A Bird in the Hand

I've always been a fan of the old saying, "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." Today we had an interesting experience with a bird in the hand.

For the last couple of weeks I've been hearing scratching and other noises while standing in my kitchen. Our neighbors have mice, so I was really concerned that it was a mouse. But mice wouldn't scratch mid wall, so what then? When I turned on a fan and it would go away. One of the vents out from the bathroom was stuck open and birds were moving in. (Hooray! NOT MICE!)

Last night I turned on all the fans for awhile and watched 2 birds leave the vent. Then, I had Mike reach up with the rake and close the flap that was stuck in the cover. It now opens when the fan is running and closes when it's not properly. We went to bed thinking it was going to be ok, but still trapped in the back of our minds was the thought of, "What if..."

Well, those thoughts were correct. As you can see...

When Eryn went to use the bathroom I turned on the light and the fan and heard a horrible grinding sound! My worst nightmare... I KILLED A BIRD! Nope, but that little guy (or girl) was stuck in the vent trying desperately to escape. The fan blades were pretty stiff, so it couldn't squeeze out and trying to take apart the vent proved to be a very challenging event for Mike and I both.

We really had no clue how it was put together or what to take it apart with. When the bird stopped trying to get out, I started to panic! I didn't want it to die. Plus, I didn't want a dead bird stuck in the fan and stinking up the house either. I started making calls to friends and neighbors to see who might be able to help.

Mike tried one more thing and poof- magic happened! We were able to get the bird out. The fan has been put back together. It's not perfect, but it works and it should be fine.

This is the same bird moments from its release

The "Bird in the hand" saying leads most of us to believe that what you have is far more valuable to you than what you don't have. Which I'd normally agree with. Today I am going to have to disagree with that old adage and say that, "A bird in the tree is worth far more than a bird in the bathroom!" Some things we were never meant to have in our possession. Those things are those which are of the most value.