Birdhouse City

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Look who’s back! Our fabulous Stone Mill – also known as the Glenora or Van Alstine's Mill - has been out for a much needed spruce up since it was last restored two years ago, an example of the wear and tear from the elements in our City.

Stone Mill has had many different looks throughout the years. Restored by Don Leslie this time around, we love that it's kept its beautiful faux stone artwork detail thanks to Rosalind Leslie and Jane Winwood.

Our huge thanks goes out to these three volunteers for restoring this wonderful birdhouse!

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Sunday replay of this amazing birdhouse we introduced to you back in June - 3rd Picton Embers! Every time we go by we spot another little lovely detail in the incredible artwork of Sam Sakr!

This birdhouse makes us smile - come see for yourself! ☺️🐦

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1st Picton Spark/Brownie/Guide Guiding Unit

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Marvelous Lakeshore Lodge is shining back in the City once again thanks to another brilliant restoration job by Gerry Mulder! ❤️ One of our larger birdhouses with ample accommodations, this one is put together in three pieces to resemble the main, east and west wings of the real structure.

The lodge operated at West Point between 1870 and 1972 and was the longest operating shoreline hotel in the County, attracting over a million visitors in its time. In the early days guests were met with a stagecoach at the drive and met personally at the door by the manager. The three storey building was known for its large verandas on the main, second and third floors. Cottages were also built lakeside for people preferring a smaller and more private setting and along the point a lamp-lit boardwalk linked the Lodge with West Point Park. Its dining hall could seat up to 120 diners and its facilities included shuffleboard and tennis courts, change houses, a dance hall, bowling alley, merry-go-round, baseball diamond, riding stables, ice cream parlour, swimming pool, and even a 3-hole golf course – all of which was a lot in the 1890s!

Lakeshore Lodge closed in 1972, sadly sitting vacant for a decade before it burned to the ground on Halloween in 1983.

Feeling nostalgic? Come check out Lakeshore Lodge in the City or find the floor of the original dance hall at Sandbanks Provincial Park!

The lodge had been looking a little worse for wear... thank you Gerry for restoring and returning this iconic County gem to the City!

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Standing tall, even with a tilt, the Leaning Tower of Pisa is back!

This stunning birdhouse is believed to have been built by John Poneta, who was based in Florence during the Second World War and so taken with the area that he later took his family there on holiday in the early 1960s.

Known today for its almost four degree lean, the torre pendente di Pisa is the freestanding Romanesque style bell tower of Pisa Cathedral, and one of three structures in the square. It took over 199 years to build but began to sink during the second phase of its construction in 1178 due to an unstable foundation. In the last stage of building the bell-chamber was added in 1372. (By 1990 the tilt had reached 5.5 degrees and had to be stabilized by remedial work).

This is no small architectural feat - our huge thanks go out to Marvin Ferley for this spectacular restoration 🙌🏼 - this is one of the most ornate and beautiful structures in the City! And special thanks to our friend Janice Poneta for sharing her family’s story 💕.

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Happy Canada Day! 🇨🇦🍁

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Speeding into the long weekend... have a great one everybody! 😍

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Welcome 3rd Picton Embers! Not new, this one has been with us for a long time but under a different name; we LOVE😍 this birdhouse - it’s practically a party cake with its gorgeous, detailed hand painted three tiers, an Ember topper, and wonderful history - it was originally donated by the 3rd Picton Brownies unit in 1980! And we're pretty sure it's the tallest birdhouse in the City!

In the past, along with Scouting, Girl Guiding was more prolific in the County and when Birdhouse City was on the rise many community groups including Guides and Scouts built and donated birdhouses. Today in the County the 1st Picton Spark/Brownie/Guide Guiding Unit serves all the guiding levels in the County thanks to its remarkable volunteer leaders.

In the last 100 years, 7 million Canadian girls and women have been involved in Guiding. And as of last year, Brownies are now known as ‘Embers’ - a new inclusive name introduced by Girl Guides of Canada to reflect guiding as a place to be yourself, grow confidence and explore your talents and interests.

Special shout out to Guider Laura Bryan for her guidance and support in transitioning our house 'from Brownies to Embers'. And a special thanks to Claire Pringle for helping with installation and giving this birdhouse the Girl Guide seal of approval!!🙌🏼

Our huge thanks and applause 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼goes to our builders: the fabulous restoration by Bill Wood and the incredible artistry of Sam Sakr, complete with the Ember Promise, Motto and a sweet owl of course - amazing!

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Wishing all the Dads out there everywhere, a fabulous day filled with cool dance moves! 😉❤️😅🐦

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We have our share of retail spaces in the City; we even have our very own thrift store with the sweet little Second Time Around Shop returning thanks to Birdhouse City builder Colin Milroy!

