TREASURE FOUND

One thing my hubby really, really loves is feeding birds.  There's just one problem -- keeping his birdseed away from all the other critters that seem to enjoy it as much or more than the birds do!  He's tried every imaginable sturdy plastic or galvanized trash can-like container with a snap-lock lid, and still we come out to find seed scattered hither and yon.  Squirrels, raccoons, deer -- they've all had a go at it. Since our garage is open-air, his only solution was to start stacking it all in my utility room, a solution I'm none too crazy about.

Now, I almost never go to our monthly flea market here in Wimberley, but back in the fall, when my sister and niece were here, they talked me into accompanying them.  Guess what I found while there?  The perfect birthday gift for my hubby!

We found it at a booth run by an older gentleman and his sister. Apparently, he likes to go scavenging around on old farmsteads and country places to see what interesting pieces he can find, then he brings them to his sister and lets her "decorate" them.

He called this piece a "critter-proof feed-storer".  I'm guessing it was probably meant for chicken feed, and that the lip around the base might have been meant to hold a little water, to keep the ants out. Or maybe it was just for balance, to keep them from knocking it over.

All I know is that it is extremely heavy, and because you have to lift and twist all at once, to get the lid off, it can be a mite tricky even for us humans.  Here's hoping it stymies those other critters altogether, for this is one cute container -- one which I won't mind him leaving out on the porch the least little bit!