Beeks and I got to spend the day together today. We haven’t gotten to do that for a long time. I’ve been working most everyday. Then we went to South Carolina and it seems like I’m never home. We decided to go garage saleing this morning. We checked out a few that were in our town and didn’t really find anything that we had to have. No dog toys, or clothes or bird houses or lawn tools.
There was one Estate Sale that we went to that was just down the street from us. The house has been up for sale for a few weeks. It is owned by an elderly man that we got to know a little bit when we go on our figure eight walk in the neighborhood. As we often passed by the owner’s home he would most days be sitting outside near his garage with a dog that stayed with him. The dog stayed with this man while his owner worked. This was one of those situations that made my heart melt. The dog needed someone to stay with and the man loved dogs and needed company during the day. They were companions for each other. What Max and especially Beeker loved about his man and his dog was that the man would see us coming and would get up slowly from his chair to meet us where the driveway and sidewalk converged. The man told us that he had Parkinson’s disease and so he had to be careful not to move too quickly for fear of falling. The man and his companion would meet us at the sidewalk and then he would always reach into his pocket to get milk bones out for the dogs. He wouldn’t break them in half like I do. He gave them to the dogs whole. He was an instant friend. The dog he was sitting for would be so polite and patient while this man gave attention to other dogs. His dog was older, gentle and patient while his sitter talked with walkers and pets. Whenever we walk by Beeks looks towards the house to see if anyone is coming to give him a treat. We miss this neighbor. One day a month or so ago we saw the For Sale sign go up. Then the Estate Sale notice on Craig’s List.
I have to tell you about the bird house that we put up in front of the house. I found the decorative house a couple of weeks ago when my sister was visiting and we went to yet another garage sale. At first I asked Brad to put the house up on a wire, hanging from the entry alcove. He did but it just didn’t look right. The wire was too predominate. Then we decided to hang it from the side of the house. I like it and since it was just a decoration I didn’t care that it had a little tilt. From that first day a bird started putting sticks in the opening and when we returned from Charleston the bottom was almost falling off. It was so stuffed that the bottom of the house was open with sticks and nesting coming out. I tried to take the house off the nail but it was really on tight so I just pushed the bottom back up and it went a little further than even. Today when Beeks and I returned from garage sales I noticed that a wren was flying in and out of the house. I guess it didn’t care that the bottom was uneven or that the house was decorative or that it is so close to the front door. I am in awe of these little birds that are happy to build their nests anywhere they can find a little opening. I can barely see the nest opening from the side window in my door. It is fun to watch the little wren bring more stuffing for the nest. I think one of the attractions for the bird must be that it is shaded and somewhat protected from the weather since it is underneath the entry canopy. The other reason must be that wrens are opportunistic and since it took little effort to make it could move right in. The price was right.
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