It’s spring time in the rockies.  We are all busy with our gardens, lawns and outdoor things.  Old man winter had us all locked up in our cozy little houses and now with warm weather out we come like the ants crawling in my lawn.  What a nice time of year!

We like the sounds of wind chimes and so I want you to know how to make one that won’t cost you anything but some time.  Well, you might end up at a local thrift store or some such place to buy some of the things, but then too, you might want to empty out one of your kitchen drawers and use some of the stuff in there that you never use.

Start with a stick.  You decide on the length, girth etc.  It really doesn’t matter, but bigger is always better, right?  A really good start is to answer the question of where are you going to hang this thing when you are done.

Don’t throw that old fishing line away.  You know the stuff on your reel that you plan on taking off and replacing with some new line this year.  Remember, you lost a really nice fish last year and it was all because of that old line on the reel.  Tie lengths of fishing line around the stick at intervals only you can decide.  Some will be longer than others and that is ok, because that is how “real” wind chimes are made.

Now this is the fun part.  Anything made out of metal can be used to hang from the stick and fishing line.  Make sure the things you use can touch each other as the wind blows through them.  Forks and spoons from the kitchen drawer are wonderful little “tinklers”.  So are spend (fired, shot) rifle cartridges.  I’d stay away from knives, unless of course they are the butter knives.

Some folks will even use wood as their “hangerdowners”.  They too make a nice clunking noise in the wind.

Ok!  There you have it!  Make yourself a wind chime and impress the neighbors.  Remember, “BIGGER IS ALWAYS BETTER”!!!

Bears Butt

April 12, 2012