Backyard Style - Outdoor, Backyard Pond and BirdingFriday, February 29, 2008 Open Flow Debris Handling Pond Pump by Tetra- CLICK HERE!
It's time to start thinking about opening the pond and today's feature pond pump is the Openflow Debis-handling pump by Tetra Pond
Open Flow Debris Handling Pond Pump by Tetra are fabulously reliable pumps that feature: 
In addition, the internal parts of the pump also need protecting from solid waste, to prevent them clogging and breaking. This results in your pond pump needing to be cleaned more regularly. The OFX pump solves this problem by allowing any solid waste to pass through its specially designed moving parts, and on up to a waterfall or filter. This means virtually no clogging, and therefore very little maintenance. Tetra OFX 2000 GPH Outdoor Pond Water Pumps Equipped with an energy efficient 115 watt motor that uses disc rotor technology the Tetra OFX 2000 has a maximum head of 6.8'. Supplied with 20' power cord and the multidirectional barbed outlet accepts 1 1/4" or 1 1/2" ID tubing. Ideal for use in ponds up to 4000 gallon with a maximum flow of 2000 gph. Supplied with 3 year warranty Labels: Pond Pump, Tetra Pond
Wednesday, February 27, 2008 Fun Spring Gifts- CLICK HERE! I have been trying to come up with a unique gift for all the Spring birthday gifts that I need to buy. Spring makes me think of outdoors and I found some really cool gift ideas that relate to the outdoors. I found some cool bird seed products manufactured by Pine Tree Farms. The one that I really like (and bought for myself, too) is the Sunflower Wreath for Wild Birds pictured on the right. This item is 3 1/2 pounds of birdseed in the shape of a huge sunflower. It is loaded with black oil sunflower, safflower seed and peanuts. It also has a hanging cord. I love the fact that it is unique. I am going to get more for Mother's Day gifts. On a smaller scale, I found the Birdie Wreath. This is 2 pounds of black oil sunflower seed, safflower seeds and peanuts shaped like a wreath and comes with a hanger.When I showed the Sunflower Wreath to my neighbor she said she was planning a bridal shower for her niece and would like something like that to give to each guest. It would have to be a smaller size and price than the Sunflower Wreath because she needs 40 items. We looked together and found this really cute Fruit, Berry & Nut Bell with Net. It is 16 ounces of seed that is shaped like a bell. It comes with a hanger made out of netting. It is perfect for the guest of a bridal or baby shower and is priced right. Besides looking good, it is so much easier to feed birds with seed products that are shaped into something as opposed to loose seed feeding. Loose seed feeding usually means seeds all over the ground for those squirrels to gather up or your lawnmower. My next gift buying will be for the men. I will keep you posted! Labels: Pine Tree Farms, seed bell, sunflower wreath
Monday, February 25, 2008 Beyond Your Ordinary Flowerpot- CLICK HERE! Flower pots can add a great look to your outdoor decor. There are so many easy-to-grow flowers around and the color combinations are endless. I like to have 2 big matching pots on my front porch and a variety of pots on my deck. Whether you are planting one pot or ten pots, there are simple steps to follow. There are no strict rules to follow when picking flowers. Colors can be mixed or matched, but be careful the color does not clash with the colors of the house, patio, or deck. Leaf textures are important --all rounded or all small leaves will be boring. Also, the plants you pick should be a variety of heights. The simple way to remember plant height it to: Thrill, Fill and Spill. The Thriller should be tall and in the middle of the pot. (If your pot is backing up to a wall, the Thriller can be toward the back of the pot). The Filler are shorter plants that add color/variety to the pot and should be planted around the center plant(s). The Spiller will be plants that spill or hang over the edge of the pot. Remember to pick plants that do well in sun conditions where the pot will sit. There is a great variety of shade lover plants, if your porch or patio is covered. The flowerpot you pick is even more important than the flowers. The flowerpot pulls the flowers together. The choice of flowerpots is endless. Some of the nicest flowerpots I have seen are by CobraCo. My favorite for the spring is the CobraCo Bravo Basket Plant Stand pictured above. It is a 14 inch round basket plant stand with a wrought iron look and a coconut liner. A really cool idea for a planter is the CobraCo Classic Black Stake Planter. This planter is a black powder coated steel planter basket with a coconut liner and 65 inch segmented stake pole. You can use several of these planters and stake them at different heights. They are great along your front walk or along your deck. The classic hanging pot is still a good choice. The hanging pots look best with lots of Spillers in them (remember - Thrill, Fill and Spill). Spring is around the corner, so the time is right now to start gathering your ideas for your spring planting. If you start now, you will be ahead of the rest when spring finally arrives. Labels: Cobraco, flowerpots, planters
