(Note: Please pardon my bad parody of Better Homes & Gardens. And I know absolutely nothing about hummingbirds.)

If you want to cheaply attract hummingbirds to your yard, you should feed them white sugar rather than organic cane sugar. Hummingbirds are an attractive addition to a Southern Garden and are pleasing to look at. The lady of the house enjoys watching our hummingbirds frolic every morning.

Hummingbirds are attracted to brightly colored bird feeders that contain sugar water. We put a red bird feeder out this past winter and quickly had a number of hummingbirds stop by. This feathered attention only increased when the lady of the house started regularly filling these bird feeders with sugar water. These visits quickly became the highlight of our morning breakfast routine – we would sip our coffee together as a couple and watch our flock of hummingbirds seek their morning libations.

While we thought there might be a benefit from using a more “organic” sugar to attract the birds, we quickly learned that there was no real advantage from using organic cane sugar. In theory, cane sugar should be more natural and appealing to the birds. It is a clear light brown color and would more close replicate the kind of nectar that these birds could find in the wild. What we learned, however, was when we filled two bird feeders with different types of sugar water, was that the birds were actually slightly less interested in the cane sugar than the traditional sugar. This became very apparent over time as the traditional sugar feeder quickly emptied and the birds flew away, leaving food water in the cane sugar feeder. While we thought we were doing the right thing for the environment, it was clear the birds felt otherwise. And we want to make our feathered friends happy!

This turned out to be a great way to save money. Organic cane sugar is as expensive as sin and requires a trip to a fancy grocery store. We were able to cut our cost by two thirds with 5 lb paper bags of regular, old fashioned store brand sugar to help our feathered friends get their morning meal. This was super helpful in keeping the cost of taking care of our hummingbird friends low! Now that’s doing the right thing by both the planet and your wallet!

In conclusion, when it comes to taking care of nature, the old ways are best. We’ve really enjoyed getting to know our feathered friends in the morning. If you want to try this out for yourself, you can buy your own cute hummingbird feeder at Amazon. We recommend a nice red one – it was a lovely addition to our crape myrtles. And be sure to stop by your local Publix store for a 5 lb bag of good old fashioned white sugar! Be seeing you around the yard.

The post Article Writing Speed-run: Hummingbird Feeders appeared first on Hanging Hyena.

This is particularly true if you’re posting stuff on  Facebook or Reddit – when every picture is beautiful, dare I suggest that no picture is actually beautiful? Take this opportunity to stand out by finding and learning to use a few good synonyms for beautiful so your work is appreciated.

The list below shares another word for beautiful and some pointers on where it might best make sense to use it…..

1 – Adorable

Worthy of love and adoration… good for a romantic context or just referring to pure cuteness.

2 – Grand

There are two ways to use this one. There’s the traditional “grand” indicating you’re looking at the best. And there’s the folksy version “grand” (“a grand old time”) which refers to “the best you’re likely to find around here”.

3 – Statuesque

Best if used for pure physical beauty, ideally a person. Worthy of making that person into a statue. Generally suggests either height / power or some other form of physical perfection.

4 – Stunning

Offers the audience more than they expect. Works for both people and landscapes  (or buildings). Another good option along the same lines would be “breathtaking”.

5 – Splendid

Another good “quality” word, indicating we’re looking at the best and finest.

6 – Spectacular

Worthy of commanding attention; being the star of the show.

7 – Shapely

Best used to describe physical beauty of a person; indicates a pleasing shape.

8 – Alluring

Another suggestive physical one; suggests the scene is drawing the viewer in for a closer look.

9 – Impressive

Works for things which are distinctive; impressive suggests the viewer will remember it.

10 – Handsome

Best used when referring to a good looking man.

11 – Charming

Praising the personality of the recipient; works for both men and women, can sometimes work for places (“a charming little town”).

12 – Bewitching

A little naughtier and suggestive than the other words. Indicates a strange magic will compel the viewers to pay attention to the person or place being described.

13 – Enthralling

This works well if you’re able to draw the subject’s personality or wisdom into the discussion. An enthralling person is interesting and viewers can’t look away.

14  – Pretty

A perfectly good replacement

15 – “Purdy”

Use at your own risk, unless you’re at a country western line-dancing bar….

16 – Exquisite

Another quality reference; best used if we’re talking about something delicate and finely made…

17 – Gorgeous

I’ve always associated this one with brassy, over the top beauty rather than subtle perfection…

18 – Resplendent

This word is associated with being well dressed and groomed – wearing clothes which are richly colorful or sumptuous. Consider it a very “polished” form of beautiful that requires shopping and preparation.

19 – Dazzling

As if the object was throwing off light in all directions.

20 – Dainty

Not commonly used, but indicates a delicate beauty (as if finely made).

Finding Another Word For Beautiful:

These synonyms for beautiful is a small fraction of the potential options. The best suggestion we can make is to stop and think about WHAT qualities make your subject beautiful and write about that particular quality. Then pick another word for beautiful which aligns well with the rest of your context (people / place / thing, male / female subject, physical / platonic affection, etc.).

This approach will improve your writing. Instead of making a broad promise, you’re connecting your readers to the specific quality which attracted your attention in the first place. And that’s….

Beautiful.

The post Another Word for Beautiful: 20 Pretty Ideas appeared first on Hanging Hyena.