Coming Full Circle

                   Coming Full Circle

Recently I have had to take time and reflect on things in life.  Following God is something I do when I am not busy doing my own thing. Which is normally running away from him.  It is a part of my being and a big part of my life story.  It has been an awesome experience.  Taking everything I do to God is almost second nature.  It took me a long time to learn to sit and wait if God didn’t move me.  However, last fall I came to a situation and I wanted to move, only God was saying sit. I wanted things to happen and they weren’t happening.

It is not that I am not willing to sit and wait till I hear God in a situation.  The day before Thanksgiving in 1993 I got laid off with no warning. I decided I was not moving till I was sure God was in it. The Friday after Thanksgiving I was offered a job but was not sure God was in it. I sat at home on unemployment till April and was getting a little nervous and thinking maybe I missed God in the matter.  When the job did come it was the same one, from the same person, but this time the Lord bought him to me. I told the guy okay, but also told him if I felt moved by God to go elsewhere, I was gone.  It went fine for six months and the door was opened to me having my own truck and traveling all of the United States and Canada. At least till God slammed that door ten years later, which is a big part of my testimony.

It is clear to me now that the reason my barn was not moving along was not because I was building it.  It was one of the first projects in my life that I had the cash in hand upfront. The problem was the why I was building it. I was trying to go back to doing something God had opened the door to and then ten years later closed.   The two links are basically a testimony of some of my experiences with God.  The fact I am here today is another having had the big one and been bought back. Little did I know that the next six years of my life God had plans for me. I became convicted by the Lord and a verse in 1st Timothy 5:8. My twin great Grand-daughters Mom could not get a job  and was stuck living in government housing, with the bugs and the junkies. I stepped up to the plate and for the last six years have been taking care of them five days a week. I was 67 when it started. Looking back I understand it now. This part is being added in August of 2021. My wife said I was nuts, but I wasn't, what I was, was convicted by the Word of God/

God has opened doors and given me everything I ever wanted in life and it has been a full life, thirteen years in the Army, ten years of it as a skydiving instructor and a tour on the Seventh Army Parachute Team where we did exhibition jumps all over Europe. Ten years of living overseas seven years in Germany, two years in Panama and a year in Vietnam.  Twenty years of seeing America in a truck. Ten of those years were in my own truck and getting to witness out on the road.

 

That part of my life was behind me and it was all a Blessing but God had closed that door for whatever reason.  I was trying to reopen it. My goal was to get in my van and go back out on the road. My plan was to travel sharing my testimony getting stories to write for my blog.  The problem was I had not bought that part of the plan to the Lord.

Since October I have been very ill four times and three of those times I did not really know if I was going to see the other side but I did by His Grace. A couple of days ago I was reading a couple of friends blog post and the light came on. I don’t have to be out on the road to share my testimony. I met these girls at the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writer’s Conference. It had been my privilege to go three years in a row. This year I missed it. 

In 2013 at the Conference I met the person who had come the farthest to the Conference.  He was a pastor from Japan. We started talking in the coffee shop and I shared with him that I had a friend that I had lost contact with over the years and that she was Japanese.  She was the wife of my best friend who died in a plane crash which killed fourteen members of the Army Parachute Team the Golden Knights. Well he wanted all the details I could give him.  I told him I had tried for several years with no luck in finding them.  He said no problem.  Anyhow the next morning at breakfast he gave me a piece of paper with her name, address and many details about her.  I called and sure enough it was her.  That fall I was reunited with my friend and former teammate’s son at Ft. Bragg, NC.  He is very involved in good works and has turned out to be a very awesome person.  Another circle in life had been completed.

The Lord has given me an awesome life.  I can live it again and again in memories.  I have seen the world, but now I need to become involved. It is time to reach out and help where he has placed me.

It is possible to share all that he has done for me without leaving here. My blog is doing very well. I am sure he called me to it. He opened all the doors, especially my time working as a journalist my last year in the Army.  Time spent writing for the Southern Command News in Panama, The voice of America in the Canal Zone.

So it is time to reel it in Richard.  It is time to reflect on all the neat little circles in life. To see God in them like the one that just closed.  The 29^th of May my wife and I went to the graduation of our youngest daughters, youngest son’s graduation. His Mom went home to be with the Lord a few days before her 33^rd birthday in August of 2010.  She fought a seven year battle with a brain tumor. It is only in looking back that I realize my heart attack had a purpose as I was allowed to take her to therapy and radiation.  Our bond became very strong and she was ready to go when the time came.  She passed with all her sons and family with her. The testimonies that were given at her memorial service made me see how awesome of a woman she was.

