The Bird family welfare check.

Today, as I trudge up the slant of a hill, I thought my usual thought. I was wondering if the Australian winter sun was merely an old Art Deco lamp, projecting dwindling shapes of coloured light onto the damp, decaying leaves and frost bitten long grass under my boots. The dregs of the Snowy Mountain's iced wind, unwelcomed by us Queenslanders, had once again whistled not only thru the August Brisbane Ekka show, but onto my exposed kidneys. I was wearing a singlet but that wasn't enough protection, so I pulled my bright orange vest tight around my hips, closed the zip and secured the press studs on the collar flap to close out the imposing cold afternoon air. 

I could see Jack in the distance slumped on a verandah chair, foraging the verandah floor for a lost Rollie. Mary was relaxed, sipping some tea. As soon as I touched the locked gate and it clanged, her spine went rigid and she did her usual yell, "Ah ehh, ehh, ah ah sh Bel bwk Jack", whilst thumping him on the arm. Jack jumping out of his despondency, grabbing his lost smoke from the floor and sheltering his banged shoulder squawked, "Ah Mary that really hurt- Man you can throw a punch when U want to!" I tried to pull my hand off the gate without making a sound, CLANG! Mary hard glare fine tuned to my orange puffer vest. She yelled again, "ah eh eh eh!" Realising her colour sensitivity I removed the vest and As I folded it into a rectangle shoving it into the back of my pants waistband. Brrr, I really started to feel the freeze in my joints. Jack's anger grew large as he side vaulted over the verandah railings. Flying down the front yard towards me he Tripped in the long grass and toppled but in the same breath reached inside his parka's left upper pocket for something. That visual seemed to slow my mind, as I remembered being warned, although it was unsubstantiated, Jack may be carrying a sharp weapon! Jack stood up kept his hand near his chest himself and stared with his deep sunken sad eyes. He was a short man but very intimidating!

The family had been on the department's books for sometime. They were relocated to our area after Flood damage to their rented home was unfixable. The small town community did not want them back so they were sent our way. I had only gained their trust as recently as March this year. Due to the families aggressive and overly defensive behaviour we needed to gain their trust. We decided we would mirror the families passive known behaviours so they might relax and trust us. For several weeks I would visited the park near their property and would walk near the bushland, near the lake and finally near their fence line. Each time I would attract their attention, smile and wave but play dumb! Then I would turn my head in the opposite direction. I immediately would then travel in a diagonal direction away from them hunching my back. Finishing with a few glances at them and then driving off speedily in my car.

Jack hissed at me whilst wiggling the key in the lock to let the chain drop with a plonk to the ground. Without reacting, "Who do you think you are? You can't just walk onto our territory like that!" I stayed silent and let him get it all out of his system. "It's OK Mary it just that stupid fat woman we know!" I followed him up the driveway as he continued to berate me , "Pity you can't take some fashion tips from my Mary!" Mary ignored me and went indoors.

Jack pointed at Mary's cane chair,"Sit- Hey Hon can you get the woman a cuppa..." I could hear the kettle boiling and a few bangs of what sounded like coffee cups on the kitchen bench. "...Yer love... Whatever ya say love!" I had learnt to accept the generosity of their hostility! 

The kettle whistled and Jack winked. Charles, their teenage son, the carried both Jack's and my beverage in his hands, along with a pack of seed under his armpit. Mary carried her own cup and a squashed silk material with something tied inside it in her other hand. Jack dragged another chair from the far side of the verandah near his chair and the fold out wobbly table. Mary undid her bundle to revel a pack of tarot cards, shuffling and mumbling, "Cards can you tell me why she is here?"

Charles moved down the stairs throwing seed and no sooner than two metres away, Mary yelled, "Where are you going? Yah need to tell me where ya going! Honey???" Charles answered, "Yes Mumm" His dragging Mmm sound brought instant discipline from Jack, "You respect your mother round 'ere- do ya hear that- Son? If you don't like the discipline you can go early get outta here right!" Charles continued throwing the seed and ignored them both. From the files, Mary had suffered an empty nest or they described the foxes and snakes had stolen her children. From my experience of the parents had a lot of separation anxiety issues. They were a shakey, fierce and crazy family. They were a quiet and a nervous family too! I think they were misunderstood, walking on broken eggshells type family but they loved each other I guessed and put up with each other.

Oh no, then my phone vibrated. In that household it would seem like a loud Zing, zing Zing, zing, zing! Mary gazing at her layout of cards, "What the hells that noise? Oh turn off that noise. Zing zing buzz buzz" Quickly checking the alert was not important I pressed power off button. Jack snakes, "For God sake didn't you hear the lady, shut the contraption up! Where's your respect, you have none!! The power turned off to Mary parroting, "You have none".

Jack puts his arm around his wife. I knew Jack was definately a one woman man. He once told me he had met Mary at the local drinking hole. Her own family had a nest of two other daughters and they were chasing her away too young. He gruffly called them, "Old school!" 

He was so proud when he told me, "Mary was a bird with the most beautiful eyes and she was softly spoken." In his eyes nothing had changed. He was a real gentleman to her, he guarded her and made sure they got married.

 Mary hollered thru my thoughts, "Charles for god sake, you're driving me crazy, sit down and read a book, or I'll come over there and peck your eyes out!" Jack patted her to return her attention to the cards. "What do they say about her?" This was a new territorial game. "Oh yer..." She said. "... There's the Queen's of Wands, the ten of swords, The world Darlin'..." That meant nothing to me but there silence, lack of eye contact and their hunching together and giggling like kids was as much as I could stand! "She's here till Charles' graduation ha ha" 

The unlocked gate rattled again and two women invited themselves onto the driveway. One said greenly, "O, Mary your the lake is so beautiful, so perfect to raise children!" Jack answering, "If it ain't the two ugly sisters!" Mary's scorn could not be hidden as she looked at their jewels knowing they had married high in society and lived on the best blocks in her old district, "Yer- they say the grass isn't always greener on the other side" Things were getting intense, I knew how this family was and took this as my cue to disappear. After excusing myself, I wrote on my calendar, "See in one week"

Six days passed quickly, on my return I saw Jack and Mary chasing Charles away from their home! Charles was a mess and very confused. His parents were in an elated chirpy mood as they dived bombed him from great heights in the sky. This was Charles rite if passage, his graduation. His parents were so proud of him. He was now an adult Australian Plover.

The Plover is a protected bird species in Australia. They hid their chicks in long grass. They are a very edgy and skittish bird when parenting. They like to have a water source near their home. They dive and swoop anyone they feel intimidated by and have razor sharp spurs on their wing tip to ward off predators.

I remember a person once saying, "Someone has to protect those Plovers 'cause they can't protect themselves!". I agree they rarely raise their children to adulthood.