Love Is a Splendid Thing

A new love has entered my life. An unexpected, heartfelt, uncontrollable love that takes over and manipulates my life, my direction and my thoughts.
I'm too old for such foolishness, I think. I am not some addle brained teenager nor a midlife crisis waiting to happen. Yet I have fallen hopelessly and completely under the spell of this new presence.
I know that fate has brought us together and I am merely holding on for the ride. It feels like this path was chosen long ago and the universe was merely waiting for the proper time to seal the deal and thus my fate.
It began innocently enough. We were helping a friend move after he was given short notice. A cranky furnace in his new home and cold winter weather brought him and his 3 cockatiels to visit.
It was love at first sight. No, not our friend, though he is lovable enough. It was his feathered companions that slew my heart. With a whistle and a flutter I lost my will to live without cockatiels. Then the search was on, though I felt as if I really didn't need to look too hard if it was meant to be.
A trip to the local pet center resulted in a distracted clerk saying they had 2 male cockatiels for $120 each. Ouch! That's without a cage or bowl or toy.
I grabbed an Uncle Henry's magazine (local sale and trade book that has it all) and there they were: 3 birds, large cage, carry cage and all accessories for $75. It MUST be too good to be true.
In fact - it was better than true! A mated pair - yellow and white Joey and gorgeous dapple gray and white Olivia (a pearl cinnamon) without cheek patches and Lucy, a typical cockatiel. The cage is perfect - 5' long, 6' high and 30" deep complete with toys and food, a great door and fits in our rec room as if made for the space.
It seemed the poor woman that owned them already had 2 kids - boys, 5 and 3 years old, 5 dogs, an unfinished house and a new baby boy due in a month. The feathers also made her sneeze. I actually did her a favor by taking them off her hands! She said the birds were given to her and her husband had made the large cage. Which also fit in the back of our truck. The birds rode the 2 hours home with polite composure and adjusted to the new setting with wonderful ease. The carry cage is brand new and worth more than the $75 just by itself!
With luck we shall have babies soon and then the fun will really begin. I'll post some pix as soon as I find my camera. We are redecorating and painting the bathroom and the house is in disarray.
Jeff would never let me get chickens and I think these are much better, though I still love fresh eggs. But hand raised baby cockatiels sell for much more than chicken eggs and I won't have to worry about building a chicken house, keeping them warm in winter or keeping foxes away!
Love is a splendid thing!