Well, we have been sick around here and so the last week or so has been pretty slow. Slow enough in fact, that Russ got out-engineered on the front porch of our house. Not too long after we moved in to our house, we noticed that the top of one of our porch columns was a favored spot for local bird populations to nest. Shortly after this discovery, Russ engineered (not what he majored in at aTm) and installed an anti-nesting device on the top of the column (basically a few pieces of plywood screwed on top of the post to make a sharp incline so that the birds cannot perch on top of the post to build a nest). This device has yet to be painted so it is easily seen in the pictures below.
This device worked for a couple of years until a very determined bird couple decided to make an attempt at building a nest on top of the post. Seeing the progress of this couple as they began to bring mud and small sticks and plastering them directly on the anti-nesting device, Russ impeded their progress by tearing down what had been accomplished by the birds. He knocked it down a second time after the birds did not get the message the first time. Now, you are probably asking, "Why not just let the birds do their thing and enjoy the opportunity to observe nature at work?". We are happy to let nature run its course but as we observed "nature" on our front porch, "nature" started leaving presents on our concrete as they were building their nest. This is something that Russ did not like seeing on the porch as he walked out the door each day to go to work. Also, the birds made a habit of dive-bombing anyone, including Bethany and the boys, anytime that they walked out the front door of our house. We have two small boys who like to put things in their mouth and touch everything in sight, so Russ decided to take more drastic measures to deter the birds from continuing their nest building (somewhat to Bethany's disapproval). I will spare you the details of what exactly was done but lets just say that Russ sent a message to the bird couple that they cannot forget (well at least one of them, and the other member of the couple has not returned to rebuild the nest). We are happy for these birds to make nests anywhere else in our neighborhood except on our front porch. Here is a picture of the nest that was built before the final discouragement of the nest building. Feel free to voice your opinion about Russ's efforts.
