SYNCHRONICITY, BIRDS AND HEALING

Every year Seth Apter organizes a "Treasure Hunt" for favourite blog posts. You can find links to other bloggers taking part in the treasure hunt, here. I have chosen Synchronicity, Birds and Healing for my Buried Treasure post. The bird sculptures in this post are all created by Geoffrey Gorman.

When my husband was gravely ill he spent many months in bed recovering from several surgeries and radical chemotherapy. To distract ourselves from the situation I decided to hang bird feeding platforms outside our bedroom window to see how many bird species we could attract to the garden. Every day I prepared a feast that soon became the talk of the town and within days every bird and his wife descended on our garden.

Once we had attracted the birds to the garden I purchased a nesting log made from palm stem. It wasn't completely hollowed out because apparently it is best to keep everything as natural as possible. Armed with wire and pliers I climbed into the tree closest to the bedroom window and fixed the log so that Martin would be able to see it directly from the bed.


Coming back through the kitchen door I called out that it may be a few weeks before the birds become used to the log. Almost immediately, Martin answered, "Come and have a look! ".

I have goosebumps thinking about it even now for there perched on the log were two Black Collared Barbets and while we watched with mouths agape they started pecking the soft pith out from the centre of the log.

It took several weeks for them to hollow it out to their liking but eventually the Barbets were satisfied and they began to build a nest inside the log. They were in that tree, building, nesting, feeding and rearing young for the rest of Martin's treatment.

Our visitors all congregated in the bedroom to watch, mesmerized as the little Barbet family went about their business. We are convinced that they played a very important part in my husband's healing. What are the odds that a family of shy birds will take up residence in a tree only minutes after putting up the nesting log? I have given palm logs as gifts over the years and most people report that no bird will go near it for the first month, if ever. We experienced many synchronicities during the two years that my husband was ill and this is definitely one we will never forget.

See more of Geoffrey Gorman's work here and his blog here.

LOVE, HOPE, PASSION, DREAMS AND HEALING

When I started this blog I decided not to write about my personal life and my family. What I didn't bargain for was the friendship and the warm, caring blogging community who have made such an impact on my life. I received so many wonderful emails (and comments) after the Synchronicity post about the birds in my garden and my husbands fight against cancer. One of the emails I received said "your post has given me hope" and since so many lives are touched by cancer I decided to add another post along those lines because that is exactly what one needs to get one's mind around something that at first sounds so frightening. Hope.

It's not the first time our family has had to face cancer. Our precious eldest daughter lost her battle with lymphoma at just 16. It's a nightmare we deal with every day ...and though it is not easy we have learned to find ways to make it less painful ....and this is where passion, art and dreams come in.

Our friends, family and even strangers rallied around supporting us through the most devastating time of our lives but a time comes when life goes on and we have to go on for the sake of the people who love us. I can honestly say that Art, my passion, is the reason I didn't go completely insane. It healed me. It still heals me. Every day I would pick up a paint brush and begin, something. Anything that could grip me enough to direct my thoughts away from death and loss. Creating art takes me out of myself and transports me to a place where I focus on colours, textures, ideas and imagination.

My husband has his fishing. He is so passionate about it that he can switch off from the world by merely thinking about it. His passion played an important role in his own healing. Whilst recuperating after chemotherapy he would lie back in bed with his eyes closed, feeling weak and nauseous. Under his hand would be a fishing reel..... and a fishing rod.... and tangled spools of line with hooks. This took a lot of pressure off me because I knew that while he was thinking about fishing he wasn't giving up.

My youngest daughter is passionate about cooking in the style of those humerous TV personalities...Jamie Oliver, Nigella Lawson and Ainsley Harriett. Hands in, a pinch of this a pinch of that. Her face lights up when she speaks of fresh coriander, pancetta and homemade gnocchi. And yes I now agree that fresh coriander... makes all the difference.

On my noticeboard above my computer I look up at my favorite photograph. It is just a photocopy, but I treasure it. It was taken on Christmas day, only a few days before M started his chemotherapy. He had struggled with pain for a year before a second opinion bought to light the reason beneath his continual pain. He was so thin, grey and frail, I just wanted to hold him close and protect him. Twelve of us gathered that day to support our beloved M. We all learned a valuable lesson from this experience and that is that there is nothing so amazing as a family united in the face of adversity. Being a part of that, sharing the love, strength and courage of my family made every moment of the struggle worthwhile.

BIRDS AND HEALING

When my husband was gravely ill with cancer he spent many months lying in bed, especially after surgery and radical chemotherapy. To distract ourselves from the situation I decided to hang bird feeding platforms in the trees near the bedroom windows so that we could see how many different bird species we could attract to the garden. Everyday I would prepare a feast that became the talk of the town and soon every bird and his aunt arrived in our garden.

Jewel like Sunbirds often flitted to the windows flirting with their reflection in the glass. After a while they flew into the bedroom attracted by the flowers in the room. They darted around a bit and then flew through the house and out the back door. They did this daily becoming so tame that they would sit on the flowers for minutes at a time.

Collared Sunbird.

A few weeks after setting up the feeding station a Jackie Hangman (Fiscal Shrike) arrived, very dapper in his black and white plumage. These are the birds that mimic pet budgies and the next thing you notice he's yanked poor budgy's head through the bars. Jack also spent months visiting our bedroom. He too would fly through the window, down the passage and out the back door.

Fiscal Shrike.

Later I bought a nesting log made out of a palm stem. It wasn't completely hollowed out because it is always best to keep everything as natural as possible. Armed with wire and pliers I climbed into the the tree opposite the window and fixed the log so that my husband could see it directly from the bed. Coming back into the house I commented that it may be a few weeks before the birds became used to the log. Not so! I have goosebumps thinking about this ..... but almost immediately my husband whispered "Come take a look, quickly"

There, perched on the log were two Blackcollared Barbets and while I was watching with mouth agape they started pecking the pith out of the center of the log. I couldn't believe my eyes and I'm still amazed at the synchronicity of it all.

Blackcollared Barbet.

It took several weeks for the birds to hollow it out to their liking but eventually they were satisfied. They stayed in the tree, building, nesting, feeding and rearing young for the rest of my husbands treatment. Our visitors would congregate in the bedroom and sit mesmerized as this little family went about their business.

What are the odds that a family of bright red birds will take up residence in a tree only minutes after putting up a nesting log? I have given palm logs as gifts over the years and most people say that no bird will go near the log for months, if ever. We experienced many miracles during the two years that my husband was ill and this was definitely one of them. I'm convinced the birds played a huge part in the healing process.

All illustrations on this post are taken from Newman's Birds of South Africa.