Some days I don't pay much attention to the birdhouses in the yard. They've been there long enough that they've just become part of the place. I can walk right past one without thinking much about it.
But one day I was outside doing something near one of them when I noticed a little bird making a lot more noise than usual. At first I didn't think much of it. She was sitting on a branch nearby, making this sharp little call over and over. I kept doing what I was doing, and every time I moved, she moved too. If I took a few steps one way, she'd hop to another branch where she could still see me.
After a while I started to get the feeling she wasn't just making noise. She was talking to me. I had been around that birdhouse plenty of times before, so I didn't understand what the big deal was. I stood there for another minute trying to figure out what had her so worked up.
Then she flew right behind me, close enough that I could hear her wings go by. Well, maybe not actually hear them, but you know what I mean. I turned around and there she was on another branch, still carrying on. That's when I figured it out. I was too close to the birdhouse.
She didn't seem interested in attacking me. But she was making it pretty clear that she wanted me somewhere else. So I backed up. A few minutes later she settled down, flew over to the birdhouse, and disappeared through the entrance hole like nothing had happened.
I stood there looking at it for a second. I built that birdhouse. I cut the cedar, put in the screws, hung it up and picked the spot where it would go. But once a bird moves in, I guess I don't get much say in the matter anymore.
For a little while each year, it's her house.
And apparently, I need to stay out of her yard.