 |
| From In the Garden |
Snowy and icy paths and walkways are nothing new to folks who live in temperate regions, but they are dangerous and need to be taken care of in order to prevent falls. Many types of skid resistant materials can be used to reduce iciness on walkways including: rock salt, gravel, dirt, cat litter-and sunflower seeds.
Yes, I said sunflower seeds. Sunflower seeds are my choice for installing a slip resistant surface on my sidewalk and deck during the winter. The extra bonuses are of course that sunflower seeds are non toxic, readily available, and serve a functional purpose in that the birds can eat! The downfalls are the hulls can (and will be) tracked into the house, but can be cleaned easily. I'll take the cleaning any day if it means I can watch feeding birds up close and personal next to my deck and keep from slipping when I venture onto the deck....
in the garden....
No snow here, just some wonderful spring days and garden working days coming up but thought I'd share my tip for a slip preventer in case we or you get some more bad days this winter or spring.
Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team,
In the Garden
I've never thought of that! I'll have to remember since my cats don't go outside during the winter. Ha!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful idea! I love to feed the birds anyway..and a great way to offer them food.
ReplyDeleteI hope I don't see snow for a long time, but you never know here in Texas! :)
Our days lately have been mild, with SUN! Yea!!!
Have a great weekend Tina.
What a great way to kill two birds with one stone..oh, this sounds terrible doesn't it? Great idea, sweeping up a few hulls is better than a broken bone from falling..and the close up of the birds what a great bonus!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic idea Tina. I love it. And what's a little cleanup - certainly no worse than the thousands of fir needles that are tracked into our house and vehicles around here.
ReplyDeleteDawn, It works well but hubby complains on shells coming into the house. Sigh. It's not too bad:)
ReplyDeleteLinda, The ground feeding birds love this idea I tell you. You have a great weekend too. I know you'll be in the garden like me.
Darla, It attracts SO many birds that you won't normally see at feeders. Lots of fun. Have a great weekend!
Linda, Not too much clean up but yes-you know with all those fir needles. I can only imagine. Have a great weekend with the grandson!
I stumbled on this use for sunflowers a few years ago too. Not only are they non slip, they melt snow, especially on sunny days. Throw some on a path and when the sun hits those black seeds, it creates enough heat to melt the snow and clear the path (unless the snow is real deep).
ReplyDeleteMarnie
That's a neat idea! You may even end up with some volunteer sunflowers this summer just off your deck.
ReplyDeleteI'd never thought of this! However, it might not be a good idea for me--my cats do venture outdoors part of the day during the winter, and this might be a little too tempting for them:)
ReplyDeleteHave fun in the garden! If it weren't for the patches of snow here and there on our yard, I could think it was spring here, too.
Marnie, Yes, it does help to melt the snow. An extra advantage of using sunflower seeds. I find it wonderful and am glad you do too. Have a great weekend.
ReplyDeleteDave, That would be nice! Have a great weekend.
Rose, Cats are so tough on birds it's true. Best not to tempt them. I think your snow will melt soon and you can have fun outside too. I am so excited to get out there! Have a great weekend.
Ms. Tina, do you toss the seed directly onto snow and ice? It'd really be cool if they worked as an ice-melt compound!
ReplyDeleteI think we may be about done with snow here too. But I've seen it snow in April so I ain't sayin it's a sure thing just yet!
LOL, from the heading and photo, I thought BIRDS were the slip-resistant trick. I'm not sure the seeds would work here as we rarely get ice without snow, which would be buried and then thrown to the side when shoveled, but it's a nice idea anyway.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning! What a great idea Tina! Solving a problem while creating great entertainment...
ReplyDeleteBeautiful day, think I will go Kidnap the Saint from work....
What a great idea. Looks like some peanuts there also. The feeder I have on my wondow, even the little birds carry peanuts away and I love watching that.
ReplyDeleteI love helpful tips such as this one. It benefits everyone! Too bad, I can't use this tip as we do not get snow....
ReplyDeleteAren't you smart?!! Great idea Tina and terrific multi-purposing of the sunflowers.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! I can't believe how many birds you get on your deck all at once.
ReplyDeleteGlad you're getting some good weather :)
TC, I do and it does work to melt both snow and ice. They fall thru to the pavement or sidewalk or whatever before the ice melts and add traction. Watch out, I'm not sure winter is done..
ReplyDeleteMonica, Those birds might give us a bit of a bad day if we stepped on them:)
Skeeter, You guys have fun! Beautiful sun here too! Did you get me email I sent you yesterday?
Mom, Yes, peanuts too! My birds don't care for them though:( I bet it would be fun to watch them carry it all away.
Noelle, No worries on slipping there-that's a relief.
Kathleen, It works so well for the groundfeeders. I enjoy watching them all. Try it and let us know how you like it, especially with snow again.
Catherine, They were most skittish but I was lucky to capture the photo thru the glass door. The come in bundles this year and just adore the sunflower seeds. I am glad the price went down on them or I'd not be feeding. Your garden is looking like spring!
Sounds like a good idea, but what about the seeds attracting rodents to visit--those dirty rats? Give the little critters a food source near the house and it might give them an idea that something even better waits inside. EEK!
ReplyDeleteW2W, Rodents are always a problem here, but the two cats outside do a great job of taking care of them. The cats do sometimes get a bird but I try to watch them since I'm up and about when the birds are around.
ReplyDeleteGood idea Tina. Although we seldom get snow here it would be nice to remember this. We had ice this winter too.
ReplyDeleteHave a nice night all.
With so many birds around I'd be sure to watch my step, too! I only visit areas with problems like this once a winter or so, but I know it's quite the problem. You've come up with a great solution.
ReplyDeleteNow that I think about it - I rarely slip on the deck because that's where my birdfeeders are, and the seedhulls are all over the place! So I believe I'm qualified to vouch for this method :-)
ReplyDeleteI have to say that the sunflower seeds are a great idea. I don't know why we don't always do that. Rock salt gets dragged into the house anyway. What is the difference. you still need to clean it up. Plus, seeds won't hurt my dog's paws. I always worry about the salt getting between his pads. This is a great idea! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about the neighbor. Some people can't see past their own nose. Your gardens are so pretty. I have a huge yard that needs to be broken into sections or rooms like yours, but Rome wasn't built in a day. I keep moving in from the outside edges taking up more lawn year by year. Enjoyed seeing your work!
ReplyDeleteVery clever - that'll work well here, where we so infrequently need anything to deal with snow, but always need to feed the birds!
ReplyDelete