Sometimes, the materials people choose seem a little, well... inadequate. The first little pig's selection of straw comes to mind, as do those paper pants they seem so fond of in hospitals (they rustle for heaven's sake - that's wrong on every level).
And now I am facing another. I have in front of me a 'Cardboard Birdhouse' which the children are keen to decorate this weekend. It was a present from their Grandpa - and like him, rather cool, thoughtful and a bit left-field (he likes to wear top hats and attends all night raves - need I say more?).
Still... cardboard?
It just seems a little 'delicate' for both its function and location. It also declares itself 'Maison pour oiseaux en carton' but quite frankly it sounds even less robust in French.
To be fair it does say the birdhouse is made of 'sturdy cardboard with water-resistant coating' but 'water resistant' just makes me think it'll play hard to get for a while before caving in completely.
Still, it'll be fun to decorate and I shall look on it as an emergency shelter rather than a long-term housing solution. Rather like paper pants in fact.
Isn't it rather like those moth traps for apples and plums? If so, mine's lasted years, but then it doesn't get fat birds rootling around in it ;)
Posted by: VP | January 28, 2010 at 12:18 PM
Hmmm, might be ok for under cover of a car porch or similar, but those poor birds if their house suddenly caves in on them. Ugh, those paper pants, don't remind me.
Posted by: Jo | January 28, 2010 at 12:21 PM
VP - you give me hope (in this as in most things!)
Jo - Sorry about that - I knew they would spark some bad memories for many of us...
Posted by: Dawn/LittleGreenFingers | January 28, 2010 at 02:38 PM
Maybe its quite a good thing - (the birdhouse that is not, the paper pants) It will probably disintegrate at the end of the year and then it wont need cleaning
K
Posted by: Karen - An Artist's Garden | January 28, 2010 at 04:50 PM
Karen - you are a 'glass half full' kind of a girl aren't you?
Posted by: Dawn/LittleGreenFingers | January 28, 2010 at 06:52 PM
I think you should consider as a sort of tent for birds. Lovely on a sunny day but drippy and miserable when it rains.
Like camping in Wales. *
The tougher, Bear Grylls type, birds will love it: unless of course you come over all Cath Kidston when you are decorating it in which case the market will change to the Lily-Allen-at-Glastonbury-wannabee birds
* or anywhere, to be honest.
Posted by: JamesA-S | January 28, 2010 at 07:51 PM
I love the idea of a tent for birds! Maybe they could use it as a playhouse when the little birds get a bit bigger?
I like Karen's half full approach to life. My rather black sense of humour immediately presented me with a cartoon of the bottom falling out of a soggy birdhouse, nest and all. I could even see Tom the cat rushing underneath with his mouth open.
Sorry. Not what your children are after.
Posted by: elizabethm | January 28, 2010 at 10:14 PM
James - I have a feeling it will be more Jackson Pollock than Cath Kidston - not sure which birds that will appeal to...
ELizabeth - Eric our cat is very appreciative of your sense of humour.
Posted by: Dawn/LittleGreenFingers | January 29, 2010 at 11:53 AM