The Wrens Depart (mostly).

5/7/19

Building Summary: Today I went down to Jacobhouse in the morning for some ‘pre-town trip’ activity. During this time, I fastened L-brackets onto the sink cabinet, and then with Padre’s help, lowered the furnishing into its intended location. Once it was in place, we measured / marked where I will need to cut into the cabinet’s back to make room for the various plumbing and electrical paraphernalia. The incisions will only need to remove about 2″ of wood, and before I do that, I will be applying a 2×4 across the cupboard’s entire underside to maintain and enhance its structural integrity. 

Commentary: This afternoon when I went to obtain the sawzall from Jacobhouse for some feedwagon fixer-upping, I was startled. Quite startled. A little brown form had flown at me and almost pelted me in the face (it would have, had it not been for my flinching away at the last moment). It turned out to be a young wren who had just left the nest and had not yet mastered it’s aerial capabilities. On noting this, I decided to collect the saw and get out of the container home, leaving the hatchlings to their shenanigans*.

As for those shenanigans, I was not prepared for what I found when I returned to Jacobhouse later on. It was as if a bomb had went off. A bomb of erratic younglings, chirping adults, and a ludicrous amount of bird excrement which seemed to dot almost every single surface I observed. Seeing all this (and being quite dismayed by it), I opened both ends of the container to help the parents guide out their spawn, and then I began to clean. I spent about thirty minutes performing this latter activity**, and it was only after not hearing / seeing any bird activity in Jacobhouse for about fifteen minutes that I finally decided everyone had gone. I closed the doors, stuffed the utility hole with my old raincoat, and breathed a sigh of relief. Jacobhouse is free. Free to me.

(Late night update:) Madre went to Jacobhouse and found two wren younglings that had apparently been hiding when I plugged up the utility hole. So, she unplugged it. Tomorrow morning, I expect I will find no birds in Jacobhouse… but plenty of their remains.

This is why we don’t have pets.   

Final Note: Tomorrow morning, while it is still relatively cool outside, I plan on re-tamping around the pylons destined for Container #2. This will be followed by my modifying the sink base cabinet and then by my fastening it into place.

*On exiting, I noticed two other young peering down at me from above the window.

** During my cleaning the floor, one of the little ones landed on my back. This was followed by its diving into the gap around the toilet’s drain hole and then by my unfastening and removing that sheet of plywood so it could get back out again. By the time I had completed the removal, though, it had already found its way through the refrigerated container’s grated floor and out into the open. I’m just glad it didn’t get trapped under there.