Parrots - Bev Murrill

It was late in July and the weather was breathing harsh cold air that landed on Jo’s face in a manner that she considered more than just fresh. It was bloomin’ cold and she was eager to get home as soon as possible.

Making it into the front door of her tiny house, she stamped her feet as she took off her gloves and beanie. ‘Brrrrr….’ She muttered as she thought about breakfast. It would need to be a hot one today.

Ten minutes later, complete with a place of microwaved baked beans on toast and a hot coffee, she made her way to the back veranda and took her seat at the little table. It wasn’t that she’d sunk into a reverie, but she was certainly using this time to not think. It seemed as though she’d been doing nothing but think over the last few weeks, what with everything going on. Not thinking wasn’t working, however, so, closing her eyes, she sank back into the comfort of the old chair, and let her mind off its leash.

At first it went mad, racing through the events since she’d come back to Newcastle but gradually it slowed its pace and she began to isolate the thoughts that had been bombarding her.

Really, it had all started with the parrots. She’d lived in the suburbs all her life where there was not much in the way of trees, so even though she’d been aware that Australia was home to stunningly coloured birds, she’d never seen any up close and personal. That omission had been rectified when she’d moved into the tiny house on the edge of the bush.

At first, she’d been delighted, their brilliant plumage proved fascinating to someone who’d never seen them before. She wondered what she could do to bring them closer and remembered seeing the bird feeder section of Bunnings. ‘that’s it,’ she’d thought. ‘I’m out here because I want to start to live differently. I’m going to feed the birds.’

The journey back from Bunnings was somewhat stressful. It’s hard to get on the bus with a birdfeeder in your arms, but she managed it. At home, she followed the instructions for putting it together and, even though it was a bit wonky, it stood upright and that was all it was meant to do. Right?

She’d armed herself with Wild Bird Seed from Aldi and was delighted to see first one, then two, and then finally a whole bunch of birds arriving at her back yard. It was wonderful …. Until they started bringing their friends.

She was going broke … last night she only had an egg for dinner because she’d used so much of her housekeeping money on birdseed… but it was never enough. The more she fed them, the more birds came and the more they came, the more quickly the food ran out. She had tried not to feed them but they’d begun attacking her house… her beautiful little house which had taken the last of her inheritance. They were wrecking her home!

Tears sprang to her eyes as she looked at the splintered wood balcony rails