Good Evening;
So I'm still here at the Starbucks wondering whether the series of rainstorms hit Pikesville too, and if so, how much leakage occurred.
I unlocked and entered the shed last night about 11:00 pm. after sitting at the library reading for an hour, where I was falling asleep and dropping my book on the big black cock-a-roaches that crawl all over the sidewalk there. Pikesville seems to be teeming with them for some reason, more so than a lot of other neighborhoods.
When I put my bags down and prepared to unroll my bedding I noticed a large pile of seed husks and shells on top of the blanket that I use as a ground sheet, which is thrown over the sleeping bag, pillow, and large blanket as a sort of a dust cover, (since it is the side that contacts the cardboard 'mattress' anyway). This is the fourth or fifth time I have found such 'leavings' on the same place on the blanket, or on the shelf next to it...but never this much. I had not been there since Thursday Noonish when I left and locked up. It seems Mr. Mouse had some friends over to party! Every time I am away for an extended period I've noticed signs of rodents rocking and rolling, from a sprinkling of turds on the top shelf near the door to chewed up napkins for nesting material, to insulation and sawdust where gnawing has occurred during the construction of new entry holes.
I can just see them with a tiny deck of cards or teeny little dice in a circle around the seeds playing poker or shooting craps......lol.
This morning I woke up around 2:00 am. with my lantern still on, half undressed with my sleeping clothes laid out on the shelf. I finished dressing and passed back out until 6:00 am. when I woke up from the back pain, and needing to pee. After I took care of the necessary business and took my morning meds I went back to sleep for 45 minutes to be awoken by a noise that I at first thought was raindrops on the roof or drips on the cardboard......until a little sparrow fluttered across my face in a low level, out of control, crash and burn trajectory flight! I was not sure WHAT was going on, half asleep and eyes out of focus and crusty with sleep. Then I heard a 'skritching' noise on the 'floor' between the sleeping bag and the wall. I grabbed a tissue and my glasses for my eyes and the flash light and lantern and found this wild eyed bird hopping about and flapping it's wings. I tried to gently grab it with my hands but it took off on another kamikaze flight....and I saw the kind of mangy looking condition it seemed to be in. When it landed I caught it in between an empty Pop Tarts box and a Starbucks cup and took it down to the door to release. When I could not get he door open with one hand I lay the box and cup down, and seeing the bird lying on it's back, did not think it was in any shape to escape for the few seconds I needed to open the door......silly me..........lol!
The damn thing exploded out of the cup and took off towards the other end of the shed, AWAY from the open door 8 inches away. (Why do the birds that end up in the shed always do that? Ignore the obvious, easy, unblocked way out and head towards the barely noticeable glimmer of daylight dimly showing through a crack or hole too damn small for it to get through? Is the shed some sort of Darwinian fitness and intelligence test for the survival of the species, weeding out the stupid of the avian world?
I never did find where it got to, either behind a stack of metal shelving I am not moving unless-'I smell dead things', or inside the torn insulation-'ditto', or out a crevice or crevasse in the walls.
Tonight will be a sound check.....and in a few days there will be an odor check.....hopefully both will be negative!
I've been sitting here trying to figure out how to raise $165.00 by the end of the month, this is what I need for meds, debt, a cheap new pair of shoes, and most importantly to take Rachel to the Maryland State Fair. Admission for 2 is about $16.00, Ride Wristbands $22.00@=$44.00---[the only way to go, rides START at $3.00 and go up to $7.00 (if I remember correctly), you can get your money's worth in less than an hour...the rest of the day is gravy], plus $25.00-$40.00 for food, games, and misc. That's $85.00 to $100.00 I know, but it only comes once a year, and that is cheap, for the value of the memories compound with time. I had the same tradition with Jenn, and 2 years ago we all were there together, Jenn and Rachel, my daughters, and Ed and Devin, my grandkids.
Okay.............Closing time.
Later...........................Dave
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