So what do I know?

Do you remember this post from a few months back? Back then Skip was obsessed with catching a bird so he could see for himself how a bird's wings allow him to fly.  After repeated attempts at catching one with a net failed, he took the advice of a neighbor and set up a "trap" to catch one.  Eventually his efforts waned, but he never gave up hope completely, and on occasion, he would be spotted romping around the yard with the net in his hands, in pursuit of one bird or another.  But this week things changed.

Part of preparing  for Hurricane Irene included removing all our bird feeders from the front yard. Not wanting the birds to go without seed completely, we decided to sprinkle seeds around the tree and the walkway until the feeders could go back up. Skip decided to make that his job, and every morning after he went out to feed the koi, he'd spread some seeds for the birds. Even though the feeders went up a few days later, he continued to spread seeds for them. Then he noticed how many birds were actually being attracted. His mind worked overtime (as it normally does), and as a result, yesterday he constructed his trap again. This time in the front yard. He put a whole bunch of seeds out there, and he and Harry sat inside, "hidden" behind the full glass storm door, string in hand, ready to pull.  I felt it my duty to advise him (as I did back in June) that his chance of catching a bird in this manner were pretty slim, but that if he he did succeed, he'd have to let it go within a few minutes.  He agreed and I felt I had done my job.

Well what do I know?  After about an hour of waiting, and groans over near hits, he DID catch one! A poor unsuspecting mourning dove.

He excitedly checked out the bird...

posed for a picture or two,

said good-bye and slowly lifted the "trap",

then watched him fly away.

Encouraged by his feat, he decided to set it up again and see if he could catch another.  Shortly thereafter, Mike called the boys to the table for lunch, and the trap was left unattended. End of story?

Nope. You see, apparently I am not the only one who was impressed by his diligence and surprised that he had succeeded because while the boys were sitting at the table enjoying peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, somebody else was trying his hand at it...

Sorry to say, no luck. But, if he's anything like his son, he won't give up too easily!