A Birdhouse Village

I love birdhouses ... in all shapes, sizes, and styles. They don't even have to be functional. I have several on our back fence which I can see from my office window.

I'm always on the lookout for unusual houses that will complement my collection, with the idea of eventually having a little "birdhouse village," similar to the "snow villages" some people display at Christmastime.

With that in mind, I "googled" pictures of birdhouses, and would like to share some of my favorites, ranging from primitive and rustic to purely decorative and elegant (aka expensive). I'll start with this rustic handmade Amish house ...

And here's another little primitive birdhouse I'd love to add to my collection ...

Red seems to be a popular color, and I love this pretty red house and unique barn ...

Isn't this a pretty folk art house!

No village would be complete without a diner and a train station, right?

I live in Vicksburg, Mississippi, which is perched high on the bluffs of the Mississippi River and steeped in Civil War history. So you can imagine my delight when I came across the next two birdhouses ...

Don't you just love Google!

I mentioned "elegant" and "expensive" earlier -- you can buy this elegant birdhouse from Frontgate for $549.00!

I don't think my little cardinals and wrens will ever live in a house like the next ones, unless they win the lottery ...

But I can picture them perched on this pretty church house singing their little hearts out on a Sunday morning ...

It would be difficult to choose just one of these birdhouses, but I think I would pick the little red rustic house. Did you notice that it is mounted on what appears to be a shovel handle? How neat is that!