The birds are hungry all year, but it is when summer approaches that we think about accessorizing our yards. This whimsical bird feeder, made from the simplest of materials, is a case in point. The feeder bowl is attached to a support, which you dig into the ground, making the bird feeder freestanding.

Since birds like to feed in sheltered areas, you might want to nestle it between a couple of shrubs. Or make a trio of feeders, each a slightly different height, offering your feathered friends a veritable banquet.

To use the feeder on a deck or patio, simply fill a painted coffee can with cement and sink the end of the dowel into the cement. If you have a large potted plant on your patio, you could even dig the bird feeder's stem into that. Plant some ivy or Morning Glories to climb up the support, if you like.

You can use anything tall and wooden for the support. For a more traditional look, use a table leg, available unpainted at the hardware store. For a more modern, sleek look, a simple dowel works just fine.

The first birdfeeder is made by simply attaching two things together that seem made for each other. A shallow glass light shade, made for use on an overhead fixture, already has a hole in the center. Amazingly, table legs come with the end of a screw sticking out of their tops. The light fixture's hole and the screw on the light shade are just the right sizes for each other. Simply paint and decorate the table leg, let the paint dry, place the glass shade over the screw, and add a nut and a thin rubber washer to tighten down the shade on the table leg. Dig in place and fill with seed.

Do Chinese birds eat Chinese food? I doubt it, but your backyard feathered friends will enjoy this Asian inspired bird feeder.

Save a black plastic to-go dish. Paint a 36" dowel red and black. Use a drill to pre-drill a hole into one end of the dowel. Decorate the black plastic dish with red paint and glue a pair of fancy chopsticks at the edge, which will act as perches. Use a washer and a nail with a head that is larger than the hole in the washer to attach the dish to the dowel. Measure the center of the plastic dish, then place it over the dowel. Place the washer over the center of the dish and use a hammer to pound the nail into the dowel, going through the dish and the washer. You must pre-drill the hole or the dowel may split when you pound the nail into it.

To make a companion bird bath for your feeder, simply make a second feeder and line it with another dish the same size as the one you used for the feeder. This pan will hold water, since it isn't drilled, and can be easily removed for refilling and cleaning. Leave the liner pan unpainted.