In preparation for the annual Finsterium Cleaning, we had to catch all the birds. This means waiting until dark, closing all the curtains, shutting all the doors, making sure there are no open pots of water to drown in or other hazards, and, armed with a small flashlight, a soft bird net, and hands, plucking the birds one by one from their perches.

Of course it's never that easy. Even though it's dark, the birds will still fly if they're scared, startled, or think someone is trying to catch them. Waiting until dark and using a flashlight makes it possible to catch small birds, but it doesn't make it easy. Sally flew out first, which is typical, although this time she flew to the top of the fridge before her usual flight across the living room to take refuge in Bob, the ficus tree. Once in hand and in the relative safety of the small bathroom (toilet seat down) I clipped her toenails, gave her a once-over (okay), and popped her into the holding cage.

Of course, it wasn't that easy. She flew to the top of the fridge, flew across the living room, landed on the couch, flew to Bob, fell to the floor, and that's when we caught her, periodically turning on the overhead light while she was flying to try to keep her from crashing into anything, and turning it off again when she landed to try to keep her where we could catch her. Still, the Catching Event went relatively easily. Only Sally, Rose Red, and Darjeeling actually flew off anywhere, the rest were caught by hand or net in the Finsterium.

Frank had a small owie on his foot, so he got his first dose of antibiotics, some Neosporin smeared on the foot, and he went into the hospital cage, where he'll be for ten days. Rose Red went straight into a small travel cage, since she'll be going home. The rest of the birds just got the normal once-over and nail trim, and got popped into the holding cage. It took about 45 minutes to catch and check all nine Finsters. Afterward, Peanut got more warm toasties.