Sunday, June 13, 2010

Exotic visitors

I was working away in my study the other evening when a human voice outside the window caught my ear, people sometimes walk down our road so nothing too unusual about that but then I heard another, and another, there seemed to be an impromptu union meeting suddenly going on right outside my house! I carefully prised open the blinds at the window and sheepishly peeked outside into the twilight. There was indeed a small group of about five people standing there, all of them chattering excitedly to each other and pointing up at my roof!

In a flood a dozen thoughts rushed through my head, trees, roof tiles, chimneys, UFO's, buildings insurance policies, religious lynch mobs.... eventually I opened the window and stuck my head out, good evening, I said, can I help you? One of the people at the front of the group dropped their gaze and said, oh, sorry, is that your peacock? Peacock? for a second I thought this must be some kind of joke, but then I heard a loud fluttering noise from above, I closed the window and went outside. Sure enough there was a large peacock shuffling around on my roof! Actually to be more accurate it was a peahen, a female example of the species but never the less it looked decidedly unstable in the gusty conditions and in the failing light, huge!

We all stood there for a while, wondering how this bird had arrived on my roof when I had the rare presence of mind to run indoors to fetch my camera, I snapped a couple of pictures before the bird glided down and into the field across the way from my house disappearing into the gloom. The crowd wondered off in different directions and I settled back down to my work, puzzled, but thankful for an interesting little diversion to an otherwise dull evening.


Here's the snap I made of my exotic visitor, how strange, I wonder where she came from and where she went?

4 comments:

Chairman Bill said...

You daft bugger - it's obviously a sign from God!

Steve Borthwick said...

CB, of course, I wonder what the meaning of the message was?

I did know that having a bird in your house was supposed to be bad luck (unless you're a cat in which case all your prayers have been answered!) but on your roof?

Elizabeth said...

A peacock on your roof! Great book title.

I think that must be good luck.

Steve Borthwick said...

"good luck", yep I'll take that.