I’m finally recovering from being ill for almost a week. If you’ve read my blog before you know how badly it sucks being sick and solo on a farm. The chores don’t do themselves, so fever or no, I still have manual labor to perform.
Yesterday I sat on the porch to soak in a little sunshine and get fresh air into my dragging lungs. While sitting there enjoying the atmosphere, I started taking mental notes of all the spring chores I need to get done for porch season. One of those things is to clean the gutters around the house. I have a large oak tree that hangs over the house and drops its leaves every year right into the gutter.
Every year I go to clean the gutters and somehow they are always clear of debris. How is this possible? Last year when my brother visited he was the awesome brother he always is and went up to clean the gutters himself. It didn’t take very long before he was back in the house.
Surprised to see him inside so soon I asked “Is something wrong? Do you need me?” He informed me the gutters didn’t need to be cleaned. How is that possible?
The gutter fairy had struck again.
For five years I’ve wondered how my gutters could clean themselves. Was this some sort of farm miracle?
As I sat on the porch contemplating this and all the spring cleaning to do, a shower of dead, wet leaves rained down from the roof. Every few seconds the leaf shower continued, all the way down the length of the gutter. It would stop every few minutes then start again. I couldn’t see anything from my viewpoint. Just what the hell was going on here? All the leaves appeared to be jumping out of my gutters.
Then I saw it. A Blue Jay. I watched as he flew away with a rotten acorn in his mouth. A minute later he returned and resumed his dutiful exploration of my gutters. He swept the entire gutter trail and kicked out loads of heavy dead leaves with his little stick legs. That’s one lucky female Blue Jay who has that guy for a man. He’s smart, strong and resourceful.
I was to afraid to move and scare him away so, unfortunately I don’t have a photo. But what a cool thing to witness – even if it does mean there’s no gutter fairy. I’ve always said I wanted a Disney-style farm where animals sing to me and help with chores. I suppose a wild bird rummaging through my gutters qualifies.
xo