Friday, January 18, 2008

Very Unusual Birds

these are not. They are my friends the turtle doves that wait for me to feed them every morning. They're quite cheeky; when I'm late they come and get me by landing on the windowsill outside my living room window and peering inside: where on earth is she, she's late and we're hungry!
This is a more unusual bird but NIMG (not in my garden).

But, not to worry, I do have some very extraordinary birds in my garden and here they are.
What's so unusual about them? Have a look for yourself.
They turn from white into blue at the flick of a switch. ;-) They give enough light to read a book by, so they're very handy as well. And they don't make a mess on the decking., also a bonus!

I have quite a few indoor birds too and fortunately they are not in any danger from the Bliss team. Here are some of them:
But what I'd really like to show you is a very special bird indeed; it's called the Warning Bird and here he is.
Handsome fellow, don't you think? What's so special about him, you ask? Well, this little chap can sing and very prettily too. I love to hear him sing in the conservatory, it's such a cheerful sound. The cats like it too, especially Kadootje as she runs into the conservatory as soon as Chirpy opens his beak.
But alas, he only sings on special occasions, when the earth in the pot he's stuck in, is too dry. That's right, that's what this little chap is warning me about; I have to water the plant. Well now, isn't that a very unusual and handy bird to have?

I've read on many a garden blog and in the comments of my own blog that many of you are very good at killing off houseplants. With a nifty little device like this, you will at least be able to water your plants correctly. Most houseplants are killed by either over watering them or forgetting to water them at all. These problems are all in the past when you buy a cute little chap like this for your plants. Just stick him in the earth and he will let you know when it's time to water the plants, and he does it in such a charming way too!

Have a lovely weekend!

NB If you look to the right you'll notice that I have a poll on my blog. Happy voting!

copyright 2008: Y.E.W. Heuzen

L'idee de jardin respire du temps perdu avec amour.
Claude Servan-Schreiber, L'Invitation Au Jardin, 2001

31 comments:

Carol Michel said...

Yolanda Elizabet, I do alright remembering to water or not water my house plants as the case may be. What I need is for that little bird to chirp when my feeder needs more seed in it!

Lis vom Lindenhof said...

Das ist ja ein praktischer Vogel, nur habe ich sowas bei uns hier noch gar nicht gesehen.
LG Lis

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Hi Yolanda, I like your collection of birdies. That chirpy bird would help me keep my flowers watered properly. I am one that usually forgets to water until things look awfullly droopy.

The turtle doves are very pretty. We have Collared Doves beginning to breed in our area. We saw a pair feeding young a couple of years ago. It was quite an event. They are slowly moving into the northern states.

Frances, said...

I love your little reminder fellow. We have mourning doves here, they feed at the base of the hanging feeders, being too large to hang on the wire. The patterns of their feathers in flight are arresting, best seen with the binoculars. Of course we want more cat posts!

Frances at Faire Garden

Anonymous said...

We gardeners do love birds, don't we? Your collection is very nice. I'm glad those birds, at least, are safe from the kitties.

Unknown said...

We also have mourning doves, which I like very much. The return of snow has meant a return of the snow buntings (I don't know where they went when the weather was mild). I can see how Kadootje would love to hear the bird sing--I'm sure Mungus would have it out of the pot inspecting it regularly!

By the way, I like your change in blog colours; very soothingm and the background colour is almost identical to my office walls; a happy green shade, in deed.

Anonymous said...

That's a lot of birds for someone with so many cats!

Libbys Blog said...

I love the bird lights, very beautiful. The tweeting bird in the pot is a clever idea too.

Garden Cats + Crafts said...

Seltene, aber auch interessante Vögel allesamt. Man hört sie ja förmlich singen. Das turtelnde Taubenpärchen ist ganz reizend. Ich verstehe, dass es Deine Freunde sind. Bei uns wohnen auch einige, sie sind auch unsere Freunde. Wir nennen sie Ernst und Ernestine.
Die meisten dieser gefiederten Manschaft sind dem Bliss-Team ja voll gewachsen und haben sicher keine Angst vor grauen Katzen.

Ein schönes gemütliches Wochenende wünsche ich Dir.
Sei lieb gegrüßt, Birgit

Robin (Bumblebee) said...

I want those light up birds!! I really, really do. And if I can't have those, I would settle for having the turtle doves visit, just once.

You're very lucky.

--Robin (Bumblebee)

Robin's Nesting Place said...

Your birds are certainly better than those visiting at Robin's Nesting Place today.

I like the color of green on the blog too, my family room is painted in a very similar shade of green.

Gowri said...

Wow, Yolanda, it sure feels great to be back in your garden! And I loved the birdies in your garden...live ones and otherwise :-)

Aiyana said...

I love those birds that light up! Where did you find them? They would look great on my patio, but I'd love to get some for my daughter's garden patio as her birthday gift.
I wish they made a cactus wren or Gambel's Quail warning bird, so it would match my desert plants.
Great post!
Aiyana

Karin said...

