Monday, September 5, 2011

Temporary Shelter



Empty Nests

Rocked on many a bending bough
Empty nests are swaying now
In the Autumn wind,
Hanging o'er the cool cascade,
Hidden in the hazel shade,
Nests that loving skill has made
Soon to leave behind.

From the leafy twigs around
Once was borne the joyous sound
Of the wild bird's voice,
Pouring out his little soul
In melodious notes that roll
Merrily from knoll to knoll
Bidding all rejoice.

Long ago the birds have flown
And the little nests alone,
Rocking to and fro,
Time a silent mournful strain
While the wandering winds complain
Whisper faint and low.

And I think of one lone nest
Where a birdling used to rest
In the joyous spring,
Now when Autumn decks the lands
Rocked no more by loving hands
Lo, an empty cradle stands
Where they used to sing.
by: Martha Lavinia Hoffman (1865-1900)



God gives every bird its food, but He does not throw it into its nest. ~J.G. Holland
 


There is nothing in which the birds differ more from man than the way in which they can build and yet leave a landscape as it was before. ~Robert Lynd, The Blue Lion and Other Essays

If I were a bird
If I were a bird, I'd sing a song
And fly about the whole day long
And when the night comes,go to rest,
Up in my cozy little nest.
by Jackie Silberg




Little Birds
All the little birds are asleep in their nest.
All the little birds are taking a rest.
They do not even twitter,they do not even tweet.
Everything is quiet up and down the street.
Then came the mother bird and tapped them on the head.
They opened up one little eye and this is what she said.
"come little birds,it's time to learn to fly,
come little birds fly away up in the sky"
Fly,  fly,  oh fly away,  fly,  fly,  fly
Fly,  fly,  oh fly away,  fly away so high.
Fly,  fly,  oh fly away, birds can fly the best.
Fly,  fly, oh fly away, now fly back to your nest.


It is not only fine feathers that make fine birds.
Aesop (620 BC-560 BC)
House Wren-Poem
To bring house wrens to your yard
is a job that's not too hard.
Hang a bird-house from a tree,
and in April you might see
not just one wren but a pair
setting up house-keeping there.
Then you'll hear all summer long
their bubbly chitter-chattering song.
by Erica Stux





Birds sing after a storm, why shouldn't people feel as free to delight in whatever sunlight remains to them?
Rose Kennedy (1890-1995)

There is nothing in which the birds differ more from man than the way in which they can build and yet leave a landscape as it was before.
Robert Lynd



These lovely homes will be cleaned out and ready to go for next years feathered friends
Hugs,
Ellen

I am also linking to SJ Homemaker on a dime

24 comments:

Honey at 2805 said...

Your bird houses are so cute! "Hedda Hopper" how unique!

Thanks for becoming a follower and for posting my Party Button on your sidebar! I hope you will join next Fridays party

I am happily following you.

Honey at 2805 said...

Thanks so much for linking to Potpourri Friday and helping the very first party be a success! Looking forward to you linking up again next week!

Sandy said...

Such a sweet loving post.. your Nest poems bring me back to my Empty Nest.. how I hate it.. but so grateful for all my little birdies that gave me so much joy!
Thanks for your visit to my blog today and your sweet comment...
following you now!
Sandy

Unknown said...

Do you think the Mama bird swaddled her babies in the dryer sheet to snuggle the baby feathers, making them soft and smelling aso sweet? How sweet this is!

Olga Poltava said...

Such lovely pictures. I love birdhouses and have a few in my garden.
Thank you for your kind comment and for following my blog.

Lauren @ My Wonderfully Made said...

Lovely post with lovely quotes . . . you have such a great collection of bird houses!

Anonymous said...

This is so sweet! You are a woman after my own heart! I love birds. I have houses that I cleaned out this weekend. I have had more babies this year than ever before.

Karen said...

What a lovely post, thanks so much for visiting me and for leaving such a nice comment.

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson said...

Hi, Love all of your wonderful bird poems and quotes! Very appropriate for how my hubby and I celebrated the Labor Day. We put in two new birdhouses in our garden. Thanks so much for visiting my blog. Now following you.

Anonymous said...

How fun that birds actually use your bird houses!! I have several but they have never had tenants yet. Mikey my kitty might be part of the problem!

Thank you for letting me know that here are different mums- I will be looking for hardy mums from now on!

bee blessed
mary

xinex said...

Beautiful poem and lovely birdhouses!...Christine

Tablescapes By Diane said...

