Climax

This morning, I needed to go into my shed to grab a board I had sold.  I had to cut it on my table saw and then plane a smaller one for a different order.  Before I left, I glanced up at the babies one last time before heading to the house.  I noticed one of the babies was standing on the edge of the nest as if getting ready to jump ship.  I didn't give it a second thought as I had some packaging to do.

Although, I got the two packaged from morning, I still had two more to go, but while on my computer,  I had wasted time with distractions and knew I had to hurry and get the last two orders done in order to get them to the post office before they closed for the day, so I headed out to the shed in early afternoon to fetch more wood.  

As I walked through the shed door, It seemed I startled one of the babies who was on the floor, near the corner of the door.  This is it, I thought and a sense of panic came over me. I quickly glaced up at the nest which appeared to be empty.  I was hoping the other 3 made it out ok. 

The scared baby flew away from me and right into the middle part of my table saw which was not running, fortunately.  I quickly lifted the motor up and released the belt so the blade would not turn, plus it gave me easier access to the little fellow.  I reached in to grab him and again he got away from me.  I have rescued many birds over the years who inadvertantly fly though my opened door  and I never had a problem picking them up and tossing them into the air but this little guy was really clever!  He flew into the worse possible area in the whole barn which is a corner where I chuck all of my smaller pieces. I could see him but I didn't know how to get to him. I started throwing things out of the way.  There was a roof leak in that area and it was full of wet sawdust and all I could think was, "Oh my God!"  Working alone and having a busy lumber business, does not give me much time to clean and I was beginning to resent that, now.

My miter saw table was right in front of him and it was surrounded by sawdust and there was an old compressor being stored underneath so I knew I had to hurry up and clean out that area.  I went outside and grabbed a shovel, went back inside and went to work. It was hot and muggy and the only way I could see what I was doing were the sweatband around my head as I was sweatting profusely. By now, there is no site of the bird and I am worried thinking he was under the table or worse....under the compressor. 

I cleaned out all the wood scarps and sawdust around the table and then I cleaned off the top of the table and lifted it completely out of there.  Then I checked around the compressor but didn't see anything around it but I took it out of there just the same.  I then proceeded to check every nook and cranny but could find nothing. By then, I was feeling very hot and dizzy so I paused for a few moments and just listened for any sound which would be a clear indication of where it was hiding....Just a peep or the sound of wings flapping was all I needed.

I could not hear any noise so I came to the conclusion that he made it out of there.  He probably got out when I stepped outside to retrieve a shovel.  I feel confident that all the babies made it out ok because I turned that shed upside down to make sure they were not trapped anywhere.  

I never did get the remainder of my work done which didn't matter because I would have missed the PO anyway....but....tomorrow's another day, plus....some things are more important then work ...like ...being a good steward of the earth  and not complaining when Mother Earth's wild animals want to borrow something from us!

Hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!

God Bless