and then the universe decided we needed to lose something we loved...
my birthday weekend, a friend decided to hold what was dubbed a private pyro party. as part of my administration duties with compression, we try to recruit local artists that sculpt and create art in metal to see if we can give them a venue at which to display their art. i LOVE metal art, there's something so hard and beautiful about it, but that's probably another discussion for another time...
this weekend was destined for bird drama from the first. it was the first time fred 2.0 was going to be heading out into the great wilds on a camping trip. d had previously let his wings grow out, and he'd been flying around the house for awhile. the day we left, we clipped his wings, but left some flight feathers on either end, after watching a video on how to do this. when we tested it, he seemed to sink like a rock. BUT, the next day, i had him on my shoulder and a stiff gust came along at the same time a dog spooked him and he got caught on the current of air and took off. he was gone. he did a couple of laps around the yard where the party was and landed in a tree. we went over to the tree and tried to get him. we used a long piece of pvc pipe to see if he would use it as a perch, but that spooked him again and he took off again. across the highway and a large field to the next immediate stand of trees, we think. man, were there tears. i kept thinking about him being a scared little birdie all on his lonesome. he doesn't know about predators or dogs or things that eat little birdies.
d refused to give up and at some point went for another drive to try to find fred. he calls me about half an hour later and says he's found fred. i also drive over to him and sure enough, fred is treed in a weeping willow about two blocks from where we were. by this time, i think he was pretty scared because he'd been gone for a long time and i am sure he was hungry and tired. he didn't understand how the willow tree works, but he tried to reach us. he'd scoot out to the end of a branch and fall a few feet, but that would get him a few feet lower, towards us. d was in the tree, trying to get him to come to him, and i was standing at the base of the tree, calling fred. he finally got to where he was about four feet above my head on the lowest branch and he flew onto my head! i STILL can't believe we got the little bugger back! for him, i think it was a slightly scary, but wildly fun lark, time of his life. for us, it was sheer terror and a small amount of time thinking we were horrible bird parents...much celebration and birthday shenanigans ensued. we were thinking, "BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!!" we got our birdie back.
so the next day, it's almost the end of the event. we'd just had some lunch and were lounging, trying to delay the inevitable return to our normal lives where you don't get to hang out with just whom you chose to for as long as you want and make cool stuff. the place the party was at was awesome, and they have birds too! theirs are bigger, though....a cockatoo and a yellow naped macaw, i think. i had our sweet little olie bird on my shoulder and the lady of the house says "you should watch your bird around the little dog, he's okay with the big birds, but he will chase little ones". i had to go to the bathroom, so i asked d to take him and somehow he got spooked. that little weenie dog ran right over and grabbed our birdie and snapped his neck. truly one of the saddest things i've ever dealt with. he died in d's hand, and then holding his limp little body while we tried to process what had happened. to say it put a damper on things would be an understatement. what a horrible accident.
the picture above was literally taken within half an hour of when olie passed away. he was the sweetest little bird. that a bird could be mistreated and still have the capacity to love us, to allow us to handle him, pet him, he sang for us and to us. he made me fall in love with cockatiels and their gentle and forgiving natures.
i will never forget my sweet little olie bird. i have framed this that he was sent to us for his last year, to understand and know how awesome and spoiled and wonderful life can be. so he could die knowing that. and knowing what it was like to be loved unbelievably by his people.
damn, i'm going to miss his little yellow head. there will be others, but none will be exactly like him.
i love you, olie.
no peace today.
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