I’m crying. Aching! That sweet little swallow and his falling into trust. Is it insane for me to now want to immediately Google Wildlife Rescue near Portland, OR and start volunteering? Chloe, I’m so glad to have found you. You speak right to my heart. And so now, I’m starting from the beginning of your lovely offering and I couldn’t be more delighted to have Death and Birds as a companion to my days. (And I, too, have had a preternatural obsession with death... started a blog decades ago called Grieveyard: a place to mourn, contemplate and exalt the inevitable. It was just a curation of all the wonderful things I’d read about death around the world. And if I were still keeping up the blog, you’d be right on top.❤️
If I may quote you back to yourself, "Dumbstruck by the trust he had in me and by the miracle of his existence at all, I had a strange thought pop into my head; there was no earthly reason why a gun wielding maniac would come into a wildlife rescue centre and start shooting things, but, if one did, I would take a bullet for that Swallow. And it would be an honour." Isn't that lovely? And doesn't it perfectly caoture the amazing depth of feeling that these sacred little beings evoke in those of us who are raptured by them? I just love this
“While literally praying that I hadn’t fed him too much while he was unable to excrete anything, I filled a small bowl with warm water and wetted a cotton bud, before spending the next ten minutes very gently and very slowly, so as not to damage any of his feathers, moistening and removing the dried poop.”
I have chickens and here in America we have a rather unfortunate name for this rather unfortunate condition: “pasty butt.” It wasn’t my choice.
But since “cloaca” is the Latin term for “drain” or “sewer”, it appears that clogged cloacae are a problem for us both. 💀🚽 (I swear I won’t leave these on every comment)
I am deeply fascinated by death, for many reasons but a major reason is that it’s gonna happen to all of us and yet so many of us seem hellbent on ignoring it. Which seems like a crazy phenomenon to me.
I’m also a big fan of birds because to put it simply I’m obsessed with flying. You could even say I’m jealous of birds (the flying ones anyway).
I was also really impressed with how well you weaved these topics together while also sprinkling humour throughout.
I look forward to reading more of your pieces. And I subscribed to help David out, of course.
P.S - I’m also a philosophy major so you kinda hooked me with that little tid-bit as well.
Lovely story - I now have a clearer understanding of why bird shit is good luck.
It’s a true delight to go back and read some of your first posts, Chloe. So grateful you are on the planet, and writing.
Love it!
I’m crying. Aching! That sweet little swallow and his falling into trust. Is it insane for me to now want to immediately Google Wildlife Rescue near Portland, OR and start volunteering? Chloe, I’m so glad to have found you. You speak right to my heart. And so now, I’m starting from the beginning of your lovely offering and I couldn’t be more delighted to have Death and Birds as a companion to my days. (And I, too, have had a preternatural obsession with death... started a blog decades ago called Grieveyard: a place to mourn, contemplate and exalt the inevitable. It was just a curation of all the wonderful things I’d read about death around the world. And if I were still keeping up the blog, you’d be right on top.❤️
If I may quote you back to yourself, "Dumbstruck by the trust he had in me and by the miracle of his existence at all, I had a strange thought pop into my head; there was no earthly reason why a gun wielding maniac would come into a wildlife rescue centre and start shooting things, but, if one did, I would take a bullet for that Swallow. And it would be an honour." Isn't that lovely? And doesn't it perfectly caoture the amazing depth of feeling that these sacred little beings evoke in those of us who are raptured by them? I just love this
Chloe, I wanted to go back to your earlier posts and thank you for your observations and audio.
“While literally praying that I hadn’t fed him too much while he was unable to excrete anything, I filled a small bowl with warm water and wetted a cotton bud, before spending the next ten minutes very gently and very slowly, so as not to damage any of his feathers, moistening and removing the dried poop.”
I have chickens and here in America we have a rather unfortunate name for this rather unfortunate condition: “pasty butt.” It wasn’t my choice.
But since “cloaca” is the Latin term for “drain” or “sewer”, it appears that clogged cloacae are a problem for us both. 💀🚽 (I swear I won’t leave these on every comment)
This is a great introductory piece.
I am deeply fascinated by death, for many reasons but a major reason is that it’s gonna happen to all of us and yet so many of us seem hellbent on ignoring it. Which seems like a crazy phenomenon to me.
I’m also a big fan of birds because to put it simply I’m obsessed with flying. You could even say I’m jealous of birds (the flying ones anyway).
I was also really impressed with how well you weaved these topics together while also sprinkling humour throughout.
I look forward to reading more of your pieces. And I subscribed to help David out, of course.
P.S - I’m also a philosophy major so you kinda hooked me with that little tid-bit as well.
Wow...This is so beautifully expressed. Nearly moved me to tears! 🌺
Lovely, Chloe! 💕
Thanks for this Chloe. It's a wonderful time of year to bring loving awareness to our flying friends and impermanence. I look forward to reading more!