The day or so before the graduation my wife and I had these little things happening.  I took one of my grandsons out for a birthday lunch in Evansville. On the way back we stopped at a pond where Glenda loved to go and sit.  It had sunflower fields by it.  While it is early for sunflowers it was still beautiful. When I pulled in I had been on a country station. When I started the car to leave the radio had changed to a Gospel music station. I started crying.

Later that evening as we entered the graduation a lady caught our attention. She was wearing a hat, holding a lady’s arm and shuffling along.  She looked very much like our daughter did in her last days. I looked at my wife and we were both already in tears. Glenda was giving us signs, just as she had done when she passed.  We would sit on the front porch and butterflies would keep landing on us. It kind of freaked us out and yet it gave us peace.

Once we got inside the auditorium we found a good seat and had been there only a little while before our daughter’s best friend, who she lived with for awhile during her illness came in and sat with us.  They were there for the graduation of their son’s girlfriend. So Glenda gave us plenty of signs to know it will all work out.

Friday night I took my niece to an Amish auction near our house.  It is actually ten auctions in one as most of them are going on simultaneously.  In the course of the evening I started talking to a guy, mainly because of my Vietnam hat. He started telling jump stories and then he said he was a skydiver.  I probably physically rolled my eyes.  I have had that happen so many times only to find out they had not in fact skydived it was getting old. 

Then I asked him where he jumped at.  He said Ft. Stewart, GA and started naming names of people who trained him and jumped with him.  We had started at the same place and within six months of each other and knew all the same people. We agreed to get together some time and talk. It was kind of ironic to meet each other at an auction.  We only live about 50 miles apart.  While our lives followed many similar paths and crossed often it was our first meeting.

So maybe the circles of life are coming to a close. The Good Lord has definitely given me a good ride and I have really enjoyed it. My only hope is I can become a good stay at home Christian.  John 3:8 has not changed and still applies, but maybe  the winds are just becoming softer

In closing I just want to say to those who do read my posts regularly I truly appreciate every one of you, even if I have never met you.  I pray the Lord touches all your lives in a positive way. I apologize for the long break between posts but my health has been an issue.  I will try to make up for it by making the remaining posts I make, better posts.  I would also like to thank another BRMCWC member for encouraging me and for being a good friend. I wish her all the success she could ever hope for. Her book, Running from a Crazy Man, is about when God does not make sense. It is in a guest post on my blog and is written in short stories format on how we can deal with the issues we face in everyday life as a Christian and is endorsed by Jerry Jenkins of the Left Behind Series fame, which might say how good it is. And awesome a testimony to her writing skills.

Turning a Corner in Time

                 Turning a Corner in Time

Are we, or have we turned a corner in time. Are we fast approaching the time when there will be no more time as man knows it?  Every time I turn on the TV lately somebody is being or has been killed.  The truly scary part to me is that here in this country it is not the forces of evil doing the killing.  It is those appointed to protect and defend our society doing the killing.  How can this evil happen?  When did we turn this corner of death and destruction.  It was before 9/11. Remember Waco, Oklahoma City, Jim Jones, It has not been like this all my life or I do not remember it being this way, but it had to have a starting point. Or has it always been like this since Cain and Able. 

Then I read Ephesians 6:11-12, it gave me pause.  My eyes were opened in a new way.  I spent thirteen years of my life defending this country and what it stands for. How could it come to this? Those verses say, “Put on the whole armor of God. that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil,  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

So what is the Armor of God? The Word of Truth and the Holy Spirit are the most powerful parts.  Yet they must be combined with knowledge of the Word and how it functions in truth to be effectively used. 

Hosea 4:6 makes clear that God’s people are destroyed through a lack of knowledge.  That is not the heathens or the lost, it is His people.  This country professes to be His people today, but it certainly can’t be seen when we look at society as a whole.

OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

I am back I just had a bit of wake up call.  Nothing wakes you up like pouring a whole cup of hot coffee on your bare foot first thing in the morning as you take the sugar spoon out of the cup.  Didn’t really need the sugar I guess.

