Unplanned Day are sometimes the best.

 The day started with wordle and the Star Crossword.  Nothing new about the start.  I decided to check on the birds which meant a patio visit and neighbor Judy arrived with a bag of gourds.  I have been thinking about the Umoja fundraiser that has seen many gourd wren houses made for the silent auction.  They are really popular bidding items. The November event is not far away. Neighbor Judy made another gourd contribution of California purchased gourds which always are thicker and perfect for the birds.  My job would be to turn them into wren homes.  

                  Two of the four I worked on today.  These are perfect sizes for our musical friend.  

The first thing was to wash and scrub them clean removing the fine skin that covers them.  That takes soaking as well as scrubbing. Then the quarter-size entry hole was made for wrens.  I burned that hole to size.  After that, the material on the inside of the gourd needed to be removed.  Sometimes that is easy and sometimes it's a big pain with all of the insides coming through the quarter-sized hole.  Today, three of the four were relatively easy but one was a pain in the you-know-where.  The drying process for gourds is unpredictable and affects how the material dries inside the gourd dries.  But I persevered!  

     The inside "gutts" of the gourd.  The seeds are huge.  Sometimes the material inside the gourd is a   very hard ball and needs to be soaked for removal, Other times the material is loose and needs no soaking.  

When dry I'll add a hanging device, then a wood-burned design. A brown leather dye will be wiped all over the gourd.  When I am satisfied with the dying part, the gourd will be sprayed several times with clear sealing spray ready to be occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Wren.   

                                So far, most of the day was used for the first part of the project.  

The Umoja auction provides money for school lunches for over 3000 children in western Kenya.  For many of the children, it's their one meal of the day. 

We had supper on the patio with the iPhone nearby getting messages and pictures from the Michigan R's. watching Adam's away soccer game at Lansing.  They answered all kinds of questions I sent them.    This grandma needs to know!  

 

                                  Big number 20 playing defense, his favorite position.