This weeks inspiration

Very pretty. I have been inspired by our Rosella Arnie. Actually I think Arnie might be a girl as there is no way a boy would have survived. We used to leave the birds in their big cages on the veranda at night. One night a 5ft coastal python wedged itself a foot or two through the bars and had Arnie in its mouth. We heard the cries at 4am and together hubby and I managed to make the snake let Arnie go and we bagged the snake to be released miles from our place.

Arnie's body just hit the floor of the cage and we thought she was a goner with shock. We took the cages inside and put all the lights on and just whispered encouragement to her and Cheddie the lorikeet and eventually Arnie sat up. All the tail feathers were gone and half of the head feathers and her leg was hanging and I thought it was broken. I half wished she would just die and be out of pain but she wouldn't give in.

Gradually she climbed up the bars to a perch with her leg dangling and sat up there looking around to make sure there was no snake in the bottom of the cage. Here's the thing, from day one she preened and made herself move that leg. It looked like she was doing physio exercises and while it did look painful she never gave up. It was like she was driven to get that leg back in shape and today its perfect. All the feathers have grown back and she is back to her old cranky self. When night fall comes she yells out, hey, get us inside so the snakes don't come and we dutifully carry the big cages inside.

That bird never gave up.