Ridge Road Enterprises represents a variety of businesses all owned and operated by Pat and Connie Thompson of Dafter, Michigan. It was formed in 2011 as a small home-based book publishing business when Connie launched her first book called A Fascination for Feathers in June of 2011.

Three other entities also fall under the Ridge Road Enterprises name. These include:

• CEDAR CREATIONS: A home-based craft business that Pat and Connie started in December of 1994. For 12 years they produced thousands of many types of crafts with the main emphasis on bird feeders. Pat built over 22,000 bird feeders alone and Connie either wood-burned designs or hand-painted bird scenes onto every single one.

They also made and sold over 347 butterfly houses, 528 bat houses, 294 walking sticks, over 900 squirrel feeders and 436 snow gauges.

Their bird feeder line included the following types of bird feeders: tiny window hummingbird feeders, jelly feeders, fruit/suet feeders, small 12" hopper feeders, large 20" hopper feeders and inside-outside bird feeders, all of which were hand-built by Pat.

In 2006, with the downturn in the economy, Pat & Connie downsized their business from attending 50+ craft shows a year to just one or two per year.

• CEDAR BREEZES: Pat and Connie found that they couldn't keep from making items, though, and still continue to make a few cedar and glass products, which they now sell on their Etsy website at www.etsy.com/shop/CedarBreezes

Connie is constantly thinking of new bird feeding product ideas all the time and the Etsy site inventory changes all the time. Check it regularly to see what's new! All of the bird feeders that Pat and Connie sell are tested on the wild birds in their backyard before a single one is ever sold.

• GRAPHICS ETCETERA: Connie holds a BFA in Graphic Design from Kendall College of Art and Design and she worked in the graphic design field for over a decade before she ever painted her first bird feeder. She is still available for hire for her favorite types of design, like interior book layouts, and menu and newsletter design.

Connie says:

• Watching birds is a consuming hobby, one that has put intrigue and adventure into my life in more ways than I would have imagined. Writing a book is the perfect culmination of that hobby. I have had so many interesting and intriguing things happen to me over the years with my feathered friends that I simply could NOT let the stories about those birds fade away into the sunset. I have spent this past year compiling bird tales of my own, along with all of my friends that I have corresponded with over the years. Often it is their stories that are the most compelling, and I feel that they would want these stories retold so that others could share in their joy, wonder, and amazement like I have. Check out the tab above for my book called A Fascination for Feathers under OUR PRODUCTS, and I hope that you will enjoy these stories as much as I have taken pleasure in retelling them. It is my hope that you too will remember some interesting stories and share them with me on my future journey through this life. Hope to hear from you!

• I have also been writing and producing a bird-watching newsletter for the past five years. If you like birds, or want to know more about them, then you can get a FREE e-mail subscription to my newsletter called Birds In Our Backyards by sending me an e-mail at bbirder@hughes.net. If you would like to receive it in snail mail version, the subscription cost is $18/year and you can send your address and payment to Connie Thompson, 14488 S. Ridge Road, Dafter, MI 49724. Also, if you would just like to view one of the newsletters to see if you'd like to subscribe, you can check them out on my friend Neil's website at www.northcountrygardening.blogspot.com