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Has the digital age eliminated the need for wall clocks? Not so, I say. Your wall clocks may begin from the notion of decorating, adding a fresh design to a drab wall.

After a fashion, I can report from experience, no matter what the clock looked like originally, eventually you’ll just notice where the hands are located on the dial. I’m of an opinion (one of millions) that wall clocks should have hands and numbers around the wheel. That’s because I learned to tell time on those military, stiff clocks on the walls of my elementary school.

Some of the more-unique clocks I’ve seen are designed for kitchen walls. We seem to take more liberties there than in other rooms. If you’re considering kitchen remodeling, remember that clocks provide complementary accents to the decor.

You’ve hit the big time

Photo from Etsy

The 17” inch diameter of this old school clock from Jewell, Kansas harkens back to those days when your life orbited around the classroom timepiece. This clock, for sale at Etsy, no longer works. But twice in every 24-hour period, it tells precisely the correct time.

Nice kitty

Photo from eBAY

Clocks, like other appliances, can sport a unique design and be functional at the same time. I owned a model of this clock for many years until the mechanism would no longer operate the wagging tail and wobbling eyes. And after a while, the novelty wore off and all I saw was a dial and hands. I found this one on eBay, where it was selling for $39.95.

Time flies

Photo from Toxel

Toxel, a most-excellent design blog, hosted this freakishly unsettling wall clock. After a while, would you even notice that the design has a few bugs in it?

Lost in time

Photo from Hometone

Shades of M.C. Escher! The convex mirror on this clock from Hometone puts you in the center of time, at the middle of the moment or, completely in the NOW!

The idea of a birdbath – the idea itself – sets my mind loose on sociology-politico judgments galore. For heaven’s sake: they just look good and help out our two-winged buddies. Still there’s a back story to birdbaths, class snobbery and our European heritage. Bah! Where I grew up in Brooklyn, the pigeons were lucky to find an open fireplug, and mind the force!

Traditional avian amenities go green

Photo by Bird Baths

No wonder this is the number-one seller at Bird Baths. The traditional look of The Smart Solar Kensington Gardens 2-Tier Solar Bird Bath Fountain is paired with on-demand solar heater powered by built-in panels. The recirculation system keeps the water fresh and warm in cold climates for your beaked best friends.

Outdoor improvements with flair

Photo by Make Mine Mosaic

Canadian artisans have created stained-glass decorated birdbaths. Check out other inviting designs at Make Mine Mosaic.

Terracotta be me!

Photo by The Bird Nerds

If you’re a bird, this is the place! Part-amusement park, part-community bathhouse, this multi-tiered fountain will attract nearby daredevil fowl and hunched-up herons that, frankly, need a bath.

Everybody out!

Photo by Doughboy

This is the bird bath my family enjoyed during the 1960s. Birds generally detest the chemicals used in swimming pools. When we weren’t using our birdbath, we pulled over a tarp which doubled as a bombing range for the local flock. Considering the amazing inventiveness of birds (today I spied a crow carrying a plastic juice bottle in its beak), I think that we install birdbaths to benefit our own emotional hygiene.

Birdbath population planning

Photo by National Geographic

There is a direct connection between cats, birdbaths and tragedies (well, not for the cat.) If anyone knows how to keep Old Mouser out of a fountain, feel free to post your feedback. It seems easier to patrol the peace between in-laws.