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.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
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.
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.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
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.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Progress on the Lofts
I recently acquired two pigeon lofts from a fellow fancier in Redding, a city that is located approximately 100 miles north of my home in Marysville. I had calculated my minimum costs for constructing a basic starter loft (4’ x 8’) to be at least $600 in materials + time to build it. I found someone willing to part with two lofts on Craigslist that were 4’ x 12’ and 3’ x 8’. I also found a truck and trailer that I could use. Since gas was only $4.04/gal. and the total price on the lofts was $200, I considered the purchase a bargain.
In the short period of one month, I have become – at best – someone who belongs on a new TLC show “Flip this Loft.” At worst, I am trapped in a season of “Survivor –Pigeon Edition.”
June 1st – We were able to maneuver the trailer to a position just 3’ adjacent to the larger loft. Moving this monstrosity a mere 3’ was a task reminiscent of a twelve hour period in July, 1989 when I was faced with the equally daunting task of moving a 10# bouncing baby boy a few inches from my uterus to the wide-wide world. The loft endeavor had the advantage of three adults actually pushing. On the other hand, the Logan endeavor, had the advantage of an epidural.
The Redding fancier from was quite convincing that the larger loft could be moved using 2’ x 4’s as levers. A couple of boards were used to pry the loft from its base of concrete blocks, the blocks were moved over a couple of inches, and the building was repositioned on them. The process was repeated (repeatedly). Gradually we were able to get the loft lined up with the trailer. At that point, we used jacks to raise it to the level of the trailer deck, and then we all pushed it (inch by inch) until it was fully loaded. I was so proud of Paul and the girls as we strained and struggled, knee deep in dust, in a debris-filled livestock pen, prodding the behemoth onto the ark.
After just 4 hours, the loft was loaded up and ready for the drive to its new home. Our bodies were coated with a mixture of sweat, feathers, and other pigeon by-products. We drove down the road and stopped at Applebees where we spent quite a bit of time (and paper towels) freshening up before eating. As we savored our meals and gulped ice-cold beverages, my husband gazed across the table into my eyes and whispered, “Sweetheart, you’re getting overalls for your birthday.”
Later that evening, I made my first trip to Home Depot. I’ve made 5 subsequent trips since. Add to that at least two trips to OSH, 5 to Lowes, and 6 visits to ACE. Basically, I go to the hardware store almost every day.
June 2nd – The larger loft sat in front of our house in the trailer. The smaller loft lay in the bed of the truck. I rose at the crack of dawn and began preparations to remove the loft from the trailer and move it into our backyard. The distance we had to cover was 50’ or more. Paul recruited three friends from church who would be over at 4:00 to help us. That gave us just 10 hours to get the loft off of the trailer, take down the fence, level 6 concrete pilings for the base, move all of the pieces into the backyard out of the way, and shop-vac the loft. There was barely enough time.
Victoria brought a friend home from church to spend the night and the three girls started right away at moving stuff and getting the loft cleaned out. They filled the shop-vac several times over with pigeon by-products, feathers, and debris. I leveled the loft’s base, and then we began the process of removing the loft from the trailer adding an Egyptian twist to the 2’x4’ method. The most effective Egyptian twist would have been the exploitation of Hebrew slaves, but our resources limited us to using rollers instead. More prying ensued, and steel pipes were inserted under the loft. Then we pushed it a few inches until it rolled off of the pipes at which point we re-positioned and repeated the process. After an hour or so, the loft sat in the street in front of the house.
Next, we attempted to attach 2’x4’ carrying bars across the width of the loft and were still engaged in that process when the recruited moving crew arrived. Fortunately for us, they were able to finish installing the carry bars more effectively than we were doing and then they, along with Paul and Logan, carried this small building into our backyard a few feet at a time. At one point it required taking out an additional fence post and tying tree branches out of the way. Within an hour after their arrival the loft sat in the backyard.
June 3rd to present– It has been just over three weeks since acquiring the loft. In that time we’ve completed the following:
• Pressure washed both lofts
• Tore all the breeding boxes out of one side of the loft (one side will be a “fly” loft and the other will be a breeding loft)
• Tore up and replaced 2/3 of the floor and 1/6 of the subfloor.
• Built a new stand for the small loft
• Painted (4.5 gallons so far)
• Installed interior doors in the large loft
• Installed a new roof on the large loft
• Installed front lower ventilation in one side of the small loft.
I still have to install traps, perches, aviaries, and roof trim on the large loft. The small loft needs another coat of exterior paint as well as a full interior painting. The large loft needs paint touch ups. Both lofts need some caulk other minor fixes.
That’s the full update and here are some pics of the lofts as they stand right now.
The front of the small loft.
