Note: This post was supposed to be on here a long time ago, so most of it is not in affect anymore.
A beautiful and brisk fall morning September 23, 2009 I wake up to find my mother gone to the funeral home because her granddad had passed away that morning, so I go out to do chores before the day gets too crazy and hectic.
I milk the goats, feed the chickens, ducks and Geese (which, by the way, we have two new geese which makes four all together) and then go to untie the dogs and let them stretch in their running pen.
I watch them closely to make sure that they do not dig out or something when I suddenly hear a high pitched squeak, like a rabbit in danger in the small forest to the west of me.
I quietly walk over and go over the barb wire fence toward the sound of the squeak.
Suddenly, WHAM! Feathers, claws, sharp beak, and screeches are in my face along with sharp pain.
I screech at my attacker (or as our secretary put it ‘scream like bloody murder’) and began to bat at it as I try to protect my face, head and eyes (Thank god for Martial Arts training!).
The devil bird pulls clumps of my hair out and beats the back of my neck and my arms. I start grabbing clumps of its feathers and punching it until I finally throw it to the ground.
“There!” I think “That will get him if not kill him.” But alas it was not to be!
The devil bird is at my face again with its terrible screeching and claws.
I screech again and we go through the same routine except I try to run from it this time, but it caught my hair and nearly sat on my head and I did not want it to follow me to the house and hurt a lil kid so I stopped and hit it to the ground again.
The third time we went through this, I back fisted the dumb bird, slamming it against a tree I think, and ran for my life leaving it alive and still screeching at me!
I ran down to the pasture gate, and instead of taking the time to open it for fear of my assailant, I covered my face with my hands, dropped to the ground, and rolled under the fence to the other side, then got up and shot for the house.
When I got to the fenced in yard around the house I came to a screeching halt.
OH SNAP! The UPS man is here!
I looked at my hands and arms: covered in dirt and blood and still bleeding.
I carefully creep up to the door and look in to see that the UPS man is in the other room leaving me a clear run for the bathroom…which I did silently and very quickly….
I washed and washed and washed until the dirt and feathers were gone, but a few places on my face and arms wouldn’t stop bleeding, so I dampened a washcloth and pressed it on the wounds on my face.
I finally heard the UPS man leave, so I went into the kitchen to ask my dad where Sis was so she could check on the dogs.
His horrified look said it all.
I briefed him on the terrifying story then asked him if my neck was bleeding. Thankfully it was not, and my dad got on his phone to call my mom (and the rest of the world) to let her know and came with me to the bathroom to put iodine on my cuts.
The iodine went on and I am proud to say I did not cry or scream when it did…I just took in deep breathes… breathe in, breathe out…and I can also say that I did not cry when the bird attacked me or anything…that happened too fast to cry…
But ya know what is really embarrassing about this whole thing? It was just a dumb bird that chopped me up. It wasn’t something big and terrible like a wild dragon or an Ork or something…just a bird….It is embarrassing that I was challenged by a bird and was unable to kill it!...tis a detriment to my fighting honor….sniff…
Okay not really, but it is just a little embarrassing…not to include horrifying. I just hope that no one else is scared to death.
My dad has everyone in the whole area bird hunting now…including the wild life ranger…
Anyway…my wounds have healed nicely and the funeral went well…though people kept staring at my face in a funny way…I don’t know why….hmmm…
So that is the story of the day: I fought with an owl…or hawk…or kite…whatever it was. I am not sure what it was (I was too busy at the moment to notice or to even care) and I am healing though it is painful and itchy….and the herbal stuff we are putting on stinks…and the iodine hurts like needles, but they are helping…Thank God.
Well, God bless all till next time and watch out for the birds!
Shieldmaiden
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8 comments:
I'm glad you're ok! And to think you fought it! To be honest, I probably would have just run, or laid on the ground or, wow, I have no clue. Are you scarred bad at all?
Ouch..you know how to give one the chills while reading! :)
Thank you BethAnn... :) I work hard to get the real feeling into the story I am telling.
Gari Sue...I have like two scars: one on my arm and one on my chin, but they were the worst ones. Thank God it was not worse! :)
really make you wonder what was possessing the bird.....
and why......
as to the fact that it was a bird that got you, if you think about it if something larger attacked you would you have a better idea how to go about fighting it? (leaving off your now greater knowledge and skills as a bird fighter)
they are small, fast, and can fly, not to mention that the also have 3 weapons that they can use all at once... (humans happen to have more but they are not so sharp)
I honestly thing that next to some thing way stronger then you a bird is the next most dangerous, though It would take a lot for one to kill you.
WOW! possessed birds attacking people now there's a good horror story for you...
Oh wait they already did that and it was called The Birds...
Just read your post. There is no shame in what happened. Birds (especially if it was a hawk, owl, or kite) are incredible predators and very protective. Why do you think this nation of ours chose the Bald Eagle for our national symbol?
It actually sounds as if you did quite well. When I was younger I was attacked by a squirrel, a tiny rodent-like animal, which by the way are eaten by the types of birds you mention. It latched on to my hand and bit clear to the bone. I too became frantic and ended up slamming it against a tree several times before it released and scampered away. Many years later I had a stare down with a pack of wolves (literal wolves).
The lesson to be learned here is that wildlife can be dangerous and we should respect it. Not fear it mind you, but give it a healthy respect.
My advice to you (if this ever happens again) is to not swat at the bird, but rather grab it any way you can and pull it away from your face and neck first and foremost. The procede to unleash as much damage and punishment on it as possible. Do not just throw it down, but rip its wings off, twist its head off, crush it if you can, bash it repeatedly and make sure that it's dead.
Having said that, I'm glad you're ok and that training helped in some way. Had I known this was going to happen, we might have trained in "bird defense," rather than defending yourself against a human assailant. :)
LOL!!!! And LOL again...thanks Ken...I will keep that in mind next time...
Ken, you worded things way better then I...
I was trying to saying much the same things as you....
And I am also glad that after reading this I proceeded to figure out a "bird Defense" as you said...
and I pretty much had the exact idea that you put forth in your post, so I know I learned what you had to teach well. The basics and can be taken and applied to the current threat.
But like you say: I hope to never have to use what I have learned.
Oooh! I am so sorry Kathryn! I am very glad you are okay! No, it is definately not something to be ashamed of (being attacked by a bird i mean), and you did much better than I would have in your place. Praying for you!
Christin
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