I was getting sidetracked from my goal for this post and I got pulled back into reality.  A friend of mines blog already says it in much better style than I could ever do. Where I was going with this? You can follow the link to her blog post.  You owe it to yourself to read her post and understand what is happening in the world we live in.

The following little insert is where I was headed before the coffee and when I started throwing out verses.  It sums up what I am personally having issues with.

      “Awesome Lori, it speaks volumes.  Irony for me is that I was/am just writing a similar piece but as a question. "A Corner in Time."  When did we turn this corner of death and destruction?  It was before 9/11. Remember Waco, Oklahoma City, Jim Jones, It has not been like this all my life or I do not remember it being this way, but it had to have a starting point. Or has it always been like this since Cain and Able.  Anyhow thanks for the boot to get it started.”  The above was my comment on her blog.

We thought the problem with people flying planes into things was over.  There is always a way for evil to accomplish it goal.  Jesus said in the end it would be as in the days of Noah.  I advise reading Genesis 6 and your eyes will be opened significantly.

Jesus also said the only sign that would be given was the sign of Jonah. If you want your eyes opened wider read 2^nd Peter 3: 8-9 and if you count the days from Adam using the Lords count, we are entering the seventh day or the day of the Lord.  The only thing is left that has to happen for Jonah’s prophecy to be fulfilled is for the Lord to rise up, just as Jonah did.  It is amazing that he would use one of the most questioned books of the Bible as the only precursor of his coming. So if Jonah is a lie your okay, however, if it is true as Christ said it was.  We are standing at the door and everywhere I turn I hear knocking.

If you have a problem with what is going on in the world today you might read a couple verses from Isaiah and be even more confused or maybe enlightened. Isaiah 45: 5-9 yes God does it all, but for his purposes and in the end, regardless, he says we win. Isaiah 54:16;17.  Do YOU know YOUR Bible, it will make you a winner.

As the parable of the ten virgins makes clear, the time to fill your lamp with light and knowledge is quickly running out.  Please excuse my writing as it may not be the neatest.  I have been totally sick since the 28^th of March and went from then to the 5^th and ate nothing.  I had two tamales on Easter, normally eat six. Had no sides and went back to bed.  Was down to the 9^th with nothing and then on the 10^th I had my first meal, a 6 inch subway.  It stayed down and I feel better today.  I wanted to get this post out as I have not had one in a while, but believe me I was beginning  to wonder if there even was going to be another post.  The upside is I have lost almost 35 pounds.

The Truth Will Set You Free

                 The Truth Will Set You Free

Will the Truth really set you free?  I can tell you from personal experience it can and it will.  The Bible says God’s Word is True and every man a liar. Towards the end of my Army career I had to decide if I really trusted the Word of God.  My superiors were determined to kick a soldier who was serving under me out of the Army.  I knew that the story and situation they were using to accomplish their goal was based on lies.  They informed me I had to go along with them or my career would be over.  It came down to a decision of which was more important, my integrity or my career.  Little did I know that just a couple of years down the road the choice I made would actually alter the course of my life.

At the time of the event I was serving as an Infantry squad leader in Germany.  I had spent my first ten years as a parachute rigger. The Army reclassified many people during the downsizing after Vietnam.  I was one of them.  Anyhow one of my men had been caught in possession of drugs.  The way he was caught was the issue.  My superiors violated regulations to catch and charge the man.  As a squad leader I knew he was guilty of what he was being charged with, but the Army had rules concerning search and seizure and those rules were violated to catch the man.  I had already warned him that I knew what he was doing and that if and when I caught him I would see that he was punished to the full extent of the law.  I also told him it would be perfectly legal and he would only have himself to blame for throwing away his career.

My view in the matter was that my men had to put their lives in my hands and be able to trust me.  My superiors said I was making too big of a deal out of the matter.   They said that we were not at war and so what did it not matter.  I argued that principals and integrity were the core values of leadership.  They ended up removing me from the man’s chain of command and proceeded on with his court-martial.  By removing me from the man’s chain of command I had no say so in his trial.  However I was allowed to act as a character witness at the trial. I knew before I walked in the door to that trial that if I did so my military career was over.

