Why do I always make everything too big?

Bigger is not always better. When I'm at the store, the big bird houses are so expensive and the affordable decorative ones are too tiny for the birds, so when I'm making a bird house or feeder or any decoration for the garden, I get all excited about being able to make it bigger for the same money. Now, I've got this big bird house that is OK for the birds (not as big on the inside as it looks from the outside), but it's heavy and looks stupid on the pole where I was going to put it. Shoot, I don't know what to do with it now. I like it better sitting on this chair than on the pole!

Maybe I'll think that it looks better tomorrow! Maybe I should mount it on the roof! Do you have any big bird houses? What did you do with them?

Depending on its overall size, you may be able to convert it to an Owl, Flicker or Kestrel box by just making the hole larger. Owls you might attract include the Barred Owl, the Screech Owl and the Barn Owl. Of course, for the last two winters mine attracted a nesting squirrel.

That's beautiful Elphaba!

Well, I looked up owl house dimensions and it's too small! Guess I should have made it larger. haha! It's also not flat on the other side, so it would be hard to put in a tree.

Thanks Pelle. I do like it. I just wish it looked better on that skinny round pole! When I moved in there was a bird feeder on that pole. The sparrows made a nest in it. Then it rotted and fell apart and the sparrows moved into one of my hanging plants. I need to put something on that pole even though it's rotted a bit too.

Ya know, I could do a whole different square pole with one of those 8' fence posts they sell at Home Depot. Hmmmm, that might look good! There I go making a little project into a big one. I must keep reminding myself that bigger is not necessarily better!

I Like it!! Yes get the fence post it will look great on there!! LOL

Yes, that would look terrific on a square post, and painted to match the house! Nice work!

It would definitely look better on a square post. I think this post is cemented in there, so I'd have to put the square post somewhere else and find or make something different for this post. I'm tired! I don't feel like doing all that right now, so I went ahead and mounted it on the skinny round post. I decided it looks OK there for now.

I redid the hinges. I tried to get away with only one hinge, but that made the top wobbly, so then I had to move the middle hinge to the side, fill the holes and paint. Problem is that I messed up one of the hinges and now the top doesn't fit right, but what the heck, a crack in the top provides more air circulation. Now that I look at the picture though, it's bugging me. I might have to redo it again. Not today though. I freakishly tired. All I've done today is hang a shelf inside and fix up and mount this bird house. Oooh, I forgot to eat. That's my problem. I'm going to go eat. Hope y'all are having a great day and thanks for your input!

I faced it toward the pond and the feeders b/c I thought the birds would like it. The side that faces the street is plain. I think I'm going to go to a craft store and see if I can find a door and a window for a dollhouse and put those on the side that faces the street. One day, I plan to have a big white fence there, so it won't matter!

Hi Elphaba, Did you make it rough on the inside panel below the hole? The call it kerfs and it helps the babies in climbing out. I usually take a knife and make lines (grooves) going up towards the hole.

Thanks Pelle. That's a great idea. I did not do that, but I still can. The inside is not sanded or painted, but the wood is pretty smooth.

It's too bad that I didn't eat sooner b/c as soon as I was done with my lunch, I realized that I'd done the hinges completely wrong! I can't believe that I was such an idiot. Oh well. It works and I'm not changing it. There's more than one way to open a lid!

Well I'm not at my best when I don't have something to eat by a particular time. :-)

Pelle, I had an idea. I really should remember to feed my brain! I was thinking about how to score the inside, but I had a leftover slat of thin, lightweight wood that I used under the shingles. I cut it to 5" and then scored it with the saw at about 1/2 - 3/4 inch intervals. Will that work if I staple it on the inside under the hole like a ladder? Take a look. Should I make more cuts? Deeper ones?

Let me look over at Cornell.

It says roughen the inside of the panel. Just so long as it's not smooth making it slippery I'm sure that would be fine.

Excellent! Thank you!