“Welcome, wild harbinger of spring!
To this small nook of earth;
Feeling and fancy fondly cling,
Round thoughts which owe their birth,
To thee, and to the humble spot, Where chance has fixed thy lowly lot.”
To some, crocuses and budding flowers may signal the arrival of spring.
But thanks to a long-ago English class where I first encountered the word, “harbinger,” birds have always been my symbol of rebirth and reawakening after a long, dormant winter.
Even here in the south, we are still fully ensconced in winter. In fact, our coldest, snowiest, most wintry weather is probably still ahead of us.
But inside, I I couldn’t keep the birds away. They descended on my foyer, like something out of a Hitchcock movie.
Well, not really. This scene is a lot prettier and more pleasant than that.
Though it’s the dead of winter, I couldn’t resist decorating the buffet in my foyer with birds.
Just chalk it up to wishful thinking and wistfulness for 60-degree days and flip-flops.
So the birds have flown the coop.
Left the nest and landed in the most unexpected places in my house.
You’ll find them perched in nests and bare branches.
Bright pops of color against the starkness of wintry days.
I delight every time I see a bright red cardinal, the state bird here in North Carolina, fly across the yard.
And how I love a bird’s nests. Every spring, we find them in our trees and sometimes in flower pots or wherever else the mama thought it safe to hatch her young.
I have been seeing lots of birds flying across the yard these past weeks. I even caught a glimpse of a cardinal and a bluejay.
While others stake their forecasts on groundhogs, I’ll trust the birds that spring is coming soon.
Lindsay Eidahl
I love all of these decorations. They are beautiful! Thank you for sharing your stunning foyer on Show Me Saturday!
stella
hi, i love your collection. can you please tell me where did you get the tree display? Thank you
Atta Girl Amy
Hi Stella, sorry for my delay in respinding to your comment. I for my metal teee display at an after-Christmas clearance sale at Pier One last year. They may have something similiar this year.
Paula@SweetPea
Love this pretty bird vignette. I also wondered where you got your neat tree and am glad that Marty asked first. You were smart to use it for something besides Christmas ornaments. I can also see it being used for Easter. Hope you get a flip flop day soon!
Laura
I love decorating with birds. Your foyer display is just beautiful!
Shirley@Housepitality Designs
Oh how I want Spring to come as soon as possible, especially when hearing we may get 8 to 10 inches of snow!…Beautiful vignette on that gorgeous foyer table!…
Atta Girl Amy
Hope you stayed warm…Now, let’s get the snow melted and usher in spring. I’m more ready than I was…
Suzy @ Worthing Court
So pretty, Amy! And I got to see your lovely foyer display in person. 😀 I meant to ask you where you found the tree that is holding all of the birds. Love it!
Atta Girl Amy
It was an after-Christmas clearance find at Pier One! Shh. Don’t tell anyone I still have a Christmas tree up!
Cynthia
This is so very pretty. Love all the birds and how you pulled this together. The candlesticks look so pretty, mercury glass??? Love mercury glass. Every time is see this table I have serious table envy!!!
Cynthia
Atta Girl Amy
Thank you so much, Cynthia. I know how much you love that buffet! If I ever decide to get rid of it, you’ll be the first person I ask!
Seriously, I stalked Craigslist for quite a while looking for an old buffet, and when this one showed up, I hopped on it immediately. It was my first major chalk paint project, and I’m still as in love with it as the day I painted it. It was certainly a labor of love, but so worth it.
And yes, those candlesticks are mercury glass. Not the old, real thing, but a Homegoods find, I think.
Marty Walden
Where in the world did you get the branch thingamajig? Very cute wintry display! Tim has been lost since we took down the tree in outside our front window. We had several bird feeders hanging and he likes to drink his coffee and stare mindlessly 🙂 out the window. He still does that, just without the birds!
Atta Girl Amy
I bought it from the branch thingamajig store! Actually, it’s from Pier One’s Christmas sale.
And poor, Tim. Maybe I need to bring him a little birdie tomorrow. 🙂
laura@top this top that
I love to stare out the window this time of the year for the rare pop of color when i see a cardinal. your collection is so pretty.
Atta Girl Amy
Thanks, Laura. I just raided my Christmas tree for my collection!
Barb @ The Everyday Home
It’s beautiful, Amy. I especially love the greenhouse vignette. What a beautiful collection. xxoo
Atta Girl Amy
My mom gave me the greenhouse for my birthday a few years back. I love it. It’s so versatile!