At the trial I was called in after the court martial was over.  The man had been found guilty and my superiors were sure they were going to kick the man out of the Army as they intended.  The judge asked me why I was willing to testify to the man’s character and not at the trial.  He asked me to explain in my words what had happened.  As I talked I saw him start to smile and it confused me.  When I finished speaking he said he had already found the man guilty and my only purpose was in determining what the exact punishment would be.  The judge explained to me that he knew I was telling the truth.  I asked how he could know that.  He stated that he had listened to five versions of the story during the trial.  My story was the only one that made sense of all their stories and he said therefore it had to be the truth.  Based on that revelation he decided that instead of kicking the man out of the Army he would fine him $25 and that would be the end of the matter.

Well it may have been the end of the matter for my soldier, but it was the start of a nightmare for me.  I had about 45 days left in Germany and my superiors made my life a living hell.  When it came time to leave they had to write my proficiency report.  Well they gave me one that was the worst I had ever seen.  They gave me a rating of 19 points out of a possible 125 points.  Not only that, they gave me a rating for the previous year at the same rating,  They had failed to do it when it was due.  The irony was that they had promoted me to staff sergeant in the period between the two reports.  To show the significance I had to write reports on a couple of soldiers that got kicked out of the service and I gave them a 75 and an 85 point reports.

After leaving Germany I went to Ft. Campbell, Kentucky for a year or so and then reenlisted for duty in the Panama Canal Zone, which just happened to be at the time of the Canal Zone Treaty.  For some reason I could not deal with the heat and humidity in Panama and it showed in my duty performance. I volunteered to the Department of the Army for discharge under the Qualitative Management Program way back in 1978.  I referenced the two bad efficiency reports from Germany as grounds for my application.  The Army was down-sizing after Vietnam and my request was approved.  I had received bad reports for not being physically fit for duty.  I did not know the irony of that, and that there was a reason, till almost forty years later.  Some time later in 2011 I found out many of my health problems were related to Agent Orange.  I started receiving disability in 2013.  The heat hadn't bothered me in Vietnam, but that was before I found out about Agent Orange and what it did to people. it never crossed my mind the that my inability to perform and my time in Vietnam might be connected.

There is another small irony in all this. Had I not taken typing in high school I may never have been drafted for temporary duty as a legal clerk and learned how to read and use the Army Regulations to my advantage.  I typed and submitted all the paperwork  myself for the Qualitative Management Program Application. I did not mention the fact that I had been promoted between the two EER's. that was sort of an 

"Ace in the hole" that I figured the review board would never see.  However when I filed for my Agent Orange Compensation I included it in the paperwork. I had intended to make a career of the Army, but my health was destroyed without my knowledge. Had I not met a retired Air Force officer and at a Bar B Q and our discussion had not come around to my health condition and my status, I may never have known to file the paperwork. I am sure hundreds of thousands of other people have also not filed because of not knowing.  The government does know who are qualified for the benefits but they have a sort of, don't tell, unless it is bought up policy. 

Had I not told the truth and stood up for the soldier in my squad in Germany it may not have had the same ending.  When I realized I could not do my job I might not have had those bad reports to fall back on.  I decided to get out of the Army and go to college because when I did re-enlist at Ft. Campbell two other NCO’s were denied reenlistment and not allowed to serve until they were eligible for retirement.  One had seventeen years and six months in the service and the other had seventeen years and ten months.  Army policy at the time said if you had eighteen years in the service you were locked in and they had to at least let you finish your twenty years for retirement. Had I served my time out I would have been at seventeen years and eight months and based on those two reports probably been denied re-enlistment.  My decision on leaving if I could was the best option.  One of the two men denied re-enlistment in the Army was based on something he did clear back on his first enlistment in the Army.  The example made clear to me that it might be better to leave, because I was not really good infantry material anyhow.

 Over the course of my twenty years in the trucking industry and going to court and fighting tickets that I felt were unjust and being willing to stand up for myself it became clear to me that many times the truth can and will literally set you free.  It might be good to add that over the years I got a few tickets when I did absolutely nothing wrong and had to pay the fine. It does not take much reflection on my part to know that in reality, I may have been innocent at that time, but many times I should have been busted but I got away with it.  My best friend calls it Karma, but I call it life.

