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Friday, February 19, 2010

How Do You Solve A Problem Like Priscilla?



Sung by Tasty and Delicious, the Greek Chorus at Primms Springs Farm

How do you solve a problem like Priscilla?
How do you catch a bird and pin it down?
How do you find a word that means Priscilla?
A flibbertijibbet! A will-o'-the wisp! A clown!

Many a thing you know you'd like to teach her
Many a thing she ought to understand
But how do you make her stay
And listen to all you say
How do you keep a bird upon the land

Oh, how do you solve a problem likePriscilla?
How do you hold a big bird in your hand?


How do you solve a problem like Priscilla?
How do you catch a bird and pin it down?
How do you find a word that means Priscilla?
A flibbertijibbet! A will-o'-the wisp! A clown!



Many a thing you know you'd like to teach her
Many a thing she ought to understand
But how do you make her stay
And listen to all you say
How do you keep a bird upon the land

Oh, how do you solve a problem like Priscilla?
How do you hold a big bird in your hand?



How does one deal with a problem like Priscilla? Well, you spend 3 months caring for her and making sure the harsh winter doesn't turn her into a Peahen Popsicle treat for the coyotes. You worry when she is gone for longer then a day; fretting when the temps are below 20 degrees; feeling relieved when she shows up on the front door. Calming down your usually sweet tempered spouse when she roosts on the cars. Promising your usually sweet tempered spouse that you will pay for any damage to his Mini-Cooper convertible top! In the meantime, you let the world know that you need a home for this big, beautiful bird. State and local wild life agencies ignore your emails and phone calls. But, your friends on the neighborhood listserv never let you down! They spread the word...Before you know it a wonderful big hearted woman says, "I will take her!" Then the unthinkable happens! It rains, turns to sleet and the temperatures drop to sub freezing...The next morning Priscilla arrives at the front door bleeding...she has frozen to the tree limb and cut herself as she tried to fly down. You fret and worry. Then a call comes from a saint. Her name is Sharon, she lives on a farm, she loves peafowl, they have a pen, there are peacocks, they have everything Priscilla could ever want. They are excited, thrilled to add her to their family. This is right, this is the place. The big-hearted woman agrees that this is right. Our big beautiful bird will have a home, be loved, be with other peafowl, be safe and maybe have chicks. This is the right course of action. So we set about to catch her. My dear, sweet wonderful husband of thirty incredible years figures out the hows and catches her on the first attempt.

So, how does one solve a problem like Priscilla?
We take her to the country....


Last week we began feeding Priscilla in a cage.
Wednesday evening Mr I had tied a string to the cage door and sprung the trap!
We covered the cage with a nice warm blanket and she slept in my Subaru!
The next day we drove to the country.
The only problem was the peahen poop odor.
Birds eat and eat and poop and poop.

We arrive at the farm and see Priscilla's new digs.
The pen is a two room affair with netting on the roof
to keep them safe inside and predators out.
The roosts have heat tape to protect their tootsies.
They are free to walk about the 200 acre farm when not penned.
There are half a dozen Indian Blue Peafowl.
Priscilla F Peahen is an Indian Blue Peahen.

She is released into an empty pen so everyone can adjust to her.
Clever girl~she spies the other peafowl.

"You ARE leaving me here?" she seems to be asking me!
Or, maybe it's a big thank you!

Hello there, Handsome!
Mr Peacock is interested!
Of course he is~She's a beauty!
She is chortling.
I can't describe it, but I think it's a joyful hello sound!

Please if you enlarge any, this is the one!
My bird is happy!
So am I!

You already figured out
that this big beautiful bird has wormed her way into my affection.
I will miss her, but I am thrilled she has a home and a real peahen life.
The 'burbs ain't no place for her!

UPDATE: Sharon called and Priscilla is doing well. She and the 'Captain' (Mr Peacock' as named by Annie/Transplantable Rose) are now in the same cage. It may take longer for the other peahens to welcome her!

Gail

52 comments:

  1. I could not have asked for a more delightful post to read on this early Friday morning.

    Yes, I enlarged the photo you mentioned and the look of love can been seen on the faces of Mr. Peacock and Priscilla.

    donna

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  2. I am glad you liked it Donna...I think this bird is gonna be happy gail

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  3. Lucky Priscilla. She has gone to peafowl resort. I bet that Mr will be strutting his stuff for her as soon as it warms up. I bet you will miss her.

