Hi msjay, LOL is right kept looking for that very small edit button and thought maybe I was going blind! So glasses do the trick kept them on the rest of the night-not the best boxes in the world but they work for me I used 1 by's for the frame so that it was lite weight and 3/8 inch plywood- the signs came from a resturant that was remodeling and they were throwing all kinds of stuff in there dumpsters and these were leaning up against it--thank you very much--I only had to cut off 2 inches to make them fit-tight though-I did not use tracks for them just cut a groove to fit them in I think that I need to put bees wax on them to make them slide easier or something. they are attached to the kick board so that it all slides out for easy cleaning. the one project like I said is the retractable roosting poles just not sure how to get that to work but I will figure out a way-just gonna have to think about it some more. My peeps that came on Monday-I have now lost a total of 11 for some unknown reason:( vaccine failer maybe? no clue. They are replacing them and will get them on Monday! Bad thing now I have to have two separate places for both peeps. I also have 8 welsummers comming the end of Febuary first of March LOL my house is the new chicken coop!! Will be dragging out the mini coopers real soon. good job on the thread we all thank you. Nelda

Oh and I forgot to say that was a real ad on craigslist. I got lots of responses. seems like there are 2 magic numbers with beater trucks. $700 and $1600. all the responses had the same prices. here are 2 of the many Responses: I have a 1992 ford f150.The radiator hose broke the other night and went next day to fix and sure enough someone stoll the battery broke out the side windows and tried to break out the windshield and stole the spare tire.I used it to haul garbage to dump and to part time job.It has 245,000 miles transmission is rebuilt new water pump.Asking 700.00 or best offer. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% I have a 1979 Chevolet longbed truck it has a 350 motor auto. trans. camouflage in color it runs and drives great I am asking 700.00 for it if you are interested let me know I can be reached at xxxxxxxxxxxxx My boss told me to check out the last one because the year of the truck means it does not have strict emmissions (we have to have inspections), they made zillions of these trucks so the parts are easy to find and fairly inexpensive, it has a long bed which means I can haul more and this will come in handy if I need to haul full sheets of plywood PLUS it runs. downside is that it is a gas guzzler and the color. uggh I feel like CRAP so I got off work early. If I feel better this weekend I will go check it out.

Neopyte, I had my dh make my hole reducers, he has a drill press?? at work and used cedar. However I know you can purchase them also, hopefully someone else here will chime in with the where on that one. I had chickadees building last year but was a day late on the hole reducer, the HOPS ran them off. The box they had chosen wasn't one I could put a van ert in and I didn't, at the time, have a spare nestbox to use as a trapbox. Luckily the dees didn't get harmed but I was sad to see them not nest there, coincindentally the Blues ended up nesting in that same box, by that time the HOSP had either been eliminated or left the yard. They usually say to not put the reducer on until the chickadee lays the first egg as they don't care for the 1/8 hole as much but can get into it fine. If you have HOSP around though, I would do it before and hope for the best. Better to be safe than sorry. As far as seed the chickadees love sunflower seeds, hearts and chip or BOSS, the also like peanuts and suet around here. Also it isn't a good idea to put a nestbox near the birdfeeders, too much bird traffic that way. The closest nestbox I have to a feeder is about 50ft, the rest are much further away than that. It is best to point the hole of the nestbox away from prevailing winds, preferabbly towards a tree but away from the way the direction the rain usually blows during the summer months. Donna

"Just wait until you have to pack up all that crap and move it." My SIL just bought a retirement home so they are decluttering their current house as a preparation for selling it--she keeps telling me she can't believe how much STUFF she's got to get rid of. When I go to their house I always admire how it looks nicely organized and without extraneous things all over. However, I also admire her tons of closets and storage space which she says leads to keeping, you guessed it, all that stuff LOL. I've decided I will play a mental game this summer and pretend we have to move; maybe that will be my motivation to get rid of much unnecessary and unused stuff in our house! I use the holidays and shopping for gifts to satisfy any yen I may have to be a retail hunter/gatherer. The past few years I increasingly feel as if I am gorging myself after staying on a careful and healthy diet; by the time January comes I feel so psychically bloated from all the shopping /buying that I need another year to rest up and recover! It's interesting to me to watch my young adult daughter who is setting up her first home. She loveslovesloves Home Goods, Marshalls, Pier 1 etc. And when I go with her I usually find stuff I could easily buy. I have a rule that I can't take anything from those places home the day I see it. That usually short circuits the purchase, I'm rarely motivated enough to fight the traffic and crowds to go back a second time!