Tack n' Talk
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Hello Weekend! …It’s gone to the birds!
Hey Everyone! Hope you all had a great week! Although the groundhog forecasted 6 more weeks of Winter, it seems Spring is starting to peep out from behind the clouds. 🙂
Today, we have a special Hello Weekend, featuring the artistic ironworks of David ‘Oats’ Ogilvie. Although a departure from our usual equine content, we hope you enjoy exploring the process of making these fabulous iron bird cages with us!
HOUSE OF BIRDS: ONE OF THREE
Story by David Ogilvie
Mary Sue, my wife is a big part of the birds and the cage’s. We started with two bird’s in a store bought cage; then Mary Sue decided that we should have a few more birds … well we went from two to twelve in a hurry . The pressure was on me now to create a new cage that would accommodate our new charges, as well as look good in our house. I have been working with wrought iron for 20 years it has been my experience that to accomplish any task no matter how big or small you must be committed. Mary Sue says that I‘m driven, but it’s not that so much ,as it is that once I’ve decided on a piece I am very focused on that piece, and I want to see the finished project. Here is the first cage.
We researched the specific needs of a caged budgie, the amount and type of space required for flight, perching, feeding, climbing, and nesting. Budgies are members of the parrot family, they move about most often by climbing, therefore they required more height than width in the construction of the cage. We also purchased a nesting box from the pet store where we bought the birds. We hoped that given enough space they would pair off and nest. We didn’t have to wait too long before we were rewarded with the first of seven eggs, needless to say we now had to find friends who wanted to have budgies too! Anyway that is another story in itself, back to cage building. I knew that I wanted a Japanese temple look for the cage, so once the size was determined I started at the base and worked my way up. My mother-in-law Dorothy had a friend from Japan who kindly wrote out House of Birds in Japanese lettering for me. I was able to reconstruct the lettering out of metal and weld it to the sides of the cage for decoration. The overall height was 60in. high, 26in. deep, 40in. wide. We decided that the birds would enjoy our patio in the warmer months so we needed the wheels to manoeuvre the cage and occupants. We have since moved from that home and the birds have all found new homes as well, but the cage remains with us. It is a beautiful addition to our garden, in the summer and it works wonderfully well as a wild bird feeder in the winter months. So ends the story of bird cage #1.
…until the next time, Oats !
David ‘Oats’ Ogilvie was born in the Georgian Bay area but now resides in beautiful Sundridge, Ontario with his wife Mary Sue. Inspired by his parents who both served as boat welders in WWII, Oats’ approach to ironwork is characterized by hard work, adaptability and simplicity. Oats’ has been welding for over 20 years and has the unique ability to create functional pieces that are detailed with beauty. For more information, or to order your own OATS IRONWORKS birdcage, please contact David at oatsironworks@bell.net.
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