Just Two More Days

April 1st is right around the corner.  If you haven't entered for the Humming bird feeder now is the time.  It couldn't be easier.

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It's that simple.

If your wondering if you have humming birds in your area.  I looked up range maps for the little hummers and between the Ruby Throat and the Black chinned they pretty much have the U.S. covered.

By the way if your buying that store humming bird food STOP!  Those poor birds don't need that crappy artificial red dye you will find in the stuff in the store.  As long as your feeder has little red flowers the birds will come.  Use this recipe and drop the dye and expensive cost of store bought sugar water.

1.  Boil 4 cups water  Add 1 Cup sugar   Stir Until dissolved.  Let cool then fill feeder.  Enjoy watching Humming Birds

More Of Springs Beauty

Hope you enjoy them, and don't forget to enter for the humming bird feeder Click HERE to see how!

Fun Humming Bird Fact

Since I'm giving away a humming bird feeder I figured I'd let you in on some humming bird facts.

1.  Hummingbird are the smallest bird and also the smallest of all animals that have a backbone.

2.  Hummingbirds have no sense of smell

3.  Hummingbirds can rotate their wings in a circle which makes them they the only birds that can fly forwards, backwards, up, down ,sideways and  hover in mid air.

4.  To conserve energy while they sleep or when food is scarce, they can go into a hibernation-like state (torpor) where their metabolic rate is slowed to !/15th of its normal rate.

5.  During migration, some hummingbirds make a non-stop 500 mile flight over the Gulf of Mexico.

6.  During courtship dives a hummingbird can reach speeds up to 60 miles per hour and can average speeds of 20 to 30 miles per hour.

7.  Hummingbirds are the second largest family of birds with 343 species.

8.  Hummingbirds can beat their wings up to 80 times a second during normal flight and up to 200 times per second during a courtship dive.

9.  Hummingbirds have a heart rate that can reach up to 1,260 beats per minute.

10.  Percentage wise, the hummingbird has the largest brain of all birds (4.2% of its total body weight).

11.  Hummingbirds have very weak feet and use them mainly just for perching.

Happy First Day Of Spring .... And A Giveaway to celebrate!

Welcome to spring though there was hardly any winter that we can speak of here.  My first official Spring day started with plenty of

FOG

I wish I had taken the dog for an extra early walk when the fog was thicker.  There is nothing more peaceful then walking in the fog with the air as still as can be.  Where even the train seems to rush by on whispering wheels.

It ended with a beautiful day with puffy white clouds and temperatures warm enough for shorts.  (after work that is)

To Celebrate such a glorious day I've decided to have a giveaway. 

The Prize is this humming bird feeder

I haven't feed the humming birds in a while because I got tired of the trail of ants taking all the nectar.  But this ingenious little feeder comes with a built in ant moat.

After filling the feeder just hang it and fill the moat with water to keep the ants out.

Entering is easy:             You can get one entry by following my blog

                                      One entry by leaving a comment ... if your already following me and want to entry make sure you leave a comment saying you want to enter.  

                                      Last Spread the word.  Let others know by posting on your blog or facebook and that will get you another entry.  If you do spread the word leave a  post in the comments and that will count as your comment entry.

Drawing will be held on April 1 (no its not an April Fools Joke)  I'll be using the random number generator at random.org to select the winner.  

Good luck to all!

Tip of The Day

Ok I know I haven't been posting these every day like I planned but hopefully you'll forgive me and find them helpful anyway.

The first day of Spring is tomorrow and I"ve got Spring gardening fever.  The I've been looking up my favorite seed companies online and for the most part dreaming of what I'll grow when I'm no longer a renter.  Of course I also need to decide what I'm going to grow in my container garden.  In picking out my seeds I always need to remember to ...

Pick the right plants for your zone...