Hi lovely lady.
I love your sweet Bird Houses so sweet.Im so happy you came over to see me!!! I would like to thank you so much for your sweet comments,on my first year Anniversry Tablescapes. Im your newest follower on your blog now.
I hope you come join me also.
XXOO Diane

Anonymous said...

Hi, thanks for stopping by Redo 101 and leaving a sweet comment about the hurricane and 47 for Thanksgiving :)

Hope you can stop back by and enter to win a handmade burlap and lace table runner I'm giving away!

Hugs,
Mary

CREATIVE KHADIJA said...

Such a sweet post, love it ;) you are a talented friend..have fun dear

ANNE said...

Love the birdhouses!

Thank you for stopping by my blog & giving me feedback on my room.

Hugs!

Tina´s PicStory said...

lovely shots :)

Anonymous said...

Hi Ellen ~ Your bird houses are beautiful, I love the color blue so serene. Your poems are bittersweet, I have such a passion for poetry, your choices were very touching.
Lots of hugs Rosemary...

Cindy Adkins said...

Oh what a beautiful post!!! I LOVE bird houses!!!
XO
Cindy

Nancy's Daily Dish said...

Hi Ellen,

That first poem had me hooked! What beautiful verse! I enjoyed all of the poetry and quotes...I'm going to have to save that one by Rose Kennedy about birds singing after the rain. Isn't that such a lovely thought? Thank you for sharing!

Nancy

Jacqueline~Cabin and Cottage said...

These are sweet pictures and nice thoughts!

Natasha in Oz said...

They are so sweet! I love your poetry to go with your lovely post too.

Thanks so much for visiting me via Honey's party. It is so nice to meet you!

Best wishes,
Natasha.

LindyLouMac said...

I called by this evening to say thanks for visiting News From Italy and for taking the time to comment, I hope you come by again sometime.

Meanwhile I really enjoyed this post about birds, lovely poems.

Anonymous said...

that first poem is rather sad I think but I like it a lot. My DH found some empty nest brought down by Irene. And I will cherish then. I have a little twig tree next to my studio door outside that I put the bird nests in. Maybe next spring some little sweet bird will reuse them....I doubt it but it's fun to dream. :)

SJ @ Homemaker On A Dime said...

This wonderful post totally rocked the blog party's success! Thanks for linking up at Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop :)

Beaded ornaments

My 50th Birthday banner my sister made for my surprise party


Hedda Hopper


Birth:

May 2, 1890
Death:

Feb. 1, 1966
Actress, Journalist. Despite a 23 year career that encompassed over 120 motion picture appearances and chorus girl roles on Broadway to motion pictures, she is best remembered for her newspaper column and radio show that focused exclusively on Hollywood gossip, a subject she was able to tell more about to her audience due to her Hollywood insider status. Born Elda Furry in Holidaysburg, Pennsylvania, she left school to act on Broadway. In 1913 she married marquee star William DeWolfe, a man who was 32 years her senior. They had one son, and divorced in 1922, but she kept his name for the rest of her life (and changed her name to Hedda on the advice of a numerologist). In 1931 she began “The Hedda Hopper Show”, which initially ran as a 15 minute gossip show mostly devoted to Hollywood marriages and divorces. Enormously popular, it ran until 1951, and on the strength of its popularity she started the “Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood” column in the Los Angeles Times in 1938. She steadily gained a reputation for exposing tidbits about the lives of Hollywood figures, and created a character of herself in her own right, especially in regard to her vast collection of sometimes outrageous hats, and a long standing feud with rival gossip columnist Louella Parsons. With the advent of television’s popularity in the late 1940s and early 1950s, he radio show waned, but she herself became a staple of television programs and game shows, being a frequent panelist on “What’s My Line?’, and appear on shows like “I Love Lucy”, “The Colgate Variety Hour” and “The Beverly Hillbillies”. In 1960 she received the Journalistic Merit award, and published her autobiography “The Whole Truth and Nothing But!”, which recapped her over 20 years or being an Hollywood insider. She died in Los Angeles of double pneumonia in 1966, working right up until her passing. As a Hollywood icon, she created a number of friends and enemies; she gave harsh advice to actress Ida Lupino, which helped her gain recognizable part, but was despised by actress Joan Bennett, who once sent her a skunk. In 1985 a movie about the feud between her and Parsons was released as “Malice in Wonderland”, which Jane Alexander as Hedda Hopper and Elizabeth Taylor as Louella Parsons