Monday, September 24, 2007

give and take

there was a horrible, horrible accident this morning. I had the little finch-baby on his towel on my hand while feeding him. I was leaning on the hot-box while I did it, as with something so small and wriggly, it helps to brace both hands on a solid surface. Of the 12 pigeons, two are off the heat, the four smallest are in one nest, and the others are in a big tub. They were also desperate for a feed, and suddenly, one managed to get on top of his buddies and leapt out of the tub onto my hand. And one of his long, strong toenails went into the little guy. Totally freak accident, but the baby was dead within a minute. Not the pigeon's fault at all, but really heartbreaking after the finch had survived so much already.

And then this afternoon, as I was doing last feeds, one of the pigeon eggs on the hot-box suddenly split in two and out rolled a little blonde baby. I was wondering this afternoon how much longer I should keep incubating the eggs for, before accepting that they won't hatch - guess for a few more days still!

It doesn't take away the heartbreak of losing the little guy, but it does help to remind that life is a cycle. And without death, the miracle of new life can't happen.

2 comments:

Aqua said...

Are you okay Jcat? I noticed you haven't posted in afew days. Just popping in to wish you well.

Aqua said...

Hey Jcat,
your note to me was so sweet. It made me smile. You sound like you are in the same shoes as me right now deep down in that black pit of depression...but you are hanging on and that's a good thing.

You amaze me, not only are you managing to work while sick, and stay working (glad you were able to hold back with the idiot managers:>))...on top of that you are doing all that rehab work. That makes you a great role model for me.

I hope this upcoming week is better for you.
Your friend in the cold (and wet) North...I hate the rain!!!