At 73-years-old, Sundre resident Howard Payne enjoys creating birdhouses.
But birdhouses aren't the only thing he creates in his woodworking warehouse. He also creates bat houses, tables and boxes, as well as a game he likes to call “Howard's wacky washer game”.
“You set the two things up and people play as a team and it's a washer toss game,” said Payne. “The people that play it they love it.”
He picked up the hobby about four years ago and sells his products at the Sundre Farmers' Market.
“I don't make a million dollars. It's just something I like to do,” he said.
He enjoys keeping busy and has acquired a number of books with different patterns and designs for birdhouses and more.
“It keeps me occupied. I don't do anything else. People have to have a hobby, so this is one of my hobbies,” he said.
He is also a member of the Sundre Elks Club. Another hobby he has enjoyed in the past is raising three or four calves during calving season.
“But right now the price is so high for them. A two or three-day old baby calf is $400. About five years ago you could buy that calf for about 25 cents.”
