I feel like I became a real home owner today. I went home after school to quickly change pants because my kids had got something sticky on them - coming from Arts and Crafts to English and all - however, I never even got to that point. From the next room I heard the unmistakable sounds of something alive in my gas heater. Movement. Rustling. I didn't have enough information at that point to know exactly what it was but I knew a dirty job lie ahead.
I quickly ran back to my office and asked if there was any protocol I was supposed to be following. It’s the town’s house and there is a big sticker on the heater not to open it without proper training. The office was mostly empty with some big meeting going on upstairs and I was given an apathetic go head. This was a change from last time when my door lock was broken in which the cavalry was called in. However, this story ends well: No one is having roast bird tonight. Being the well-organized forward-looking person I am, I collected the materials I would need to effectively open the gas heater; vacuum, towels, tools, flashlight. After checking a couple of easy areas first I came to the chimney vent itself. After detaching the pipe from the heater, I cautiously peered in; not immediately recognizing anything in its sooty depths. Zoom! Whoosh! Out comes a small terrified bird. Yeah! Short of options, I stood there for a second, sighed, and lifted my eyes toward heaven; now have a disoriented, sooty, injured bird loose in my house. A distinctly bird-shaped black outline was left on my kitchen cabinets after collision. Excited but not panicked, I slowly cornered the bird behind the couch and caught it softly in a towel. Released out the front door, it showed great strength and resilience quickly flying toward the nearest tree. The bird being so black makes definite identification impossible but I would have say it was something like a sparrow or a chickadee. And here I was worried I would have nothing to blog about today! Ha!
No comments:
Post a Comment