I’ve been Twittering about my mockingbird issues of late.  About three weeks ago a mockingbird moved into the orange tree that sits between our house and the one next door.  He would start up singing about 11 p.m. and still be at it when the alarm went off in the morning.

Mockingbirds are kind of cool birds, but not when they are in the middle of mating season, and perched less than 50 feet from your bedroom window.  Those little suckers are shrill.

My husband mentioned the bird to the people next door, since their bedroom window also faces the orange tree.  He said we were thinking about giving the bird a bath (ie spraying it with a waterhose) and the neighbor said “oh no! don’t do anything to that bird!”

The neighbor and Irish are in a garage band together, so they hang out together a lot.  I asked Irish how the neighbor sleeps through all that racket and he said he didn’t know.  I suggested maybe they should cut down the orange tree – it’s a sour orange, and they never take any fruit off of it.  The fruit drops off and rots on the ground all winter.  He said the neighbor has mentioned cutting down the tree before.  I was hoping this would be the solution.

The mockingbird finally gave up sometime Saturday.  We’ve heard mockingbirds in the area, but the one in the tree was gone.

I noticed yesterday that the neighbor was up on a ladder putting something on his roof, the one that faces our house.  I asked Irish what it was and he said he didn’t know.  We found out tonight.

It’s a light.  A big tall one, that stands a foot or two above the roof.  The light shines down on the trees in the basin between our yards – specifically the orange tree.

I went out on the lanai this evening to enjoy the sudden rainshower we were having, and I noticed the yard was all lit up.  We live in a rural area, on 2.5 acres.  It’s deathly dark out at night, and it’s lovely to sit out there and look up at the stars.

Well no more of that!  Our backyard is lit up like daytime right now (12:23 a.m.).

And did I mention the light is between our houses, on the orange tree, the one right outside our bedroom window?  Which ultimately means SHINING RIGHT INTO OUR BEDROOM WINDOW?

God help me.