Happy Wednesday! I took a cue from the birds and have been busy nesting in the Potting Shed.
Birds of a feather have flocked together for a little tabletop dining and seed buffet . . .
Every bird is welcome!
I love all things ‘bird’!
Eastern Bluebirds have taken up residence in two of our birdhouses. . .
Bluebirds are a gardener’s best friend as they have a voracious appetite for insects and help naturally rid the garden of pests.
They can produce between two and four broods during the spring and summer months.
I feathered my nest and table, twig by twig, including twig flatware . . .
Bird napkin rings flew in to roost at the table, perched on nest and egg napkins.
I love the sweet illustrations from The Country Diary of An Edwardian Lady and The Nature Notes of an Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden. I picked them up from a used book seller a couple of years ago.
Beautifully illustrated, Edith Holden’s “nature notes” from 1905, chronicle months of the calendar year with anecdotes, folklore, and poems, and are accompanied by her watercolor paintings of flowers, plants, birds, butterflies and landscape scenes of the British countryside.
Both Edith Holden’s Nature Notes and The Country Diary of An Edwardian Lady are a treat to peruse if you enjoy nature and gardening.
The Bird Book by Neltje Blanchan flew home with me from a favorite antique mall.
If you’re a reader of my blog you know I have a *slight* watering can addiction.
I found this Birding Life watering a couple of months ago at Tuesday Morning.
*Chirp*
Nesting Table Details:
Ceramic birdhouses, plates, mugs / Rae Dunn Artisan Collection and M Studios, HomeGoods, several years ago
Bird napkin rings / Pottery Barn, several years ago
Birdnest and egg napkins / HomeGoods
Twig Flatware / Pier 1, several years ago
Birding Life Watering Can / Lang, Tuesday Morning
Bird Finials / World Market, several years ago
Birdhouses / collected over the years
Bird Welcome Plaque / Carruth Studios
Thank you for your visit, sharing with:
Between Naps on the Porch
Love, love, love!!! 💕💕💕🐦🍃
I was up with the birds this morning and it was so nice to have your blog to read with my coffee. As we both know the heat here in N.C. makes it necessary to get any outside chores done early then a fast retreat to AC. I still have some plants to get in the ground and watering all my pots can seem endless. But I have the birds as company and stopping to watch their nesting activities is fascinating.
Just love this table…that’s the prettiest watering can I’ve ever seen.. my favorite here are the books..I’m always looking for garden illustration books!! 🦋
I’m like you Mary, I love all things birds too. You sure have an enviable collection!!
Also, for the first time in 15 years, I am seeing Bluebirds. So happy to see them.
Thanks so much for all your posts!! xoxo
I have the same book that my husband bought for me years ago. I just got it out (because I had moved) & am enjoying it again. Love the nests & the watering cans. My geraniums are blooming their little hearts out and I have a fat cardinal that comes to visit for one. Enjoy the birds so much too. Thanks so much for your pictures!!
So very sweet!
Your blog is wonderful, it is a de-stressor, full of ideas, great ideas and beautiful things. I just love it.
Thank you for sharing your artistic talent!! You make my day!!!
Your bird books are beautiful! I have the Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady and I haven’t looked at it in a long time. Thanks for reminding me about it. You were the reason I bought it a few years ago.
I am envious of your bluebirds. They are so pretty. I’ve had one successful family raised in my house but the next year I found an abandoned nest with eggs and the house was full of ants. I wish I had taken the nest out but I left it and went on a trip. When I got back the eggs were gone with not any evidence they had been there. This year it still has ants so not even the wrens will build in it. Don’t know how to get rid of them. I sprayed but they come back.
Your post was a lovely way to start my day.
Thank you Bonnie! I found this link on controlling ants in a nest box. Maybe one or two of these tips might help.
I love your birdie table that’s besting in your putting shed, Mary! The bluebird visitors to your birdhouse are much better than the visitors that were in mine!! You’re so lucky to see their comings and goings. How I love those Edith Holden books, which are so beautiful illustrated. Your window topper and your new watering can enhance the beauty of your table. Thanks for the smiles 😊 this morning! ❤️
Love this post and, well, probably every other one I have seen! You are my tablescaping “want to be” as also use Botanic Garden as everyday in spring/summer (Friendly Village in fall/winter) and I love gardening and birds! Keep up the inspirational posts! PS: I really enjoyed the heron nest photos from several posts ago; highly exciting seeing those beauties all jumbled up in a nest!
I love birds and enjoy anything pertaining to the bird world you have done an exceptional display here and I would love to sit down at have a bite to eat…beautiful❤️
I love your blogs! Where did you get your outdoor bird houses? Just moved to the country and want to place some on our land. Love all things birds! Look forward to your tablescapes and garden photos .
Thank you Donna! One is from my retails days and the others from a local garden center. You can also find them on Amazon if you don’t have a local store like a Wild Birds Unlimited near you.
Mary, I love your bird nesting table in your lovely potting shed. The illustrated books are so fabulous and make the perfect addition to all things nesting. We seem to have an over abundance of blue birds, they did nest in their box but made a huge mess on the patio, but never tried to nest. I guess they just enjoy the view from the pergola.
Love this post Mary! Birds bring so much joy to a landscape. Watching them build their nests & then feed their babies is so rewarding as you try to find ways to make it easier for them by filling feeders, etc. Your new watering can is so pretty & goes so well with your beautiful bird houses. This just brought a smile to my face! Have a great day! Clara 🐦 💕
How sweet Mary, and the color illustrations in the book are incredible! I know I’ve asked you this before, is your Potting Shed air conditioned? 😅
Jenna
Ha! It’s pretty steamy in the afternoons in this heat! 🌞
oh yikes! well, it looks like it’s nice and cool in your photos!
