Every year I set myself some goals I want to achieve that year. This year (2024) it’s making the garden more bird friendly. I will start by making birdhouses – hopefully in time for nesting season – and they will not be ‘normal’.

For anyone that knows me well, I don’t tend to do things the easy way or what is deemed ‘normal’ in today’s society. ‘Cause, you know, why be basic when you can be extraaaaa. So, on that note, I will be making my bird houses in the style of Amsterdam canal houses, paint them white and blue like Delft blue tiles, and maybe even give them a tiny little orange flag to go with it. I mean, if you can’t enjoy some or your home country on your doorstep, why not create some instead.

I’ll be making various sizes to accommodate various birds, which’ll need a bit of research for sizes etc. And I’m probably looking into making no more than 2 or 3, birds are territorial so there’s not much point in overcrowding. I’ve got 2 mature trees in my garden so hopefully I can get high enough in there, which hopefully means the cats can’t get to them.

It is worth noting that I am not from either Amsterdam or Delft, I just like how both those typically Dutch things look and it reminds me of home. Don’t get me wrong, I love living in South Devon – it’s my home –  but, I do miss my home country despite not having lived there for almost 20 years now (typing that realisation just made me go 😱 – that’s almost half my live 🤯)

I’ll make sure to make a DIY post about it too so you can create one of your own, should you like to.