File This Under No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Or, perhaps, be more cautious. Chino Hills is located just outside of Los Angeles County in southern California’s benighted Inland Empire, kinda in the heart of the four-county block of LA, the OC, and the Inland Empire. Phil Willon reports at LATimes.com:

A Chino Hills woman who was trying to hang a bird feeder from her second-story patio lost her balance and fell to her death early Monday morning, authorities said.

The woman, who was not identified, died after an unsuccessful attempt by a Chino Valley Fire rescue crew to resuscitate her.

Sad.

According to a report by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, the woman was trying to hang the feeder from a wood beam directly above her patio ledge around 3:45 a.m. She fell two stories down, landing on a concrete floor near the base of a staircase.

That was awfully early in the morning. Did she work a night shift? Was she unusually tired? That can impair perception, coordination, and judgment.

Sometimes we get complacent in familiar surroundings, such as home, and aren't as cautious as we should be. She may have put up bird feeders like that many times with any close calls. My sympathies to her loved ones.