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  4. I know you will miss her, knowing that she will be loved and cared for has to make it easier though. By the looks of the last photo, enlarged, loved she will be :)

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  5. Can you hear that? That is the sound of animal lovers everywhere giving you a standing ovation.

    Home sick with the flu, I needed to read a good story.

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  6. So happy to hear that you have found Priscilla a lovely home ... with interesting company :)
    K

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  7. Oh Gail, I cried tears of joy when seeing Prissy and that handsome male! You know she is in the most perfect place for her, and your efforts made it all possible. She certainly chose the right door to knock upon to be helped in her plight. Well done, my friend, and her spouse, what a happy ending! :-)
    Frances

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  8. What a feel good story and you can tell it is true love. I'm happy for both of you. :)

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  9. Hooray!!! So glad you were able to corral her. Sad to hear she was hurt, bitter winter. Sounds like her new digs are perfect. congratulations on giving her a wonderful new home.

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  10. Now she has a safe and happy home. Talk about a good ending!

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  11. Awww... Priscilla has a boyfriend and will live happily ever after!

    I could tell she had found a place in that big heart of yours.

    She will be happy with the other peafowl and you can rest assured that she's in a perfect home, too.

    CONGRATULATIONS! I've loved following Priscilla's story.

    Cameron
    PS Yes, birds poop every 15 minutes. I have one remaining cockatiel who is 13 years old. We taught both of our cockatiels to poop on command - each was taught a different cue word so they wouldn't poop at the same time. This allowed us to catch their poop on a paper towel instead of our shoulders.

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  12. Gail, I have to tell you I Loved This Post! From the fun presentation, through your heartfelt affection and concern, to the photo of the absolute relief on her face. You had answered her deepest needs.

    Now - Cameron's P.S. comment about her cockatiels... priceless! I can understand why one would try to teach them, but that it worked!! ha. :-)

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  13. Freda, That is priceless!

    Shady, I am glad you lved the post...aren't Tasty and Delicious precious. They never stopped honking!

    Dave, Yes a happy ending.

    Frances, I was so pleased it worked out...I loved having her visit, but I knew she would always be in danger and then there was the reality of not wanting her to eat my garden!

    Gail

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  14. I love happy endings. A place with other peafowl is the very best place for her. May she live happily ever after.
    Marnie

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  15. This is great news Gail! Looks like a very happy home. Loved the photo of her sneaking under the fence to the handsome male. I understand why you feel a little sad though, for you have cared for her for a while. Oh, I love the song too. :-)

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  16. Wonderful, and the tweeked lyrics work a treat. Amazing birds!

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  17. I love a story with a happy ending. The heroine finds true love after all her struggles & suffering. Or are you the heroine, Gail, who finds happiness in placing the bird in a good home, returning domestic tranquility to Clay & Limestone?

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  18. How wonderful and sweet. I love Priscilla now, too! I think she is going to be very happy in her new home and will always have fond memories of the time she spent with you!

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  19. Not only did everyone involved get something they wanted, your readers got a fine post to read, Gail! It makes me laugh to think Priscilla, like Maria, was not meant by nature to be a nun. Is that peacock's first name "Captain" by any chance?

    Annie at the Transplantable Rose

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  20. I'm SO happy this story has a happy ending! (And I assume her wing is better?) And it usually is individual people who make the biggest things happen in life, not government agencies. (Just ask Margaret Mead!) And, finally, the cat sanctuary where I volunteered had neighbors who kept peacocks... I never knew until then that their sounds sound very much like cats meowing. And are loud and travel far.

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  21. Gail, you have the workings for a children's book in your tale. I'm so glad Priscella has a happy home. Now, you can relax, and she can start a family. I just hope she doesn't send a little pea fowl back to visit.~~Dee

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  22. If I didn't know better I'd say you were fond of that fowl and Priscilla felt the same until she met Mr. Handsome :-) I've never seen love at first sight captured so perfectly.

    A 200-acre farm to roam around in? Now that's Peacock Paradise for sure. Can Peacock poop be composted for fertilizer?

    Reminds me of when I was young and would adopt every homeless dog or cat in the area. My Dad predicted I'd one day be a zookeeper.

    Great story with a great ending, Gail.

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  23. Oh, I will miss Priscilla and her adventures, but I am so glad you helped you to find her "happily ever after".

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  25. I do love a happy ending--and a snappy song to go with it. I'm so glad you took the time and trouble to find a good solution for everyone!

    Robin Ripley

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  26. How wonderful that Priscilla has another home!

