There's Something Alive in That Closet...

Adara dreamed last night of fluttering wings and awoke to the sound of something scratching in the hallway. She ran into the office and announced that there was something alive in the water-heater closet. We thought maybe Kitty had trapped herself in there, or that we had a mouse infestation.... again. I cautiously opened the door, standing as far away as possible. Who knew what dangerous animal might burst out?


A gray bird, about the size of a robin, frantically flapped it's way past us and directly toward a small, high window in our entryway.



It thumped into the window, attempting to escape to the familiar trees outside, and landed clumsily on the windowsill.



With the invisible barrier between itself and the outdoors, the bird began to panic. It flew to the light-fixture chain and then thumped into the window, then back to the chain and *THuMP* to the window again.



Kitty was delighted by the show. She seemed to be considering a high-diving leap from the banister, straining at the empty air... but decided to wait for the bird to fall to the ground in exhaustion.



Several attempts were made at knocking the bird down where it could find the open door...






Finally Dave played "Animal Rescue Man" and retrieved the bird by courageously climbing a ladder and hand-carrying it to the open door.




Hords of hungry grasshoppers are invading Utah, and this little bird had hundreds of his buddy birds nipping at the yummy, hopping locusts this morning. We felt like we were in Hitchcock's The Birds... which was a respite from being in the Bible's story of Moses and his 8th plague.