~I made this as a centerpiece for a family tea I held in my home in the spring.The theme of the tea I gave for the ladies in the family was HOME.~
~Inside this candle lantern is a nest my grandchildren found on the ground the day before the tea. In my grandchildrens' defense, they did not know the nest was probably being used at the time, after all, it was on the ground, not in a tree. After consulting my Bird's nest identification book we discovered it is the nest of a Rufous -sided Towhee, and they nest in low bushes, vines, and the ground. The grandchildren were VERY excited to give the nest to me because they know I highly value bird's nests...and birds too.
~Inside this candle lantern is a nest my grandchildren found on the ground the day before the tea. In my grandchildrens' defense, they did not know the nest was probably being used at the time, after all, it was on the ground, not in a tree. After consulting my Bird's nest identification book we discovered it is the nest of a Rufous -sided Towhee, and they nest in low bushes, vines, and the ground. The grandchildren were VERY excited to give the nest to me because they know I highly value bird's nests...and birds too.
~I decided to create a centerpiece for my tea using this precious gift. Inside my candle lantern I made a tag with one of a few definitions of nesting. "Nest:any small or cozy place of abode, a snuggery or retreat." Funk and Wagnalls new Standard Dictionary
~Is that not just the best description one could ever want of HOME ? I have always wanted my home to be cozy, a place of retreat and comfort..a place that nourishes the body and soul. A place where family and friend and even stranger can find some comfort and encouragement. "If we return to the old home as to a nest, it is because memories are dreams, because the home of other days has become a great image of lost intimacy." Gaston Bachelard
~"This sense that you are really, truly home cannot be drawn up like a blueprint. It never depends on how many hollyhocks are planted beside the garden gate. It doesn't even matter if the front door leads to a three bedroom ranch exactly like every other on the block or a Victorian high up on a hill...It's any house where the children sleep peacefully in their beds on winter nights , dreaming beneath warm quilts. It's any address where you realize-perhaps at long last-your own good fortune." Alice Hoffman Doesn't this quote sound like a description of a nest, a snuggery ?A cozy place everyone's heart yearns for?
~Home, our own home...does not require much. And a home does not need to actually be owned by us. We have made a home in an old trailer we bought and lived in for 3 years before we built our house. Our daughter and her family made their HOME a tent they lived in for months while their house was built.Big difference, house and home. One is a structure, the other an abode, a dwelling for the heart and soul. I love being home, in my house!I love the little nest my Hubby and I share, with each other, friends, and family !
