Today it's already ten years since Pipke died - and still, not a day goes by without thinking of her. Although the loss still weighs heavily, in the end I could give it a place.
I've learned to live around the gaping void of her absence.
I had planned to continue to publish her full story here, but unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances beyond my control, such as: illness periods, issues with data and images, I lost the courage to complete her story here. I therefore find it a great pity that I've not been able to live up to this.
There was still so much to tell about, such as about:
- The second bird flu epidemic that we went through together in 2006. The sleepless nights and the fear that the government would force us to *euthanize her. (If necessary I even would have wanted to violate the law to prevent *that!) That was a very sad time.
Once again we had to take precautions to avoid contact with wild birds and this time we did it by installing nets over the pens of our animals.
The Ministry of Health was now checking on everything, they even visited private poultry keepers.
Therefore, to be in order with the law, we made a construction in our garden.
It wasn't a beautiful sight, but so we were in compliance with the disciplinary action.
As you can see we made a walkway for Pipke and covered it with nets, so she could go safe from and to her nest to her pond (and v.v) if she wanted. We also covered her pen with nets.
There were also the funny anecdotes such as:
- 'Clean up Time': The cleansing and emptying of her little pond and the playful fight that always went with it. After the pond was filled with clean water she immediately started the intensive cleansing ritual of her plumage; she did it with much devotion.
Not one small feather was skipped and it always went in the same order.
- 'Sparrows with Mustaches': The funny sight to watch sparrows fly away with Pipke's down in their beaks. It seemed like they had white mustaches. They used the powder down to line their nests. After severe stormy weather it happened several times that we found the *proof of their 'upholstery skills' on our lawn. (*Their empty nests were blown out of the hedge.)
It was really beautiful to see! They had turned it into a great work of art – and the lining had predominantly one color: 'white' – their favorite color!
In our neighborhood there must have been many nests with a lining of Pipke's soft powder down, and we often wondered: “How many young birds would have been born on these soft linings?”
The first thing they must have felt must have been Pipke's softness!
A less funny chapter:
- Her Eagle Eye: How wary she was for birds of prey that flew over.
Hardly a pinhead tall - high in the clouds - she saw them immediately and raised the alarm by quacking loudly. (Several times we found remains of unfortunate victims on our lawn. So her alarm was certainly not superfluous.)
- There was also 'The Quack Vocabulary' and so on - and so on ....
Unfortunately they will not be added to her story here.
But - I definitely want to add this memorable picture.
The image was taken on
July 6, 2009.
The image was taken on
July 6, 2009.
It seemed funny to watch how she leaned with her belly against the doorway.
We thought she had taken on a new pose – we even laughed about it. It was a disillusion to discover later that this pose ... was in fact the forerunner of bad news. It became a fierce fight, one that she would not survive.
- Because every life story has a beginning and an end, it's important to me that her story is completed here with the most important chapters: The final phase of her life. The end of her story.
(I had already published this on my first blog at the time that it took place (September 2009) - but they belong also here on this blog.)
Therefore I take you back in time!
These are the links for the most important chapters published at the time it happened.
These are the links for the most important chapters published at the time it happened.
I admit, telling a story this way is far from perfect, but 'considering the circumstances' I think by doing so, I have more or less completed her story in a good way.
The fact that her story is finished now doesn’t mean that I'm no longer around in the neighborhood.
At least - I've tried to make the best of it.
I owed it to my dear Pipke.
I owed it to my dear Pipke.
The fact that her story is finished now doesn’t mean that I'm no longer around in the neighborhood.
I'll keep an eye on 'Pipke's Nest'!
I will cherish it for the rest of my days.
Thanks for being a follower.
Thanks for reading my life story.
Bye bye!
&
Fran
Till.......
PS: Feel free to comment! I will respond!