All in all though I have lived a life I have enjoyed and in the end through no planning of my own I have been blessed with a decent income and no longer have to struggle to survive. The Bible says, "The steps of the righteous are ordered of the Lord"  I am not saying I am a righteous person, but I am saying the Lord has opened many doors in my life and made my paths straight, even when I didn't know I was on a path.  Things that I thought had no consequence or purpose served to open doors and give me opportunities that I never dreamed or envisioned and that worked out for my good in the end. From watching a skydiving demonstration by the Golden Knights in my home town, to becoming a skydiving instructor, serving on an Army exhibition parachute team in Europe, writing for a newspaper in the Army, and driving a truck for twenty years after learning to do so in Vietnam via OJT, while running from the Lord. Having four wonderful daughters, seven wonderful grand-kids and two great-grand-daughters that will melt the hardest heart.  Yep I am and have been Blessed beyond understanding.

MONEY, Faith Based Financial Solutions

If Haggai 1:6 describes your financial condition, I challenge you to accept God's challenge given in Malachai 3:10. Might read 3:7-12 to get the whole picture. Believe me, you can not out give God. 

This is the MONEY POST,  I had been tagging my site to come to my search bar and put in MONEY and it was supposed to take you to those posts.  It came to my attention that was not working so to simplify the matter I got all the dates an posts and put them in this post to make it easier to find them.  This post will give you the dates for each post.  Then you can simply go to my history bar and pull up the article you are interest in.  Thanks for your time and patience.  Hopefully soon they will be out in a book format.

Those who take the time to read them I would love to hear your comments.  Both positive and negative as they can help me make the posts better, which will make the book better. All those who make comments will be on a page in the book thanking those who help for their comments.

Thanks again,  My email address is sclaus2u@hotmail.com which is how I would prefer to read the comments.  You can leave them on line, but I have discovered sometimes I do not get them if you do.  Looking forward to hearing from you and your comments and suggestions.

HERE IS THE LIST OF POSTS DEALING WITH MONEY.

MONEY Basics, Eating out for 4, for less than $10    2/17/2013

MONEY… Real Estate…Rentals versus Storage        12/10/2012      

MONEY …Living Money, Working Money              6/27/2012

MONEY, Victory over Stuffitis                      6/13/2012

MONEY, How You Get The Free Car                      1/27/2012

MONEY, Dump The Gas Hog and Get A New Car Free   1/26/2012

MONEY, The Secret Of Getting Is Learning To Give      1/21/2012

MONEY, When You Are Underwater on Debt, When Is It Time To Bail Out  1/12/12

MONEY, Starting Over With A Direction and a Plan       1/12/12

MONEY, Learning To Make It Work For You, Killing The Debt Beast  1/4/12

MONEY, Do You Work For IT, Or Does It Work For You    1/2/2012

MONEY, Business: Pricing, Dealing With Taxes and the IRS    4/29/11

MONEY, Finding A House, Working Smarter, Not Harder  4/22/11

Money, Business, Banks and Bankruptcy, from My Perspective   4/11/11

MONEY, Finding/Creating a Job and Money  4/10/11

MONEY, Stopping the Bleeding, Finding A Home          3/24/11

  

MONEY, Living One Month A Year Free   9/23/`11

MONEY, Spending Your Money Wisely     9/24/11

MONEY, Starting Your Own Business…Dealing With Banks    10/10/11

MONEY, Great Idea…But Are You Self Employable   10/13/11

MONEY, Investing For Retirement versus Reality    10/18/11

MONEY, Time for A New Game Plan     10/26/11

MONEY,   Getting Your Loan      10/27/11

MONEY, Cost of Driving           10/28/11

MONEY, Money How I Went From $150,000 to Nothing       2/6/12

MONEY, Trash to Treasures with Pictures       2/15/ 12

MONEY, Eating the Bear         4/27/12

MONEY,  Who Turned Off the Flow    5/3/12

Fighting Fire with Fire, both Spiritual and Physical

Fighting Fire with Fire both Spiritual and Physical

   Epiphany’s can come from the strangest places and when you least expect them.  Recently I went to the birthday party of my twin three year old Great Grand Daughters, they are full of life. During the course of the party it became time to light the birthday cake.  There were probably a dozen people in the room and nobody had a light.  It was completely a nonsmoking group, which is good for my great granddaughters, but at that moment made me see how much America has changed over the years.  Had someone asked for a light at my daughter’s birthday party, and everybody had lit up at once, the emergency sprinkler system would probably have gone off. Finally someone went and got a lighter out of their car.

     One could take away from that experience that America is becoming healthier and it may be true physically.  The spiritual fire in America, however, is slowly going out. As churches close their doors and struggle to maintain membership the great commission is slowly becoming a sin of omission.  This fact really strikes home when we look at the world news and see brothers and sisters of faith being slain only because they are Christians.

