After retirement money is scarce but time is plentiful. The power tools you collected through the years see little use these days. Heres a project even you can do well. You can make a few bird houses.

This summer as youre cruising the countryside keep an eye out for a weathered building falling down with age. The weathered siding s a perfect material for bird houses. Cut the siding into manageable pieces for transport to your workshop. Be careful not to include any bugs and remove any nails you find sticking out of the boards. Three square feet of siding will be sufficient for one bird house.

For edging and decoration, cut some lengths of Virginia creeper or English ivy. Remover the leaves, but leave the bark. Draw a picture of your bird house and make a pattern of the pieces. Since the look you want is out door Victorian, accuracy is not required. The more crooked, the better. Be a s creative as you want by adding features such a s a chimney, a balcony, a flower box or railing. Important features are a half dollar sized squirrel proof hole and a rain proof roof.

Fasten the vines along the edges of the roof and at the corners with hot glue. A short length of vine can serve as a perch. Secure the vine strips with half inch brads. One inch copper nails or sheet rock screws are good for attacking the pieces together. The cut edges can be stained gray-brown to match the weathered gray of the surface. Be careful not to mar the weathered striations in the boards. No protective coating is needed. These quaint bird houses sell for as much as $50.00 at a flea market or even from your front porch.