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  27. We're all proud as peacocks (or as peahens) that you created this happy ending for your feathered friend... and for the Captain, too.

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  28. Oh, I'm so glad to know that your peahen has found a real home! And that your dear hubby will no longer have to worry about her on his car!

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  29. Oh, fantastic post, Gail! I'm so amazed by your dedication to this girl, and now she has a chance to find a mate (may already have done, it seems from the enlarged photo) and bear baby peachicks. What a wonderful happy ending to this story I've been following with such interest as it unfolds. Priscilla had come into my heart, as well. :)

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  30. I'm so happy to see Priscilla has a safe new home. She's lucky she picked your yard to stay in, otherwise I wonder what would've happened to her?
    The picture of her and The Captain is very sweet.

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  31. Priscilla has a new home & a new boy friend. What could be greater for her. I'm glad you found a good home for her.
    With a handsome fellow looking at her that way she is telling you "Thank You", now go.

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  32. Oh, goodness, what a great story! I related a bit about your peahen to a person who came to one of my programs -- she had a similar experience with a wayward peahen in her garden.

    But yours has such a wonderfully positive ending -- I hope it continues.

    Lisa

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  33. Felicitations to you and Mr. I, and to the happy couple (well, I guess both of y'all are happy couples). I'm so glad you were able to find Priscilla a real home where she'll be appreciated.

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  34. Priscilla is lucky to have had you for an adopted family.

    If we all took care of just one stray, there would be none.

    Sweet dreams of Priscilla.

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  35. Aww that is such a cute story. I've been following and alternately laughing and sympathising with your ongoing relationship with Priscilla, the peahen who moved in and then didn't leave. It is nice to see it come to such a happy ending, but I'm also a little sad that there will be no more Priscilla chronicles.

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  36. I love stories with happy endings! There was a reason Priscilla kept returning to your house--she knew she had found the right person to see that she was properly taken care of. I wish her and Captain Peacock many years of wedded bliss. Tasty and Delicious are quite the singers:)

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  37. Thank you all for tuning into The Days of Priscilla's Life on-going soap opera! It's been a few days and I still look out the window expecting her to be there...She is quite the clever girl and a true survivor. She is surely happy with the Captain!

    Gail

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  39. Oh.... Gail.... I'm a little sad to see that Priscilla is off to a new home. [Though I imagine she forgot about you in 2 seconds flat once she laid eyes on the Captain. He's a hottie!] You are a kind, kind person and I have greatly enjoyed the adventures of that quirky peahen.

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  40. Oh, Gail - what fun to read that the Captain & Priscilla are now in the same cage- hope he soon becomes one of her Favorite Things ;-]

    Annie

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  41. I love happy endings.

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  42. Gail
    So glad that the Captain and Priscilla are united.

    You could have sold the video, you know! :-)

    Freda

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  43. I'm so happy for you and Priscilla! What a great turn of events!

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  44. Oh, Gail, I am so thrilled that this story has a happy ending. You are so thoughtful and patient in trying to find the right solution for Priscilla. I will miss your updates on this Feathered Showgirl, but I am so happy that she has found such a handsome companion, and she is in a place where she will remain happy and safe.

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  45. What a wonderful post - like a film with a happy ending. The last picture is a delight and I'm glad Priscilla has found true happiness. Now you can sit back and relax!

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  46. What a great ending Gail (if you couldn't keep her at C&L, that is). I hope she lives a long, happy life in her new home. It looks as if everything has started off well. I'm sure you will miss her tho ~ all these months of caring for her will seem like something is missing now. I agree with Frances ~ she picked the right door to knock on for help.

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  47. What a beautiful story with such happy ending! You are a great storyteller, Gail!

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  48. Priscilla was indeed wise to seek out your garden, trees and vehicles to adopt. She definitely knew there were animal lovers present. I love that song by the way. Thanks, Gail and what's a bit of peacock poop odor when a life has been valued and saved.

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  49. I read this post in the beginning with baited breath. Would you manage to catch her? Would she be safe, and thankfully there was a super happy ending.

    So glad that she is doing well.

    Jen

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  50. *Happy Sigh* I do love a happy ending...that is really a new beginning for Ms. Priscilla.

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  51. Sweet, sweet story, Gail, and the song is perfect. Love those singing geese! :)
    I'm happy for Priscilla. She came to the right person for tender loving care. You have a tender heart.
    Thanks for the smiles :)

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"Insects are the little things that run the world." Dr. E O Wilson