Laundry & Birds

I love to hang clothes out to dry - they always smell so great at the end of the day. However, I hate to have my clean undies visible from the road which is why my clothesline is in the trees (of course here I am posting a picture of it on the blog - go figure). Anyway this time of year when days are short, timing is everything. You need 1) a full day of sunshine predicted 2) a light breeze is helpful 3) dirty clothes 4) daytime temps above freezing (I'm a wimp) 5) tell the birds to avoid that area (well, you, I'm sure, can figure that one out!). And walla, at the end of the day you have clothes that smell better than anything that ever came out of the dryer.

Now for the REAL story of the day... My friend Helen was snoozing the afternoon away a few days ago when she heard a loud noise at the door. Since she didn't hear it again AND she lives in a VERY low crime area AND she was enjoying her nap, she decided to stay where she was. When she finally did get up, she found the screen from the door on the floor. It was bent badly enough so she couldn't get it back in the door but that was about all she found. Her yellow lab, Susie, who had also been snoozing, found nothing to indicate further investigation. The next morning when Helen got up (since it was a looooong nap I imagine she got up fairly early) she went to the pantry and a grouse flew up. Low crime area or not, it's a wonder she didn't land on my doorstep she jumped so far. Being a quick thinker, Helen immediately shut the pantry door and called her neighbor who came and caught the bird in a net and took it to the local conservation center. Now, be honest, did you think this neighbor was a man? Well, it wasn't, it was Gert, a GREAT neighbor to have in such emergencies. The end of the story is that the bird had a broken beak so had to be "terminated". (Wonder who ended up having grouse on their table for dinner?) Since then, Helen has had a couple of swallows come down the chimney into the wood stove. Helen says she's not worried. She just builds a fire and they seem to go away.