The large loft from the far right. The section on the left will be the fly section. An outside aviary (2' x 2' x 4') will be placed in front of the open window.
The center section of the loft has shelves for storage. On either side there is a sliding door that leads to the pigeon's home. I can enter the loft, shut the door behind me, then open up the inside slider and reach the birds.
In the short period of one month, I have become – at best – someone who belongs on a new TLC show “Flip this Loft.” At worst, I am trapped in a season of “Survivor –Pigeon Edition.”
June 1st – We were able to maneuver the trailer to a position just 3’ adjacent to the larger loft. Moving this monstrosity a mere 3’ was a task reminiscent of a twelve hour period in July, 1989 when I was faced with the equally daunting task of moving a 10# bouncing baby boy a few inches from my uterus to the wide-wide world. The loft endeavor had the advantage of three adults actually pushing. On the other hand, the Logan endeavor, had the advantage of an epidural.
The Redding fancier from was quite convincing that the larger loft could be moved using 2’ x 4’s as levers. A couple of boards were used to pry the loft from its base of concrete blocks, the blocks were moved over a couple of inches, and the building was repositioned on them. The process was repeated (repeatedly). Gradually we were able to get the loft lined up with the trailer. At that point, we used jacks to raise it to the level of the trailer deck, and then we all pushed it (inch by inch) until it was fully loaded. I was so proud of Paul and the girls as we strained and struggled, knee deep in dust, in a debris-filled livestock pen, prodding the behemoth onto the ark.
After just 4 hours, the loft was loaded up and ready for the drive to its new home. Our bodies were coated with a mixture of sweat, feathers, and other pigeon by-products. We drove down the road and stopped at Applebees where we spent quite a bit of time (and paper towels) freshening up before eating. As we savored our meals and gulped ice-cold beverages, my husband gazed across the table into my eyes and whispered, “Sweetheart, you’re getting overalls for your birthday.”
Later that evening, I made my first trip to Home Depot. I’ve made 5 subsequent trips since. Add to that at least two trips to OSH, 5 to Lowes, and 6 visits to ACE. Basically, I go to the hardware store almost every day.
June 2nd – The larger loft sat in front of our house in the trailer. The smaller loft lay in the bed of the truck. I rose at the crack of dawn and began preparations to remove the loft from the trailer and move it into our backyard. The distance we had to cover was 50’ or more. Paul recruited three friends from church who would be over at 4:00 to help us. That gave us just 10 hours to get the loft off of the trailer, take down the fence, level 6 concrete pilings for the base, move all of the pieces into the backyard out of the way, and shop-vac the loft. There was barely enough time.
Victoria brought a friend home from church to spend the night and the three girls started right away at moving stuff and getting the loft cleaned out. They filled the shop-vac several times over with pigeon by-products, feathers, and debris. I leveled the loft’s base, and then we began the process of removing the loft from the trailer adding an Egyptian twist to the 2’x4’ method. The most effective Egyptian twist would have been the exploitation of Hebrew slaves, but our resources limited us to using rollers instead. More prying ensued, and steel pipes were inserted under the loft. Then we pushed it a few inches until it rolled off of the pipes at which point we re-positioned and repeated the process. After an hour or so, the loft sat in the street in front of the house.
Next, we attempted to attach 2’x4’ carrying bars across the width of the loft and were still engaged in that process when the recruited moving crew arrived. Fortunately for us, they were able to finish installing the carry bars more effectively than we were doing and then they, along with Paul and Logan, carried this small building into our backyard a few feet at a time. At one point it required taking out an additional fence post and tying tree branches out of the way. Within an hour after their arrival the loft sat in the backyard.
June 3rd to present– It has been just over three weeks since acquiring the loft. In that time we’ve completed the following:
• Pressure washed both lofts
• Tore all the breeding boxes out of one side of the loft (one side will be a “fly” loft and the other will be a breeding loft)
• Tore up and replaced 2/3 of the floor and 1/6 of the subfloor.
• Built a new stand for the small loft
• Painted (4.5 gallons so far)
• Installed interior doors in the large loft
• Installed a new roof on the large loft
• Installed front lower ventilation in one side of the small loft.
I still have to install traps, perches, aviaries, and roof trim on the large loft. The small loft needs another coat of exterior paint as well as a full interior painting. The large loft needs paint touch ups. Both lofts need some caulk other minor fixes.
That’s the full update and here are some pics of the lofts as they stand right now.
The front of the small loft.
The large loft from the far right. The section on the left will be the fly section. An outside aviary (2' x 2' x 4') will be placed in front of the open window.
The center section of the loft has shelves for storage. On either side there is a sliding door that leads to the pigeon's home. I can enter the loft, shut the door behind me, then open up the inside slider and reach the birds.
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