The Backyard Makeover

Just some pics of the patio we installed and the patio furniture we assembled during our Summer of We Love Hardware Stores.


Before the Loft (B.L.) the backyard sported a batting cage.


and a patch of dirt.


We installed the patio out of pavers, assembled the end of the season clearance table & chairs set, and are working on planting both ends.

My Fine Feathered Friends

One of the birds heading for the aviary while one perches on the top bunk in the background.


Birds in the aviary

I have 18 solid white homing pigeons. They are beauties. Someday they’ll be working birds. For now, they’re settling.

We took a 3+ hour drive to pick up the birds stopping along the way at a wonderful, tourist trap named CASA de FRUTA. Gilroy is just outside of San Jose near Hollister, a site that claims to be the inspiration for Marlon Brando’s “The Wild One.” We were passing through on the first day of the 2008 Hollister Motorcycle Rally. There were several bikers on the road and quite a bit of traffic coming our way.

I arrived and introduced myself to fellow fancier, Ken Heubert. We toured his property and were schooled in all things pigeon. Ken has hundreds of exotic birds including white peacocks, Indian runner ducks, and several tropical birds. Retired from Pacific Bell, he now makes a living breeding birds, selling crates, and finding and restoring treasures. He’s a pretty good salesman. We purchased two release crates, a 50# sack of pigeon pellets, and ordered a new landing board assembly/aviary, all before loading up to go home. It didn’t occur to me until I was on the road that I only had enough perches for 16 birds. I thought I was picking up 12, but it turns out 18 were ready.

I had so much anxiety about losing birds and getting into a routine. Until last week, I had never owned a bird. Pigeon dreams were occurring almost every night and most had unhappy themes. Thankfully, week 1 has passed without any disasters. Here’s what I’ve learned so far:

• Pigeons aren’t as much work as I imagined. I’ve tried and failed at several things, but I’ve learned better methods along the way. Overall, I can see their daily care just requiring minutes at a time for 2-3 occurrences daily depending on the weather.

• Pigeons are messy. They poop a lot, make a mess of their water, molt feathers, and throw their food all over the floor. They can also generate hurricane force winds when they all decide to flap at once. Their cue to engage in this behavior is a human entering their perching area. They also have amazing wing-slapping abilities.

• Pigeons are very, very quiet. The loudest noises are the whooshing of air as they fly and flap about. When they fight, they emit a high pitched whine. They don’t coo very often and won’t until they mature and choose mates. Even then it’s in low tones and seasonal.

• Pigeons get all ruffed up when they’re upset. They sit and mope like a static energy charged ball of feathers. They did that all of the first day and most of day #2. Now they appear much happier. Their active, entering and exiting through the bobs frequently, watching the backyard curiously from the aviary, and engaging in perch wars every night. The first couple of days they would panic if they saw Sugar or the cats. Now they just stare at them. The cats seem to have lost interest also.

• Pigeons are quick learners. I began a routine of shooing them all out into the aviary, shutting the trap, scraping the perches, changing the water, setting out food, and calling them in. By the third day they were in the aviary waiting for me to begin my routine. The first day it took 15 minutes for one of them to get brave enough to go inside and eat. Now, they are all scrambling over top of each other to be the first ones in to eat.

• Every pigeons wants to be top bird and no bird wants a bottom bunk. When I got home with 18 birds it was after 11:00 p.m. I realized that I didn’t have enough perches for all the birds. I had already read that sharing was out, so I decided to build another set of four perches (everyone helped out, in the garage from 11:20 p.m. to midnight – mission accomplished). Because I positioned these perches lower on the wall than the other sets, one pigeon could perch on the very top. That gave me 21 perches. Even though they were miffed at their circumstances, the perch wars began right away. I’m pretty sure that it’s the older cocks fighting over the top perches. It’s kind of a beak to beak pugel stick competition. (Last night I saw some pretty good pigeon wrestling moves with two birds entangled in such a way that I couldn’t quite figure out which set of wings went to which head. These two were locked in a slow motion Greco-Roman contest that was as fascinating as Olympic trials. I went to bed without waiting to see who ended up dominant.)

• Each pigeon is unique. One somehow gets pooped on a lot. (I’m thinking that will be Nellie Furturdo). Another looks like a chicken (thanks Daniel for the name, it has interesting feathers. One is balding. Some are bolder than others and 1 has claimed the best perch and defends it aggressively. Another is small and wiry, but always gets a top bunk. One has gold patches on each wing. Another has gold patches on the wings and tail.

My birds should be flying around the loft for two weeks beginning August 11. Then I can start training them to basket and release. The progression from 1 mile to 25 miles is pretty quick (within a month) so I’m aiming for October or November releases. It seems really fast, but I’m pretty impressed with their intelligence so far, so I’m looking forward to it.

The Shack

I just finished reading The Shack by William P. Young. The author is going to be in our area next month and I wanted to read it before hearing him speak. I began reading yesterday, and once I started, I couldn't put it down.

I laughed a lot, and shook my head with wonder at some of the glimpses of God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and eternity that this book brought my way. Sometimes I cried unexpectedly; the tears were quickly followed by God revealing truth and hope that reached deep touching things hidden in my heart.

The Shack touched me on a very deep level. I would encourage everyone to get a copy, read it, and pass it around. It is one of the best modern books I've ever read.

Go to www.theshackbook.com for more details.