Those Eyes!

  Growing up on the farm, we had a wide assortment of animals. There were the usual "farm" animals such as cows, hogs and chickens in the barns, the yard was filled with numerous cats and dogs and the pond always had ducks.  Occasionally, someone would give us critters that they no longer wanted.  Pop took them in and we fed them with the rest of the menagerie.  Geese and turkeys roamed the yard with the chickens and there was even a time when a pair of Easter rabbits found their way to the place.  But there was always one critter that I wished would suddenly appear in the yard..it just never happened.  I wanted peafowl!  In my young mind, there was nothing more magical, more beautiful....and more elusive than the peacock!  I had my first sighting of the birds at a young age.  If you walked through the fields behind the house, then took a nice long hike through the woods and, then, crossed the street, a lady had peafowls in her yard!  I had gone there one time with Pop and was mesmerized by the gorgeous birds from that day forward.  I still am.

  Peafowl (the female is a peahen and the male is a peacock) are not much good on a farm for egg-laying purposes but could be worth their weight in gold as protection.  The birds will eat snakes...even venomous ones.  That, alone, would make their upkeep a minor thing. Then there is the profitable market for the plumes.  Those beautiful, colorful feathers of blues, greens, purples and blacks.  These feathers are some of the most recognizable plumage in the world and are very sought after for decorations and costuming.  It is this market for feathers which brings me to my point today.  The peafowl feather market is sustainable!  The bird does not have to be harmed to retain the feathers as the bird fully molts each year.  During the year, the feathers drop a few at a time until the bird has an entirely new set. This brings me to another point.  

  The peafowl (in particular the peacock) is revered in many parts of the world for those fantastic feathers.  Their molting or shedding of feathers is seen as a divine representation of  renewal and  rebirth. With the coming of spring, the bird is plumed anew in all its glory.  Think about it.  What better time to be spiritually reborn than spring?........Just think about it.  I hope you all had a Blessed Easter and have a wonderful spring.