Okay, so it's been a while since I posted. I guess that's because it seems for once everything is going upward in my life. I suppose that makes for boring blogging though. Now something that has been interesting is the weather here in Rochester, NY.
It's been getting steadily warmer and nicer- and it's only March! Coming from an area of the country that literally has snow piles melting on the side of the road until June, that's impressive. It also makes me wonder if we're now seeing the effects of climate change on a larger scale- or if this is just a natural phase the earth goes through. There are a lot of conflicting scientific theories on the matter. Some say that the climate is changing due to harmful pollutants deteriorating the ozone layer which ultimately protects us from the sun. Others say that this is a part of a natural cycle of high highs and low lows that the earth rotates through now and again. My opinion on the matter? As with all things natural, it's probably a combination of the two. In this life if there's one thing I've learned so far it's that nothing comes from one direct cause- but rather from an accumulation of causes that all attributed to one outcome.
On the bright side: it's nice outside! So instead of staying inside and contemplating what it all means I'm going to enjoy it while I have the chance. As always, thanks for reading!
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Saturday, February 11, 2012
The Birds!
By Melody Flammger
What the...?
This morning, after carefully dropping my husband off to work I had hoped for an hour or two nap to catch up on some sleep. Upon re-entering my bed, however there was a noise I could not attribute to anyone in the room (it was just myself and Perky my lovable Cairn Terrier). At first, I thought we might have a mouse in the crawlspace above the ceiling where the noise was coming from. The noise was like something clawing or chewing on the ceiling above me. My first instinct was to determine if it was an animal so I grabbed a broom and tapped the ceiling with the handle. The noise stopped for a moment and then restarted. Again, I tapped the ceiling gently with the handle. The noise again stopped for a moment and restarted. After tapping again the noise had ceased. Now there was a new noise but this one I was familiar with- a bird crashing into the window of the sun-porch.
Back Story:
When my husband and I first moved into our apartment, we were made aware that there had been (past tense) a bird's nest in the ceiling-roof crawlspace. We were made to believe that the birds were now gone and that the hole had been patched up and more repairs would be made to the outside when the weather got better. I'm pretty sure our landlord was just naive to the reality of what was going on, but about a week ago
my husband took it upon himself to clean out the nest that was left behind. There was an access panel from removing the nest previously. Taking the panel down, it was clear that the birds were indeed not gone and that they had nested in the entire area of the ceiling of the sun-porch (about a 5'x8' space). He removed about five pounds of nest material from a small area (2'x2').
Upon discovering that the birds were still using our porch for a nest we contacted the landlord. He agreed that he would come and fix the hole where the birds were getting into the house and followed through. He replaced shingles and soffit pieces. We thought during the process that the birds were away, meaning that we would not see them again. Later that day, the birds returned to find the access to their home boarded up. Angry, we assumed they started crashing into the windows of the sun-porch expecting to access their nest that way. My husband was the one to check the noise out and I am unsure of if he confirmed that the noise was coming from them crashing into the porch windows from the outside of the porch or the inside.
(Photo: Melody Flammger) The bird trapped in the porch.
The Birds have returned:
Having heard the familiar noise of the bird crashing into the porch windows I began to get curious and pulled up the blinds on the porch door to see what was going on. What I did NOT expect to find was one of the birds INSIDE of the porch. Amused, I snapped a photo and posted to Facebook asking what I should do. Of course, the first answer I got was to shoot it. Lacking a gun or license to have one, I decided on a tamer route- let the bird out the window, shut the window and hope they don't come back!
(Photo: Melody Flammger) My "bird extermination gear to make sure the bird was unable to harm me when I opened the window to let it out.
Operation Window:
Afraid of being mauled by an animal terrified for its life and possibly disoriented from banging its head against the glass of the windows I opted to cover myself as much as possible. I put on the hood to the sweater I was already wearing, wrapped a scarf around my face for protection and another around my neck and donned some sunglasses and a pair of gloves. I was terrified that the bird was going to attack me- that it was going to land on my head or back and dig its talons into my flesh. In reality the bird flew back up into the crawlspace while I crept into the room, opened the window and ran back out and shut the door. It was another hour or so before the bird finally felt comfortable coming back out of the crawlspace and attempted escape again- successfully.
What the...?
This morning, after carefully dropping my husband off to work I had hoped for an hour or two nap to catch up on some sleep. Upon re-entering my bed, however there was a noise I could not attribute to anyone in the room (it was just myself and Perky my lovable Cairn Terrier). At first, I thought we might have a mouse in the crawlspace above the ceiling where the noise was coming from. The noise was like something clawing or chewing on the ceiling above me. My first instinct was to determine if it was an animal so I grabbed a broom and tapped the ceiling with the handle. The noise stopped for a moment and then restarted. Again, I tapped the ceiling gently with the handle. The noise again stopped for a moment and restarted. After tapping again the noise had ceased. Now there was a new noise but this one I was familiar with- a bird crashing into the window of the sun-porch.
Back Story:
When my husband and I first moved into our apartment, we were made aware that there had been (past tense) a bird's nest in the ceiling-roof crawlspace. We were made to believe that the birds were now gone and that the hole had been patched up and more repairs would be made to the outside when the weather got better. I'm pretty sure our landlord was just naive to the reality of what was going on, but about a week ago
my husband took it upon himself to clean out the nest that was left behind. There was an access panel from removing the nest previously. Taking the panel down, it was clear that the birds were indeed not gone and that they had nested in the entire area of the ceiling of the sun-porch (about a 5'x8' space). He removed about five pounds of nest material from a small area (2'x2').
Upon discovering that the birds were still using our porch for a nest we contacted the landlord. He agreed that he would come and fix the hole where the birds were getting into the house and followed through. He replaced shingles and soffit pieces. We thought during the process that the birds were away, meaning that we would not see them again. Later that day, the birds returned to find the access to their home boarded up. Angry, we assumed they started crashing into the windows of the sun-porch expecting to access their nest that way. My husband was the one to check the noise out and I am unsure of if he confirmed that the noise was coming from them crashing into the porch windows from the outside of the porch or the inside.
(Photo: Melody Flammger) The bird trapped in the porch.
The Birds have returned:
Having heard the familiar noise of the bird crashing into the porch windows I began to get curious and pulled up the blinds on the porch door to see what was going on. What I did NOT expect to find was one of the birds INSIDE of the porch. Amused, I snapped a photo and posted to Facebook asking what I should do. Of course, the first answer I got was to shoot it. Lacking a gun or license to have one, I decided on a tamer route- let the bird out the window, shut the window and hope they don't come back!
Operation Window:
Afraid of being mauled by an animal terrified for its life and possibly disoriented from banging its head against the glass of the windows I opted to cover myself as much as possible. I put on the hood to the sweater I was already wearing, wrapped a scarf around my face for protection and another around my neck and donned some sunglasses and a pair of gloves. I was terrified that the bird was going to attack me- that it was going to land on my head or back and dig its talons into my flesh. In reality the bird flew back up into the crawlspace while I crept into the room, opened the window and ran back out and shut the door. It was another hour or so before the bird finally felt comfortable coming back out of the crawlspace and attempted escape again- successfully.
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