Like most folk, when I feel guilty, I feel compelled to over-compensate with an extravagant gesture. But what could I do for my boys?
The answer occurred to me when I was walking home after a really windy day. There were quite a lot of freshly-fallen (i.e. clean) branches on the ground, one of which had quite a nice curvy shape, like a tree from a Dr Seuss book. Perfect!
I got a few strange looks walking through the city with my huge branch, and one comment "Nice tree!" That's not exactly what my husband said when I walked into our little apartment with half a gum tree, but he's a good sport when it comes to the birds, so I was allowed to keep it after a little pruning.
As for the birds themselves...they're loving having somewhere to sit that's much higher than their playstand, and have been especially excited by the fact that the tree sometimes 'grows' walnuts and other goodies, hidden in the leaves. I've tried to add a photo but unfortunately the site isn't allowing me to do so...just imagine two small birds scrambling around in a 2.5 metre 'gum tree' wedged between the sofa and the kitchen bench, and you get the idea. They look adorable
![Happy :)](./images/smilies/1.gif)
I'm not sure how long we'll keep it (the leaves are dropping everywhere) but it's good fun for now!