Hitting Send

While the first thing I noticed about moving to a retreat center/animal sanctuary was the Sacred Heritage tree, the first sound I heard was most definitely the cacophony of the many, many Amazing birds in residence. There are so many, Dear Reader, I admittedly have felt a bit overwhelmed by them all, and have thus gotten to know them at my own sweet pace. It’s been a DeLight to explore the various parrots, pheasants, doves, finches, peacocks, swans, emus, ducks, geese… you’re getting the picture, right? There is a plethora of Beautiful birds on this property. I could not begin to show you all of them, in their often brightly coloured spendor, but I set out today to introduce you to some of them.

We shall begin with Sydney, for he’ll introduce himself as soon as you make your way across the stretch of lawn in front of his cage. “Hello?” he’ll call, “How are you?” Nice manors, don’t you think?

Beside his cage are the other parrots, all of whom were very patient with me as I photographed them. I was particularly Grateful to the Sweet Votan, whose willingness to open her stunning blue and sunny yellow wings was particularly touching. Many thanks, also, to the animal handlers who assisted in the venture. Here are the parrots they showed me:

If you follow me on Twitter, you may have read tweets about, and/or seen pictures of, Roy. I fell in Love with him instantly, and am still fascinated by the twenty-year-old European turkey who wanders freely about the property. He stays within one area, his black and white feathers standing out as he crosses the main lawn, sits by the dining hall or stands outside the birdcages to flirt with the peahens. He gets very excited when guests come to stay, and is also an avid music fan. When tunes can be heard in the main dining area, Roy will puff up his feathers and gobble for ages! hehehe The sounds of his “gobble gobble gobble” across the grounds cracks me up. It really does.

There are quite a few different types of pheasants on the property, most of whom preferred not to be photographed. Except, that is, for the Silver Pheasant, who wandered right up to greet me.

I think I saw the giant Emu eggs before I met the birds themselves. There are a male and female who reside here, and they’re two of the oldest Emu’s in the World. They are very sweet and curious. Isn’t he super cute??

Another of my favourites to spend time with is the Swan, Luxor. She’s a black swan, who’ll elegantly glide across the pond to greet visitors. She Loves to chat, and has even been known for singing along, if you sing the right melody to her. I think she’s Lovely, Lovely!

Of course the peacocks and peahens are a Joy to behold, in their magnificent array of brightly colored iridescent feathers. If you look closely, you can see one of the peahens curiously looking out from behind his skirt. I’m certain she’s the very same peahen I witnessed having an escaped outing on the roof recently. Yes, I tweeted that pic, too!

All of the birds are a part of my days here, whether it’s the soft cooing of doves, or gobbling of Roy, or strange squawking from one of the parrots. I am Grateful to witness their Spectacular mating dances, and to be amongst such Beauty and charm. They really are Amazing animals. I hope you’ve enJoyed visiting with them, too!

Love and Blessings,
Antonia

The cool, purple flourite ball was the only thing in the store which called to me, and I knew I had to have it. I made another circle ‘round the shop again to be certain there was nothing being overlooked, a little something tucked here or there which might shift its energy towards me, grabbing my attention and proclaiming its rightful place in my home. I edged along the bookshelf, admiring their excellent collection, but finding nothing which spoke directly to me. I stood for a while over a table covered with baskets of glittering semiprecious stones, and Beautifully handmade crafts, but none seemed right for this particular moment. It became quite obvious that I’d quickly found the reason for entering the store, and I was excited to purchase my round piece of flourite, unaware of the lesson it would soon share with me.

As there were already customers completing transactions by the register, I pondered the semiprecious stone in my hand. Formerly known as Fluorspar, it’s understandable why the ancient Egyptians used Flourite to carve statues and scarabs, and why it remains one of the most popular stones with collectors. With its Magnificient array of colours, I’ve always been fond of Rainbow Flourite with its mixed bands of deep purple and fluorescent blues, aquamarines, greens and yellows. Knowing the owners of the store, I greeted them both as one took my purchase. Now, without any blame, my crystal did end up on the floor, cracking and breaking into two pieces. At first the surprise kept me a bit mute, but I opted to keep the stone, and departed the store a bit bewildered. There was a voice inside of me saying, “Did my Stone of Discernment just break? Shouldn’t I be concerned about that??” But, when I stopped to look at the Beautiful crystal in my hand, I saw a Wonderful reminder, and knew it was supposed to be with me.

It was not until the flourite ball was cracked open that it could share the depths of its true Beauty, for now not only can one see the magnificence of its cool, smooth purple exterior, but also the deep blues and fertile green which glows inside of it. ooOOoo yes, I see. For in the dropping and breaking, the stone had revealed even more of its Beauty to me. And, so it is.

Love and Blessings,

Antonia

It was just over two years and ninety-nine posts ago when I declared aloud, “I want a blog called ‘Hittingsend’; and, so it was. I had been following two passions of mine, research and writing, and wished to share both with like-minded people. Always true to my multi-faceted nature, I was soon juxtaposing a post on ‘rockin’ the Foo’ with a post about why and how one should meditate. Whether I write about my musings upon lessons learned in this circle of life and beyond, my Gratitude for the gift of being in nature, or my Love for Tattoos, the view through my lens hopefully is infused with my passionate Love and appreciation for life. It is a gift for which I am Grateful, and I try to compliment it with images which also uplift and inspire.

Thank you so much to my BeLoved readers, whose visits and kind words touch my heart and inspire me to continue researching, writing and sharing the view through my lens. I am especially Grateful to my Beautiful mother, who has Lovingly shared in everything I’ve written. How lucky am I? Yes, Blessed, indeed. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Love and Blessings,
Antonia