Most seed companies make this very easy for a gardener by including a map such as this

This map is useful to help you determine what plants will grow best in your location.  I'm in Zone 7  though you have to look really really close to see it.  Go ahead look close ...right there off New York.... that long skinny patch of orange... THATS ME :D

So I'll be looking for Things that will grow well here in zone 7 what zone are you growing in?

Happy St. Patricks Day

Don't forget to wear GREEN so the Leprechauns don't give you a pinch!

Glimpse of Spring

These aren't the greatest shots cause I was using my phone but spring is definitely early.  I took these shots on my walk to work. 

I was hoping for a shot of a Robin since they are the epitome of Spring but those little guys just wouldn't sit still long enough for a shot.

Long Week and Walking

It has been a crazy long week.  Its amazing how tired a person can get when walking to work then standing on their feet taking care of animals for 4 hours then walking home.  Once home its time to grab a quick lunch and walk over to get the kids from school.  It's no wonder I go through shoes so fast. 

I have decided to go back to wearing hiking shoes instead of walking shoes.  I can get a good pair for the same price as walking shoes but they last a lot longer because they are designed for long distances with lots of weight being cared.  Unfortunately I have plenty of extra weight to care around... but I'm working on it!  It's all part of my live better plan.  The walking not only gives me exercise but I'm not paying a bloody fortune in gas .... the shoe leather is definitely cheaper then the gas.  Even if I had to buy a new pair EVERY month it would be cheaper.

Walking does more for you then Exercise and save gas...

Walking your kids to school give you more time to talk to them about things going on.  If you don't know what to talk about being out doors gives you lots of topics to discuss.  Such as HEY do you see that Blue Jay?  or What do you think of Joe the neighbors flower bed?  Isn't walking in the snow fun? ...

I guess that one is probably only me.  

If your older kids object to you walking with them then take along the dog (if you have one).  This way they can always say they love walking the dog on the way to school but need you to take him home.

It can also make your neighborhood safer.  If more people were out walking the less chance for criminals to scout out targets and break into homes.  They work in private and don't want your eyes spying what they are up to. 

That being said ... The more people walking outside between 7 to 9 and 2 to 4 the safer the neighbor hood children are from the scum that prey on them.  More eyes means less chance of a grab.  You don't have to be a parent to keep an eye out!  If your retired or a stay at home parent and getting a little bored have a new purpose and walk the neighborhood.  You get the chance to meet new people and improve the quality of life for all.  Just from taking a walk.

Vegetable Container Garden

I wasn't planning on gardening this year but it turns out we will be staying on Long Island for another Year.  SOOO.   I guess I better start cleaning up my containers.

I also need to start my lettuce seedlings they are cool season vegetables.  Although with the winter we've been having I probably could have planted them last fall and enjoyed them all winter.  Too bad I'm not psychic!  

Saving Money At Work

Work is the place you go to make the cash you need to do the things you want or need to do.

BUT

It is also the place that can nickle, dime and dollar you into the poor house.  I will use myself as an example... Right across the parking lot where I work is Panera Bread.  Now I don't want to say anything bad about them because I really do like their food.  An iced tea there cost about $2 (not adding in the tax).  At least once a day a co-worker comes up and says they are making a Panera run would I like anything.  If I ordered an Iced Tea once a day that would end up at $10 (once again not including tax) a week or $520 dollars a year.  Now I don't know about you but I can find alot of better things to do with $520 then spend it on tea.    So I brought my own stuff to work.

Making Iced Tea At Work

COST:  1 Ice Tray ---  Free it came with the new fridge they ordered for our break room when the old one died.
             1 Coffee Mug ------ Free (yep didn't even pay for the mug)
             1 old Panera cup with straw --$2 at the original purchase free to reuse
             1 Box Green Tea ----  about $.08 a bag depending on the brand you chose.
So for the first cup of work made tea $2.08 for every cup after that $.08.

At 52 weeks it costs me 6.16 for a cup of tea at work every day for a total savings of 513.84.

This works for anything you chose to buy at work whether it is that candy bar from the snack machine or your lunch.