Wild Kingdom

When I described the addition as being "closed in", it was because I presumed that walls, roof, floor and windows meant that a room was closed to the elements. Not so much.


I hadn't considered the eaves. You know - the part of the roof that extends out over the walls, forming an overhang. Usually the underside of the eaves is covered with wood or siding, or some other material. Since we hadn't reached the point where the walls would be sided, there was an opening along the entire front and back of the addition where the walls meet the roof. This allowed us to become much closer to nature, as pretty much every type, size and shape of flying (and some crawling) insect had ample opportunity to now share our home. And, since the wall between the living room and the addition had now been opened, they pretty much had the run of the house.

One night, while watching TV in our bedroom - which is also serving these days as family room, study, and breakfast nook - a bug flew by that looked like a Cessna. It landed on the window and after throwing a night table at it we finally brought it down. At least that's what it felt like.

Another evening we heard the sounds of birds chirping. The bedroom windows were closed because we had the air conditioning on, and yet they sounded so close. Walking downstairs and into the dining room I saw two sparrows sitting in the open eaves. Needless to say, the next day the contractor received a rather perturbed telephone call and the eaves were stuffed with something that very day as as soon as the birds left for work.

Monday, August 17th. The entire kitchen is gutted in about thirty minutes, including all the sheetrock from the ceiling, walls, the entire floor down to the plywood, and everything in it. The refrigerator and microwave were moved into the living room, so for the next unforeseeable number of weeks we can at least re-heat food.

In order to minimize the dust (truly an exercise in futility) they contractors tape plastic sheeting that has to be pulled aside over the doorway between the living room and kitchen, at the foot of the stairs leading up to the bedrooms and also across the doorway leading up to the kitchen from the family room. Not that we mind, but our dog Logan is going through some major upheaval. First, they removed the steps from the foyer to the living room and blocked that way off. Now, the steps down from the kitchen are suddenly off-limits to him. With the kitchen gone, his food and water are now in the hallway outside our bedroom. And he didn't even have any say in any of this.

Friday, August 19th. Standing in the upstairs hallway I call out to Logan, who's on our bed, that it's time for our walk. He rushes out of the room, down the stairs, and flat-faces right into the plastic sheeting at the bottom of the stairs falling backwards. Even though Shaw and I may at times be suspected of harboring some mild exasperation with the whole project, at least we haven't fallen up the steps.