TAIL FEATHERS

The young boy walked into the house carrying a small box with a few air holes in the top of the cover. He had a huge grin on his face and he could hardly wait to tell me about his “gift” and addition to our home. As a mother I knew that with boys you could expect almost anything. And with four boys it was even more interesting. I could hear the chirping of a small bird and noticed that when the tiny cardboard carrier was place on the table for a short time the box wobbled. My husband walked in just behind Kevin carrying a bird cage which verified my intuition of what was happening. We were about to be have a new pet. Tweet! Tweet!

After the cage was properly set up the parakeet was safely placed inside and instantly dubbed Troubles by our son Kevin. The bird was a cerulean blue color with a slightly darker blue on its tail feathers. Black and white stripes blended into the wing and covered the back of the bird. The whitish color of the head and neck made a striking contrast with the blue. Two little nostrils were just above the beak, which was almost a peach-colored yellow. The tiny feet quickly found their place on the perch nearest the top of the cage. Troubles looked around and checked out his new home and perched on the top wooden rung.

Watching Troubles was entertaining. Kevin soon learned to take the bird out of the cage and let him perch on his finger. He would imitate the chirp of the bird and Troubles would sing back. When Troubles felt the need to take flight he would circle through the air allowing his wings to reach a full span so he could really fly with freedom. He circled the room more than once and eventually he would land somewhere on the curtain rod or on the very top of a bookcase. It sometimes took a little maneuvering to get Troubles back into the cage but he didn’t seem to resist too much. I’m guessing it had something to do with available food and water.

Bath time! Yeah, parakeets like to stay clean and giving them water to help them groom and refresh them is important. Kevin used the traditional bird bath and placed it in the cage door area and waited. Jumping in without any hesitation, Troubles went in feet first with his wings flapping and his body ending up in the plastic “bath tub”. Water droplets disappeared into the room and loud chirps and tweets resounded through the room. Once Troubles was finished, he would climb back onto the perch and preen his feathers. Occasionally a blue tail feather would float to the floor where I could examine it closely. Amazing how gorgeous the colors were! Light blue flowing into a darker blue with an almost navy color running near the very end of the feather.

One day Kevin called me to come into the room and watch Troubles’ new trick. He would hop around in his cage and seem like just any other parakeet. Then when the timing was right, at least according to Troubles’, he would perch on the cage bar that went from one side of the cage to the other side. Without any fear, Troubles would make a 360 degree circle around the wooden rod. It was unbelievable to watch this parakeet do a complete circle not just once but over and over again. He never seemed to be afraid. It was like watching the Olympic gymnastic tournament. I found myself going in more than once to see if I could catch the acrobatic antics. We never ceased to wonder over the lack of fear when the bird did his trick and to this day I don’t think I have ever seen a parakeet duplicate this maneuver.

Years later I received a white parakeet with pale blue undertones. Powder was a joy to have although I doubted the sanity of this same young man giving me a bird. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy birds but I had one slight problem. I had four cats and a bird didn’t just seem to fit into my menagerie.

Powder was carefully guarded on the kitchen table and covered with a sheet until it was time to give me my surprise. Even before I received my birthday present the cats had gravitated towards the chirping sound. It was my daughter-in-law that saved the day by shooing the cats away until I could “open” my gift. It was a constant attempt at shooing them away since all four cats felt that lunch was waiting for them under the magic “Door #1”.

In order to keep Powder away from the cats we had to hang the cage high from the ceiling. From the hook on the ceiling the cage was placed near a window for some extra sunlight. Confident that I had placed the cage high enough, I filled the water dish and seed dish and decided to sit back and watch my feathered friend.

It wasn’t too long until the natural instinct of a cat to watch and hunt birds kicked in that we started to have problems. One orange tabby named Tigger was a real birder and he had slunk along very carefully more than once to try his luck at getting a bird. Since the cats now stayed inside I had forgotten exactly adept and resourceful Tigger could be. He took more than one jump from the floor trying to reach the bird but with no success. Not to be outdone, he put on his thinking cap and came up with a better idea. Jumping upon the table in the middle of the dining room he eyeballed the cage. He leaped up and got high enough to get the cage swinging back and forth. With the agility of a true feline, he crawled down the screen over the window making nice claw marks along the way. Coming in to determine what was causing Powder’s squawking, I quickly deciphered the problem. I moved the table further away from the window and removed one extension board from it to make it even shorter. White tail feathers fluttered down to the floor as Powder tried to calm down.

None of the other cats were quite as adventurous but I could always catch at least one cat staring off in space in the direction of Powder. There was no way around it. Only little mistake and Powder would be history. Poor bird! He just came here to chirp and sing and live his life without any fear. Of course, he had to get the home where his worst possible nightmare could really come true. Who knows exactly how fearful he was inside thinking that at any moment he just might be someone’s lunch?

I considered exactly how this short story could relate to the Bible and I found a passage I never had seen before. Jeremiah was called at a young age to prophesy against Israel who had moved away from the Lord. God’s call to repentance was through Jeremiah and this short excerpt from Jeremiah 15:11 caught my eye. “Assuredly I will set you free and care for you” (HCSB). With all the desolation in the land and all the upcoming problems with Israel, Jeremiah is encouraged by God. There’s a promise for me. God will set me free (from bondage) and care for me. I don’t have to be kept in a cage or isolated from others. My future is in His hands and I can soar on the wings of the air and know that He is there every mile of the way. What a comfort to know that He is with me always.

By the way, Kevin has continued to keep his fascination with birds. He owns a cockatiel and Striker is so happy when he comes home from work that he squawks and chirps until Kevin comes and gives him some attention.