     The sad part is that they are being slain by a group of people who claim to have faith in and believe in Abraham.  A group who knows nothing of the history of Abraham and have twisted and perverted the religion they say they believe in spreading a doctrine of hate.  Abraham did stand up for himself and Genesis 14 relates how he saved Lot when he was captured and taken away.  He protected his family, but he did not ruthlessly wage war on others. 

      The commandment in Genesis 9:5-6, which preceded Abraham and surely was followed by him, to not take life and that anyone who takes the life of another shall be killed. No man who murders another shall live.  ISIS has perverted the truth to do as they please.  Even Mohammed said he believed the prophets and Abraham and adhered to the God of Abraham.  That is the same God that Christians profess faith in.  The same one who spoke the Words of Genesis 9:5-6

     All Christians need to stand up for the faith they believe in and challenge the faith of Islam.  We need to stand up for what we say we believe in. Abraham and the prophets can’t be used to justify the actions of ISIS.  Not without perverting the Word of God.  The only way to defeat the enemy is with the truth of the Word of God. We can’t allow them to twist the truth.  We need to force those who say they do believe in God, Abraham and the prophets stop using lies and half-truths to justify their evil.

     When Abraham died his sons Ishmael and Isaac both attended his funeral and came together to mourn him.  Genesis 25:9 states that as a fact and so all those claiming to be heirs of Abraham came together.  In Genesis 13:15-16 God says he will propagate Abraham’s seed and they will become as the dust of the earth. God has been good to His Word.  Certainly a large portion of the earth and over a third of its population claim they descend and have faith in the God of Abraham. 

     Christians need to use the whole Word of God, not bombs and guns to defeat those professing false doctrine and Jihad. Make them see the error of their way.  Only then can those who use lies and deceit and do the works of the devil and Satan can be defeated. Christ did not protect the woman who was going to be stoned by physical violence.  He opened the eyes of those who would have punished her to see their own evil, just as he will those who are spreading the doctrines of evil in this day and age.

     It is time to engage the enemy and use the double edged sword of the Truth of God’s Word to vanquish our enemies.  Using bombs, guns and murder to overcome Islam, makes us just as evil as them.  We need to live by the doctrines we say we believe.

    

This Is For The Birds

               Breaking My Cabin Fever

 Sometimes life can get in a rut, this time of year it can also be called Cabin Fever.  When your stuck in the the house and can't get out sitting at the keyboard can make you feel even more trapped so I decided to do something different.  Over the years I have written several How-to posts on a variety of subjects. So I decided to do a couple posts and try to break my fever.  My only entertainment the last few days has filling the bird feeders.  Fortunately I had stocked up on bird food shortly before the foul/fowl (whichever is appropriate) weather hit.

The first picture is my main feeder.  Actually it is seven feeders in one. All the feeders except for the suet feeder I made myself.  There are seventeen bird feeders in my back yard. The feeder pictured started out as just two feeders but grew into what it is for a couple reasons. Originally it was just the bottom cross arm but the orange pan feeder on the left was to close to the ground and to much temptation for my cats. I decided to use a piece of scrap I had and raise the feeder farther from the ground. Then it looked lop sided so I took another piece of scrap and added the upper cross member. I don't think I have $10 in the whole thing which was for the main post. The rest was scrap form other projects.

Why so many feeders you might ask? Well besides liking birds, there is another reason. I make and sell the feeders at farmers markets and flea markets to make extra spending money and give me something to do.  In

the course of selling them I have to explain the benefits of each feeder, but by having pictures with each stack of feeders and plenty of birds of different types on them they tend to sell themselves. Saving me the redundant descriptions.

This is a picture of my best selling feeder and the picture says it all. The birds like it and it gets a great variety of birds notice the Cardinals, both male and female, the Blue Jay on the right and the Downy Woodpeckers one on the small tree in the foreground and one harder to see below the Bluebird. It has a screen bottom to let the moisture out so the food does not rot and stays dry in bad weather.

