Another one for the Collection

Over the years I have had many collections.   I'm sure it must be something to do with my obsessive nature or maybe it might just be that when I find something I REALLY like - I just have to have more than one!

I've been through my "cow" phase when literally everything in my home was a black and white cow - plates, cups, clocks, towels, figurines, paintings, cookie jars.... you name it, I had it.  If there was a bovine in the building - I could spot it at 50 metres.  

Then there was my chicken and duck phase..... my sheep phase.....my votive candle phase......the list goes on.......

Thankfully  - I am now a reformed hoarder.  I have embraced the concept of controlled minimalism and regularly de-clutter as a form of Zen meditation!

Impressed?

Well I sure am!

Who am I kidding?    

Once a collector ALWAYS a collector! 

Take this gorgeous little ceramic birdhouse.   When I walked by Bed, Bath and Table and saw it sitting there on the Clearance Table - all sad and lonely looking.......well of course I had to have it for my birdhouse collection, didn't I?   The fact that my birdhouse collection is fast taking over every spare nook and cranny in the house - well minor detail really.

I just love the shade of turquoise and the cute little bird perched on top.  I think it might be a budgerigar?

I LOVE my birdhouse collection but this is the ABSOLUTE, VERY LAST, NEVER AGAIN one I am EVER going to buy!!



Do you  believe me?

Another One for the Collection!

What did I say about being a passionate birdhouse collector?  Couldn't help myself.   Found this gorgeous little mosaic house this morning and just HAD to have it.  Looks just perfect here on my dining room table.
 I absolutely love the dragonfly on the front.   Dragonflys (like kookaburras) have a special place in my heart.  I remember when my Mum passed away I received a card with a dragonfly on the front and inside it was the most beautiful story :

"In the bottom of an old pond lived some grubs who could not understand why none of their group ever came back after crawling up the lily stems to the top of the water. They promised each other that the next one who was called to make the upward climb would return and tell what had happened to him. Soon one of them felt an urgent impulse to seek the surface; he rested himself on the top of a lily pad and went through a glorious transformation which made him a dragonfly with beautiful wings. In vain he tried to keep his promise. Flying back and forth over the pond, he peered down at his friends below. Then he realized that even if they could see him they would not recognize such a radiant creature as one of their number.

The fact that we cannot see our friends or communicate with them after the transformation which we call death is no proof that they cease to exist."

My garden is a constant reminder to me of Mum.  It is what she loved and where we both spent so many hours working side by side creating our little tropical paradise.  To hear the call of a kookaburra early in the morning or to see a dragonfly futter by makes me think of this story and just how much I miss her. 
Yes, I'm glad this little birdhouse found me today. Thank you Mum......

I Love my Birdhouses

 

For as long as I can remember I have had a fascination with birdhouses.  Old ones, new ones, decorated one, rustic ones - I just love them all.  So the collecting of birdhouses has become a bit of a passion of mine.  Only problem is I have fast run out of places to display them all!  

This one sits on top of a side table in my Dining Room.  The silver candle stick holder which I bought in Dublin and a little trinket box which Alan gave me a couple of Christmas' ago complete the picture.

This one is on my front verandah.  It is the first thing visitors see when they walk down the pathway leading to the front door.  I have never seen a bird go anywhere near it however the geckos love it and I often see them scooting in the hole and out the door.  Perfect place for gecko "hide and seek"!

This little one I painted a couple of years ago (during my folk art phase).  It is so sweet with a beautiful wisteria vine creeping over the front door and up towards the entry hole.  It even has "Welcome" painted over the front door.  What self respecting bird would not want to live in such a pretty house?

I also have a fascination with birds nests.   This one is an abandoned sun bird's nest.  I think it is absolutely fascinating the way birds make their nests.  Such precision and patience.   This particular nest is especially dear to me as it is made out of Alan's discarded hair trimmings!    Hhhh?.....    Well you see,  I often give Alan a bit of a hair trim out on the side verandah and then pick up the trimmings and toss them into the garden.   Last spring a couple of sun birds decided to build their nest on one of the arms of my verandah candelabra and after it was finished I couldn't help but notice that there was something strangely familiar about their nest......  You guessed it!  They had obviously found Alan's hair trimmings in the garden and weaved into their nest.    A real "Designer" birdsnest with a speckled grey textured  finish.  Talk about interaction with nature.

This is one of the first birdhouses I ever bought.   It is in the shape of an old post office and sits on the railing of my side verandah.   I have a similar one in the shape of an old saloon down the other end of the verandah however we had to remove the roof of that one.   A green tree frog had obviously decided that it was a pretty good house and used to come and go via the bird hole.  However after a month of hibernation in "the Old Saloon" it became too big to be able to get out - hence the removal of part of the roof.  The things you do!

 

This is another of my handpainted birdhouses - this time in a stained timber look with a maroon stencil and terracotta pot of flowers.   It sits on my angel hutch and is another favourite hidey spot for our pet geckos.