Sometimes, a plan just comes together in a way that you have to think someone out there is controlling the Big Picture.

Growing up a Presbyterian, I knew all about the concept of predestination. But last weekend went past that human idea to include critters.

Kathy and I started putting out birdseed in the backyard almost as soon as we moved in. Besides being a compassionate thing to do, it gave Hemingway the cat something to look at out the windows. He is an indoor-only cat, though he thinks he wants to go outside.

From the git-go, there was a steady stream of birds coming around as the weather warmed up. A host of wrens, robins and mockingbirds have dropped by for a bite. I’ve seen plenty of cranes and crows in the area, but neither of them has dared to land inside the fenced backyard.

Among the more interesting birds to drop in were a pair of doves and a pair of bluebirds.

The avian activity in the backyard has dropped because of the human (and possibly canine) activity in the backyard. When construction crews started building a house in the lot directly behind our home, the birds stayed away, at least while the crews were working. Of course, the site of a large, fluffy Old English Sheepdog (Marcus weighs 100 pounds but looks bigger with all the hair) might have been a detraction as well. And we only started seeing one of the doves.

Shortly after the house started going up next door, we started working on a pergola. I was thankful that my parents came to visit last weekend. It gave me a chance to use my father as a helper to set the 6x6 posts in 2-foot-deep holes, plumb the posts and fill the holes with concrete.

Now the folks hadn’t been down since they helped us move in five weeks ago, so they brought some housewarming presents. Two of those presents were bluebird houses. We hadn’t mentioned the fact we had what appeared to be a breeding pair stopping by and visiting the bird feeders. It was a happy coincidence.

Most of Saturday was taken up by getting the posts in the ground and secured. I was also smoking a pork butt and two chickens, but that doesn’t take much attention. That job is more one of checking occasionally to see if you need to add more chips. So supper was taken care of, and the tired (and sore) workers drifted off to sleep without a problem.

Sunday morning, I was cooking bacon when something in the corner of my eye caught my attention. I saw a blur on the covered back porch. Wanting to make sure a bird didn’t fly into the window, I eased around to check it out. To my surprise, the male bluebird was checking out the bluebird houses, which had been left on a table. I knew then, the first task after breakfast would be hanging the two houses.

By late morning, both the male and female were checking out one of the houses. As an added plus, the pair of doves returned that afternoon, much to our pleasure.

Onward and upward

I was grateful to have help of a retired engineer getting the pergola posts installed. Kathy should be able to help me with the rest of the construction — at least in a limited role. After letting the concrete cure a couple of days, I borrowed a ladder from work to cut the posts to a uniform height. In case anyone is wondering, YES, you can fit an 8-foot wooden stepladder inside a Honda Civic. You can even close the trunk and have a foot of clearance to the dashboard.

So while I climbed the ladder and began marking all four sides, Kathy and Marcus offered moral support. They kicked back in the lounge chairs and watched. She did take a more active role when I wielded the circular saw from atop the teetering ladder (it was straddling post braces instead of having its feet firmly on the ground). I will likely have her make the decorative cove cuts on the ends of the major boards.

While there are a lot of things going on this weekend in the north half of the county, I hope to spend a good bit of time on the ladder. Maybe by the end of the weekend, there will be more lumber in the air than sitting on the ground.

William Moore is the Senior Editor at Gulf Coast Newspapers. He can be reached at wmoore@gulfcoastnewspapers