Seeking Shelter, Finding Home



Storyteller's Creed:
I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge.
That myth is more potent than history.
That dreams are more powerful than facts.
That hope always triumphs over experience.
That laughter is the only cure for grief.
And I believe that love is stronger than death.
 
~from All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten 
by Robert Fulghum

 
No matter how many birdhouses we have had, I have yet to see a bird take up residence in one of these man-made shelters.  At first we worked out the ones best suited for the neighborhood flock.  Added a few enticements.  Bird feeders, bird baths, etc.  They ate the seeds and bathe.  Then went to work building their own open air homes.  I knew we were doing this all wrong. Thinking and caring about it too much.  Hoping to find one morning wonder in a box. 

I thought about the decorative aspect of the birdhouses.  Was I seeking approval and the satisfaction of being chosen by the birds? What bird houses imply to us simply didn't apply to the birds. When I saw that Cooper's Hawk circling around a little light went on---okay.  Maybe the trees around here were a better place to roost.

We do have quite a few nests in the trees and eaves---swallows' mud nests, neatly woven ones from the Robins, some quickly made and messy ones of the cooing doves, tiny teacups spun in spider webs and lichens each holding a single 1/2" egg.  The birds around here need to prefer their own architectural foundations, to make their own custom homes.  They are forever in touch with the natural world after all.


Bird Puppet
(from Seeking Shelter, Finding Home series)
14" x 6" x 3"
Hand Built Earthenware, multi-fired cone 06-04
terra sigillata, engobes, oxide stains, glazes
(sold)




Comments




  1. Bird Puppet looks like she's learned a lot about birds.

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  2. Oh I love Fulghum's quote. I believe that too!
    It seems Miss Bird Puppet is trying very hard to invite the birds in -- with some success. There must be something in the natural materials they choose that helps with birthing/feeding their young.
    At least you have them all around you - so you've built the perfect environment!

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    Replies
    1. There is something enchanting about birdhouses. The birds do sit on top of them. I wanted to capture that sweetness of searching and longing. Of hours spent wondering....

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  3. I was once told that birds often tend to like "weathered" abodes - natural and man made. Maybe next nesting season, you'll be pleasantly surprised - build them, and they will come... when they're ready :)

    Bird Puppet is beautiful. A childlike innocence wrapped in nature. The very best kind.

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    Replies
    1. oh I figure out that birdhouses are really for me to look at and for the birds to rest upon. It is all good.

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