May 26, 2011
Only days after taking a firm, No chicken stance, I am reconsidering poultry.
Not chickens. I still don’t want those. Someone at church was selling brown eggs. I am stocked, and one degree of separation from the hens. That is just about perfect.
But as I was driving to town this morning, I saw something on the side of the road that I assumed was a fallen log, or perhaps a strip of rubber. And then, it stood up and walked into the ditch.
It was a full grown, male peacock. And it is a quarter mile from my house. And yes, I need new glasses if I can’t tell the difference between a peacock and a log. Peacocks are not exactly native to Wisconsin. Not at all. It has to have escaped from somewhere. Or perhaps its parents did. I am imagining a Mrs. Peacock, and a clutch of eggs.
I know people abandon cats in the country when they get pregnant. This is how we got Fluffer. Maybe the same thing happens with birds. If you’ve ever heard a peacock, you can guess why someone might want to drive it out to the middle of nowhere and push it out of the car.
If it follows me home, I’m keeping it.
I think this bird is probably pretty close to self sufficient. That’s a quality I respect in a pet. It is also decorative, and nearly useless, rather like the cats. And it is big enough to scare the crap out of our other animals. The chances of catching it are slim to nonexistent. But the entertainment value would be enormous.
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