Sunday, October 16, 2005

ONE FLEW OVER THE PIGEON'S NEST


Some pigeons have decided to nest on the roof above my bedroom toilet! It has been quite sometime since I realized this but have ignored it simply for the fact that they haven't caused much disturbances. Till a week ago, when I start hearing the noisy chirping of baby birds!!

Initially the noise was only occasional. Sometimes I would hear the 'cooing' sound of a pigeon. Have you ever heard of the sound? It's sort of a rumbling, low-to-medium pitch sound and often goes into crescendos. At other times, I could hear a sudden loud thud, made by the bird's feet when landing on the ceiling board (a mini version of the sound of airplane tyres touching the ground when landing). So it was acceptable and I kept mum about it.

Nowadays the noise coming from the ceiling boards are getting more intense and at times irritating. So annoying that I felt like taking a pole and hit the boards, just to scare them off. Each time I go to the loo, I could hear, relentless chirping sounds of baby birds, probably with their beaks wide open, waiting for mother pigeon to pop in bits of morsels into their mouths. At the same time, these are accompanied by exasperating sounds of birds' feet scratching and thudding busily on the roof floor-boards.

The other day, I called iKelah to prove to him that it's time to get rid of the pigeons. There is already some musty smell emitting from the roof. And there are brownish marks which are getting bigger on the white ceiling boards. These stains are probably made by their secretions. "We have to call someone to 'relocate' these pigeons" I said. And also to clean the roof. "Tunggulah anak-anak burung tu besar sikit" was his reply. "Hmm.." I replied. Well, it's true. If we got rid of them, would the babies survive? Especially now with the rainy and stormy weather.

Meantime, i have to bear with their chirpings, thuddings and scratchings and wait patiently for the babies to learn how to fly!

Talking about birds and nests, I recently contemplated on my own 'nest'. 3 of my eldest children have now left home, two studying abroad and one preparing to. I am currently left with two school-going kids at home. But if Luqman gets lucky to enter any boarding school next year and Aliah the year after next, that just leaves me,ikelah and the maid. And since house-hold chores would be less by then, I see no apparent reason to keep the maid. So that'll leave me and ikelah. And then my thoughts delved further. And when ikelah is on call at night, that will leave me all alone at home, at night, in a fairly isolated housing area, near the sea!! Arghhh!! No!!! I confided this to Luqman and this had him thinking. Later he asked me "are you ok with me going to boarding school? If not, I'll just stay at home" :) Felt sad and happy the same time. Sad because one day all my kids will eventually leave home, like what I did to my own parents. Happy because my smallest son is growing into a thoughtful person who worries about me being alone at home!

P.S Tonight out of habit I clicked on iFos' site and lo and behold I found that she had entered a new post. Well, well, I see someone has been busy at her blog and didn't ever e-mail me anything yet! tsk tsk.

25 comments:

ifos said...

Mak, I've replied your email the other already ape... mak yg tak reply balik. ish...

Anonymous said...

"And when ikelah is on call at night, that will leave me all alone at home, at night, in a fairly isolated housing area, near the sea!!"

my very first thoughts upon reading that is you're implying how scary it will be, but then i feel something else... the feeling i get when i see the way my mom said to my youngest sister when she said she's going to follow her brother to a boarding school in jeram... do you really want to go.. ummi will be left alone..

it was just a lighthearted and passing remark.. but i couldn't help feeling a tinge of sadness on her part there.

but don't worry drroza, your children can never be really far from home... we got everything from the good old mail to encik blogger =) and you'll always be in their hearts.

PS btw, is the title from some movie? it just sounded familiar...

dith said...

Fi- nope I've been checking my mails, none from you .

Skye- It can be scary at night when you're all alone. I would wake up at the sound of the slightest. Yes, "one flew over the cuckoo's nest" starring Jack Nickolson, the cuckoo guy himself.

Queen Of The House said...

Orang kata, if pigeons roost in your roofs, bertuah tu, rezeki baik. I would be concerned about the droppings, though. I read they contain harmful 'things' (bacteria/fungus/whatever) that can cause illnesses.

About your own nest ...... which mom will not feel sad thinking that someday the children will be leaving one by one :(

Anonymous said...

Eh...kira bagus la tu merpati buat sarang di rumah. Maknanya rumah tu berkat, aman, tak de penunggu tak de menda keras keras. Kang kalau ada pulak lepas halau merpati tu macam mana? Ish kena pikir lagik. Letih la. Kira boleh je la.

Anonymous said...

Pigeons nesting on the roof?....that was what we had kat rumah di kampung, and there were easily about 20-30 of them. Your description of all the scratching and cooing sound that they make was all so nostalgic to me. We had the kind of pigeons that had feathers even growing on their feet. You've seen that before?? I remember feeding them with moong beans or rice. But just as, out of nowhere they came, one fine day they started leaving their abode, one by one...until there's none left. Has that got to do with my late father leaving the house and us all as well??.....I dont know and never will. I'm all so sad now...just remembering my late father and Wan kat kampung. Her nest is empty too...........maybe it's a sign for me to fly back to the nest????

dith said...

QOTH- yes bird's droppings when inhaled may contain organisms that cause Atypical Pneumonia. So what shall I do? Let them be so that my rezeki will increase, insyallah?

Mawi- tak payah pikir lah. Nyanyi je

Pycno- Nostalgia musim silam. I thought Wan is meant for grandma. So is Wan your mum or Grandma?

Anonymous said...

