For the Birds

I love the idea of bird feeders.  My in-laws live in the country, and the tree outside the kitchen window is full of hanging bird feeders, replete with a wide variety of birds to watch (and my father in law, also known as Grandpa, takes great pleasure in identifying and watching them.)  When we moved away from New York City, I wanted to take advantage of our not-exactly-country-but-more-countryish-environs, and I picked up a simple little bird feeder from the Smith and Hawken line at Target.  This is what a bird feeder looks like in Boulder.

And this is how it spent much of the winter, until the crazy Boulder snowfall/sunshine loop took its toll on the wood, and the whole thing popped in half.

Here in Minneapolis, our house has a pretty modern facade, and while I don't believe that every little functional item needs to match your architecture, this house is pretty demanding in its simplicity, and I do feel like any bird feeder or bird house I choose should have a simple modern architecture of its own.

Months ago, I pulled this picture from Chicago Home and Garden magazine and slipped it into my inspiration file.

(Actually, it's a file called "To buy?"  Note the question mark.  My husband does not, and probably should not, know that this file exists.  Also, in case you're wondering, he does not read this blog.  Which is kind of like an unspoken gift between us.  I get to say whatever, he doesn't need to listen.)

I love the color of these little houses, but also the texture: like boiled wool.  I like how simple they are.  When I re-discovered this image, I took a look around to see what else I could find.  As with so many subjects in blogland, plenty of folks got there first.  You can see round ups here and here, or even here, OR you can just stay with me and see my picks, right here.



Blomus Nido Bird feeder, $79, available here (come to think of it, this one was featured in Cooking Light a while back, if I'm not mistaken, and probably went into my "To Buy?" file, too.)


Areaware geobirdhouse, $95, available here.



Hepper Roost Birdhouse (Red), $75, available here



Roost Bodega birdhouse, $79, available here



Modern canopy birdhouse, $78, available here


Available here.  please note, this is the first blog I have ever visited that gave me a content warning, and I was a little afraid to open it.  I spent a few minutes inspecting this birdhouse to determine whether there was anything--ahem--dirty about it, but if there is it eludes me.  I also have no idea how you would go about purchasing one of these.

And since not a one of these is in my budget, how about a DIY?



Super cute, no?  Go here.

Or this?

Those are old ceiling light fixtures, tied up in some cord.  No kidding.  From Design sponge.

Or this?


here

In all honesty, this shoulda coulda woulda been two posts, with one devoted solely to the gourd birdhouse idea.  I spotted a pair of them nearby when my in laws were last here, and had Grandpa get a picture of them for future reference.

See how it goes?  If you wait on a project long enough, a blog will present itself with a nice little tutorial for you.  And your project list will grow to mountainous proportions.

And just for fun (or because I am tired and may have lost the thread of this post), how about a human sized nest house?

Those are my people at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.

Oh, and of course, how could I forget the birdhouse that my kids made at the Minnesota Children's Museum?

Okay.  Bird houses.  Do you have a favorite?