Tuesday, February 19, 2008 Stop the Mole Molestation - Get Rid of Garden Moles- CLICK HERE! Background on the Varmit - The Garden Mole There are at least 5 genera of Moles in the United States. The most common is the eastern or garden mole. This pesty mammal has a pointed snout, rudimentary eyes, soft velvety fur, broad feet and of course long powerful claws on it's front pair of legs. Moles are a pest around the home and garden because moles dig tunnels just below the surface of the ground - ruining your lawn and garden. Mole molestation must stop (parden the play on words) Total Elimination of Moles - Victor Mole Traps If you can stomach dead moles - these will do the job - perfectly - use them as follows. 1. To identify active mole tunnels, flatten out all tunnels. Wait 24 hours. Tunnels that resurface are most likely the active tunnels. Set traps in these locations. 2. Make a depression in the roof of the main tunnel by pressing down with your thumb. 3. Center the trap on the tunnel, with the trap pan directly over the depression you’ve made with your thumb. 4. Push trap down until spears have bottomed out. 5. Preset spear holes by plunging spears up and down until they travel easily to the bottom on their own. 6. Before setting the trap, make sure the firing latch is OUTSIDE the pan. 7. Holding the trap frame in place, rapidly pull upward on T handle until the firing latch snaps over the pan. Ease T handle down until latch catches. 8. Trap is set. If necessary, apply slight downward force to ensure pan is fitting IN the thumb depression and is contacting the roof of the tunnel. 9. Trap has fired. Remove dead mole. This Victor® mole trap is equipped with a safety pin to eliminate false firings. Spring is the best time to trap moles because newly-made surface tunnels are easy to spot. However, moles can be trapped during any season except in very cold or dry weather The Motomco Mole Killer (shaped like worms) is our favorite. Motomco MOLE KILLER is a breakthrough mole elimination product in the battle against moles. Developed and tested on live, captured moles, MOLE KIILER is the only mole bait scientifically proven to kill moles. It is EPA-approved for use by homeowners on lawns and gardens that are infested with moles. MOLE KILLER works where grain bait mole killers, mole repellents and a myriad of mole elimination home remedies have failed. Shaped like an earthworm, the mole's natural food choice, MOLE KILLER so closely resembles the earthworm in size, shape and feel that a mole devours it the same way - grabbing the bait quickly with its large forepaws and ingesting it quickly. Mole Molestation Elimination! --- Mole begone Labels: Mole Killer and Elimination Products
Friday, February 15, 2008 The Beauty of Koi Fish - but why the trouble?- CLICK HERE! Keeping KOI fish in your backyard pond is a huge task and unless it is part of your business like it is for some of us at backyardStyle, it offers no monetary return and requires hard work and money. After speaking with a couple dozen KOI pond owners, we found the answer unanimous - the beauty of the pond and fish and the serenity that it offers, far outweighs the time involved in keeping it safe and clean for the fish. How do you get the KOI bug? Probably the most common way people get the koi bug is by seeing them in other people's ponds or by keeping a few mixed in with other fish in their pond. Soon they realize that the small garden pond is not sufficient to achieve the full potential of that handful of beautiful koi and they begin to think of adapting their existing pond to a koi pond. Very rarely can a garden pond be adapted due to its small size. A totally new installation is required, usually along the lines of a more regularly shaped, deeper pond. Thus is born the KOI Pond and the love of these beautiful fish. One of our most beloved manufacturers of fish food is Hikari - they look out for the safety of your fish. Hikari fish foods are by far the most popular brand in Japan, a nation known for its fine ornamental fish. Try Hikari! You'll soon see for yourself that it brings out the color in your fish, and makes them stronger, healthier and more vibrant. What's more, Hikari never clouds the water your fish live in.For the finest in fish food products, look for Hikari - a product of Kamihata, and a mark of quality. The Koi hobby today boasts over 100 color varieties of fish. Every Koi fish is unique, and the patterns that are seen on a specific Koi fish can never be exactly repeated. The judging of Koi at exhibitions has become a refined art, which requires many years of understanding the relationship between color, pattern, size and shape, presentation, and a number of other key traits. Keeping a KOI Pond is only for the passionate! Labels: Hikari Fish, Koi Fish Food
