Eggs in a Nest

Good news for all of the procrastinators out there...it turns out putting off certain home projects has a major payoff.

When you look at a house, it is easy to say, "If I lived there, the first thing I would do is...(fill in the blank)." Our first thoughts?

Rip out the ugly, farmhouse fence.

Get rid of the 12 foot gate separating the driveway from the yard.

Tear out the Ent.

Then you move into the house. You have new priorities. Reroof the place. Update the electrical panel. Scrub and paint all of the walls to get rid of the lingering cigarette smell. (It helps if your father-in-law and landlord happens to be a do-it-yourself-remodeling-home-maintenance-just-get-it-done-guru.) It also helps to have a large, generous network of family and friends who are willing to do things like roofing, and wiring, and scrubbing, and painting.

In the intervening weeks and months - oh let's face it, years - you might just find that those projects you put off are actually better left alone. The fence turns out to be perfect for containing your unnaturally rambunctious dog. The gate really isn't a big deal once you get used to it, and it keeps the dog from jumping over the back porch and into the driveway. And then there's Ent...

One spring day, it went from looking like a cross between a stump and a fireworks display, to looking like a lush, tropical plant. It does this kind of hula dance, lifting its green branches and organge flowers and swishing them in the breeze. Soon after that, Nate was in the nice, enclosed yard with the dog when a pair of robins began divebombing him. He realized they were protecting a nest...in the Ent.

So here is my advice...if you move into a fixer-upper, let some things go. Not the important stuff, like roofs and electrical maintenance. But the stuff you can live with. Wait and see what surprises might be waiting for you!