Grandpa's hobby was making birdhouses. He always said, "A man has to keep busy to stay out of trouble." Leigh wasn't sure how much trouble Grandpa could get into anyway, since he was such a nice man, but Leigh tried to listen to his advice. Besides, she liked to help on his birdhouses. Grandpa's shop was full of well-oiled and carefully-kept tools. Whenever he used something, he put it back in exactly the right place. He had rules about how he treated his tools, because he hated buying something new if the old one still worked. He also made sure to clean up each time he worked on something. It wasn't too fun cleaning up, but it was nice to watch him cut boards to exact lengths. It was nice to see the drill put in holes for screws  to go in cleanly. It was like being a doctor, but with wood. The best part of building was seeing all the pieces come together in the final form. The last steps always included lacquer or paint, to help protect Grandpa's hard work from the weather. His birdhouses lasted for years. If he didn't coat them properly, the sun and rain would turn the wood gray and weak in a short period of time. No, he always made sure to do things right. Even if he put rocks or other cute decorations on them, it was done right and made to last. Grandpa was a hard worker, but he was also smart and generous. He let Leigh keep the birdhouses sometimes, but only if he got to help hang it up or set the post for it. It had to be done just right, after all. The birdhouses were a great way to learn about woodworking, hard work, taking care of what you have, and about birds. The best thing about building birdhouses was that Leigh spent some time with Grandpa. What did Leigh value most?
Listening to Grandpa's advice. Helping Grandpa on his birdhouses. Spending some time with Grandpa. Learning about woodworking and birds.