Monday, March 06, 2006
The Great Outdoors...only inside.
Have you seen the movie the Great Outdoors? It stars John Candy and Dan Aykroyd and is a good belly buster. There is a scene in the movie where a bat gets into their cabin. Through total chaos, the two try to catch the bat with a canoe paddle and a net.
Minus the canoe paddle, that scene from the Great Outdoors broke out in my house last week. In place of the bat were two small birds, finches I believe. My wife was heading out with the kids and when they opened the front door, in flew the two birds.
One frantic phone call from my wife and ten minutes later I arrived on the scene. Now picture me with one of those dollar store bamboo fishnets, my wife with a broom and all three of my kids with every stuffed animal they own (to throw at the birds of course) all huddled in our front room. A room that is vaulted by the way, which did not help out our cause at all.
After about fifteen minutes of the birds flying back and forth between our dining room and the light fixtures (up in the vaulted area) I finally caught one of the birds in my flimsy net. I didn’t really think I would actually catch one in the net, but there I was, bird flailing away in the net, the kids cheering at the top of their lungs and me running towards the open front door. Putting some lacrosse skills to work I flung the net out the front door and out came shooting the little bird and off he went!
One down and one to go. This guy wasn’t going easy though. After about another fifteen minutes of going back and forth, we finally tired him out. He landed on the couch for a breather and I was able to put the net over top of him. My wife scooped him up and out he went.
It was a fun family moment. One that I am sure we will never forget. At least we got them out ok and I didn’t take a canoe paddle to the face.
Minus the canoe paddle, that scene from the Great Outdoors broke out in my house last week. In place of the bat were two small birds, finches I believe. My wife was heading out with the kids and when they opened the front door, in flew the two birds.
One frantic phone call from my wife and ten minutes later I arrived on the scene. Now picture me with one of those dollar store bamboo fishnets, my wife with a broom and all three of my kids with every stuffed animal they own (to throw at the birds of course) all huddled in our front room. A room that is vaulted by the way, which did not help out our cause at all.
After about fifteen minutes of the birds flying back and forth between our dining room and the light fixtures (up in the vaulted area) I finally caught one of the birds in my flimsy net. I didn’t really think I would actually catch one in the net, but there I was, bird flailing away in the net, the kids cheering at the top of their lungs and me running towards the open front door. Putting some lacrosse skills to work I flung the net out the front door and out came shooting the little bird and off he went!
One down and one to go. This guy wasn’t going easy though. After about another fifteen minutes of going back and forth, we finally tired him out. He landed on the couch for a breather and I was able to put the net over top of him. My wife scooped him up and out he went.
It was a fun family moment. One that I am sure we will never forget. At least we got them out ok and I didn’t take a canoe paddle to the face.
