If there is one thing no one wants to hear at an airport, it’s that. My heart thunders at even the thought of a plane that’s crashed, the lives that may be lost, and the injuries that may follow. Take a deep breath, though, because the bird that’s down at this airport is nothing like that. It’s just  a wee plastic owl.

He’s been dangling by the neck for years, choked in thick dust. The poor fella.

In some ways, I guess you could say he’s been keeping an eye on us through this crazy journey of Making This Home. You see him up there with his back turned to us right at the peek of the ceiling when we tore the old pilot training room down? He’s easy to spot on the day we recruited friends to help us with our locally made countertops.

Everyone who walks in will ask at some point, “So what’s with the owl?”

Apparently, it’s supposed to keep other birds from flying into the hangar when the door is open. We’ll have to see if there’s any change without him dangling in the hangar this spring. In the meantime, he’s been grounded. I think he’s happy to take a rest. (If it looks like we need him to spook in the future, we’ll find a way to mount him by the feet in a more natural, aesthetic way.)

And me? I’m just happy to keep chugging along with my 2013 resolution to take things slowly at the hangar, starting at the top.

Other things that came down from various areas of the ceiling: several ancient bird nests, random chains, huge broken speakers, unraveling ropes, and enough trash to fill a contractor trash bag.

Here’s to simple changes in week two of the year.

Are you still sticking to New Year’s Resolutions? Or removing any eye sores in your space? Do tell.