Today as I was painting the outside cabin walls, a group of swallows began to have a bickerment of the bird house on my porch. When all of the sudden a poor little dear female (the one I'm assuming had eggs in the nest) fell down from the air and straight into my paint. Scared for her well-being I quickly went over and tried to grab her. My hands covered in paint, I had to call out for my darling to help me. We quickly washed her. The paint was drying fast and it crusted on my hands so quickly that I feared it would enclose her feathers in the same hardness if we didn't scrub quickly. Unfortunately our spring water is oh so cold, and in washing her, we also sent her into a hypothermic state. Once she was entirely clean, I clasped her in my hands and concentrated every bit of my heat to her. We sat inside for a while. She shivered and occassionally looked up at me- debating whether or not I was a threat. After a few calm whispers though, she grasped her feet around my finger and rested down. She continued to shiver, but gained strength. I knew the stress of being inside, away from her eggs, and wet would ultimately fret her to death. So we brought her out to her house, and she slipped inside to dry up and rest with her babies. I haven't seen her yet, but I'm hoping she's okay. Rest is the best medicine- and my quite riverside home is one of the most convenient places for rest. So I'm assuming she'll be quite fine.
