Nick and Mary Biagioni thought they had found a pretty good curbside freebie: a birdhouse and pole they could take home, refurbish, and put to use at their own Connecticut home.
Those plans encountered a bit of a road bump a few hours later when they discovered that a security camera had caught them taking it and that their car and trailer were now appearing in a local Facebook group.
The couple, both 29, told People in an Aug. 26 interview that they had mistakenly assumed the birdhouse had been left out for someone to take.
Fortunately, what might have escalated into a resentful fallout turned into a friendly misunderstanding everyone could walk away from feeling heard and respected. The birdhouse’s owners understood what had happened, and the couple returned it the following morning.
It Looked Like a Curbside Freebie
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@greenhollowhomestead we just like free stuff, what can we say? 😅 story to come #fyp #conneticut #woodstock #killingly #funny ♬ Saxophones getting louder – Sped Up – AntonioVivald
“Nick and I were making our way to Woodstock, Conn., which is not far from where we live, to pick up an old truck bed that we will be turning into a farm stand for our homestead,” recounted Mary, as reported by People. Along the way, the duo spotted the birdhouse near the curb. They actually passed it twice before deciding to take it.
Mary told People that leaving unwanted items at the curb for others is common in their area, including at their own home. In fact, the practice is so natural that their primary debate at the time was whether the birdhouse was in good enough condition to bother taking—not whether it was up for grabs.
Ultimately, they brought it home and started thinking about refurbishing it with Mary’s father-in-law. Then they headed out for dinner and live music, unaware that the birdhouse’s actual owners were trying to figure out where the little avian sanctuary disappeared to.
Then Their Car Appeared on Facebook
The first clue came from a most unexpected source. The person who had sold Nick the truck bed through Facebook Marketplace messaged him after spotting a security-camera image of the couple’s car and trailer in a local Facebook group searching for whoever had taken the birdhouse.
Any friction that might have developed quickly dissolved once Nick and Mary reached out to the owners; in fact, it became something of a joke. Mary said the owners acknowledged that the birdhouse’s location had made the mistake understandable, while Nick jokingly demanded that they follow the couple’s Green Hollow Homestead Facebook page as “ransom” before its return.
By the next morning, the birdhouse had fluttered back to its original owners. The Biagionis later shared the story online, where the mistake inspired viewers to parse out when a curbside goody is pure decoration or up for grabs.