Tuesday, February 12, 2008 Still Winter and Birds Need Fuel- CLICK HERE! Well, as the wind chill dips below 0 degrees, I decided it was necessary to take care of my wild birds by bringing out the suet. Bird Suet is a combination of animal fat and other ingredients that make up a high energy product for wild birds. People used to think of suet as greasy an messy. The new bird suets available are not greasy and messy. In fact, seed feeding is messier. The new bird suets use rendered beef fat and fruit and seed combinations. Fat is the greatest source of energy and birds metabolism is so great that in order to survive, they need a high source of energy. The main reason to use suet is because it is an immediate source of HEAT and ENERGY for your wild birds. Suet attracts birds that normally feed on insects, but cannot because the insects are no where to be found during the cold winter weather. Many birds are attracted to suet, including woodpeckers, chickadees, bluebirds, warblers, wrens, orioles, kinglets, nuthatches, and more. My favorite suet feeder is the Heath Dragonfly Double Suet Cake Feeder pictured above. Its wings and tail allow plenty of perching space for your birds and it holds two suet cakes (so you don't have to change it so often during the cold weather). My favorite winter suet cakes are manufactured by Heath Mfg Co who also manufacture other great looking bird feeders - both suet and seed. My favorite suet cake is the Citrus Grove Suet Cakes. These suet cakes attract song birds -- gold finch, nuthatches, purple finch (my favorite winter bird - it is gorgeous) and cardinals. Now, the best part about suet feeding it that it is no longer for winter feeding only. That means once your birds arrive this winter, they stay for the spring and summer feeding off the suet. There is special suet for the summer called Never Melt Suet by Pine Tree Farms. The Never Melt Suet varieties are endless. Start your suet feeding now and your birds will stay all year round. It has to get warm sooner or later and you will be able to go outside and enjoy your birds, instead of watching them through the window. Labels: Heath, suet, suet feeders
Thursday, February 7, 2008 Scarecrow Motion Activated Sprinkler- CLICK HERE! Valentine's Day is just a week away and you don't have an original idea yet? Skip the Flowers and get your sweetie a Scarecrow. Granted - the scarecrow can't get rid of the dinosaur as depicted -but it can rid of almost any other pest!
Tuesday, February 5, 2008 Open Water Key to Winter Wild Bird Activity- CLICK HERE! If you enjoy feeding wild birds but miss them in the winter, you can bring them back by providing a reliable source of water. For most wild bird hobbyists, that means a birdbath! - Yes - nothing complicated here - feed and provide water and they will come. When natural sources of water freeze up, open water in a birdbath becomes the a great source for drinking water and a place for birds to bathe. Open water will bring your backyard to life with winter wild bird activity - and stop the scarcity in it's tracks. Adding warm water to a birdbath is only a temporary solution and adding chemicals to stop it from freezing is dangerous to wild birds. The most reliable solution to keep a birdbath free of ice is to use a birdbath deicer. The best deicer on the market comes from K&H Manufacturing, called the Ice Eliminator™. It’s the first birdbath deicer that looks good in a birdbath. Until now most birdbath deicers looked like stock tank heaters or charcoal starters. The Ice Eliminator™ uses only 50 watts, will keep water open to well below 0ºF and won’t harm plastic birdbaths. Made of cast aluminum, it won’t leave rust deposits and its powder coated finish can even be painted. “That’s one of the nicest features,” according to Ray Joyce, GregRobert president. “You can spray paint it any color to match any color birdbath.” With any birdbath deicer, it is important to maintain the level of water in the birdbath. Warm water evaporates quicker and so it may need to be filled more often. Also, the birds will make a habit of coming back daily if they see that water is always available. Labels: Heated Bird Baths, Ice Eliminator
|
Links
Previous PostsArchives
Subscribe to
|
| |||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||
|
