"martin" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 26 Dec 2003 18:53:47 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann"
wrote:


My wife and I have an inviolate arrangement that neither will ever give
the
other any present, unless the prospective recipient sees it, and approves
of
it before any money is spent.

My wife and I pick our own presents, sometimes we get extras as a
surprise. The bird house, bird feeder and a bag of bird seed were
presents from my son. I suppose I could use the bird seed as lawn
seed. After all the birds did eat most of the lawn seed before
somebody here suggested covering it with fleece.
Our garden is inundated with hungry green finches this year, I have
never seen so many before

Ditto, plus goldfinches and, believe it or not, we had fieldfares within ten
yards of the front of the house.
The birds are costing us an arm and a leg in nuts, seeds and fatty cakes

Franz