Spring is for the birds

The robins are back, the swans are back, the bird song begins each morning. Spring is hopefully here.
For those of us who like to craft, here's an idea to share with our feathered friends, and maybe some others.
If you have small pieces of leftover yarn, cut the pieces into lengths of about 5-10 inches. Use multiple colors, bright, shiny. Spread these pieces around your yard, in bushes, in trees, where the birds will find them. When they birds begin to make their nests, you will see brilliantly colored reminders of your gift all summer.
Longer pieces may be too large for the birds to handle. Five inches is a good length for the bird to transport and to weave into the nest.
Use all weights of yarn as some birds like large, strong nests, and others like small and soft nests.
Then in summer, be on the lookout for presents the birds give back to you, like feathers, egg shells, etc. Good inspiration for summer art.

If you have a lot of small animals in your area, leaving pieces of fiber, small pieces of batting, or even little balls of fiber around outside will give them something to play with when they build their dens and nests as well. Think of the things that mice love to get into, and we hate to have them in, and that is the sort of thing you can leave for them. It's a way of saying, "I don't really like it when you make a nest out of my grandmother's antique quilt, so here is some extra batting you can use instead."

The birds around my barn love to use tail hair from my horses to augment their nests. One summer a barn swallow built a nest right over the door to the stable and hanging from it was a long piece of my belgians white tail hair. I smiled every time I went through that door.