Wan is my mum, and yes,I know that in Pahang, Wan is meant for grandma. I call my late grandma Tok Wan. Just as I call my late father and grandfather, Ayah and Tok Ayah respectively.

Suriya said...

Oh dear apparently my comment has disappeared! Ah well, you ll never know what I had to say about the empty nest syndrome....

dith said...

Oh Nurelhuda- you know you have to re-comment again. I have to know what you think about it :)

Anonymous said...

Oh....thinking of "relocating me and my family" ye????? You watch out drroza !!! I know.... I know just what to do with people like you. It's all here in Chapter 3 of the book.

You'll soon get to see new, emerging patterns on all your silk baju kurungs hanging by the clothes-line - all done with simple syncronised "shrit-shrit" from me and gang...!!!!

Jom gang......let's ATTACK !!!

Suriya said...

Yes I know , I was just teasing !
I was saying about the pigeons that we had this problem once too but they finally left ...I was worried about psittacosis and allergies and the smell although I did not mind the sound effects.You can call pest control...or build a pigeons roost and pray they ll prefer it to your roof?

Empty nest syndrome: All my children have * left* home but like bad pennies they turn up very often during holidays and weekends...and soon I ll hear the patter of little feet again..
So I was saying not to worry and to enjoy the quiet while you can for it does not last. Also get some hobbies and get absorbed in them and you will find your life just as full..I for one love my solitude and thrive on being alone at times..after all friends are only a phone call or a short drive away if I wanted company..that is another thing you really need girlfriends....the loving kepochi ones ..

Leyla Shuri said...

I wonder when i can let go my children!!!

Lydia Teh said...

Dr, my neighbour had pigeons roost on their roof. The nest and leaves etc clogged up the gutter and somehow one rainy night, the rain managed to seep into their bedroom. There she was in dreamland when plop, plop, plop, the water dripped onto her face. Her tv, wardrobe, bed, everything got wet!

Re empty nest : I can't wait for mine to fly. But I know when the time comes, I may not be so gung-ho.

OOD said...

heyho Dr.House, leaving comment for the first time here. :o)

like Bert of Sesame Street, i love them pigeons. Coo! Coo!

But of course, you dont want the whole kampung of pigeons on your roof.

My kids are 1 & 3 years old. I am not even talking about them leaving the house yet. I look forward to them leaving our bedroom!

Ikelah said...

the movie; michael douglas's cuckoo's nest.

kat sini dulu. ..at the nearby stream.. zaman silam... tepat orang buang anjak. so what is anjak? anjak is something which can trap evil spirit.

...And the paya... lady with long hair crossing.... phew ...scary...

tak dengar lagi orang mati kena cekik dek hantu. rasuk...wallahu 'alam.
... but not me...insyaallah ok koot... afew of us had gone ghost hunting b4, of course without the ghostbusters gadget..

dith said...

Pycno a.k.a. pigeon leader, wait, you have to finish till the last chapter!

Nurelhuda- nak kena tempah pigeon roost pulak, pergola pon tak start lagi! :) Now I know what my Kepochi friends are for!

Halela- then, you'll start mssing them!

Lydia- your friend's story is scaring me coz it's nearing monsoon season! -Yes, that'll be the day, you wish they never left!

Ood- thanks for dropping by. So you're a Sesame Street die-hard fan! I think it's a malay style of upbringing to have them kids sleeping with us till they're much bigger unlike the whites eh? Guess it's a good form of contraceptive, hahha

iKelah- selamat berangkat and pulang balik sini. I ask Allah swt to protect you and give you strength. Ameen

Anonymous said...

'Younger' generation of bloggers - me, hiyoshi, ayumi, crimsonskye, sofe, etc.

'Older' generation of bloggers - you, pcky, ikelah, paul moss, etc.

Lol. I love how this blogsphere is revolving!

Oh, and Sofi, you better make sure your (second copy) email arrive fast. Sian your mum. In some ways, I'm glad I'm in UPM. Almost everyday balik rumah, opposingly to what I've experienced for the past 6 years (boarding school, matriculation far away from home and such). Alhamdulillah. =)

Anonymous said...

Dr House,
Is there a remedy for a condition where someone sees or think things which is out of reality? An ailment which might be the result of a sudden change in lifestyle triggering some electrical surge in the brain probably which might explain the reason that person think I belong to AN OLDER generation of bloggers?
Just go ahead with the treatment if there is and don`t worry about the cost. I`ll pay.

dith said...

Afie- good for you to have that luxury now!

Paul Lumut- don't get overly sensitive now dude! If you're really that young as you claim so be it!

Anonymous said...

I`m never overly sensitive or overly anything. I`m a reasonably responsible person and wish not the crowd be misled.
Am I really saying this?

Anonymous said...

Assalamualaikum..

My dad had been mentioning about how lonely he was when we're not around.. Two of us are in college while the other one is in a boarding school. There's only two siblings left at home, one aged 13 and the other 3. And my 13-year-old sister is looking forward to go to boarding school when she's 16. My dad always relishes the moment when we are ALL at home.. and that's not so often..

dith said...

Ayumi- ikelah and I are facing the same thing now....

Anonymous said...

Finished reading ALL the 12 chapters. There's only one clear message running throughout the book - Shritting effectively, all by yourself or in a group, free-style or syncronised !!

Watch out all those BAJU RAYAS !!!!!!

dith said...

Dear pigeon leader- Kesian bapak pigeon- Sibuk mencari makan sana sini , nak baca buku senipis tu mengambil beberapa purnama. 'Ghot' ke lepas ni nak melancar serangan 'shrit-shrit' beramai-ramai atau berseorangan?


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