The Spontaneous Birdhouse

The conversation over breakfast this morning went like this:

Mommy: Seth would you like to help me build a trellis for our birdhouse gourd vines today?

Seth: I know mommy, let’s just build a birdhouse!

That was really all he had to say to light a fire under my boot.  I mean after all, what use was that pesky degree in industrial design for if I can’t even whip up a simple birdhouse!  So we set about borrowing some tools from grandpa, and foraged for wood in the back of the garage.  We found some mud spattered lengths of redwood fence board that fit the bill.  After a good power wash with the sprayer set to “jet”, we got to work building.

We took turns sawing, and measuring, and sawing again till we had all our pieces cut.

We took a break mid morning and paid a visit to our local mill and hardware store Minton’s.  We needed 4 penny nails and a few other sundries.  The bit to drill this nice hole in the wood would have cost alot of money, so the gentlemen at Minton’s were kind enough to cut it for us.  Seth got to stand at the door of the shop and watch.  He was pretty excited about watching a real drill press in operation.

The day had a nice rhythm to it.  All sorts of building was happening as the “real work” was going on.  Everyone in the household contributed to the process.  As a result we have a nice multigenerational birdhouse.  It’s fun to make things together.  We all learned new things, and the well worn old tools got to see the light of day, and if I may say so myself, I think they benefited from basking in the glow of an appreciative grandson.

In the afternoon I hammered the pieces together.  At the same time Seth colored the house literally as the walls were going up.  I thought he would be really into hammering, but he was completely fixated on coloring, RISD  Furniture Design here we come!  It’s been ages since these hands touched wood.  I felt my patience tried on many occasions, however the presence of my son stayed my temper.  I knew it was good for him to see me working with wood.  I want him to know that I can build something with confidence and set a capable example.

At one point Seth told me, “I love the birds, so I prefer to make their house colorful so they will like it.”  He was even thoughtful enough to have me put an inscription on the side which he signed himself.

We ran out of time to actually hang the birdhouse from a tree, so I asked Seth where he wanted to put it.  He insisted on putting it on top of the fuse box on the side of the house.  When I asked him why he said, “Because the birds go there, and if they see the house they might move in.”  I was a little confused about what he was talking about till I noticed the large pile of evidence that birds do hang out there.  As usual I was flabbergasted by Seth’s observant nature and floored by his rad coloring job.