Repairs: sympathetic restoration or an honest repair?

 We watch The Repair Shop, and I heard them discussing this topic: a 'sympathetic restoration' or an 'honest repair.' Often you should not repair something with the years behind it to look as if it is new. That is a sympathetic restoration.  

Hemmings even has a definition in the automotive context: "Somewhere between fully restored and all-original is the sympathetic restoration, usually implemented to preserve as much of a car's originality as possible, while preventing it from damage and deterioration."

Then, an honest repair makes the item salvageable. It doesn't have to look pristine. My nest box was beyond both. My plan was to switch out the destroyed box with the one of two down at the frog pond. 

I'd moved this old nest box back in Feb., 2023. We had a duck nest in it in spring (Wood ducking). I was so happy. I hadn't managed to secure it properly, and the kids helped me put in more screws. I'd sympathetically repaired it with a little wooden gate on a hinge to keep the saw dust in for the ducklings.

This was an honest repair. This is an older nest box design and the wood shavings kept falling out.

This is what it looked like in 2021 (below, left). The other photo was in June of this year, after the bears ripped it apart. [Momma Bear and Two Cubs, June 6th] 

They sure did a number on it. Neither an honest repair nor a sympathetic restoration would work. My goal was to replace it with the other one, but higher up the tree. There were two cubs and they seemed eager to help Momma get into that box.

 

Here it is, I maneuvered the ladder there, having dragged it to the back 40 on the wheelbarrow. It fell off several times, but I kept on trucking.

First, to remove the old box. I climbed the ladder and removed the top screw. Next removed the bottom screw waiting for it to fall off the tree. It did not. I'd used a lag bolt during my honest repair trying to attach it to the tree, but I forgot. That was a bit of a challenge. I needed a different tool.

I ended up ripping it apart, after I got the bolt out and it fell off the tree.

Down it came. You can see the little hatch marks where the baby ducks climb up the inside wall when they move out of the box. The replacement box, repaired by Bob at Gilligalous for me, was ready to go. 

I'd worked so hard on hanging it. Up the ladder I went. It is tricky to rest a ladder on the tree. The ladder is flat, the tree round. You cannot just use one screw at the top, and one at the bottom. The boxes are made from old barn board and too heavy. I'd screwed top and bottom to another piece of wood in the old location. 

I left it there for the day. The sun is so low on the horizon that it is chilly. It snowed on Monday, this was Sunday. Happily, no freezing rain (pink).

Having done some thinking, I may have to tie off the ladder somehow. 

I shall ponder it further, waiting for a slight warm up in temperatures this week. Today, the high is only 5 C. Maybe tomorrow or Thursday?

Native Vs. Invasive Phragmites

BTW Tom: Yes, I mentioned that I have native phragmites in the frog pond. There are also invasive phragmites introduced from Europe. You can read more here: I have researched it, as I was curious. There are two different species.