Monday, September 5, 2011

Postscript: Turkey Talk

If you saw my earlier post, Turkey Crossing, you've read about the adventures with our wild turkey flock. This is a postscript to that story.

The past few weeks, the turkeys appear to have been molting. Barney and I have found a number of feathers in the yard. Barney wants to fetch and chew them up, I want to gather them up.

So, I've been gingerly collecting them and spraying them with overpowering shots of Raid to kill any mites  or other microscopic insects. And, I have given more than a passing thought to the potential for bird flu and any other disease they might carry. But, so far that hasn't stopped me from collecting these beautiful specimens.

My collection of feathers isn't large, but I have enough to put to good use in my early fall decor.



The large feathers are a nice complement to a beautiful art deco Gonder pottery vase I picked up for a couple of bucks at a garage sale this summer. The striped feathers are from the wing, the dark feather with the bronze edging is a (shake a) tail feather. This sparse, but striking, arrangement now sits on our hearth.

The smaller feathers, with their fluff and iridescence seemed perfect for one of my vintage amber vases. I accented this arrangement with a couple of blue jay feathers I found in the yard. This pretty collection started out on the distressed sofa table, along with the frog princess lamp and a vintage clock. The personality of the small bouquet seemed to tie in nicely to the whimsical setting.



Ultimately, it ended up in the center of the dining room table atop a gorgeous handmade cake plate and under a cloche. This presentation pairs with a stack of three amber cake plates on the dining room buffet. I wish I could have provided photographs of the final groupings, but my photography skills aren't good enough to compensate for the heavy glare of all the glass and mirror in the dark red dining room. Here's the best shot I got.


At the end of a summer in which the heat and humidity took a tremendous toll on my cutting garden, it was fun to create a couple of little bouquets that look fresh and colorful and will last for years to come.

Linking to:

10 comments:

  1. Love the turkey feathers, and that is a good point about spraying them! They look great in you display! Thanks for sharing, Laura Cottage and Broome

    ReplyDelete
  2. Those feathers look beauteous! I love to pick up feathers and save them, too, and also magical looking sticks, and even non-magical looking sticks.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lucky you, I have turkies in my yard almost daily the last few weeks and for years and never have I found a feather. Good for you.
    Hugs,'Ellen

    ReplyDelete
  4. Beautiful feathers!

    Blessings,
    Tami

    ReplyDelete
  5. This wonderful post totally rocked the blog party's success! Thanks for linking up at Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. We used to have peacocks and this time year they would lose their feathers. It was like a treasure hunt every morning going for a walk to look for colorful feathers to collect. Some days I'd find 1other days 30. I never thought about mites or flus...

    ReplyDelete
  7. The feathers make such pretty additions to your vignettes. I collect feathers all the time. Have you tried microwaving them on high, in short spurts, just long enough to kill mites, etc.?

    Thanks for linking to Time Travel Thursday again.

    Blessings,
    Liz @ the Brambleberry Cottage
    http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  8. It looks beautiful! I would love those feathers to make feather clips for my granddaughters! I would love for you to link up Thursday (actually it starts tonight) to It’s a Party!
    www.acreativeprincess.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  9. I leave a comment whenever I especially enjoy a article on a site or I have something to add to the conversation.
    It is triggered by the sincerness displayed in the article
    I browsed. And after this post "Postscript: Turkey Talk".
    I was excited enough to drop a thought ;-) I actually do have
    some questions for you if it's okay. Could it be just me or do a few of the comments come across like coming from brain dead people? :-P And, if you are posting at other places, I would like to follow anything new you have to post. Would you make a list every one of all your communal sites like your twitter feed, Facebook page or linkedin profile?

    Feel free to visit my page ... just click soulforce-records.com

    ReplyDelete
  10. This is a topic which is near to my heart... Take care!
    Exactly where are your contact details though?

    Also visit my blog post http://gown4wed.com/vintage-clothing-trends-this-fall/

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.