A week or two ago, I wrote a blog about a couple of bird
houses that I built and painted. There was really nothing special about them
and due to my procrastination I figured that it would be next year before a
bird would even look at the houses. Any self respecting bird couple would have
already found a home and begun “nesting”.
To amuse myself, I made up little FOR
RENT signs which I hung on the perch of each house. Over the past couple
of weeks I would look out the front window and the kitchen window and get a quiet
smile when I saw those little signs on the empty bird houses that were swaying
in the breeze.
Today when I looked out the front window I saw the head of a
bird. It could have been a tiny owl or a really tiny eagle, but I suspect it
was a sparrow of some kind. I tried to figure out what kind, but to tell you
the truth; all birds look pretty much the same to me, feathers, beak, little
black eyes, a tail made of longer feathers and creepy little three toed feet
with claws on the end. Yes, some are big and some are little, some sing and
some just stare at you asking the same question over and over again.
Eagles, hawks and owls are majestic, but probably not if you
are a mouse of a ground squirrel. Ducks and geese are interesting to watch and
will let you feed them. I might add that they are pretty tasty when properly
cooked as well. It’s the littler birds that confuse me. They fly well, and seem
to shit more than they eat, but that is about it for them. They don’t really do
anything other than sing a little and from time to time take up residence in
one of my bird houses.
So, I was surprised to see the bird sticking his beak out
from inside the bird house. He (she?) seemed a little big, so I watched just to
make sure it was able to make it out the opening I cut. It wouldn’t do to have
a dead bird in one of my rental units. Nothing turns prospective renters off
faster than a rotting corpse. I did think of the Monty Python sketch and I
would have taken more than a few pics with the dead bird. Sadly, it was/is
alive and can come and go at will. Maybe the next house I make the will have a
door that irises (?) closed when some one enters.
The funny thing was that the FOR
RENT sign had fallen off at some point. I went out and hooked it back on
to the perch just because I liked the look of it. You know that age has crept
up on you when tiny bird house signs make your day. I looked out about ten
minutes later and the sign was gone from the house and laying on the ground. I
guess the bird can read and doesn’t want to take the chance I might rent the
place to a more appropriate tenant.
I have just the one house left out back, but with the
downturn in the oil industry, I seriously doubt that I will find a renter. Perhaps
some down and out roustabout will want to down size.
Here’s hoping!
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