I agree with the person above that your blog is like a “de-stressor”. The tablescape is so lovely. Thank you for posting such wonderful things! I also love birds, old books, and watering cans! In fact, your watering can chain was what drew me to your blog years ago and I keep coming back. Last weekend, I finally put up my own watering can chain (hope you don’t mind I took my inspiration from you). I have little ones and big ones, old and new. And it is making me so happy!
I work from home and from my desk, I can look out into my backyard. I can see the birds busily flying by like an avian airport. I have feeders and also bird nesting material dispensers positioned right where I can see them. I love it! I got my love of birdwatching from my dad. He taught me a lot when I was young and we continue to discuss our bird sightings almost every week. It gives us an excuse to connect!
I do too, love everything bird. And I also looove watering cans. I love the pictures of the blue birds. Thanks for sharing. We don’t seem to have them in south Ga. maybe because it’s already 100 degrees 🥵
Of the 3 blogs to which I subscribe, this is by far my favorite! Great photography; great use of accessories, and always beautiful scenery and personal touches!
I love your wooden bird houses too. I am glad Donna asked where you found them. I will look into Amazon, thank you. I have the Welcome sign with the 3 birds, it’s near my front door as I go outside. It’s a welcome reminder of a new day. Love your blog.
Mary, you amaze me on how you can top yourself with each and every post—going seamlessly, for us, from transfer ware, flower arrangements, fab food to this charming post. I’ve been trapped in my bedroom recovering from a torn ligament and have spent HOURS watching the birds in the yard for entertainment—so love this post. (We have a half dozen wild canaries zooming around here and singing their hearts out—I hope they don’t leave).
Just a “tweet” post, ♥️ love all things birds too and that watering can is awesome. Wish I had a great antique mall like you Mary, you find the best treasures. Will keep an eye out for those books, pure awesomeness, the drawings are lovely. Just got back from a trip out west, so now I can haul everything out of my shed, sweep and play. Hehe. 🐦
As always, such a lovely post, Mary. I, too, have a deep affection for birds!💙
I think I’ll come nest at your shed. Way tooooo cute and I love your new watering can.
I love everything birds too and you always knock it out of the park when you decorate around them (or around anything for that matter). So, so, so sweet……I’m going to try and find the Edith Holden books…the illustrations are so beautiful! I am so envious that you have Eastern bluebirds in your birdhouses. I need more birdhouses in my yard! Thank you again for making my day with this post!
I’m another lover of birds. Nature is a destressor for me! Your Tabletop Nesting is just so pretty!
Such peace in reading your post about “everything birds” and the joy they bring. This is great reading on a very sunny and hot afternoon in Virginia~
Beautiful! ❤️🦋
I love everything bird too! I have the same bird finials, and I have the place mats that match your napkins! I love the illustrations in your book! How pretty! Thanks for sharing all this:)
This was a treat! Love all the birds and nesting accents. How lucky you are to have a pair of blue birds nesting!
Wow this is a great theme , “Birds of a Feather Fock Togetherness” The tablescape is awesome ! Your attention to detail is impeccable. I look forward to your posts because each one gets better and better. I love your potting shed and long to get one too! 😍 Thanks for sharing your talent. It truly inspires.
Oh my favvvvvv post I love love love birds and nests and eggs here at Finch Rest!
My bluebirds came back – they took last two years off, we arent sure why – and what a thrill it is to watch those gorgeous blue birds! What I need is that big huge birdhouse you have! Do lots of families then live together? Is there safety in numbers then? Our little bluebird family are bothered a lot by very large preditor birds – I think that’s why they stopped coming. I just have the one house on a pole they use and two hanging ones little songbirds are using.
I need to learn more about this.
Thanks, Mary for your shed and all its magic – it is so incredible.
I think I need a few of those bluebirds to help protect my veggie plants Mary! Your setting looks very pretty:@)
Your nesting table looks as if it was put together with a lot of thought and love.
Oh my oh my!! I am in love with your Nesting Table..from the bird nests with those amazing eggs to the fabulous books!!! When in antique shops that have wonderful books, I am always on the lookout for vintage books on birds…i cannot wait to place bird houses in my future yard…I love seeing bluebirds!…My Sweetie and I share a love for birds and she gifted me with a bird motif cheese board for Mother’s Day…we all spent Mother’s Day at the Audubon exhibit set the NC Museum of Art. The exhibition was amazing!….Have a fabulous week Mary!
What are you using for your window toppings – that net stuff? I like it!!
Hi Judy, It’s landscape burlap. You can see the how-to details here: https://homeiswheretheboatis.net/2012/09/10/nesting-window-dressing/
Very sweet, we have not put up my birdhouse yet, this reminds me to add it to our extensive list! I was on the tractor the other day moving mulch and was dive bombed for 45′ by 2 bluebirds, not sure where they had nested, they followed me for a hundred feet back and forth, brave to take on a tractor bucket! Its starting to feel like home here, look forward to artfully playing in the garden again, just another year or two and I will feel like my old self with an abundance of color, meanwhile, I will live vicariously through you!
Ha! Love your story and your Quiet Life !
I had 2 bluebirds at my bird bath last night, Mr. & Mrs. i presume….. beautiful post to start the day thank you!
Once again ! Perfection !!
I used to watch the birds in my backyard at my former residence & I miss that the most! Love the tablescape & the beautiful layout of books, nesting boxes, etc. It’s such a cheerful vignette. Wish I had the room for a potting shed.
Always look forward to your blog. Thank you. Jo