Animals can be so strange....you may put all your time and effort into building just the right box, selecting a 'perfect' site, and then....nothing. Or the opposite may happen, and it will seem as if they were sitting around WAITING for you to get their new home up and going for them. I think it's different for everybody, but you will have to be PATIENT. Years ago we got a booklet from the DNR that had blueprints and general info for houses that were specific for each species. We looked it over and chose to make wood duck boxes, thinking they would have a place to nest by our pond. What we learned, in fact, was that many species simply don't care if a box is not "designed" for them...if they can get their bodies through the hole, there's nobody already at home (depending on the animal this may not matter either) and the place seems safe enough, it's a done deal. Not only will screech owls use a duck box as a day haven, they will indeed nest and rear young in them. There is a slough I frequent that has three duck boxes on it, and during one spring I discovered one particular box was home to a nest of screechies. I think the slough was dry that year, but usually this box is surrounded by about 2 1/2 feet of water...a rough first flight for any chick. I can't recall how many chicks were in that nest...I will have to try to dig out the animal album and find the photos. But they will use a duck box. When we first hung out duck boxes here at our place, I was getting frustrated waiting. It was something like three years before we finally found a nest, and then all three boxes had action!! It's worth the wait, so hang in there. But I'm still waiting for bats to use their house....I don't think they need any extra places with all the shagbark hickories. But the winner in my Crazy Nester category goes to the bluebirds at my dad's place. For the past three years, there has been a pair of bluebirds nesting in his martin house. Not a thing to be seen of any martins, but these blues are shoulder to shoulder with house sparrows and to this day I don't yet understand how they are pulling this off.

Hi, there! Can you tell me what wall color you ended up choosing? I am getting ready to do our master bath vanities is Gray Owl (either that or Wickham Gray) and I'm waffling with choosing a wall color! Thank!

I'm not understanding the question. Where is the "nook"? The nook has the damask rug, or the "entrance" leads to the space with the damask rug. Either way...........you tone paint TO a wallpaper. You're trying to do it in reverse : ) If the main space is highly visible from the nook? I doubt you need a pattern competing with the rug. Paint it a complimentary blue, add the necessary element for any mud space. Or look into vinyl grass cloth, alal Phillip Jeffries..............too many to even view online

I have no suggestions, but I can tell you the fake owl doesn't work. The squirrels here just laughed at them. I had some success against the deer by tying disposable metal pans to the trees in pairs, so a breeze made them clatter. The varmints seem to leave the peaches alone, but the strawberries were a complete failure last year, I couldn't find any way to keep the squirrels and chipmunks from taking them the instant they were ready, and about a day before I thought they were ready. Two cats and a dog don't deter them at all, nor does a deer/bird net. I can't figure out a way to keep the bears from eating the cherries either, but they only eat the bottom ones and they do scare the birds, so I get the cherries on the tops of the trees where the bears can't reach. Annie