that is some really nice compost there Paul, and Mrs. Paul. This compost bundt ring helped saved me from a bit of 'crabbiness' myself. (Unfortunately not the fishy kind, just the grumpies.) My kids and I have been trying to clean up the dumpster area of our church/school for as many years as we've been there. The problem is the maintenance director just tells everyone to keep piling everything behind the dumpsters, on the asphalt. Piles of brush get very high, grass clippings are just dumped, and dumped, and dumped, so you know they get pretty rank with out browns layered between. Everything was a mess. About five years ago, my dear kids helped haul over twenty trailer loads off, they said they would haul no more. Next year they helped haul another twenty trailer loads. (We take the brush to the composting facility in our town, where it is magically turned into lovely compost.) Then dear kids helped build a three bin compost system. I guess the concept of one, two, three was too complexfor school employees, so stuff was just piled in each bin, whenever. Grr. Well, finally got that taught to the maintenance crew. Now, they wanted the bins up on the asphalt, instead of down in the ravine where we put the first set of bins, as it was difficult to walk down the slope, when wet. OK, so we built another set of three bins up directly behind the dumpsters, on the asphalt. Bins don't have contact with the soil, but it will have to do. Well, the heaps of shrubbery are showing up again, as the parish is doing a remodel, and lots of shrubs are being removed. I keep telling the director of buildings & grounds to have that stuff hauled off as part of the building process, but he thinks it will make such lovely compost, and he thinks we should be selling the compost. He also thinks we are saving just tons of money by not hauling off shrubbery. More grrrr. Well, I decided to make lemonade instead of just being a sourpuss, so now I am setting up bundt composts with all that brush. Then the crew can keep dumping willy-nilly into the bundts, I'll keep my three bin system humming along in one, two, three fashion. So, we'll have bundt holding bins. As for selling the compost, I'm going to look the director of buildings and grounds straight in the eye and ask him if he wants that compost now that he let some of the crew leave cans of old asphalt sealant out to dry right by the compost bins, where they got dumped over and 'accidentally' incorporated into the compost by who knows who? Yuck toxic waste!! I removed all I could, but every now and then I get a whiff of fresh asphalt when I fluff the compost. Some people just don't get it. Oh well, nuff venting. The bundt bins work well. Contains the mess, keeps my blood pressure down. Thanks Paul. Kathy, I loved your comment about your neighbors. Maybe I need to have that attitude about our B & G director He means well. ;-) happy gardening, cantstop

You need to delve into your soil and learn some more about it and these simple soil tests can help answer the questions above, 1) Structure. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. A good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top. Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drains too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up. 3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart. 4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer your soil will smell. 5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy. and they can aid you in determining what you need to do with your soil to make it into a good, healthy soil. Also you should contact your county office of the Washington State University Cooperative Extension Service about having a good, reliable soil test done. Here is a link that might be useful: WSU CES

Cath, im not sure as i have always had 2 bird houses right there in immiediate area hanging on the green shed face above the doors. They do go to the trees once in a whilw but have never bothered the figs they enjoy taking baths in the fountain surrounded by the trees. Now 2 of my dogs do run after them but only when they land on the rocks or grass.Today when i came home from chaperoneing band practice my son told me to put on the gloves he thinks Romeo took care of one small bird and Butch finished it off but when i went out there it was in the link of fence and flew away it was one of many newborns this year. As for the squirrels well theres a story, we dont seem to have many that come in yard but one used to play with Butch the large dog when we had the wooden fence which was scalloped on the top like a wave type look. He used to run on the very top and Butch would chase it then the squirrel would stop look at Butch and make a ee ee noise at him and this really irratateded Butch but he could do nothing but bark at him and the squirrel would do this frequently like a game.We used to get pesky rabbits in our yard as well and another story about Butch almost getting one but he ran into the old wooden fence head on and it knock him to the ground as it really stunned him the rabbit luckily had ducked under the wooden fence as butch was right on him. Since having the newer chainlink fence i rareky see the squirell, the rabbits stay in neighbors yard and the birds still enjoy the fountain.I never have used nets but if need be i would take down the birdhouses. We get the nasty sounding blackbirds, sparrows, robins and some cardinals and finches which are pretty yellow and black and very small, ducks, and messy geese. The blackbirds like to try and raid the others nest. Lately i see more and more seagulls but they dont seem to land by us.SOwwy for long post to your simple question. Best Health Martin

My phoebes had skipped a year of nesting in their usual place (above the porch light fixture near my office door). My mirror set-up had scared them away. I should have realized that birds do not "like" mirrors -- but I didn't think about it at the time. I did see a bird pecking all day at the mirror, looking behind it, then pecking angrily at it when seeing the "intruder" again. That bird came back the next day to peck at the mirror again. I felt sorry for him wasting his time. But, I didn't think about the phoebes reaction being the same. So, they never nested there last year. I removed the mirror, but they still did not return to nest there this spring. Instead, they nested on another side of the house -- under our raised deck (same as last year). But, after the 1st brood was fledged -- THEY MOVED BACK TO THEIR OLD NESTING SPOT! So, the phoebes apparently got fed up with the disturbances created by our toy poodle (who is let out onto our raised deck several times a day.) The poodle would be walking directly over their nest, and possibly pissing over their nest. The nest building started May 25, 2021 and completed on the 30th or 31st. The mother was sitting on the nest on May 31, and there were 2 eggs in the nest. So, the first egg was likely delivered on May 30. By June 3, there were 5 eggs. All the eggs hatched on June 17 -- so, exactly 2 weeks after the last egg was laid. Interesting that all eggs hatched on the same day, even though each egg was laid a day apart. When I peeked, all the shells were gone. So, even tho I didn't see it, I assume that the parents removed all the egg shells. I also see the parents flying away with baby-bird poop. The poop looks like worms, and the parents carry it away from the nest. They either drop it or eat it (it is undigested food). Today is June 23, and the parents are often very busy bringing food. The bay birds are still too small to see without using a mirror over the nest. Here is a link to a very interesting article from 1937, detailing the observations of nesting habits of phoebes as studied over a 3-yr period. A few interesting details: Female does all the nest building. Incubation starts at varying times - sometimes after 3rd egg, sometimes after 4th, sometimes after 5th. The male apparently does none of the incubation. After fledging, the young birds remain close to the nest, getting farther way as the days pass. Both parents still feed the young after they fledge -- feeding them for periods of up to 18 days. Reliance on the parents gradually decreases. The parents may eventually show harsh treatment of the young to get them to go out on their own. Interesting. https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v059n03/p0410-p0417.pdf