neighbors anyone could ask for, according to Delores H. of Berrien Springs, Michigan. They are always eager to share what they grow--including holiday poinsettias.

Art and Evelyn have such green thumbs that they're able to get poinsettias to bloom year after year. They have several repeat bloomers, including one that's several years old!

"When I asked Art what their secret is, he said that they put the plants behind the chicken coop in the summer," says Delores. "So the joke around here is that people who don't have a chicken coop aren't able to get their plants to bloom again!"

The real trick is a bit more complicated. After proper care all summer, poinsettias need darkness for 14 hours each night beginning in October. An easy method is to move the plants to a cool, completely dark room or cover them with a box each night.

During the day, give them 6 to 8 hours of bright sunlight and temperatures between 60 and 70 degrees. Continue this routine until the poinsettias are fully colored.

Because Art and Evelyn are so successful, they frequently "inherit" their neighbors' poinsettias after the holidays. Sure enough, under their care, the plants thrive and show off their colors again the following Christmas!

She Loves to Listen

IN Waverly, Missouri, Judy M. found an inexpensive way to bring the sounds of her backyard indoors on days when it's too cold to have the windows open. She bought a used baby monitor at a garage sale for $5 and mounted the transmitter unit under the overhang of a shed right next to her bird feeding area.

"The location works great because the monitor is protected from the weather and it can be plugged into a nearby outdoor electrical outlet," Judy reports.

She put the receiver unit near her kitchen window. "Most days, I turn on the receiver as soon as I get up. Cheery bird sounds fill the house all day long--even during the worst days of winter."

Judy says it's also a great way to learn different bird calls from the comfort of her home. "The sound quality is amazing," she says, "except on really windy days, when the bird songs are muffled. On those days, I just wait until the wind dies down before turning on the receiver."

That's a BUNCH of Birdhouses!

HER FAMILY really enjoys watching backyard birds. So when Tammy D. of Jones, Oklahoma volunteered to help with "Art Day" at her daughter's school, birdhouses came to mind. "I thought it would be fun to make a birdhouse for each third, fourth and fifth grader to paint," Tammy says.

The idea turned into quite a family project! "My husband Ronnie cut 16 sheets of plywood into 3,675 pieces to make 525 houses. Our son, his friends and I stapled them together. It took three truckloads to get all the birdhouses to the elementary school.

"Our daughter and the other students had a great time decorating them with 10 gallons of paint. Art Day was a huge success, and the students donated several birdhouses to a new town park and a local senior citizens' center."
 

Nesting Pockets Are Neat

TREAT the birds that visit your yard to a new, safe and comfortable home! Nesting Pockets are woven of all-natural seagrass. These "prefab nests" offer great shelter in winter, and nesting birds love them in spring. Hangers included. 9"H.

To order a set of 3 Nesting Pockets from Country Store On-line, click here.

Birds & Blooms magazine brings beautiful backyards from across America into your living room--through vivid, full-color photos. It's like a friendly "chat" over the back fence with your bird-and flower-loving neighbors. 

To subscribe on-line, visit http://www.birdsandblooms.com/rd.asp?id=268

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