This is one of my favorite feeders and shows you can make one out of anything just about. I call these my Redneck Feeders. I use detergent bottles and milk bottles and sometimes I spray them in bright colors. I sell them for three to five dollars.  A razor knife, and a drill and you are in business. Notice all the small holes around the bottom edges to let the moisture out. I usually make the holes with a 3/16th bit.  I drill a 1/4 inch hole in the cap for the piece of clothesline I make the hangar from. It helps to put a metal washer on the line before you thread it through the cap as it keeps the knot from pulling through the plastic.   It has been my pleasure to get some decent pictures and hopefully I can share some of my techniques  with my readers.  As I said earlier my other thing besides writing is crafts and one of my main crafts is making birdhouses and bird feeders from recycled materials.  I
also make them from gourds.

 This is a picture of the most popular feeder from a birds point of view. I simple drilled a hole in the side of the lid and many holes around around where the feed goes, again to let out moisture.  Birds don't like soggy food.  It can get wet, but they don't like it in standing water. There is a piece of wire going up to the cross arm above the Blue Jay. It helps to give the pan support.  It is simply a piece of coat hanger.  Not exactly high tech.  The rusted feeder on the pole is simply and old baking pan that I made a track for the lips of the pan to go down into.  If you zoom in you will see I keep the pay from going all the way down by simply putting a couple nails in the way of the pan lips.

Pans are a fun way to make a variety of feeders and I use them a lot.  I get them at second hand stores, yard sales, auctions and any place I find them. The key to any good feeder is plenty of drainage holes.  The strings of shiny things tend to attract birds to the feeder.  Especially important if you have a yard with only one or two trees. The bottom pan should always be an inch or so smaller than the top pan. You need the lips of the pans to be about 5 to 7 apart so you can get the food in them. The one pictured has a threaded rod running thru a piece of wood from an old shelf unit.  The top piece is a fennel ring from a lamp.  You can find them in hardware and building supply stores or do like I do and save the parts of lamps I buy at auctions for a few cents and tear apart to scrap or recycle. I also sometimes use lag screw type eye-bolt for the top and a 1 1/2 inch by 1/4 inch lag screw which you can get at most hardware and building supply stores. The screws tend to be cheaper than the fennel rings and threaded rod.  Of course I get a lot of threaded rod from the lamps I take apart for the copper in them.

Another favorite of mine is recycled bottles and pans.  The one below is from a pan lid and top and an old mayo bottle.  I usually leave the labels on but after a while they come off unless you covet them with varnish. On the top I simply enlarge the hole and use a short bolt to screw into the fennel ring. It helps when you put the bolt through the bottle from the inside to put on a washer so it does not tear the bottle and you can tighten it to the fennel ring.  I cut about and 1 1/2 inch hole in the center of the bottle cap. Then I lay the cap in the center of the pan and drill three or four 1/4 inch hole in a circle around the bigger hole I made.and through the bottom pan.  Then I use wood beads, sewing spools or washers to lift the lid up and make space for the feed to flow out of the bottle into the pan.  I use about 1 and 1/2 inch long 1/4 inch diameter threaded screws with nuts. You can put the nuts inside the feeder or outside. I prefer inside so they do not detract from the appearance, but either way you have to make sure there is room to the thread on the cap.

The main reason for so many feeders is that the more feeders you have and the more types of the feed the more types of birds you will be able to attract.

Of course you may get a few kinds of birds you do not care to attract.  Field birds are not as pretty but they get hungry also.Blue Jays tend to be bullies and run all the other birds off.  However, Woodpeckers rule.  Even the little Downy's will run off the big bad Blue Jays, but Downy's will let about any other birds eat with them.  It's the Jays that leave by choice because they do not like to share. Hope you enjoyed this as much as I did taking the pictures for it. And making the feeders of course.

Downy's Rule

Okay guys somebody move over.

Think we need to leave anything for the Jays?

What is left for me?

Professional Bird Watchers Prefer my feeders.

Watch for my post in a couple of weeks on How-to build the greenhouse in the picture for less than $150. dollars. Start you own plants and enjoy getting outside.

How-to Recycled and Cheap Starting Pots for Spring Planting.

Annual Update

With Spring just around the corner its time to start your plants. I thought it might be a good time to update and share this post from 9/16/13 on how to make super cheap and handy starting pots for your plants

The Perfect (Recycled) Pot For Starting Cuttings Or Making Cheap Planting Pots

Sometimes we have to make a better mousetrap.   I like all the ideas on Pinterest but I also like to deal with and use what I have at hand. Many of the posts on Pinterest use two liter bottles as miniature greenhouses At my house people drink pop from cans so I do not have a supply of two liter bottles.  My good luck is that they drink a lot of milk.  So rather than throw the bottles away I have learned to make starter containers out of them.  The milk jugs have several advantages over the two liter bottles.You will notice the bottles have indents on the sides. The indents help keep the lids in place when it is windy. Some don’t have the indents but that is not a problem.

