I like glass garden sculpture best. It is an accurate description and sounds pretty to me. Totem poles by definition are collections of carved representations of creature spirits or gods, so this name has never really seemed to fit. Topiaries are living trees or bushes sculpted by shears to look like animals, so this seems off the mark to me as well. I guess a glass garden sculpture in the shape of a woman comes closest to these two...

sharpgirl, I can only share my experience w/ BB. For several years I put up houses built (I thought) to BB specs. No takers. And because I had seen BB on my farm I knew they were around, but I didn't know where they were nesting. Until one day I noticed that the 'fake' hollow owl I had attached to the roof peak of my small barn, had BB's coming and going around it. BB's had pecked a hole in the chest of owl and apparently built a nest inside. This is now the 2nd year that they're nesting there. Their nest is about 15-18 ft. off ground, 100 ft. from a feeder but hidden by a bldg., hole faces South, slightly southeast. BB's perch on barn roof before they enter the hole. Both male and female feed the babies. Area of nest is surrounded by either mowed pasture or lawn. No close trees for 50-60 ft. I overflow a large watering trough (for horse) several times a day and the BB's show up to bathe and frolic in the water, if it's warm outside. So my bluebirds outsmarted me and made their own personalized nest and they must like it cause they've returned this year. Good Luck with attracting your own BB's. PS/I'm in zone 9B Central Fl.

In a perfect world, both of us would prefer that they break on the sill, but the sill seems to be the most prone to air leaks & thus the purpose of the puddle. Most of the window will be covered when the panels are open so they will be pulled together only in the most extreme temperatures. My sister is aware this is likely to be a PITA & I seriously doubt they will be fully closed more than once or twice! An inside mount rod has been a challenge & I'm going inventive. (Like the draperies, I'll be doing a mockup before hand to see if this actually works.) For the rod, I plan to use a heavy duty copper plumbing pipe (easily obtained & cut to exact length & can be reinforced if necessary) mounted to the upper stop with a type of flat stock pipe hanger that's open on one side (forget what they call it but you can get it at any box store in copper or steel). I'm becoming an expert in copper plumbing hardware much to the amusement of the salesmen! The pipe will lay in the hanger similar to a regular outside mounted pole except the hanger will be attached to the underside of the jamb instead of the wall. To solve the problem of the rod-pocket-on-a-hanger, my anticipated solution is to put 2 buttonhole type openings on the back of the rod pocket lined up with the hanger so the rod can be woven out of the pocket & exposed on the back for the hanger without being seen from the front. I hope this makes sense because it reads horribly. Your comments & advice are much appreciated; most everything I've found on the internet consists of only the most basic solutions & this is definitely NOT that kind of project. I tend to be a problem solver & that's what's gotten me into this ordeal - much less on a volunteer basis.

homeprotex, Check with your local building department, because usually a deck's posts are usually mounted on footings 36 - 42" in the ground, depending on local code. After footings are dug and inspected (before you fill with concrete) I think its' really up to your liking whether you pour the slab all the way or not. It really doesn't matter. Remember mounting posts to hold the weight of a deck and its' occupants on a simple 4" concrete slab is really not good enough and would probably not be approved by your local building department. Please look into it. All the best, The PorchGuy Here is a link that might be useful: My Album