Our family tries to be green. We do. We choose to do our part for the environment and that usually means we recycle.

We have two bins that we drag to the curb every week. We try to get as much paper, tubs, and plastic bottles as they will hold. We also have compact fluorescent light bulbs throughout the house. We use power strips, and overall, I would say we are average greeners. I mean we could do more. Our cars are not very fuel-efficient, although decent (mine anyway). We could run the air a bit warmer. Hang clothes to dry and wash more in cold water.

Little things.

But this past weekend, maybe we did a big thing (at least I think we did). It wasn’t exactly on purpose, but that counts, right?

See, when Jason went out to do a little grilling, a week or so ago, he discovered the grill was occupied – by a bird nest. It was kinda funny because he uses his grill quite often, even in the winter. It was surprising they had taken up residence so quickly. Then we saw the tiny eggs inside the make-shift nest. Ohhhh…so that was the rush. Tiny and dainty eggs, a beautiful porcelain white with blue flecks, lay hidden inside the sticks and leave pieces. The best I could find out via my friend Google is they are house finch eggs. We have had little finches hatch every year.

One year they built their nest on the back shelves of our patio. When they learned to fly, they were flitting around on the table area outside our back door. They were so fun to watch and even landed on Jason’s chest when he went outside. It was so cute (you should have seen his face). The next year, they were housed in the poop scooper – don’t ask – but I never saw the babies. So this year, they decided on the grill.

I can’t blame them. It’s covered quite nicely from the elements. I’m sure it smells nicer than the poop scooper.

And you know? My thought never changed from the first moment I saw the eggs. I’ve GOT to get a picture of that. This weekend I chose to sneak down and do a little big brother on those gorgeous eggs.

The eggs inside this grill.

All I have to do is go down these steps for a peek.

And then? A funny thing happened – not funny ha ha – but funny ah! ah!

I tripped.

Slipped.

Fell.

Took a dive, or whatever happens when you are daydreaming about little egg nest photos with a 7lb DSLR camera in hand while walking and gazing at your hostas and easter lilies growing up so nicely this spring.

Boom! Just like that.

This stone has a lip, or high ridge, or a DANGER ZONE.

Do you see it?

I must have hit it just right. Because? I went flying. Me. Camera. All body parts. I didn’t even flail about. I just aimed my camera flat and level towards the closest surface (I did well). I saw it scatter over the sidewalk (this part was in slow motion) and into the side yard. I don’t remember how I landed. Only that my right ankle was in a shocking amount of pain. The kind that makes you not breathe. The kind that makes you see stars. The kind that makes you cry out over and over.

I sat there dazed and terrified. Did I just break my ankle? My camera? How in the world did that just happen?

It took many minutes of breathing and rising up on shaky legs to get into a sitting position on the ledge. Then, I scooted to my camera and turned it on. It was OK. Ankle? Not so okay. I was finally able to stand and limp to the grill – slowly and painfully.

Of course, if I was gonna be injured, I better get my shot [insert:maniacal laughter].

The nest is just beneath the left rack, but guess what? No eggs. Just soft brown down peaking through – they hatched. Wow.

I quietly closed the grill and limped away to nurse my wounds. The ankle got worse. It swelled the size of a grapefruit. I could not walk on it. I had to get an x-ray the next day.

The good news…..it’s not broken. The bad news? It’s a pretty bad sprain and I have to stay off of it for one to two weeks (I guess that’s bad news for Jason – sole dog walker, and driver -yeah DRIVER). They also told me I have a double ear infection. It sorta explains my lack of grace (I hope).

To cheer me up, Jason decides on Sunday, he is going to grill steaks! Yum! But wait…..NOOOOO!

I told him we can’t, we have baby birds. He didn’t seem too concerned about baby birds in his grill.

That made me sad.

How can you evict such sweet little beak faces?

Well, I just couldn’t do it.

And Jason got a new grill.

So I’d say we are more green than we were before. We recycled a grill for an environmental habitat of bird humanity…and??…because of them I now share a ride to work, which saves gas, exhaust, and roadway crowding.

Maybe, that’s a bit extreme, but I like to look on the bright side and the green side. Ha.

Are you green extreme?