Bats In The Belfry

 My neck and shoulder hurt. Could it be the sleeping dog draped over it? The sun is shining and Mr. BoJangles is in rare form today. He woke me early and went out as usual. After that he usually plays with his toys while I enjoy my coffee and read emails. He takes all his aggression out on a small stuffed dachshund. He growls and shakes it so much that I am surprised it is still intact.

After this he will leap on me and demand my full attention. He always signals this event with a wet kiss right smack on my mouth. This means he wants me to scratch his back and rub his head until he falls asleep, after which I am supposed to hold him until he decides to wake.

I am okay with this for the most part and he will remain content as long as I have one hand on his head or belly. I can scroll with the other hand as I continue reading. But, this was cut short this morning.

His hackles rose. His long wiry hair on his back makes his hackle rising a magnificent event to see. I could feel the low rumble of a growl start and I looked towards the gate to see if perhaps Toni Louise had decided to leave the warmth of the master's bed to go outside. Toni is always ready for a growling, barking frenzy as soon as she comes into our tiny living room. It is a ritual the two perform  daily .... not for my benefit, as I do not appreciate the noise.

But, Toni was not there. His entire body stiffened and he started barking as a bird flew towards us!! There was a bird loose in my house!! How did it get here? How long has it been inside? I know for sure that I didn't see one come in the door when I let the dogs in and out. It was snowing yesterday, and nary a bird did I see. Looks like a barn swallow. Not that I tried to get close!

It was not even 9 am, but I called HeWho was still asleep on his cell and told him there was a bird flying around in here. Must have intrigued him, because he got up. While he was getting up I went to investigate the status of openings through which a bird could enter. 

Both doors leading in and out were secure. No windows were open. Then I remembered! There is an "attic" access in my laundry/electrical storage room. Years ago, I encountered a bird in my laundry room, dead on the floor. 

At first I blamed Martha, the boy cat. I thought he had caught and killed it, then brought it in as a gift for me. I know I would have noticed a bird in his mouth if I had let him in. That doesn't mean that HeWho would have noticed it, though. And ... Martha's gifts are usually disemboweled. This bird was intact, I looked closely as I picked it up with a gloved hand.

I notice things. Despite the fact that I lose my glasses and phone on a regular basis and have to employ HeWho's help at times, I still notice things that are amiss. Like the gaping hole in the ceiling that I had asked to be covered. It is not that I feared a bird or bat invasion, so much as I was concerned about the cold air coming in through the gaping hole.

He trimmed out the hole into a neat square right away and it only took several months of incessant nagging for him to put a piece of styrofoam up there and I am the one who supplied this from a shipping box, realizing that it was about the right dimension. It was supposed to be a temporary fix until he could find a piece of sheetrock to do it properly.

Out of sight, out of mind. Cold air no longer hit me when I did laundry and I forgot about it, as well. Until this morning. I carried my investigation to my laundry room and sure enough the styro had been moved enough for a bird to come in. 

I already knew that birds were in the attic. I can hear the baby birds chirping in Spring inside my sewing room and outside where the roof change is. There is an opening there that the men assured me could not be used by the birds. Translation, they just don't want to fix it. They know I am not a good ladder climber, so don't worry that I will attempt to fix it myself.

HeWho closed the opening while I showered. He discovered that his tire was leaking on his truck and told me he was going to get it fixed. "Did you fix the hole?" I asked, no assuming anything with him. He said that he had. "Where is the bird, did you let it out?" No, he doesn't know where the bird is.

Welcome to my world. The bird just flew in here to sit on the blade of the ceiling fan until Bo and Toni let him know how dangerous it would be for him/her to inhabit the same area as them. He flew back to the laundry room, no doubt trying to go back into the attic. Times like this I miss my Kevin! Kevin would not have left me in this predicament!

There will be no sleeping tonight until that bird has been returned to the great outdoors!!