  

The first picture shows what a container looks like.

 The markings in picture two show how and where the cut lines are.  Yes it takes two bottles to make one container, but hey you were going to throw it away anyhow right.  If I run short I go to the recycle center and get a trash bag full for nothing or next to nothing.  If you ask friends to save them for you they will be coming out your ears.  One word of advice as it may be awhile before you use them.  Rinse them out before you store them.

 

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For the top you cut above the handle and then down each side of the handle and go down maybe three quarters of the way. You want it to cover the container and keep out the weather.

Pictures three and four show what the two separate cuts look like. Notice picture three the cut goes down the corners.  Picture five lets you see that the cap cut leaves a lot of the back on so it can help hold the cap on the container. The key is how you cut the handle.  On the pot part of the container you want to save the handle so you can use it to move the container when you have to.  The lid however does not need the handle but a little tab of it helps line it up when you put the cover on.   When you cut the container, you cut between the cap and the handle.  Then you cut to the top of the shoulders on each side of the jug.  Then down about a quarter of the way.  You can adjust this based on what you are starting.  I like to have four to five inches of dirt. I usually put four to five rose cuttings in each container.  With butterfly bushes I only put two or three.  Some plants I only put one cutting in.  That is up to you.  Cuttings on some plants are easy to do.  Others the success rate is not as high.  If you are successful and several take off, simply re-pot them once they have a well established root system and keep them in the pots till they are read to go into the ground

         

                                                                                  

Drainage slits in the bottom do not have to be big or fancy, but they are important for plant health and growth.  Most plants don't like wet feet. Cutting the slits in the bottom lets excess water move on through the pot, just like rain does in the soil.

The upside of these containers is that they are cheap and it keeps plastic out of the landfill, at least for a while.  The down side is you can’t see the plant very well without removing the cover but the cover is very easy to take off and to put back. That is a plus to this design that you can open it to the weather when you want. Another benefit is they do not get quite as hot as the clear plastic.  I used to buy pots for taking my plants to market.  Doing them this way I can sell them a little cheaper.  If you want to you can take them to market in the milk container and the handle makes them real easy move around and load.  You can also write on the plastic what kind of plant it is.  I use spray paint to color code my plants.  Especially stuff like melons and gourds that all look very similar at the start of the growing cycle. I grow eight kinds of gourds and each type has its own color on the pot.  This helps avoid confusion.

Some plants are more sensitive to transplant shock than others.  Sometimes I grow plants bigger in the container to make them sell better. I tell people to cut on the dotted line and put their hand in under the plant and just ease it out.  No stress or damage to the plant occurs this way.  Of course you can’t reuse the container if you cut it(Unless you believe in duct tape) but hey it was trash when it started and to trash it has returned   It is the old ashes to ashes and dust to dust thing .

Another point learned the hard way. When I take them inside and sit them on the window ledge I put them in an old pie tin to prevent water damage.  I like to use the Tennessee Spinner Gourds to make hanging baskets.  They have pretty yellow blooms and will trail down nicely.  The one at the bottom is full size.  They get about the size of an egg or a little smaller. When dried they make nice little tops if you spin them right. Which is where the name Spinners comes from. The hanging plant below is a Tennessee Spinner Plant

These are totally recyclable and you can use them year after year or till the plastic becomes brittle.  Using a pie tin also allows you to put them in a macrame or wire hanger and put them up off the cold ground and out of the weather.You can get the pans at yard sales and Good Will or the Salvation Army.  Sometimes I will make the ultimate sacrifice and actually eat a pie.

It is important to pay attention to where you put the containers.  While plants love sunshine, cuttings need TLC and just subdued light part of the day is usually fine.  Direct sun can have the undesired effect of turning the container into a microwave oven and finish the plant before it gets started.

With Spring Just Around the Corner Watch For my Post on How to build your own like the one in the picture

Portable $150 Greenhouse like the one pictured. Easy to make, move and store. My most recent post shows the portable greenhouse in more detail. Unfortunately the price has grown to $239 because of inflation over the years.