Remembering Eloise, Again
I was cleaning out the kitchen pantry and came across a bag
of gravel tucked down in the corner on the floor behind the bottles of water. I
used to put them in my cockatiel Eloise’s cage to help her digest better. It’s
been over two years since she died at the advanced age of twenty-two; most
cockatiels live 12-15 years, occasionally to 20, so we had the pleasure of her
company for a little longer than most.
I have to say that seeing the gravel gave me a heart-twinge.
It took me many months not to expect the hello chirp she offered whenever I
entered the house. And the place her cage once occupied is still bare. She was
a great companion bird.
Some people claim that companion birds don’t qualify as
natural because they aren’t free in the wild to hunt for their food, establish
nests, mate. True, they aren’t. But nature has a way of expressing itself
anyway. They have particular food preferences as they would in the wild. They
choose those they prefer as their main companions. And they certainly have
their own, distinctive personalities. Are they shaped by their genes or by
their surroundings – or both? The nature vs. nurture question arises with
humans, too.
Our neighbor’s grown daughter was visiting and we started
talking about birds. She had the job as a teen of caring for our cockatiel when
we were away. She remembered Eloise fondly and spoke of her very definitive
character. I was happy to hear that Eloise had made such a lasting impression
on others who had contact with her. I
thought about how every living thing reflects its own, individual nature
whether out in the wild or not and leaves part of its energy within its realm
of existence.
Today I was remembering Eloise again, grateful that she spent some
of her natural life with us.
Different birds have different life spans:
Cockatiels respond to their surroundings:
Losing beloved pets is always so sad. Even though we saw Eloise infrequently and really didn't pay much attention to her when we did, her absence is always felt when we visit.
ReplyDeleteSweet. Thanks, Claire.
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