Sparrow Wars

Finally Enough Hair to Have a Bad Hair Day

The backyard sparrows tried to steal a march on me last night but I met them with overwhelming force. This trite effort to inject some excitement into a procrastinated, very mundane chore sounds a lot more exciting than it was. Last year during deck construction Deckzilla Dude noted that a family of sparrows had set up a nest inside the vent from the downstairs bathroom. I bought the required screen to place over the vent but dutifully neglected to do anything about it as I was distracted by protracted wall building. The last few days I noticed the sparrows were back, hanging around that area of the deck so I knew I had to get to work before eggs were laid. I first had to shovel snow off that part of deckzilla since even my less than OSHA approved technique of ladder mounting required that. I opened the vent up and started extracting the nest debris which was a lot more extensive than I thought. I then looked down to find the Wonder Pooch literally engulfed in the debris.

The Debris - After Bouncing Off Buddy

Ever helpful, Buddy apparently like the smell of the first batch of nesting I threw down and then stood there while the rest of it cascading down on him. I was too busy peering into the vent pipe to notice my idiotic canine. He was quickly apprised of my opinions as to his intelligence quotient and wisely sought refuge to the furthest extent of his wire. I got the cage up but the longest phase of the operation still awaited me – cleaning the debris from Buddy. He was a little resentful that the apparently exotic smell of the bird nest had to be eradicated from his coat. I think the sparrows had been tormenting him on the deck, nesting just out of his reach and he took wearing their former nest as a point of canine pride.

Project Complete

My granddaughter was in a contentious mode last evening after I recovered from my nest war. She’s definitely testing boundaries and repeatedly tried to climb onto a table she knew was forbidden. My daughter was firm and consistent at her repeated attempts but the young one immediately snapped to when Wingman reinforced the admonitions in a loud voice. It brought back a lot of memories of my own experiences as a young parent when my kids dreaded my wife calling for my assistance which usually resulted in what the kids took to calling, “Dad’s Army Voice”.

Hey Dad - The Playgrounds in California Were A Little Friendlier

This White Stuff Isn't as Cool as I Thought

Advising Position

I’ve been watching he extended edition of The Return of the King over the past couple days. This umpteenth time viewing of what is probably my favorite movie of all time also brought back memories of repeated watching of it with my son so there was an added benefit. I was able to channel my not so inner geek and reveling in the look on the orc leader’s face when the charge of the Rohirrim landed on the flank of the army besieging Minas Tirith – like I said – not so inner.