Ideas For Your Backyard

There are so many different fountains on the market today.  There are table fountains, wall fountains, garden fountains and pond fountains. If you are imaginative you can use most anything to design you fountain.

Often times objects that play in role in a person lifestyle might be used.  A farmer might use tile or obsolete implements.

Truth About Bats

Bats are misunderstood creatures that are generally quite harmless to people. They do not become tangled in your hair, nor do they attack humans. Contrary to misconceptions, disease transmission from bats to people is easily avoided. Never handle bats and the odds of being harmed will be extremely remote.

In more than four decades, public health records indicate that only 16 people in the United States and Canada have died of bat-borne diseases… Placed in perspective, this means that the odds of anyone dying of a disease from a bat are much less than one in a million.  In contrast, in the United States alone more than 10 people die annually from dog attacks, not to mention dog- and cat-transmitted diseases. - Dr. Merlin D. Tuttle, America’s Neighborhood Bats, University of Texas Press, Austin, 1988. In contrast, several children in a million are likely to die each year from encephalitis contracted through a mosquito bite.

We’ve talked about unique fountains.  While searching fountains on the web I found this one.  I have no idea where it is, but it sure looks like fun.  I can only imagine how much fun  our children and grandchildren would have liked having this.  It might be a great idea for cities to entertain the use of this idea

Your backyard is full of beauty.  Sometimes we are so busy with our “stuff” we fail to notice. Take for instance the butterfly.  There is such a wide variety that it is amazing!  And the colors are simply breath taking. 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A butterfly is an insect of the order lepidoptera. Like all Lepidoptera, butterflies are notable for their unusual life cycle with a larval caterpillar stage, an inactive pupal stage, and a spectacular metamorphosis into a familiar and colorful winged adult form. Most species are day-flying so they regularly attract attention. The diverse patterns formed by their brightly colored wings and their erratic yet graceful flight have made butterfly watching a hobby.Butterflies comprise the true butterflies (super family papilionoidea), the skippers (superfamily Hesperioidea) and the moth-butterflies (super family Hedyloidea). Butterflies exhibit polymorphism, mimicry and aposematism Some migrate over long distances. Some butterflies have evolved symbiotic and parasitic relationships with social insects such as ants. Butterflies are important economically as agents of pollination. In addition, a few species are pests, because they can damage domestic crops and trees in their larval stage.

When you are designing your backyard gardens, think out of the box.  One creative way to display plants is to build a wall of stones.  Your wall doesn’t have to encompass the whole yard, it can be just a small area.

Leave openings so you can plant some flowering plants.

You know, when you are designing your backyard and you chose a fountain, you can design your own.  Think out of the box and see what you can come up with.

While surf the net I found this unique fountain.  It’s really kind of clever.

The little bird that speaks his name and does acrobatic stunts on tree branches delights all bird watchers.  This plump little fellow with the black cap is friendly, and chances are he’s been at your feeder in the winter.

Chickadees look for tree holes, either natural or made by woodpeckers, for their nests.  But if a tree is sufficiently soft or rotten, they may make their own holes.  A dead birch tree, which is rotten in the center, is an ideal place for a chickadee nest. 

Four species of chickadee may be found in nesting boxes.  The Black-capped Chickadee or Poecile atricapilla lives in all northern and most middle states as well as in most of Canada.  Its black cap and bib, and white cheeks identify it, as does its chick-a-dee-dee-dee call.  The Carolina Chickadee  or Poecile carolinensis, which looks almost the same, lives in the southeast quarter of the US and has a slightly higher, faster version of the call.

Even in the winter your fountain can be beautiful.  That is when it first starts to freeze, then you’ll want to turn the pump off and bring it in to the garage or basement so you don’t burn it up.  It can look almost magical with its icicles hanging down.  No splash today.

Birds are really very interesting to watch. They come in all different colors and sizes.  They sing different songs.  They are beautiful and fun.  On a hot summer day they with land on the fountain or birdbath or along the edge of the pond.  They’ll splash and peck at their features  or each other.  They’ll hop around and if the water is not too deep they will hop right in splashing and singing.  Now that they are refreshed, you probably will be too.  You don’t even realize how relaxing this is until you think about it.

Do you have a large space for a backyard water fountain? or a small space?  or maybe not any ground space?  You know it really doesn’t matter.  Fountains today come in all sorts of sizes and styles.  You can set them in the ground, on a table or ledge or even on the side of your house, garage or outbuilding.

Just pick a spot, select your fountain and you’re ready to get started.  You don’t need to plumb them as they come with a small pump to circulate the water.  Just plug them in and you are done.