As we pack up, I am trying to decide what to do about the birds.
Joshua led us into birding 15 years ago. Since then, we've nearly always had something for birds in our yard, wherever we lived. Now we won't have a permanent residence for a period of time, and we are packing up this one. We have a number of bird houses on the property, four bird feeders, two bird baths, and a wall fountain.
The birds are at home here in our woods. Several nesting pairs have moved in. It suddenly hit me this morning that they aren't moving. Is it a good idea to take everything down? I know they are just birds, but something about it doesn't seem right.
I have decided to take the wall fountain with us, since it was on the porch. We will leave the bird baths behind. I still have some bird seed -- that can stay in the garage with the peat moss. I think that will be okay. I have a feeling that our new owners like the birding idea, because they love the yard, just as it is.
I wonder if I should leave the feeders up or if I should pack them and take them with us. It doesn't make much sense to just take one or two feeders. No one in the family built them, and they don't have any sentimental value other than our use of them for a number of years. The birdhouses, however, were built by my husband and son. They are nailed to the trees outside. I think we should probably leave them here. I did give one birdhouse of that set, which was not yet mounted outside, to Josh as a keepsake.
Should I keep any of these things for posterity and for our new home (which may be a couple of years in the future), or should I leave them as a blessing for the birds? What do you think?
Posts
Definitely leave them. It will be your parting gift to them, and with fondness you will recall it as a continuing connection with them, even in your absence. Perhaps you have taken a photo of the birds that could be placed in a frame, a small one, and set it upon your desk, once you get settled again.
ReplyDeleteWhat do the guys think?
Leave them. Then, you will always know a part of something you love stayed behind. And, if you are ever in the neighborhood, you'd have a reason to stop by the house again. "How are the birds?"
ReplyDeleteI'd take some of the feeders, though. Good feeders are hard to find. (Well, squirrel-proof ones). We have two cats and few trees, so we don't get too many birds, except for one mockingbird which sings every night for about an hour or more (usually at midnight!)