jmgoyder

wings and things

Apr 14

Music to the ears

by jmgoyder

I am grinning from ear to ear because in the very next room Son is singing at the top of his lungs, practising a song. He has his earphone things in and is thumping the table and has no idea how DREADFUL the noise is because he obviously can’t hear himself! Usually he can hold a tune (well hopefully, as he is now doing a Certificate 4 in Music, learning bass guitar, singing and band), but tonight he seems to have reverted back to some sort of primal-ness.

Oh, he’s stopped – joy and bliss and peace. I want to kiss his feet … oh no, he’s started singing again at the top of his lungs and it’s AWFUL! He sounds like a broken chainsaw or a tractor falling into a ditch.

Nevertheless, it is a very happy sound – not particularly soothing but full of loud joy so I have just stuffed some tissues into my ears so that my heart can absorb these new vibrations … because this is the first time for over a month (since his spinal surgery and Husband going into the nursing lodge) that I have heard him HAPPY! YEEHA!!!

Family Wings

29 Comments »
Apr 14

Emus and doudou!

by jmgoyder

Due to the interest shown in doudou’s bird sculptures I herewith copy/paste a more direct link to her site http://doudoubirds.com/

I have never met doudou in person, so have only gotten to know her via the blogosphere but, ever since she made these emus for me, I have followed her work and her blog. Sorry, doudou, if you didn’t want the attention!

I think you can see from the pictures of my very first emu (Emery, who got killed by a fox, which devastated all of us), that doudou’s sculptures do a pretty good job of replicating the real thing.

Wings

21 Comments »
Apr 14

Returning good for evil

by jmgoyder

Some time ago now, doudou, a fellow blogger (doudoubirds.wordpress.com/) sculpted me some birds, and they were brilliant – three emu chicks, one galah and a bluejay.

Now doudou is going to sculpt Tina Turner! In case you don’t know who Tina is, he is one of our roosters. Another thing you might not know is that Tina attacks me all the time (possibly because, until he grew up, I thought he was a girl). So, in good-for-evil mode, I have decided to allow Tina’s entrance into doudou’s hall of fame because I am hoping that giving Tina Turner a turn will endear him to me – ha!

The only problem is that Godfrey finds this very difficult because, as my only other attacker, he feels it should be him who is sculpted first but as I told him this morning, whilst extricating my ankle from his biting beak, Tina was here long before he arrived!

I do try to pat him with one hand and use my other hand to fend him off but it isn’t working very well so please, doudou, could  you sculpt Godfrey first? He is terribly jealous….

Wings

36 Comments »
Apr 13

Whispers

by jmgoyder

When the birds alter the position of their wings and feathers

little whispers of breeze flit across my nightmares and I wake up

to see a gathering outside the window

at dawn,

waiting for the stale bread I forgot to collect yesterday

Their clicks of disapproval dissolve when I explain that I will get some bread later in the day

They peck gently at my hands which I open out into little tables,

then they unfold their tail feathers and practise their flirting in front of each other,

in front of the window,

in front of me,

looking for approval.

Then, whispering off into their day, they lead me to where the best sunshine is,

and I follow them.

Wings

34 Comments »
Apr 12

Tina told me off!

by jmgoyder

Before I realized this Aracauna chook was a rooster, I called him Tina Turner because, well … you can see why.

He just reminded me that this is, primarly, a bird blog!

Wings

35 Comments »
Apr 10

Another mother hen!

by jmgoyder

Okay, I knew the eggs were there but I thought they’d been abandoned. I didn’t know whose eggs they were until today! Guinneafowl eggs – I so hope it works and chicks are going to be a result of all this mother’s hard work….

This is exciting because, as you know, Tapper the duck, is also doing the nesting thing.

I watch and wait!

Wings

35 Comments »
Apr 9

Turkey posing 2!

by jmgoyder

Yesterday afternoon, Husband’s niece, Jane (the one who takes amazing photos) came over to visit with her son and his partner. Bubble seemed to take one look at Jane’s camera and began posing, and following her around. His posing for Jane was much more striking that his posing for me the other day; it was hilarious!

Wings

17 Comments »
Apr 8

“Boo!”

by jmgoyder

When I was a teenager, still living at home with my mother, she would sometimes do this ‘boo!’ thing to me and I never knew when to expect it. Yes, hard to believe that a woman in her forties would jump out from behind a door and yell ‘boo!’ to a teenager, but she did, and it would terrify me. The fright I got always reduced us both to fits of hilarity.

I was reminded of this when I watched King sneak up behind Baby Turkey the other day. His ‘boo!’ was more of a squawk but it had the same effect in terms of terror.

Baby Turkey, however, was not at all amused and spent the rest of the day looking angry!

His mother obviously didn’t have much of a sense of humour….

Family Wings

21 Comments »
Apr 7

Turkey posing

by jmgoyder

Me: Bubble, would you mind if I took some close up photos of you?

Bubble: I don’t mind at all as long as it’s just me. I’d rather not pose with the other Bubble if that’s all right.

Me: Just you – maybe some profile shots.

Bubble: I believe this is my best side.

Me: Definitely! 

Bubble: Would you like me to look pensive like this, or defiant?

Me: Show me defiant.

Me: That’s fantastic, Bubble!

Bubble: Thank you. I can do nostalgia too, if you want.

Me: Okay, Bubble, let’s see nostalgia.

Bubble: How’s that?

Me: Absolutely brilliant!

Wings

33 Comments »
Apr 5

That strange bird again!

by jmgoyder

It is a cross between a chook and a white peacock but it also has the glazed, ecstatic eyes of an emu being given cabbage. It is a rooster, a crow, a sparrow, a sitting duck.

What on earth should I do with this bird?

This is Son at his final-year-of-school dinner. I’m not quite sure how or why he received the Headmaster’s award.

The only reason I like this horrible photo of Son is because it was before surgery when he was more flexible. Unfortunately he is still able to do that spooky thing with his eyes!

Family Wings

31 Comments »
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