The Big Deep Clean: Day 1

Today was a cold day with a strong easterly wind blowing off Kattegat making temperatures fall below zero again. This did not matter today, as today was day 1 of the deep clean!

Figure 1: Christmas tree!

The day started when the three of us stepped into the living room where Simon Sr was sat doing some work and waiting for a visiting school group to arrive for a mini ringing demonstration. To help, Simon Jr and I went to open the two sheltered nets in the garden. We didn’t hear many birds, but Simon Jr flushed a Woodcock [Skovsneppe] which was very nice. It was also nice to see the Christmas tree the lighthouse team has put up which is very sweet so thank you! It was a bit windy today so I put it back up on our way back. On our return, it was straight to work cleaning whilst Mathilde was going to make a cake for Knud and his wife Inger who we invited to come over this afternoon. After a quick cycle to the shops to get some eggs, Mathilde was in baking mode!

Figure 2: Mathilde’s carrot cake – well part of.

No birds were caught unfortunately so Simon Sr shut the nets quite early to get on with work. Meanwhile, Simon Jr and I started cleaning and ended up deep cleaning the bedrooms and living room before lunch, a good start. Mathilde finished the cake and started cleaning the kitchen. After a quick lunch break, tough scrutiny from Simon Sr regarding the cleaning and a game of Turnstone, we were delighted to host Knud and Inger. I should have taken a photo of the cake before we all ate it but see the pic above of Mathilde’s very nice carrot cake. However, the cake, gløgg and conversation were all really lovely, and it was really nice to see Knud before we all leave for Christmas. We are all very grateful for the help and support from Knud since we have been here, as he has been a big help with the migration counts throughout the year. A big thank you from us volunteers, past and present! Knud even went out on a migration count today which was very dedicated and his sightings can be seen on the DOFbasen link below.

After Knud and Inger left, our afternoon consisted of us finishing the cleaning of the kitchen and then the final room for today: the bathroom. Simon Jr and I helped take down a couple of the garden nets and we will soon be checking ringing sheets and getting ready for The Deep Clean: Day 2!

Figure 3: Christmas tree at night!

Just for some more Christmas content, here's the Christmas tree at night. Tomorrow’s blog will hopefully feature a little more bird content than today.

Today’s observations on Dofbasen from observers in the area

People: Thomas Weston, Mathilde Ducroz, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen, Knud & Inger Pedersen.