Feeding Hummingbirds, not Ants

Every time we've put out a hummingbird feeder, the ants find it in an astonishingly quick time. Then they climb up the stand and into the spout and clog it, befouling the whole thing.

This year, we're trying a new approach. I wrapped the shepherd hook with a little tree wrap, then smeared Tanglefoot on it with a stick. We used this method on a tree once when we were having a terrible aphid infestation (aphids are tended by ants). The trouble is, it works for a while, but the number of entangled ants grows and grows, until additional ants can travel up easily walking on the corpses of their kind. Gross, isn't it? Anyhow, we'll give this a try. If this doesn't work well, hanging the feeder from fishing line is my next test.

Wrapping coated with Tanglefoot

 Hummingbird nectar is 4 parts water to 1 part sugar, boiled and cooled. Here I used 1 c water and 1/4 c sugar.

Coffee Can Birdhouse

I couldn't part with this cute little Bialetti can of espresso that we bought last summer in Rome, so I decided to turn it into a birdhouse. I had to buy a 1 1/4" core drill bit for the center hole, as well as a metal funnel at Fleet Farm. The can was a little too small for the size of the funnel, so I did a bit of a kludge and cut a circle of scrap Styrofoam to add height in between the cap of the coffee can and the funnel. I drilled holes in the side of the can and ran the wire up through the center of the funnel.

Applying to Lineage Societies

I've been interested in genealogy since early 2017, working on family trees for both my family and Andy's. I don't know how many hours I've invested in it, but it's well in the hundreds. It's a delightful combination of scavenger hunt and historical drama. I appreciate historical events so much more knowing one of my ancestors was a part of them. I've scoured online records through my Ancestry subscription, searched through cemeteries, hunted in libraries in various regions (including getting back at 1 AM after closing down the campus library in Madison WI after dropping our daughter off for her sophomore year), requested church records, sent letters to complete strangers, collected family DNA samples, searched through old newspapers, and more. I've also really enjoyed the opportunity to start planning some trips to collect more family history information, although the trips we had planned to both Ireland and Sweden this year had to be cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Along the way, I've applied to several lineage societies. Many folks might consider applying a waste of time- you have to complete detailed applications covering all of your ancestors tracking back to the event you want to prove, including birth, marriage and death records of some acceptable type (over the years I've spent at least a couple hundred dollars on vital records for various family members). I like the slight challenge and discipline that the applications pose, and I also like the idea of sustaining the historical preservation mission of these organizations, often run entirely by volunteers on a shoestring.

I was admitted into the Minnesota Territorial Pioneers in May 2018. This society is focused on documenting ancestors who were living in Minnesota prior to statehood on May 11, 1858.  On my mother's side 5 generations ago I was able to prove great-grandparents Clara Tompkins and Peter Brown were living in Minnesota prior to statehood. Minnesota Territorial Pioneers is also the little group responsible for running the log cabin at the MN State Fair. I served as a board member from Aug 2021 to Jul 2023, and have volunteered at the State Fair several times.

State Fair log cabin

I was admitted into the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) in Nov 2019. This was a more complicated application going back 8 generations on my father's side to my ancestor Benjamin Coombs, 1749-1858. Fortunately, I was able to leverage the prior approved application of a great aunt who was an avid life-long genealogist, so I only needed to gather vital record proof going back 4 generations.

I was admitted to the Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War in June 2020. This application went back 6 generations on my father's side, but a slightly different branch of the tree than the DAR application. My ancestor Charles J Ray was in the Civil War, but only for a month in 1862 when he was 35 years old and to protect Cincinnati when it was thought the Confederate Army may attack there, which did not come to pass.

Based on the work of another past genealogist in the family, I believe I could trace back to a pilgrim ancestor (defined as coming to North America prior to 1700) and apply at the National Society of Sons and Daughters of the Pilgrims, but this would be an especially tough application. We'll see if I'm up for it.

Sourdough Pizza

The King Arthur Flour sourdough recipes are great. We've used this pizza crust in the oven, or on the grill. I usually halve it these days.

Yield: one 14" round, or rectangular thick-crust pizza; or two 12" round thin-crust pizzas, or 4 individual pizzas

1 cup sourdough starter, unfed (straight from the fridge)

1/2 cup hot tap water

2 1/2 cups  all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon instant yeast

Directions

1. Stir any liquid into the sourdough starter, and spoon 1 cup starter into a mixing bowl.
2. Add the hot water, flour, salt, yeast. Mix to combine, then knead till smooth and slightly sticky, about 7 minutes at medium speed using a stand mixer with dough hook. Place the kneaded dough in a lightly greased container, and allow it to rise till it's just about doubled in bulk. This might take 2 to 4 hours; it might take more. A lot depends on how vigorous your starter is. For a faster rise, place the dough somewhere warm (or increase the yeast). To slow it down, put it somewhere cool.
3. For two thinner-crust pizzas, divide the dough in half, shaping each half into a flattened disk. Drizzle two 12" round pizza pans with olive oil, tilting the pans to coat the bottom. Place half the dough in each pan. Cover, and let rest for 15 minutes. Gently press the dough towards the edges of the pans; when it starts to shrink back, cover it, and let it rest again, for about 15 minutes. Finish pressing the dough to the edges of the pans.
4. For a thicker-crust pizza, drizzle olive oil into a jelly roll pan (10" x 15") or half-sheet pan (18" x 13"), or similar sized pan; or a 14" round pizza pan, tilting the pan to coat with the oil. Shape the dough into a flattened disk or oval. Place it in the pan, cover it, and let it rest for 15 minutes. Push the dough towards the edges of the pan; when it starts to fight back, cover it and let it rest for 15 minutes. Finish pushing it to the edges of the pan.
5. Cover the pan, and let the dough rise till it's as thick as you like. For thin-crust pizza made from fairly fresh starter, this may only be an hour or so. For thick-crust, using an old, little-used starter, this may take most of the day. There are no hard-and-fast rules here; it all depends on the vigor of your starter, and how you like your crust. Once you make it a couple of times, you'll figure out what time frame works for you.
6. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat your oven to 450°F.
7. For a thicker crust, pre-bake the crust for about 8 minutes before topping. Top, then bake till toppings are hot and cheese is melted and bubbly, about 10 minutes. For thin crusts, bake for 4 to 5 minutes, then top and bake for an additional 8 to 10 minutes, or till toppings are as done as you like.