Beautiful with all the flowers blooming i January! Love the birds as well. Birds are really good friends to have for a garden lover (most of the time). Today it's storming here. How is the weather in Holland? Have a nice weekend!

Anonymous said...

Aha! jij hebt ook een beetje een "vogeltjes tic"!!
Zo nu en dan kom je ze tegen en kun je de verleiding niet weerstaan hè?.
Ik vindt jouw meesjes zo lief!
Prettig weekend,
groeten Marian

LadyLuz said...

Ooo, Yolanda, what a lovely selection of indoor birds. And that singing one.....I want one, especially now as I've had to bring the tender plants into the spare bedroom and sometimes forget they're there.

So much of interest on your blog, as always. I can get quite lost in it. Thank you for all the delight you bring.

Barbara said...

Hi Yolanda, this was a very amusing post to read with all your very special birds. Thank you for showing this selection! I like your doves too, we don't have any here in our surroundings.
Nice weekend!

Ruth Welter said...

Hi Yolanda, I love your neighborhood turtle doves, they are so pretty. Love, love, love, you light up birds, gorgeous.

SchneiderHein said...

Das wäre der richtige Vogel für uns. Aber inzwischen finden wir es doch ganz angenehm nur noch Katzengras im Haus zu haben. Und das ernten Maus & Allegra zu schnell ab.
Liebe Grüße
Silke

Ewa said...

wow... new dresss... yesss??
first I thought I came somewhere else... then I red "Yolanda Elizabet" hmm... looked around and I was sure thats an known place, in new dress:)
new colors are very nice and relaxing.

little sad previous is gone - it was unique, very feminine. so let's say farewell to previous one!! and welcome NEW.

Your bird post is very sweet. Doves - isn't it lovely to have a couple of them like this? Are they not affraid of cats?

Your singing chap is great - I would love one. Could you advise where to buy? e-bay pehaps?

Betty said...

Yolanda,
I am enchanted with your birds! Each one is unique.....the turtle doves are beautiful....the hanging mobile birds are like none I've ever seen, the painted ones so cheerful, and the chirping one I'm envious of....

As to the poll, whatever you write about interests me so I'll leave it up to your discretion...just keep posting......Love, Betty

Anonymous said...

Hi Yolanda,
You must be a keen birdwatcher with all those birds in and around your house.
And I see, you als took a picture of the almost extinct blue nightingale and a hole flock as well. Very interesting.
WEll thanks fot the nice birdy pictures and story.

Bye,

Bert

Anonymous said...

Zo kun je vogels binnen en katten mooi combineren. Leuke hebbedingenvogeltjes!
Maar je twee echte torteltjes zijn ook prachtig, leuk dat ze je komen halen als je te laat bent.

Anonymous said...

Wow!!! Wat een metamorfose bij Bliss! Mooi geworden :-) Door het 'nieuwe groen' meteen een pleisterplaats voor vogels van divers pluimage ;-))
De lichtgevende zijn enig!
(En het is vast geen verrassende mededeling, dat ik net een slokje koffie nam uit een mok met een vogeltje erop....;-))))))

Naturegirl said...

Yolanda your warning bird is just the best idea!! I must look for one and perhaps when I am in Europe during the fall season I may find one!
Peace love and blessings that what the pair of doves are bringing you each morning! My ~tiffany jewels~ wait for you at my desk! I voted YES!
purzzzzzzzzzzzz and tweet tweet NG

Anonymous said...

Thanks Yolanda. I like your idea. I usually wait until my houseplants fall over in a wilted heap before I remember to water them.
I love that all your indoor birds are fake. I don't think I would want to be a live bird living in your house. That bird would soon become part of the Bliss team, one way or another.

marga said...

Lief hé....die tortelduifjes. Hier bij ons zit ook een paartje...doen zó lief met elkaar.
Leuk zijn die nepvogeltjes!!!
Groetjes Marga

Matron said...

So where is this 'Dutch' robin then?

Anonymous said...

whahahahaha moet wel lachen hoor , kijk naar je vorige log en kom mijn borden tegen ;) en zie ik deze log .........kom ik koolmezen tegen , alleen vliegen ze bij mij in het echie !
Maar ja .....zie ik mijn beker weer staan ;)))) weet je zeker dat je thuis was ????
;)))
groet Lenie ...fijne week .... met massa's mooi weer want het weekend was knudde ;)

Connie said...

A wonderful lot of birds, both real and otherwise! The turtle doves look very sweet.

Annie in Austin said...

The birds are all quite festive looking, Yolanda - I quite covet that mug!

It might be fun to monitor multiple plants by putting a chirper in each pot and then letting them go dry on purpose - would have been good thirty years ago for Monty Python's Confuse-A-Cat services.

Annie at the Transplantable Rose