This is the telling of a sad little tale.
The refinishing of this birdhouse, has been one of my most favorite projects ever. Between the excitement of using Annie Sloan paint for the first time, the color I fell so in love with, and the YouTube crash course video lesson I watched, on how to paint tiny roses in order to adorn my sweet new birdhouse with, it’s a project I truly enjoyed the process of.
I have to say, it’s held up so well, out there in the weather of all kinds, too. I did put it away for the winter, but otherwise, it has stood right over on the other side of my garden beds, under the apple tree. I have finished projects I’ve done all over my homestead, of course, and I love to see them around. This birdhouse has truly been a piece that still plays a part in bringing me a bit of joy every day.
So imagine my sheer panic this one very (very) early morning this summer: The kids and I were still in bed, and I was still pretty much sleeping. All of our windows were open a little, and I began to stir out of my sleep with the sound of some repetitive rhythm sound on hard wood outside. I was confused by it, being somewhere between asleep and awake, and so I tried to bring myself out of the grog I was in, wondering if I was dreaming, or what. But next thing I know, I hear little feet hit the floor hard, and come booming across the house floor, and my son yelling, “Mama, there’s a woodpecker pecking your birdhouse outside!”
That woke me up! The idea of the damage a woodpecker could do, had me wide-eyes, out of bed, out the front door, down the deck steps and out to the gardens, in a flash. My abrupt arrival scared the woodpecker, and I watched him fly away. The peaceful silence after the commotion, caught my attention. Even the birds stopped chirping. As I stood there in my summer nightie, in front of my house beside the street, amidst my gardens, our neighbor friend drove by in his truck to leave for work, and gave me a wave.
It occurred to me in that moment, that it was a good thing I wear pajamas to bed.
I sauntered over to the birdhouse slowly, not sure I really wanted to assess the damage done.
{SIGH}. It looked like the woodpecker figured a hole already there, was a good place to start.
I put a trash bag over the house for the day, not sure what I was going to do about the matter. But as the day went on, I thought, “What a cool photo that would have been, to get a shot of the woodpecker at the birdhouse.” That’s what photographers do. Think through life in images we’d love to get, as moments frozen forever. So I took that bag off, and had my camera with my 70-200mm 2.8 lens on it, waiting by the open window near my work area in my house. I listened, and I checked repeatedly, for that woodpecker. All day long. But he never came back. I thought that was the end of it.
Until very (very) early the next morning, of course. While we were all still sleeping. I jumped out of bed again, grabbed my waiting camera, and opened the window. But as soon as I did, he flew away. My boy and I, having both gotten a good look at the bird, decided it was a Downy Woodpecker. They are the most common in this area, and the description and picture matched. I was really hoping to catch him flying to the birdhouse, and get him when he just landed on it. Before he got to work again. Preferably the day before, while I waiting and so ready-window open already and everything. I should have known it would come back the next morning, at the same time. So these after-damage photos I show you were taken after morning 2. In the end, you can see the window opening was pecked on both sides, but it also did damage to the arched trim over the window, which is a much softer wood.
I put the bag back on it, and left it on for several days after that. Then I took it off, thinking; even a woodpecked birdhouse looked better than a black trash bag on a post. If the woodpecker did come back yet again, I was going to have to consider taking the birdhouse in for good, or, I don’t know…..installing some kind of taser device on it. A security system of sorts. But the woodpecker has not been back since. For which I’m thankful!
When I refinished this birdhouse, and it came out so pretty, it really was my little hope, that some sweet little birds would move in.
It just never occurred to me, a woodpecker would come along, and decide the window wasn’t big enough for him. Silly me.
So maybe none of us ever did find out the answer, to the question: How much wood, could a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
But now we know how much wood could a woodpeck peck, if a woodpeck, could peck wood.
Too much! : (
P.S. In the last week or so, we’ve actually noticed 2 woodchucks waddling around our property, too.
So if we learn the answer to the first riddle, we’ll let you know. ; )
