BIRDS MOLES AND TICKS

This is a Bird House that I bought about 5 years ago just for decoration and it is only a few inches from front to back but maybe 8 or 10 inches deep.
Billy told me a few days ago that he saw Bluebirds going in it and I said that can't be possible...it isn't big enough. But he was right and I saw the female Bluebird with a bunch of grass in her bill yesterday and they are making a nest in it. I used to make a lot of Gourd Bird houses and paint them and decorate them until I saw the paint peeling off from the weather so now I just drill a hole in the dried gourd and hang them in a tree and the birds do love to make their nests in them. I guess that says that it doesn't matter how fancy your home is but what you do to the inside huh?

This is my poor ole Maggie looking out the window and wishing she could go out and run and play. She doesn't get much exercise because she has to stay on a chain when she goes out. We tried a fence but she jumps over it and then Calli is right behind her. That scares me because if she gets out in the road the BIG trucks and Tractors that go flying past here could never stop. That is going to be my FIRST PRIORITY when we move ...to put up a 6 ft fence. I kept trying to tell Billy that a fence doesn't have to be fancy to do the job. We took a ride last week to a place that sold fence sections. I am sure they weren't meant for dogs but I am sure they will work and will not cost much to make our own.

 They are just logs (which are priced reasonable) and then have boards going across. So if we buy the 8ft logs (and put 2 feet into the ground) and then 8 ft boards and put them side ways with just a little space between them so dogs can't go through they will work fine. Since we will be living rural they will look O K. Just have to make sure we put the bottom board touching the ground so Maggie can't dig under it.
Maggie loves to dig up and catch Moles and she does do a good job. She can dig faster than they do ... then she catches them and plays with them. Kind of funny and kind of gross..she flips them way up in the air and then grabs them and flips them again. No Moles stay near the house now :)
The thing I hate the most about living rural is the TICKS. Dogs can get Lymes disease too so I researched how to help keep them off my dogs. I give them a bath with Dawn dish soap..then I put 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar in a gallon jug of warm warm water to rinse them and I use Rose Geranium oil and put 3 drops on each dogs collar once a week. It also helps to put just a cap full of the vinegar in their drinking water. I know this works because they were getting a lot of ticks on them and when I started doing this it cut it down over 90%..and the best thing is it is not expensive and something you use around the house anyhow. 
I just listed 10 auctions today of some of my OOAK special items for Dogs and Cats. There is a link on my side bar so check them out when you can. I also still have a ton of cook books since the fund raiser  was a bummer if anyone is interested. If you order and pay by May 4th I can still get them to you in time for Mothers Day by media mail