So that'* why my blower motor was so noisy...

Looks like you could have a squirrel living under the hood, I keep getting halves of nut shells on top of my battery, and airbox, also inside of the airbox, I'd take a peek inside of the airbox the next time you change the air filter.
If all looks normal then they could have just fell into there somehow, although I can't quite think of how they could get in there by falling off of a tree.

I'm sure it was from an animal cuz the car was sitting for quite awhile before I started driving it. I'm hoping there'* nothing still living in it!

i had a simmilar problem with mice living in my airbox. them baffles in there make for an awesome hidey hole!

on a side note, you might want to blow out your drain hose while you are in there. mine was partially clogged and i was not aware. untill i was driving from birmingham to memphis in a 35* massive downpour. so much water backed up it seized the blower motor, causing me to have no defrost. when i couldnt see the road anymore i pulled over and covered the cowl with a bag and some duct tape. set it on recirculate to get home. lol.

The mouse in my airbox has the upgraded master suite, I modded/gutted my airbox a bit, I did leave that last tube in the back side of it, so the inside is very roomy,