This past weekend, I went Goodwill Hunting…of course. And I spied me a small white ceramic bird that just needed to fly that coop and come home with me. For. One. Dollar. It was amazing….well…not amazing at first. Initially it was sort of scary.

I first saw it in the dishware section. I stood there. Staring at the thing. Thinking that maybe it had a scowl on its face. Or that the void in it’s eye was some demonic possession symbolizing a cruel evil heart beating deep within it’s ceramic belly. The lighting was just right to make me believe that somehow this feathered fiend would attack me – my daydream-mare was a weird combination of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds and Childs Play’s Chuckie. As I was staring into the face of this glossy albino sparrow (literally, I am four inches away from its beak), I see a hand reaching up toward it…so without hesitation I quickly snatch the fowl off the shelf, stash the wee bird in my buggy and move to the next aisle. No time for the usual boogie dance…just grasp and go. The hand belonged to some old guy who was grabbing a Jeff Gordon mug…go figure. But it was just the motivation I needed to make the chick mine-o-mine.

Once I got it home, it wasn’t scary at all. In fact, after a quick bird-bath, it looked downright pleasant. I love the texture of the feathered back and sides. and it appears that the scowl turned into a bit of a smile. Maybe she just didn’t like living in the Goodwill…I can understand…it does have a weird smell in there.

And I thought that since I am introducing my new little sparrow to you, that I would share the rest of our pets as well. And believe me, we practically have a zoo! Not of real live animals, mind you, but of decorative figures of creatures big and small.

A giraffe and it’s baby live currently on our fireplace hearth. They came to us from a Pier 1 clearance store during my “lets-decorate-Jeremy’s-apartment” days. I thought that their rugged metal texture and dark brown color looked manly and invoked impressions of ‘world-traveler’. Of course, Jeremy had never been outta the good ole US of A at that point but any apartment visitor wouldn’t know that 🙂

Another creature that was originally for the adornment of a then-only-a-boyfriend’s abode was this squatty elephant. He currently resides on the bottom shelf of our coffee table. He is solid wood and (unbelievably) matches the coloring of his home. Maybe he is a special breed? Like a chameleon elephant…hmm…well, whatever his hue, he was a steal at the clearance price of $3.

Our living room bookshelf houses the fifth and sixth members of our wild kingdom…the Moroccan horses. Sure, they may look like high maintenance equine but surprisingly, they both are extremely supportive (pun intended), hardworking, and apparently bookworms…I mean, they are ALWAYS around the hardbacks 🙂

And speaking of horses, all of you know our stud-ly horse head that currently calls our coffee table home. We adore our white ceramic colt bust that adds some regal flair to our living room. I can’t get enough of his sleek and smooth texture and his creamy color.

Lastly, our fish. Our scale covered friend is made from hammered metal on a metal stand. He lives in our guest bedroom above the television unit. I also got him in attempt to add some ‘man stuff’ to Jeremy’s bachelor bedroom. Yes, that was many moons ago. And no, I am not an expert on masculine decor. I just figured guys go fishing so a metal fish is automatically manly.

So that’s it. Our animal kingdom minus the fleas, pet hair, fish food, sqwalking, barking, and barn. And although I would just DIE if Jeremy surprised me with one of these, I am quite satisfied with having a collection of God’s creatures immortalized in my home. Not only are they fabulous home decor but also a great reminder of one of God’s most lovable gifts…wildlife.

I know that many of you have some uber lovable and adorable pets (real live ones too) so I wanna know…do you have a Spot, a Nemo or a Tabby? What’s their name? Do they do any tricks? Mine hold up books and can hold very, very still 🙂