Log #0004: Goodbye, Birds

Alas, The Empty Nest

They grow up so fast.

It didn't take very long at all for the lizard-looking creatures living on my deck railing to morph into small birds with feathers. It also didn't take long for mama bird to turn into a screeching fury every time I opened my front door. I kept reminding her just whose deck this was, but she didn't appear swayed by my logic.

As the feathery little greediguts got larger, mama bird ended up spending her spare time huddled on the deck railing nearby, as there was no longer room for her to sit on the nest. The little birds did that open-beak posture all the time - you know, that posture you always see them do on the nature documentaries. "Feed me! Feed me!" I kept trying to get a picture of that, but every time they caught sight of me they would instantly scrunch down in the nest. After a few attempts I gave up in order to quit adding trauma to their lives.

About a week after that, all of them vacated without leaving a forwarding address. I occasionally see an adult robin hopping about on the lawn, but I haven't seen any little robins. Apparently they moved to a neighborhood without cameras.

The Heat...

It has been SO hot lately. As I've mentioned before, I don't do well in the heat. This time of year always takes it out of me.

The place I'm living now isn't terribly well suited for summertime. The afternoon sun beats on the windows for hours, super-heating the glass, which then bakes inward. It gets nasty in here. I've made various attempts to counter this over the last few years - layer after layer of curtains, blinds, and whatnot to cover the windows, industrial-strength fans, room air-conditioner... The most effective solution would be the installation of awnings and central A/C, but I can hardly spend that kind of money on a place I don't even own.

This year I attacked the problem from the outside. I hung tarps over the largest windows to keep the sun from beating on them in the first place. It means I can't see out of those windows, but it isn't as though I had the curtains open on hot days, anyway. They help keep the place from feeling like a car parked outside the supermarket, but any breath of wind slaps them against the siding or flings them straight up in the air as if they're trying to escape. I've had to redo them a few times because of the wind, and I expect I'll be doing that regularly throughout the summer.

But it's worth it. Between the tarps, the fans, and the room A/C during the worst of the heat, it hasn't been unbearable so far. It cools down nicely at night, and it doesn't really start to heat up until the sun is in the west during the late afternoon. It also helps that I work at home, meaning if I start feeling TOO hot, I can always strip down and work in my underwear without being arrested

If I was still living in Florida, the heat plus the humidity would kill me. Probably literally. Then again, in Florida most places come with central A/C as standard equipment, which would make this problem a moot point. Anyway, for now I'll keep on with my present method of coping and pray for cold fronts.

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