In the early nineties, I took a picture of an English dovecote from a very chi-chi garden catalog and showed it to a carpenter in a small shop in Gore, Oklahoma. Unbelievably, he was able to construct and craft an exact replica of the glossy image...all the way down to the individual placement of each tiny shingle on the birdhouse roof. All, I might add, for $60. Criminally low, almost like stealing, so of course he got a handsome bonus for his time and talent.
The ravages of time and weather finally took their toll on this handsome birdhouse, its decrepit state inviting only some rather nasty wasps. It has recently undergone a rather extensive renovation, and I welcomed it back just a couple of weeks ago, splendid with its glossy new roof (the color of my new arbor) and an impressively large finial.
I am happy to report that a lovely little family of wrens have taken up residence. Such discriminating taste, those wrens.