I generally have nothing against our feathered friends, but this morning I’m holding a grudge. The weather’s been warming up so I slept with the window open last night. Round about 4am I was rudely awoken by the incessant chirping and twittering of some chicks on speed (one bird has mistaken our house for a tree…and built its nest in our gutters). As if that weren’t bad enough, the neighbor’s rooster (that’s right, we live in the city yet the neighbors have a freaking rooster, for chrissakes) added to the cacophony with some constant crowing. I was so exhausted that I tried hiding under my pillow, and various other ineffective noise-blocking techniques, before dragging my sorry ass over to the window to slam it shut. Amazing how much a little glass and wood can muffle that pesky Mother Nature.