I walked out on my third floor deck yesterday to unfold the chairs and straighten things up a bit out there. I hadn't been out there since last fall, and my bedroom faces east, so I keep the blinds closed to keep the sun from baking me in the morning. So I pretty much had no clue what was going on out there.

I walked to the corner and reached for the stairs, to discover a pigeon nest underneath, with two chicks in it. I have never seen a pigeon nest before, and can now say with some authority that they are not very ambitious nest builders. In fact, they don't "build" nests at all, just kind of pile up some twigs and grass. And what a mess they leave behind.

I pressure washed the chicks off the edge (no, they couldn't fly yet, but they did sail quite well from the third floor under 1500 psi). After shoveling up the droppings, I proceed to pressure wash the rest of the deck.

Of course, all the dirt and grime I blasted off the third floor ended up on the second floor deck, so I had to do that, as well as all the furniture: eight chairs, two tables, and a swing. That done, of course I had the driveway to clean as well.

All in all, it took over 6 hours to get things straightened away. And my mother-in-law was horrified that I hadn't tried to save the birds. As if I would carry live baby pigeons into my house and feed them with an eyedropper. I don't think so.