Apartment for Rent....Cheep!!

It's supposed to snow and that means it is time to take down the tarp that we put over our deck. We have a slatted roof over the deck, but to keep the rain off of Irv, my husband during the summer, and the sun off of me....every year he puts an inexpensive tarp over the slats. It doesn't look the greatest, but it serves a useful purpose.

One year we got got a lot of snow. It was heavy and it was wet and it actually brought the roof of the deck crashing down! Since then, before it starts to snow, Irv goes out and takes the tarp off. Today, our son, Michael was here and got to help. Now the tarp isn't just stuck up there...it's put up very nicely with washers and screws so it doesn't tear when the wind blows.

It wouldn't be a very big deal unscrewing the screws and taking the tarp off, however when little birds decide to move in....it becomes a big deal. Since we started putting the tarp up years and years ago, a little family of sparrows has lived in the tarp. They made themselves at home inside the rolled up corner, and they live there all year long. Like I said a couple of days ago, I love all kinds of animals and I definitely love my little birds.

Besides having to hose off all of the bird poopies that our little feathered friends leave around our deck, we have had some wonderful moments with them. Each year we watch in the spring as they busily rebuild their nest. We also get to hear the little chirping when the babies hatch. We also get dive bombed every time we walk out the door, but it's okay...like I said...I love animals. We even put a little birdhouse up there for them, but of course they prefer the tarp!

Well, this spring our little family of sparrows must have put an announcement in the "Bird Nest News" and invited everyone they knew, to come and move into their great apartment complex! We had so many little birds swooping in and out of the tarp every time we walked out the door, that you never knew which way they were coming from!

Irv was not really pleased with the new apartment dwellers, especially when the little bird poopies became lots of bird poopies.

Well, today was take down the tarp day, but when Irv takes down the tarp, he always leaves the little corner apartment where in place, and to be sure that our little feathered friends are warm and cozy during the long, cold winter....he screws a piece of 2 by 4 on top of the slats! No wonder they invited all of their friends to move in this year.

So, I went out this afternoon to see how the project was coming and noticed that we had two lovely corner apartments with new roofs. Pretty soon we'll be heating the apartments for them!