Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Fly, Little Birdie, Fly!

I think I have vaguely mentioned before that Shlomo and I have finches. (It's kind of a long story as to how we got them, but the short version is that he wanted a kitten and I said how about some finches instead.) Currently, we have five in our expanding brood.

Earlier this week, we got a fantastic antique cage to house them in. It's very large (4 feet by 7 feet including stand...or so) and will house at least a dozen birds. I will post a picture of it at some point. On Monday night, we set up the new cage and moved the birds over. This went off without incident.

I think you are seeing where I am going with this. Last night, Shlomo had a meeting at the temple. One of the wicker nesting boxes was crooked in the cage and really bugging me. I took it upon myself to fix this eyesore. No problema...right? Wrong. I get a chair to stand in so I can open one of the little doors at the top of the cage. I climb onto said chair. I open the door, stick my arm in start adjusting the nesting box.

Finches are not like parakeets which you tame and walk around with them on your shoulder. They maintain their wildness. The fun in having them is to observe them in their habitat and admire their beauty. Arm in cage results in a fluttering of finches. The next thing I knew, little Kate or Spence (we cannot tell them apart) was fluttering around the hallway...outside the cage.

I tried to remain calm. (Tried: operative word.) I swear while standing in the chair, I almost plucked that thing from the sky, but shockingly the little bird was too fast for my slightly overweight self. Then, a potential miracle happened. It flew from the open hallway (which opens to the floors above and below) into the study. I leapt (although not in split leap fashion as it plays out in my mind) from the chair and rushed down the hallway to close the door thereby confining it to one room.

I gathered the net and was off to catch my bird. I crept into the room...looking around...determined to find my prey. Nothing. I could not find her. Then, I saw her...perched atop the ugly (sorry, Shlomo) faux bamboo tree. I casually walked in her direction. She took off across the room. Again, I sauntered to the other side. She took flight again. In disgust, I swung the net in the air in her direction. She disappeared. Much to my surprise, she was in the net.

I promptly took her to the W.C. (the smallest room I could think of), removed her from the net and returned her to the cage. I battled the bird and lived to tell the tale. I felt like a badass. If I believed in the slaughter of innocent animals, I would totally go hunting this weekend. Prey is nothing when I am on a mission. It should live in fear. Since I don't hunt, I will probably just buy a few more birds to fill the new cage.

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