Birds, Birds, Birds!!

Bald eagle - see how
she eyes me!

This weekend, in addition to the fun I had at our church picnic, I went to a fabulous craft show at the Braddock Bay Raptor Research Center. Yes, that's right, I said RAPTOR. It was fearsome at first because at the very first booth was a display of birds of some sort - living ones that were not in any sort of cage. I hurried by and the rest of the show was lovely - full of wonderful crafters whom I know and adore. I was about to leave when my friend Casey, whose bird I've actually held and petted, said "Oh, why don't you stay to see the eagles." And I said, "well, that sounds like a really good reason to leave." But I stayed, oh boy did I stay. And I swear those HUGE birds eyed me the whole time - and they are bred to kill and eat, so I think it's completely understandable to fear them! Those talons and hooked beaks look just perfect to peck my eyes out!

She's looking right at me hungrily,
don't you think?

Golden eagle - staring me down

I'm so proud of myself, though, for staying and being in a very small room with two very big birds. I mean, I'm afraid of little birds that eat bugs and worms and have no interest in people. It's uncommonly crazy to be that close to birds that are actually MADE to eat meat and that are probably strong enough to at least rip off an arm. Baby steps to facing my fear (actually, I would consider this a great big giant leap, which should satisfy my quota of fear facing for the decade.)

The Birds!!

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I am afraid of birds. By the way, there has not been a conclusion to the mystery of that feather. I was going to take it to a friend's for identification and it disappeared! Maybe Carol's comment to that blog post was correct:

You must have walked in on an angel and scared a feather off of it while it tried to leave quietly.

And the feather must have disappeared, as angel feathers do.

Anyway, as I've mentioned I am afraid of birds; however, I try to face that fear when I can. I attended a talk at work from a coworker who volunteers at a bird refuge. He brought in huge owls and other birds and I was in the same room (way at the back) and I was OK. Well, I once again decided to face my fears and went to visit my friend Casey - a bird lover extraordinaire. Now, I'd agreed to go to her house before I remembered that she has birds, but I didn't back out. She took me to visit the birds, nice and tidy in their cages and it wasn't bad at all. She asked if I'd like her to take one out and (I desperately wanted to say no) I said "Sure!" And it flapped and jumped and fluttered and totally freaked me out, but I maintained my composure and even touched its head! I was a big brave girl, however I still won't get out of my car if there are birds flocking in my backyard! It's the wild, untamed ones that will peck your eyes out!

Mysterious Feather

I found this feather on my dining room floor. I'm incredibly afraid of birds, so, no, I have no pets it could have come from. The cats are indoor cats and I see no evidence of a bird that may have gotten into the house and left this single feather. We don't have feather pillows and the down in our coats is quite a bit smaller that this feather. I really have no idea where it came from. I've scoured the papers to see if there is a rash of break-in-and-leave-a-feather burglaries in my neighborhood, but no reports! Last year I was tormented by squirrels - maybe this year the birds are taking their turn?

OK, I have to head across town - tonight is football night, but instead we are playing basketball. I am tall, but I am clumsy, so things don't bode well for me. Also, I'll be the only woman playing with this pack of rough and tumble guys. If you don't hear from me for a while, you'll know that either the bird got me or I lost it on the basketball court. (Rochesterian friends, will you see to my cats and my garden??)