Weapon of Mass De-construction.

About the worst thing you can let loose in this world is a man with a power-washer.  (Okay, maybe it's not the absolute worst tool, but it's right up there.)

The handymen (Juan and son) were here yesterday, prepping for the painting they will begin on Monday. They used my husband's power-washing machine to clean the porch columns and parts of the house that will be freshened up with new paint.  This ear-splitting washing process went on for most of yesterday, and when they left, the living arrangements for our barn swallows went with them.

Gone were the carefully built nests of mud and tiny grass pieces... in their place were empty columns where the barn swallows fledged their baby birds this past Spring and Summer.  Strangely enough, and there is no rhyme or reason to this, but Juan left a couple of the nests up there, even though the power-washer thing had destroyed more than half of those particular nests. (He told my husband that he would use a scraper to get "the rest of that mess" off the columns next week.)

Yesterday evening as the sun was setting, I checked the corner half-nest by the back steps. That's the nest where one of this past season's baby birds has claimed for his own private sleeping spot.  There used to be two birds up in that nest, but one has moved on, either choosing to sleep in the trees or he has found a mate.  So there in that devastated half-nest sat the one bird last night.... no longer able to cuddle down into the nest because of its diminished size, but the bird seemed to be comfortable.  The bird watched me go down the steps to feed the cats.... and he watched me coming back up. I apologized for the condition of his nest.... and explained that when Juan comes back on Monday, the rest of that nest is going to be history.  The bird tilted his head at me and blinked.

My husband says that Juan and son will be finished with the outside painting by the end of  next week.  Let's see.... they get here at 8:30 in the morning.... take lunch between noon and 1:30.... and then they leave before 4:00 in the afternoon.  If they keep up with that daily schedule,  I think we'll be ringing in the New Year with Juan and son.