Are You My Mother? - Reaching New Heights

Heff has been on the move flying all around the carriage house.  I can tell he's getting ready to "fly the coop."  The higher he can get, the better he likes it.

When entering the potting shed, I'd have to look up to find Heff, he was reaching new heights now that he could fly. I'd have to be careful where I walked, for Heffer was still hopping around on the floor and I didn't want to step on him.  Both birds knew when they heard the door open and saw me, it was feeding time. Heff would occasionally fly down to see me for his food, but he now expected me to climb up on a ladder to feed him or gently grab him and take him down to my level.

I could always count on finding Heff near a window if he wasn't perched up on a rafter.  Once he was finished with his meal, he would fly back on the window pane of the garage door.  He'd sit there for quite some time just looking outside and chirping. (You can see the garage door behind Heff in this photo.  He'd fly back and forth between the spool of plastic feed for the weed wacker and the garage door).  I often wondered what his thoughts were while he looked through the window.

Heff would hang by the window just staring outside. I new it was only a matter of days and he'd be ready to enter an entirely new world, but before I could release him I had to make sure he had no trouble flying from the window ledge up to the rafters without any mishaps. I'm sure my feelings weren't much different from a parent who wants to make sure their child is ready to go from their learners permit to a bonafide drivers license.  My other biggest concern was whether or not his instinct of eating on his own will take over after being table fed for so long.

Heff was tucked high up in the rafters in the above photo this is the ladder I'd have to climb to feed him or retrieve him. Occasionally he'd fly down to make things easier for me but not too often.

At this point, I was about ready to kick Heff out of the house.  He was definitely challenging me and letting me know he was ready for his independence.  Just like a teenager, trying to break free from their mother can be a hard task, but it comes to a point where a mom really has to do what's best for her children and at some point they have to leave the nest.




Barbie