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February 12, 2008 - 9:45 p.m. Eight birds is our limit. "You cannot bring one more bird into this house." Our saturation point achieving bird-balance has been eight beaks for the past fifteen years, ever since we got BooBoo (aka: The Boy) who has both the personality & energy of five birds. Every now and then while I was picking up bird food or replacing bird toys, I would look into the cages of babies needing homes and I would watch them watching me. I often wondered what would happen if I accidentally brought just one more home… Well, I quickly recall that what little free time I had would diminish, there would be another mouth to feed and yes, another little being to take attention away from The Boy. So I pet toes and faces if permitted, quickly turn my head, pay for my purchases and run out of the store before my heart breaks. Last year was incredibly difficult. It just was. It started out with the death of two birds and ended with the death of one more. There wasn’t one aspect of our lives that wasn’t overwrought with stress, angst and woe of some sort. So with the continuity of our work strife, to periodic health issues and the loss of our children and re-introduction-stress of bringing new life into the house – it was an absolutely horrific year and we decided that 2007 could not end quickly enough. We did end the year on a positive note however by adopting a sweet little zebra finch that we named Bailey, and brought our bird balance back up to eight. Bailey and Ripley, another earlier-in-the-year adoptee, had bonded and were getting along quite well. This was the first pair of finches we ever had where they were close in age. Ripley showed off her junk. Bailey proved he could build a nest and promptly did – in food dishes, in water dishes, anywhere. They beeped and played and preened and it was nice to see them getting along. Ripley started laying eggs right away and I was very concerned, because she really was quite young, but I would let her keep a clutch long enough for her to stop laying eggs, then I would take them away – thinking she would lose interest and stop for awhile. Bailey continued shoring up the nest and every other week or so, I would dump it out because it was dirty and I didn’t want them huddled in filth. A couple of weeks ago I let Ripley keep her eggs because I figured everyone was shooting blanks. I mean, we had had finches for the last twenty years and nothing ever came about so we were obviously not on that mindset. This morning as I was changing paper and water, I heard a noise. It was a noise I’d not heard before and I was convinced someone was sick. Naturally when I exclaimed, "OKAY, WHO IS IT?", I was met with quiet blank stares from three parakeets, one parrot, one cockatiel and two zebra finches. The Boy was at my feet, clucking like a chicken at the time so it wasn’t him. Not one of them made that sound again. I scrambled through the room again trying to get myself out of the house and on the road to work and then heard that sound again – only this time I heard it when all of the birds were perfectly still. I grabbed the step stool and stood up to peer into the birdbath converted into a nest box by Bailey. What was so dark in there? Did some eggs go bad? Were there feather clumps in there? I took the box down and looked inside, causing Ripley and Bailey to panic. "Settle down you guys, Mommy just wants to see what you put in your nest! What have you got in here now? Millet? Feathers? Bread crusts?" Oh no. It can’t be. "Oh.My.God. I see little alien beings. Two of them. And they’re breathing! OMG! OMG!" I put the box back and Ripley promptly flew back into the nest, Bailey got a drink of water and I ran around the house trying to figure out what was good for the mommy to give to her babies as food. Chopped up fruit and veggies would have to do until I could get to the store. Then I thought, "what do I tell Nick? He said no more birds and now we have two – at least I hope they survive so we will have two. I’ve never had itty-bitty babies in the house before!" So after a day of popping into the webcam and worrying if our babies would be good parents, I realized, "Holy shit! I’m a grandma! We’re grandparents!" Nick reassured me & clarified after I got home (with all of the baby food nutrients, extra nesting material and supplies to give to the parents to help them raise their babies) that I wasn’t allowed to bring another bird into the house. He added that he didn’t say anything about if they just appear inside the house – you know, like by magic. Anyway, we are guardedly optimistic that they will continue to grow and thrive and that we will be able to provide Ripley & Bailey with whatever they need to do their jobs well. My heart has already been able to make room for the two little ones ever since I saw the quick rise and fall of their little bellies. And then there were ten…. |