BRING ON THE BIRDS! THE DIY BIRDHOUSE THAT BLENDS INTO YOUR GARDEN
wooden plaque, about 1 1/2 inch from the bottom. Use the sandpaper to smooth out the edges of this hole for the birds’ safety, and use your outdoor acrylic paint to coat only the outside of the plaque and let it dry. Once the paint is dry, push the wooden plaque into the pot until it is firmly wedged inside, and you’re done! This birdhouse is an excellent way to attract birds to your yard without the obviousness of a stand-
Springtime is filled with flowers, baby animals, and colorful birds flitting through the sky. And while many people love to watch our fine feathered friends, not everyone wants to put a colorful birdhouse in their yard that clashes with their decor or attracts unwanted visitors like squirrels. Luckily, there is a style of birdhouse that will blend into your yard, keep pests away, and is incredibly easy to make — it’s a flowerpot birdhouse! To make a flowerpot birdhouse, you’ll need the following items from your local hardware store: • Drill with a regular drill bit and a 1 1/4-inch hole- boring drill bit • Two 1 1/4-inch fender washers • 1/4 x 2 1/2-inch carriage bolt • 7-inch-diameter flowerpot (preferably terracotta) • 1/4-inch nut • 6-inch-diameter round wooden plaque • Sandpaper
• Outdoor acrylic paint • Sponge brush
Step 1: Choose your location, and drill! Pick a vertical surface like a fence or wall to mount your birdhouse onto. Try to pick an area where people rarely walk. Then, determine how high you want the birdhouse to be, and use the regular drill bit to make a hole. Step 2: Mount your pot. Take your flower pot and align its drainage hole to the hole you drilled in step 1. Then, slide one of the washers over the carriage bolt before pushing the bolt through the drainage hole and into the drilled hole. Slide a washer over the end of the bolt sticking through the other side of the fence or wall, and twist the nut onto the bolt to hold the pot in place. Step 3: Give the house a doo r. Use your 1 1/4-inch hole-boring drill bit to create a door in the round
alone house. Also, its lack of a perch stops predators from gaining a foothold that can lead them inside. To make the
pot more discreet, hang it in a corner where shrubs or trees block it from view.
CLIENT STORY: JASON SECKMAN
We really enjoy our client Jason and his wife of 40 years, Wendy.
Initially, the Industrial Commission denied the claim. The hearing officer (a former defense attorney) concluded the injury was idiopathic (i.e., of unknown cause) and coincidental to Jason’s employment. But that’s not the proper standard: The question is whether the injury arose out of and was sustained in the course of employment. Agreeing that it did, the appellate hearing officer allowed Jason’s claim, permitting him finally to have surgery six months after the injury. While we had additional allowance issues (another ligament tear and arthritis) pending in the claim, the company, always “moving at the speed of business,” decided to appeal into court the allowance of the claim. Since Jason had enough time in to be vested in retirement benefits, the company decided he was capable of “delivering more than just packages” and settled the matter before trial.
For 30 years, Jason has driven and slogged through rain, mud, ice, snow, and heat to deliver packages and parcels throughout the area. He started with an international company known for its ubiquitous and distinctive brown trucks … a kissing cousin, if you will, of the company Tom Hanks flew for before being “Cast Away” on a deserted island for several years. I’ve had the honor of representing many of Jason’s fellow package delivery drivers over the years. Without fail, they are some of the hardest working, most pleasant people I know. And their injuries nearly always involve their back or knees, not surprisingly. I mean, we see these men and women all the time and know they “run the tightest ship in the shipping business.” Jason worked all those years escaping injury, but it finally happened. As he was stepping off his truck to deliver packages, his knee twisted as
he hit the pavement, and he felt it pop out of place. It started swelling immediately. After he finished the delivery, he called his supervisor and was directed to the company’s preferred medical providers who ultimately diagnosed lateral and medial meniscus tears. So, what can Brown do for you when its own doctors relate the knee injury to the work incident? Can they fight your claim even when you’re a 30-year employee with no prior injuries? They said, “Sure we can!” and so they did.
It’s nice when people and companies can come together as “united problem solvers”!
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