G'Day!

- "This posting is in the wrong place!" Well, maybe not; while it might seem logical to post this on the Have: Want list for Burtonsville spring swap thread over on the Exchange page, i suspect most folk will not be looking there until the swap is nearly upon us, and for this Want, i would need folk to start saving these bottles rather earlier. Hence my posting this here.

- If you happen to buy 8th Continent soy milk and have no particular use for the bottles, AND will be attending the spring swap, i would much appreciate the empty bottles (prefereably with the caps).

- (If you are not expecting to make the swap, remember that in the spring i also will be offering to visit the gardens of Metro-accessible folk, bringing a dufflebag of plants and doing weeding or other garden help in exchange for divisions of your more prolific plants, and could pick up some bottles then. But you really do want to attend the swap if at all possible; great people, great plants - and great extra-chocolaty brownies!)

- Why on earth do i want old plastic bottle, and this particular brand? And, \How is this garden-relaited? Well, the bottles are very similar in shape to bottle gourds. i want scads of 'em to paint and make in to faux-gourd bird houses. Birds are a valid garden need, right? Somebody's got to eat all those bugs and slugs, and it isn't going to be me! Not even stir-fried with mixed garden veggies and served on vermiceli!

Also, i think plastic faux-gourds will last a lot longer than the real gourd houses i am also making (even with a triple -coat of spray laquer), will look just fine when hung up high (perhaps in mixed bundles, so the fake blend in with the real?)?), and the birds won't notice the difference.

- i've seen cool pictures of bundles of gourd birdhouses (from Wisconsin and Nigeria), hung in clusters from poles, to attract martins and such. i'm doing a bit of research, trying to find out just how big an opening to cut in each bottle, and whether the birds prefer that they be strung up (er, that the faux-gourds be strung up, not that the birdies be strung up) loosely, so the faux-gourds sway as if out on the ends of tree branches, or whether they might not actually prefer that the faux-gourds be firmly fixed in place. Also, whether the bundle needs to be out on a pole, or whether they would be happy tucked under the eaves of the barn, high and safe from predators.

- i am also wondering whether to just paint them, or whether it might not be cool to prepair a pile of sawdust and bark bits and wee twigs, spray the whole bottle with glue, and role it in this mix, for a more natural, textured appearance.

- Your thoughts?

- Happy gardening,

-vlad