New Life

We’ve had a novel problem since moving to the sticks. It’s not unusual to find a bird, sometimes a hummingbird, stuck in our garage. They sometimes can’t figure out how to get out (even when the door is open), and fling themselves against the windows. We’ve even occasionally had to catch them in a net, so we could put them safely outside.

Recently, there’s been one particular bird who we found in the garage all the time. We’d open the garage in the morning and there it would be, apparently having stayed the night inside. Then we found the reason. One one of our shelving units, something had built a nest! Tiny twigs were stacked up together in a little corner, an amazing feat of engineering. It was much taller than it was wide, meaning there was plenty of room for hiding.

We haven’t told the boys about the nest, fearing that they’d scare the little creatures away. But, in recent days, Michael (my husband) had managed to catch some remarkable images without disturbing things too much.

It’s funny how we’ve taken on new responsibilities since beginning our country lives. When we bought the house, the previous owners took us aside and asked whether we’d mind if they left us three “barn cats” that they’d been feeding. Ever soft-hearted, we said yes. Then came the hummingbirds who began to depend on the feeder on the back porch (which also came with the house). Later, we inherited 13-year-old Maggie after my father’s death, and she’s become a wonderful canine companion. Then, somehow, I began to think it was a good idea to get a regular bird feeder for the front yard. When it goes empty, the wild birds squawk for more. And now, a little bird family has come to live in our garage.

These things aren’t usually much of a burden, but we’re planning to go out of town for a few days, and we actually have to bring in a pet sitter for the WILD ANIMALS. Hm. This running a wildlife sanctuary thing is a lot of work.