I started getting nest material ready to put out for my birds. I washed the cat hair that I’d saved (dunno how well that’s going to work out), and washed about half of the wool I got last year, but too late for nesting season. I’d got a couple of wire-bristle slicker brushes on ebay; less than $1 each shipped straight from China, and used those like wool carders. I’m not finished, but it works!

I also did an experiment with used foam packaging to see whether spray paint would melt it like it would Styrofoam because I want to make a few rocks for my pond island. I bought four 8″ aquatic plant pots and two 10″ pots (couldn’t make myself shell out $15 for a kidney-shaped pot) and want to put rocks between them so it’s not just plain, flat polyethylene foam with pots stuck in it, but fake rocks are expensive, and real ones too heavy. I cut a test piece and sprayed it with flat black paint.

There’s more left; this was used to ship a blower motor; it’s just expanding foam inside plastic.

The only textured paint I had was green, but it was good enough to find out whether it was going to work. I ordered grey, brown and russet textured paint, and some faux granite in “pebble” (grey). I think it’s going to work, and I’ll stick them to the island with landscape foam, or something else that’ll hold up to water. I think it’ll look cool.