August 9, 2017 at 4:16 p.m.
More than veggies available at the Hodag Farmers Market
More than veggies available at the Hodag Farmers Market
By By Cassie Shefcik-
Over the years, many farmers markets were set up with different standards for homemade items. Many years ago, Jim's Cedar Birdhouses complied to rules of only selling garden and nature-related items and now that's what he's most known for.
Jim's Birdhouses is a relatively new vendor at the Hodag Farmers Market, having only joined a couple years ago. His inventory is quite impressive.
He sells a variety of cedar items; his inventory is not just limited to birdhouses. All of his items are handmade by him. You might be able to find items like his in a big box store for a little less but they will not hold up like a well made cedar item. Cedar is a wood that really holds up to all kinds of weather and it doesn't need to be stained or painted to protect the wood.
He has garden benches. He has bird feeders and birdhouses. For anyone who's looking to make their gardenscape friendlier for pollinators, he has Mason bee houses. Mason bees don't require a big hive as they don't set aside a lot honey for a beekeeper to harvest. A Mason bee setup doesn't require hundreds of dollars. Jim's Birdhouses has a little house, that won't break your bank account, that Mason bees find to be just perfect for their needs.
The three houses shown in the accompanying photo show three very different kinds of houses for three very different kinds of creatures:
The first house is a bat house. Bats love to eat mosquitoes and, let's face it, there are a lot of mosquitoes around here.
Bat droppings, guano, is one of the best fertilizers for the garden.
The second house is for butterflies. Butterflies sometimes need a safe place to get out of extreme weather or a safe haven from predators. The third house is for birds.
The Hodag Farmers Market is held from 8 to 1 Saturday at Rhinelander's Pioneer Park. Stop by and see everything that this local market has to offer.
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