Mom vs. Wild

It's not like we live in the middle of the woods, so I don't know why these things keep happening to us. In the past week, I've had unexpected encounters with wildlife in the comfort of my own home. Last week, I opened my front door to get the mail and apparently startled a bird that was in a bush in our flowerbed. The startled bird must have also been confused because instead of flying away from the door, it flew right in. We have vaulted ceilings in the living room and kitchen with high ledges, and the bird spent about twenty minutes flying back and forth while I ran around opening doors and using a broom to try to "encourage" it to go back out. (Jenna ran back and forth yelling at the bird, which probably didn't help.) Finally, after leaving some bird poop for us to remember him by, it flew out the back door.

Then yesterday, I was leaving the house to go have lunch with Julia. I opened the front door and heard, very close to me, a high-pitched, breathy sound -- sort of like a little girl gasping. The noise scared me to death and I yelled. It was especially unsettling because even though the noise sounded like it was right in front of me, I couldn't see anything that could have made it. I started to step out and peek around into the flower bed to see if something -- or someone -- was there. That's when I saw a turtle on the walkway right in front of me. I guess when I opened the door and scared it, it suddenly pulled its head and arms and legs into its shell, causing the high-pitched whoosh I had heard.

It could be worse. In Baytown, we had the occasional alligator walking the neighborhoods.