Putting Up Kestrel Boxes (4/13)

On Sunday the 13th, Shannon and I drove up to Worcester to help my Dad and grandfather put up a pair of Kestrel boxes at Broad Meadow Brook. My grandfather had built and painted the boxes the year before and he and my Dad had made platforms for them.

When Shannon and I got to the power lines, the men had already put up the first box. We helped them lug all of the tools to the next location. I was surprised by the height of the post that the guys created. It was huge. We found what we thought was a good location and gramps and I started digging the post hole while Shannon and Dad attached the house to the end of the pole. Then the four of us stood the post up into the hole and packed the area around it with dirt. The finished box looked great.

After our work was done we took some time to scatter some of my Mom's ashes along the power lines. Dad and I each took some and we tried to distribute them as widely as possible. My Mom really loved BMB and especially the power line area. During the summer she would look for butterflies there almost every day during her lunch hour. And she brought the entire family there dozens of times and we always enjoyed our hikes.

Later that night we came back to the sanctuary for the annual volunteer appreciation dinner. Shannon and I couldn't stay for the entire thing but the staff did a really nice thing and said some special words about my Mom.