At some unknown point in time our little shop was repurposed from Picton Home Hardware! It pays homage to the Second Time Around Shop we all know on Main Street in Picton, run by the PECMH Women’s Auxiliary. Along with other fundraising efforts, revenue from the shop allows the Auxiliary to provide funding for new hospital equipment and other initiatives that contribute to the health and wellbeing of the community.

The first very first meeting of the Auxiliary was held in Picton on October 27, 1934, following the amalgamation of several County Women’s Institutes which had supported the hospital from its beginning in 1918.

Thank you Colin for a wonderful makeover!

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The Mansion is back!

Back last fall this regal home was looking a little worse for wear. Shout out to builder Brooke Ferley for his amazing restoration work on this gorgeous birdhouse. We LOVE the pop of colour with the addition of red bricks and a yellow loft!

We know that in 1981 a very different looking Moira Mansion was introduced to Birdhouse City, but we don’t know the origins of this particular mansion. There are many in and around Picton, clustered on Queen and Main streets; the Ross-McMullin-Roblin House (better known as the CAPE), and Merrill House are a few… perhaps our lovely mansion is a nod to a number of these majestic homes.

Who wouldn't want to live here? 🪺Our huge heartfelt thanks to Brooke for bringing The Mansion back to the City!

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One of the largest and most unique birdhouses in the City, our Horse Team has come galloping back to us thanks to the amazing restoration work of Gerry Mulder! 🙌🏼🐎🐎

Originally designed and built by John Poneta this may have represented the horse team that Harvey J. McFarland purchased at the very young age of 16. After logging, threshing grain and hauling rocks he started to haul crushed gravel to municipalities and operated his own gravel pit. 1937 saw his first big contract - building the road from the Glenora Ferry to Picton; other notable contracts included Mountain View Airport and two runways at Uplands Airport in Ottawa for Canada’s new CF100 and F86 fighter planes.

Also a former mayor, Harvey was a philanthropist, who among many other gifts donated the land for the construction of the new Prince Edward County Hospital.

We love our Horse Team with its new Appaloosa spots! and the sweet addition of a racing canine. Our heartfelt thanks to Gerry for restoring yet another fabulous birdhouse for the City.

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We're feeling rather regal and splendid out here heading into this long weekend - come by for a visit and check out our beautiful new birdhouse additions!

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Our beautiful Pennsylvania Dutch Barn was featured in one of our Birdhouse City Challenges last year, to find all three barns out here. Since then, it’s been taken down and restored by our awesome builders Alan Hurst and Craig Leask. It's featured on Carl Wiens wonderful Print No.17 and you can spot it right from the road - it’s huge and it’s RED!

Dutch barns typically were decorated with a folk art barn star or hex sign and are a distant cousin to our fabulous quilt barns throughout the County. And while barn decorating in Pennsylvania reached its peak in the early 20th century, here in the County it remains ‘a thing’!

We LOVE😍 our Dutch barn with its dormers and inviting open doors - who wouldn’t want to set up a homestead here? Our huge thanks goes out to Alan and Craig for another wonderful restoration!

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Wishing mums of every kind everywhere a very happy Mother's Day today! ❤️

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It’s May and you know what that means…birds AND birdhouses are returning to the City! 😍🙌🏼🐦

Our volunteers and Birdhouse City Builders are the best! A special shout out to our 2024 preliminary installation team who were out today to get these beauties back up on their posts: Colin Milroy, Gerry Mulder, Brian and Eunice Lackey, Alan Hurst, Craig Leask, Don Leslie, Rosalind Mulcair Leslie, Emmerson and Claire Pringle, Brook and Marvin Ferley, Adrian Williams and Bill Woods!

We can’t wait to tell you about these amazing birdhouses and their builders – follow us here and on Instagram over the next few weeks for some very cool stories!

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What are you doing today?

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Wishing everyone a happy Earth Day!

One planet, one chance... together, making small, daily changes we can make it healthier 💖

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Shout out to all the trash bashers in the County who were out yesterday, including our intrepid Birdhouse City team! Way to go! 🙌🏼🚮PEC Trash Bash 2024!

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We couldn't agree more - thanks South Eastern Ontario!!

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Best bird watching and birding events in Ontario Ontario offers some of the finest bird watching experiences in Canada at top birding events, bird watching hotspots and bird sanctuaries.

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Okay, so we're not having a solar eclipse 'party' but we are one of the coolest spots in the Country to experience the earth (and us birds) going quiet at eclipse totality... the best time? Just before 3PM today through to totality at 3:21PM. But come out anytime - we'd love to see you! 😎

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A Total Solar Eclipse Is Coming. How Will Birds and Other Wildlife React? When the moon covers the sun, animals get weird. April's eclipse gives scientists--and you--a chance to learn more about their responses. Here's how and where you can take part.

Colourful eggs and new beginnings. Enjoy this beautiful day!🐰🐣

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