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• ALL LANDSCAPING • Decks + Fences • Drainage + Grading Solutions • Patio Block Installation • Sod Installation + Repair • Retaining Walls • Water Features • Bobcat service • Excavator service • Paving Stone Patios, Sidewalks, Driveways Phone: 204-255-7319 Cell: 204-791-9482 Fax: 204-256-4811 Email: info@thelawnsalon.ca www.thelawnsalon.ca TORCH Ethics and Integrity in Business AWARDS 4 TIME WINNER WE REPAIR FOUNDATIONS FOUNDATIONS WE REPAIR FOUNDATIONS WE REPAIR WINNIPEG CALGARY EDMONTON www.abalonwpg.ca email: info@abalonwpg.ca Waterproofing Underpinning Weeping Tile Seepage Problems Walls Replaced Structural Repairs Sump Pits & Pumps Window Wells Telepost Adjustments House & Porch Levelling Foundation Inspections Chimney Leaks Back-up Valves Basement Floors Walls Braced Repairs from Interior or Exterior Epoxy Injection Fully Insured Ask about our Famous Lifetime Warranty Easy Terms to Fit All Budgets! 204-783-2500 965 PACIFIC AVENUE WINNIPEG R3E 1G3 )281'$7,21 5(3$,56 SERVING MANITOBA SINCE 1970 04 - GARDEN Home 2016 & If you live in the city and long to be a little closer to nature, the solution might be as close as your backyard. You just need to invite the birds … and maybe get a little expertise. R ichard and Jennifer Gobel at Wild Birds Unlimited can bring a bit of bird heaven into your life. They have always had a passion for birds and that's what led them to open the business, which has just marked its 10-year anniversary. "Birds have been a hobby of ours for many years," says Jennifer Gobel. "It's exciting because we can go home and feed the birds and come back and tell our customers what we're seeing in our own yard, so it's very personal for us." Step into their Reenders Drive store and the first thing you'll notice is there is something in the air. "The store has that nice outdoorsy natural smell of wood, and we always play birds singing and water running, so there is always the sound of nature," she says. "It's a very relaxing atmosphere to be in so everybody who walks in just leaves their stress at the door." When customers drop by, the first thing Gobel wants to know is what she can teach them, not just what can she sell them. "We're always here to answer nature-related questions," she says. If the trained staff, who are certified bird- feeding specialists, don't have the answer at hand, they'll make note and find it for you. "We ask our customers tons of questions like: 'Where do you live? What kind of area are you in? Do you have mature trees or water nearby?' "We want customers to walk out of here and feel good about what they've purchased and to be able to attract the birds that they wanted to attract — if it's possible — where they live." Backyard bird hobbyists can help to support local bird populations by providing the right kinds of food, shelter and protection in their yards. "Some species of birds are on the decline because of predators," Gobel says. "Cats for example, kill millions and millions of birds every year, so if you're able to provide proper shelter for birds to get to — if you have your feeders at a higher level — then the cats can't get at them." As the seasons change, so do the needs of the birds in your yard. "We sell a whole lot of oriole and hummingbird feeders at this time of year, but in winter we have something we call seed cylinders that the birds go absolutely crazy over," she says. "They are made up of seeds and nuts and fruit and they are all kind of held together by a gelatin in a small package that you put into the feeder, so there's no fumbling around with a metal lid. "It's great for in the winter when you can only stand to be outside for about three minutes!" Gobel hosts events in the store and also goes out into the community to give informational talks on attracting birds. Events are posted well in advance on the Wild Birds Unlimited website, inside the store and on the outdoor sign. People can also phone Gobels to find out what's on the schedule. "We have all kinds of in-store events with everything from raptors being brought in to a visit from the curator from the Shirley Richardson Butterfly Garden talking about attracting butterflies to your yard," she says. Gobel says their number No. 1 goal is to provide the right food for the right birds year- round. They carry everything that is needed to attract them: Seeds and suet; feeders, including peanut feeders; bird baths and houses. They also carry books for bird lovers. "It's always a challenge to get new birds to come into the yard and to be able to identify a bird that you'd never seen before, whether it's at the feeder or by a house that we put up in the yard, or by some brush that we set out in the winter," she says. "That's what's exciting about it." "We're not just a place to come year-round and buy your bird seed," she says. "We're also a place where you can come and have a coffee and talk about the birds that are in your yard." Visit Wild Birds Unlimited at 11 Reenders Dr., or online at www.winnipeg.wbu.com. HOMES FOR THE BEES — AND BATS AND BUTTERFLIES Got bats in your belfry? That's a good thing. Bats are beneficial to backyards, and bat houses will help attract them. They dine on mosquitoes by the thousands and they eat other nuisance insects, including cucumber beetles and leafhoppers. Most bats who move into bat houses are females who use them to roost and raise baby bats. Houses should be hung at least 4.5 metres (15 feet) above the ground, and they should have a southern exposure to catch plenty of morning sun. Set them far away from trees and you're more likely to attract bats, who will find the house by sight. Pollinators — bees and butterflies — are extremely beneficial too. And you can do your part to support dwindling populations by creating a welcoming backyard habitat. Provide clean water in shallow bird baths and plant milkweed and colourful wildflowers in areas that are sheltered from the wind. It also helps pollinators when you allow dandelions to flourish in early spring. Honey bees make their own hives and nests, but you can build or buy a house for small orchard bees. Houses contain small tubes where females deposit eggs in spring and early summer. It's helpful to set them up near a source of clay soil, since the bees fill the tubes with food and mud. At summer's end, the larva eat the food and live inside the tube until the following spring, when the process begins all over again. FOR THE BIRDS FEED OUR FEATHERED FRIENDS BY WENDY KING HOMES FOR THE BEES — AND BATS HOUSES COME IN A VARIETY OF SHAPES AND STYLES. PHOTO COURTESY OF WILD BIRDS UNLIMITED

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