So, this post is "late", but I wanted to get it in for my future reference/remembrance. (It's a long one.... sorry)
During the month of August, we had quite the critter experience.
First, we start with the humming bird. Morning comes, I'm asleep, Brigham wakes up -- then I hear him coming up the stairs and he says to me-- with much excitement, "Mom, there's a bird in the house!" I walk out into the loft and sure enough we a have little humming bird flying around the great room. I'm thinking to myself, how on EARTH do you get a humming bird out of your house?!?!?!?
A little while later, I went downstairs, and this poor little bird is "beside herself". She kept flying to our big windows, looking out of them, and chirping. To make matters "worse" -- I think she can see her fellow birds flying around without her. She moves from the window to the chandelier chain and back again....but she's not coming any lower than about 20 ft. Again, how am I going to get this fast, little bird out of the house.
So, I made up some humming bird food and set it outside the open front door -- hoping the smell will lure her out. (It lured the others in, but not her). Finally, she ended up in the loft on a flower arrangement. We have a good size window in the loft and it dawns on me to take the screen out, open the window all the way and hope she'll fly out that way. Needless to say, she needed some encouragement -- so I held up the screen as high as I could so she would fly the opposite direction and she flew out! PHEW!!!! If she had not ended up in the loft, she might have become our pet. :-}
Second -- Kittens. The kids are out playing on the porch and come in to report to me that they've seen a bunny and that I need to "come and see!!!!" I walk out, and the bunny is gone. Next thing I know, Jessika has here shoes on and is on a mission to catch the bunny. Well, of course, Brigham can't be left out of this adventure so in he comes to get his shoes. I went back to what I was doing not thinking much of it, since a bunny is not exactly easy to catch. Five minutes later............ "Mom, look!" You've got to be kidding me... "We found kitties!!!!" Sure enough each are holding a very little kitten! OOOOOHHHHH NOOOOO!!!!!!!! and guess the next words out of their mouths, "Can we keep them?!?!?!? "PLLLLLEEEAASEEEEEEE!?!?!?!?"
Now you can imagine how I want to respond to this question, instead I deferred to their Dad as he was on his way home and should be here shortly. I told them they could play with the kitties until he got home, but we probably weren't going to keep them -- as I am allergic to them (not to mention I don't want anything else to take care of!) Dad said "no" and they were "so sad". He had them go put the kittens back in the trees (as they were wild) and come in the house. We told Jessika she needed to stay inside until their mom found them. Not two minutes later she was sneaking out of the house (right under our noses) to go check on them. Sigh.
Now on to number
three: Bats -- or in this case, 1 bat. It's 2:00 AM and I'm asleep. I hear a scratching and then a "fluttering". Now mind you, I've heard this sound before (3 OTHER TIMES!!!) and I know there is a bat in my bedroom. GOOD GRIEF!! I'm thinking, "well, the last time we used a net and its somewhere in the yard -- I'm not going out to look for it. I won't be able to go back to sleep so I can't ignore it. I don't really want bat guano in my bedroom. Now what? ARGH!!!" Of course, Ben is NOT home.
I decided I'd go down and get the broom (very fitting don't you think) in hopes that I can "shoo" it out the window. So, I close my closet door, the bathroom door, and the bedroom door as I head downstairs. I figure it's going to be better to keep it in my room -- a smaller space -- then allowing it into the great room, where I will NEVER get it out. I retrieved the broom and I'm thinking this is not a big enough object to keep it away from me. It dawns on me that I can use the same system that I used on the humming bird. So, into my bedroom I go, take down the curtains, take the screens out, and open the windows. I hold the screen in the air to "shoo" it. Note: Bats are not exactly the most consistent flyers -- so I have no idea which way it my go. NOT to mention I think they're VERY VERY creepy!!! SO, I have the screen in the air above my head, and that silly thing lands on the screen -- NICE! So, I stuck the screen out the window and shook it a bit. Then I lifted it slowly and carefully HOPING that the darned thing decided outside was better than inside. Low and behold, it was gone!! YEA!!! I put my screens in, closed the windows, put up the curtains and went back to bed!!!
Critters, what else can I say. Anybody want to move down to my area? :-)
Cheers!
A little while later, I went downstairs, and this poor little bird is "beside herself". She kept flying to our big windows, looking out of them, and chirping. To make matters "worse" -- I think she can see her fellow birds flying around without her. She moves from the window to the chandelier chain and back again....but she's not coming any lower than about 20 ft. Again, how am I going to get this fast, little bird out of the house.
Now you can imagine how I want to respond to this question, instead I deferred to their Dad as he was on his way home and should be here shortly. I told them they could play with the kitties until he got home, but we probably weren't going to keep them -- as I am allergic to them (not to mention I don't want anything else to take care of!) Dad said "no" and they were "so sad". He had them go put the kittens back in the trees (as they were wild) and come in the house. We told Jessika she needed to stay inside until their mom found them. Not two minutes later she was sneaking out of the house (right under our noses) to go check on them. Sigh.
I decided I'd go down and get the broom (very fitting don't you think) in hopes that I can "shoo" it out the window. So, I close my closet door, the bathroom door, and the bedroom door as I head downstairs. I figure it's going to be better to keep it in my room -- a smaller space -- then allowing it into the great room, where I will NEVER get it out. I retrieved the broom and I'm thinking this is not a big enough object to keep it away from me. It dawns on me that I can use the same system that I used on the humming bird. So, into my bedroom I go, take down the curtains, take the screens out, and open the windows. I hold the screen in the air to "shoo" it. Note: Bats are not exactly the most consistent flyers -- so I have no idea which way it my go. NOT to mention I think they're VERY VERY creepy!!! SO, I have the screen in the air above my head, and that silly thing lands on the screen -- NICE! So, I stuck the screen out the window and shook it a bit. Then I lifted it slowly and carefully HOPING that the darned thing decided outside was better than inside. Low and behold, it was gone!! YEA!!! I put my screens in, closed the windows, put up the curtains and went back to bed!!!
