One of my friends mentioned that they have goats in their neighborhood, so it seems I need to come up with a more impressive story about country living (ha ha). So let's try this:
We painted entry doors last week, so all the hardware was off and the doors were left open so the paint could dry (one of the perks of county living with a fenced in yard and two dogs). This past Saturday I was clearing tools/paint supplies/etc. off the shelves in the living room and I see a bunch of leaves on one shelf - I mean A BUNCH of leaves piled on top of a box. I tell my brother-in-law, who said the wind probably blew them in. Curious that they only landed on one shelf, but I accept that answer and keep working. As I carefully picked the box up to carry it outside and dump the leaves, I discovered that it wasn't just a "bunch of leaves" at all - it was a BIRD'S NEST.
In less than a week, a bird made a home inside our house. INCREDIBLE! After making sure it wasn't inhabited, I carefully carry the box around to show everyone, who one by one are amazed, and then place the box outside so I can show Jim later.
But the story doesn't end there. We're working away when I see a movement in the entryway. I thought it was a leaf or some such. But my brother-in-law saw the whole thing and said it was the bird. He flew in, saw the three of us, and turned around and flew back out.
I feel bad that the little guy lost his home, but my sister assured me that they make 3-4 nests and then the girl comes to pick, so that made me feel better. I've been telling myself ever since that his other nests had to have been just as nice or nicer than this one.
Needless to say, my brother-in-law got all the door knobs & trim back on the doors and we closed them, so that won't happen again. Wish I had of thought to take a picture, but I didn't and I think someone disposed of it today. If it's still there the next time I get over there, I'll post a picture.
We DID have a bird fly in our house when we left the door open, but have never had a nest inside our house. You also had 2 goats which is more impressive than my one. ;) You have two dogs?
ReplyDeleteAs a seasoned country living girl since 1974, here is another amazing bird story.
ReplyDeleteA few months back in early September as I was leaving for the meeting one Sunday morning, I heard soft sounds (like you hear something, but not really) coming from somewhere in the mudroom. As we always have volunteer field mice out there near the wood stove in early Fall, I figured that was one of our new guests.
I did stop a couple times while I was making my way to the door, but never could quite hear where the muffled soft sound was coming from. My eyes caught sight of something laying on my sewing table out there as I walked by, I glanced again, but saw it was just a small leaf or blob of dust or something. So I left for the meeting.
I went in service for 2 hours after the meeting, putting me home around 2:30 in the afternoon. When I opened the outside door, something just looked different here and there. Couldn't tell what, but something. As I started up the three steps into the kitchen, I heard that same noise again. Now I was really hearing it, even when I was walking and making noise myself. And it seemed to be coming from many different places each time. I came in and put my things down, going back out there determined to pinpoint the area of the noise, wanting to convince myself it was only a tiny mouse guest, and not a rat or a WHOLE bunch of mice guests.
ReplyDeleteThis time out to the mudroom, I am on the top of the three steps, and the noise seemed to be up, like up over my head. So I decided I would look UP and listen. There was the noise, the almost no-noise zooming thing, dashing around and around the ceiling (which is like 12 feet high). It took me a minute to wrap my brain around what my eyes were seeing........a hummingbird! A gorgeous little hummer, who was by now flying much slower than usual because well, the poor guy was exhausted. He had been in that room all day, flying around and bumping into different things. Hence the soft sounds.
Seems that Mike had had the glass storm door propped open earlier that morning going in and out in his wheelchair, and the hummer flew inside. Then he was trapped as I left for the meeting and was still flying around that afternoon. If you know about hummingbirds you know that they have to eat like every few minutes the entire time they are awake.
I was so worried that he would die in there. We have lots of feeders for them in our yard, so I felt responsible for him now. I decided to open the glass door wide and leave it open while I began preparing lunch. I kept opening the door and peeking out there, but he was still flying madly around and around the entire rectangular shape of the ceiling!
ReplyDeleteNow what to do? I went outside and grabbed one of the hummingbird feeders and rigged it to hang in the open doorway, hoping that when he (surely he would) flew over to sip the tasty familiar nectar, he would see that he is in the open air and just fly away. He never went there.
So I got my handy butterfly net, and walked around under him trying to shoo him out toward the open door. Did not work. My arm was getting tired, and my left foot that was newly healed from broken bones did not savor all that walking back and forth while looking UP!
Then the worst happened. At the one end of the mudroom is the utility room (mudroom used to be a carport that we closed into a room) and since we removed the double doors to keep it a utility room, there is a doorway left. So the little guy finally got tired of me swinging that net at him and flew down under the door jamb and up to the ceiling of that utility room! Now there are two wooden lofts built above the washer and dryer, and those lofts are loaded with camping gear, winter gear, all kinds of goodies and nice and dark to hide in. Well, he was so tired out by now, he was starting to need to land on things (a hummingbird rarely lands where you can see him) and landed, you guessed it, on top of the camping gear that literally touched the 12 foot ceiling on top of one of the lofts!
So here is Karen, 63 years old with meeting clothes still on, butterfly net in hand, climbing up on a stool, onto the top of the washer, standing on tip toes (remember the broken bones issue?) trying to stretch and reach way to the back of the loft to put the net over the now pitiful squeaking trembling hummingbird.
My persistence (stubbornness) paid off as I was able to kinda crawl back on the camping gear and gently swoop the net down over him. Got him! Now what??? I figured by now he was going to die anyway being so traumatized and without food for nearly 7 hours, so what to lose? I starting bringing him and the net over bumpity bumpity all the tents and sleeping bags and such and then all of a sudden he was right there in my hand in the net!
I have never held a hummingbird before, it was thrilling. But no time to be thrilled or even show Mike, I was so afraid he would just squeak one last time and keel over in my hand. I scrambled down all my makeshift climbing trail, raced to the door (well, walked quickly) and turned the net over and picked him up gently. He just sat still, turning his q-tip sized head at me, and then made a teeny chirp and buzzed away into the bright sky!
Guess what that leaf/dust thing I saw on my sewing cabinet about 9:30 that morning was?
ReplyDeleteSo cool. I was hoping for more bizarre critter stories. I hope to hold a hummingbird in my hand someday, but not under such a stressful situation! :)
ReplyDeleteHummingbird poop? (Guessing Karen's question.) Here's a link to my best critter story: http://drevas-simplepleasures.blogspot.com/2009/07/uninvited-guest.html (the saga also continues a couple posts after this one)
ReplyDeleteI actually remembered that story as I was telling this one. A bat in the house while you are living there tops a bird nest in the house before you move in. Although I do find myself wondering what else we're going to find that moved in those few days the doors were open!!!
ReplyDeleteWell.... if you shut everything up tight for a while you won't find anything alive. Is that better or worse, I don't know. Maybe just get a cat. That would find anything, right? Ha ha.
ReplyDelete