Empty Nest

      We've been empty nesters for quite awhile now. This post isn't about that, it is literally an empty nest. As in robin's nest. Off and on over the years we have had robins build a nest in the same spot under the eves on some lattice by our back door. This year I thought I would follow their progress from start to finish.              

                      Here's Mrs. Robin starting to build the nest.

     This all started on April 6th. The male arrives at the nesting area first, but the female does most of the nest building with some help from the male. The nest is made up of grasses, twigs, debris worked into solid foundation of mud, lined with fine grasses and plant fibers.

Work in progress

                                                                                                      

     Time to lay some eggs. Usually 4, but sometimes 3-7. In our case she had four. The incubation by the female is 12 -14 days.

      The babies have hatched and the feeding begins. Both parents feed, although the female does more. They make up to 40 feedings a day. Mostly insects and earthworms.

         Waiting for their food.

Getting bigger

     Things are starting to get crowded. The young leave the nest about 14-16 days after hatching.

 

     The last one to leave. This was taken on May 16th, the next day he was gone. The parents make sure the babies find a good hiding place and continue to feed them. The male may tend the fledged young while the female begins a second nesting. There are usually two broods per season, sometimes three. As adults, robins eat beetle grubs, earthworms, caterpillars, fruits and berries. Watching nature unfold is such a pleasure, especially in our own backyard.

 

We just noticed that robins are building a nest in this tree just below our bedroom window. Can you see that dark spot towards the top and a little to the left? We of course don't know if it's the same pair of robins, but we like to think so.
 

A thought to ponder: "A person is rich in proportion to the number of 

                                    things which they can afford to let alone."

                                                                                    Thoreau

                            

Participating in: Grand Social, Lou Lou Girls Fabulous Party, Thursday Favorite Things

Refinishing Kitchen Cabinets

     After Christmas I decided I needed a project. What with cold weather and the pandemic we weren't out and about much. So I decided the kitchen needed to be repainted. I decided to go with the same color as the living room as the two rooms flow together. Put first there was wallpaper to be removed.

      My husband took on the job of wallpaper removal, which was a great help.  Since I was changing the color of the kitchen I of course needed to get new blinds. It was about time anyway as we had the green ones for over twenty years.

          I ordered the blinds from American blinds and installed them myself. They are double cell pleated cordless which gives us better insulation then the old ones. The paint I used was Behr Marquee called Bay Scallop. As if removing wallpaper and painting wasn't enough I thought maybe I should redo the cabinets. This is when I should have had my head examined. It turned out to be a long process and a lot of work, but I'm glad I did it anyway. As you can see in the first photo the cabinets were a golden oak color. They were in good shape and made from solid wood, just a little out dated. So I turned to YouTube and watched several videos on cabinet refinishing. I discovered gel stain. Most people were using the color Java and doing the cabinets very dark. I knew I didn't want them super dark so I chose the color Hickory. 

    Rather then tear the whole kitchen apart I did it in sections. My husband would remove the doors, then I would sand them and the cabinet with 220 sandpaper. You need to make sure you remove all the dust before staining. I used a tack cloth and a hand held vacuum. Then wiped them with a damp sponge. The stain reminds me of pudding it is very thick. I applied it using a sponge brush. Then wiped it off to the shade I wanted. Make sure you use cloths made for this purpose as they are relatively lint free. I let everything sit for about 48 hours then I applied the clear coat finish. I used the Polyurethane satin on the cabinet part but wasn't happy with the way it looked on the doors so I used Tung Oil on them for a glossier look. 

     I didn't keep the best track of the number of hours it took me but my best estimate is about 50 hours. This was over a couple of months. The reason for this was because being winter I had to wait for a somewhat warm day to open the windows. The gel stain is oil based and has a strong smell. I also used a mask and gloves. The cabinets and drawers never had knobs or pulls, so I decided we should add those also. Placing the knobs wasn't too bad, just measure down 2 inches and find the center. I used painters tape on the door for marking the spot and protecting the wood. My husband drilled the holes using three different drill bit sizes. Starting with a small one and working up to the size to fit the screw. The drawer pulls were another matter. So back to YouTube, I found a video on how to best measure, Drawer pull layout. Because there are two holes they must be centered and level. This process gave me nightmares. I must have measured each drawer 10 times before I let my husband drill. But we did it and they came out beautiful.

     The whole cabinet process cost about $240, this was all supplies and hardware. Although a lot of work it would have cost so much more for new cabinets.

     I am very pleased with my NEW kitchen. While doing this it also gave me a chance to clean and organize the inside of the cabinets.

      So my idea of painting the kitchen turned into a much bigger project then first planned. But isn't that how it usually is?

 

A thought to ponder: Believe you can and you're halfway there.

 

 

Participating in:Inspire Me Monday, Happiness is Homemade, Grandma's Briefs