My husband made a raised table for me. It's about three feet high (a 4 x 4 post) and the table top is about 2 x 3. My crows get dried dog food every morning and if I have meat scraps for dinner they get those late in the day. They like fish scraps, chicken hearts, peanuts, cooked spaghetti (sans the sauce), leftover fruit .. just about any scraps I have they enjoy. Be careful with chips and crackers as I have read that salt is very bad for birds ... can't place the article right now, but google it maybe. When I go out to fill my tray feeders with black oil sunflower seeds for the birds and squirrels I call for the crows and they show up and start making a lot of noise. I know many people dislike them, but they are so fascinating to watch and really are beautiful birds. I love my crows. This year I have a pair nesting in my back yard and I can watch them from inside my living room and not disturb them. They are very sweet together and make all sorts of lovely little noises to each other. I enjoy having them in my yard. The funniest thing I've seen them doing lately is following squirrels around and digging up the peanut they just buried. The squirrels are clueless. lol They had me laughing out loud watching them last week. I kept giving the squirrels peanuts just to keep the game going. Cheap entertainment for me. :)

We have three squirrel houses in 3 different trees and the only critters we've seen giving the squirrels any grief are raccoons. The first one I built is designed differently than yours, with a roof that overhangs the front. One time a raccoon hung over the front and managed to reach in and get a hold of one, although he didn't get it. I promptly put a little rail on top to block them. We've had Cooper's hawks come through and stalk them but never seen one try and get in one of the houses. No foxes around here, so I can't say. It's not as easy for a larger predatory bird to get at them in the box. Some boxes have ledges installed underneath the hole on the inside to keep other predators from reaching them. 6-7 feet is kind of low. The general recommendation is at least 15 feet although some say 10 is enough. Mine are about 15, 20 and 25 feet up. The one has been up for 8 years and I put two more made from tires up last year. What can I say? I found a plan, was curious and had an old tire. I almost laughed when I saw them moving in last fall. ("SOB! They work!") When you hang them, give them some kind of nesting material to get them started. I put dry crushed or mulched leaves in ours, about 1/3 filled. One caveat about your box. Even being one inch thick, pine will rot over time, especially the floor. Even though it has a hole for drainage, water will collect in there from time to time. I made mine of cedar and it's held up well, but I can see I'll have to replace the floor or build a new one before long. I got the idea for the tire ones from a guy who sells them online.(Not myself) They hang from hooks and he sells them with a rope and attachment to fling it over a limb. I also found a plan for a different style house made from a tire. They seemed to like them just fine.

Every home is different, but I think the basic strategy for insulating a home should go in this order: 1) Attic: seal all air leaks and then insulate to R-value for your area. Include in attic sealing any and all ventilators, flues, recessed lighting, etc. 2) Floor: seal all air leaks and insulate to about 1/4 to 1/2 R value of attic. 3) Walls: Seal any leaks and insulate to recommended R-value. 4) Windows: Seal any air leaks and replace with low-E insulated windows. I address the heating system separately but this may be a priority if it's in real bad shape. Often ducted systems in older homes can have major leaks, so a complete inspection is in order. After I sealed my 64 year old home's attic air leaks and insulated to between R-13 and R-25, I saw a 30% drop in winter heating gas consumption. The home had been remodeled in the 60's, and there were some very major air leaks going on. Mainly, a centrally located cooktop hood with no damper, defective damper in fireplace in adjoining family room, and various gaps around ceiling light and fan fixtures. The following year I insulated under the floor of the master bed/bath, and sealed some pretty major heating duct leaks (some gaps were big enough to stick a hand into!) and insulated the outside of the ductwork to R-5. I also boosted the attic insulation to between R-38 and R-50. After this I saw another approx. 15% drop in heating gas consumption. Plus the home is much more comfortable without all those drafts going on. My next project is to finish insulating under the rest of the rooms, and finish wrapping insulation around a few more feet of heating duct down there. At some point, it would be nice to replace the windows, but it's not a priority. Note: before insulating an uninsulated attic, make sure the attic eaves/soffits are properly ventilated. Insulating an inadequately vented attic can result in condensation and moisture damage.

I'm also 75 and I also think how fortunate I am, especially when you pick up the paper and read the obits...... I have to laugh or wonder, when they advertise a treatment for getting rid of the double chin etc., and they have side by side pictures of the same woman...Of course in the before, the woman is shown, holding her head in such a way, she has a triple chin but in the after, there she is with a smile that looks like she's hurting from holding up that chin (that isn't supposed to be there any longer)...... I think at this age, I've earned every grey hair, the wrinkles and all the extra bumps.....I've been on a long trip and some of the roads weren't paved too well.......