Collection :: Birds

I am not much of a collector, but one thing I find myself buying over and over are birds. Yes birds, not real ones of course. Call me crazy, but I am head over heels in love with them. I’ve always been an animal lover and by that I mean there has rarely been a stage in my life where I have been without some sort of animal around. Growing up our family has always been huge dog lovers, golden Labradors especially. They are nothing but all around great dogs… smart, energetic, house friendly, perfect for hunting. You name it. 

Other than such wonderful dogs, I always found myself bringing home a random animal for periods at a time that I could personally call my own. Gosh I’ve had everything from rabbits to itty-bitty shrimp, but the one animal that stuck with me, were birds. I can remember being a freshman in high school, coming home one late summer afternoon with a baby, baby bird. Some friends and I had been down at the lake when one of the dogs had pulled out a nest from inside the reeds. After retrieving it, I had found that two out of the three birds hadn’t made it. I was devastated and immediately took action to save the third considering the mother wouldn’t be back after being removed from its location. Of course I was frustrated with the dog for sticking its nose where it didn’t belong, but dogs will be dogs. 

So me being me, I put the little one in a shoe box, lined it with paper towels and punched holes in the top before heading home where my mom and I pulled out bird book after bird book as well as searched the web on how to save the little bird with no mother. My mom being practical and all told me our chances of saving the newborn were slim to none, but she helped me anyways knowing that I wasn’t one to give up without putting up a fight. I went as far as feeding it blended up worms and soil that I had dug up from the garden. When I wasn’t feeding it, I was hoping and praying the poor guy would pull through. The important thing was to keep it warm and handle as little as possible. I did so by setting it up next to my bed with a light bulb overhead. 

As you can imagine it made all sorts of noises, but that didn’t stop me from being by it at all times. I was attached. Unfortunately the little guy only made it a few nights and boy was I crushed! Long story short, I’ve been inspired by birds ever since. Inspired to the point of collecting them in all shapes and sizes, photographing them when given the chance and frequently drawing them as my main subject. I’m surrounded with bird décor, including the birdcage I turned into a lamp and filled with birds. Sometimes I wonder if it’s a little too much, but then again birds are the one thing that can make me smile on any given day so why not. If it weren’t for that baby bird, I might of never appreciated the qualities of birds that I do now.