The Fill The Holes In The Ceiling Guy comes by tomorrow morning, so shortly after 7 p.m., when it was good and dark, I turned off all the lights, closed all the doors, and armed myself with the Green Net Of Evil Catching and the Flashlight Of Evil Looking.

Alone.

Now, I've watched Bruce catch the Finsters many times, and with the Green Net Of Evil Catching in hand, my arms are long enough to catch a tiny bird almost even in the top corner of the Finsterium. But it really is a two-person job. One person to catch the birds, and another to turn the overhead light switch on and off, spot the little things in the cage, watch to see if any fly out of the cage, help keep track of them when they do fly out of the cage, etc. Oh, I got the job done, and in only about half an hour, but it was not a smooth experience. (And one could say that half an hour is quite a long time to catch five birds.)

Here are the highlights:

    • Almost directly upon opening the Finsterium door for the first time with the lights out, a Finster flew toward my head and — I feared — out the door. Luckily, that did not happen.

    • The first bird caught was either Cassia or Cinnamon — I still can't tell them apart. Let's say it was Cinnamon. As I was putting him into the hospital cage in the office, I told him, "Whatever you do, don't get loose in here!" Which, of course, he did. After a flight into the closet, and underneath my desk, I managed to catch him without squishing him too much.

    • Oolong was second. For a brief moment she was clinging to the Finsterium with one foot and the Green Net Of Evil Catching with the other. I laughed out loud until she got startled and flew straight toward my head. She showed me! Starting with her, I went into the bathroom and closed the door while I transferred her gently but securely from the Green Net Of Evil Catching to my hand. Success.

    • Szechwan (Pepper) was next. It went pretty well until I got him into the hospital cage. Then I had to wait for awhile until he stopped clinging to the wall, conveniently holding the door closed with his tiny little feet.

    • Ginger was next. Her capture went relatively easily, until I turned the overhead light on and realized I didn't know where number 5 was. After a bit of panic, the Flashlight of Evil Looking showed that (we'll call her) Cassia was hiding in a nest box. Those Spice finches are so dark they can really hide well if they sit in the back of those boxes!

    • Cassia had the biggest adventure. She got out of the Finsterium, sat on top of it for awhile, perched on Bob's light, flew back to the top of the Finsterium, flew on top of the refrigerator, and back and forth and around for a bit. This was where I really needed two people: normally, if a bird flies over to Bob, we turn the overhead light off and hope that it will stay put in the dark. One person moves carefully toward the bird, Flashlight of Evil Looking in hand, while the other listens for bird wings and flips the light back on if it starts flying. That way, we can see where the bird gets to, and keep it from crashing into something in the dark. But alone, I was afraid to try to catch Cassia anywhere too far from that light switch. However, catch her I did.

    • Cassia's adventure was also where I realized having pets that are small enough to fit anywhere could be a really bad idea. My new mantra is "PLEASE don't fall behind the refrigerator!"

    • It took the Finsters a little less than an hour to feel comfortable enough to start peeping and chirping, and about another hour to start fighting. Fighting? The Finsters?!? Yep, they were fighting. Which proves that an enormous Finsterium is a much better place to live than a cage about a fifth of its size.

I have no idea what the Fill The Holes In The Ceiling Guy's schedule will be, apart from being here tomorrow morning. Here's hoping he won't need to come by for days....