At Treseren, we are blessed to be surrounded by nature and wildlife. The honey bees that love the flowers, the squirrels that love to climb the many trees and probably the most captivating for us, the pheasants that roam the gardens and surrounding fields and pathways.
Spying a pheasant or two wandering through the garden, is a daily occurrence at this time of year, and we of course have got to know them a little bit and their different personalities, even though they are timid and most of them run in the opposite direction whenever you get too close to say hello. As a family we have long been intrigued by our feathered neighbours and they have often been the inspiration for art work by our daughter Georgia!
It has been a game for the last five years to see if we can capture an image of one of the pheasants on our phones. Often, as we have arrived back from school with the children, we spot one lurking in the trees on the way up the drive and slow down and try to creep out and take a photo on our phones. Never any success, they always run off!
Usually when ever our favourite pheasant appears, Paul says “there he is” and either has his camera to hand or doesn’t. If he does, the pheasant instinctively makes a bolt for the nearest hedge usually hooting with delight. Seemingly Phez has a wicked sense of humour, once emerging on a dark night from the bushes and flying over Paul’s shoulder hooting like a banshie while he was putting the bins out.
For a few years, Phez has defied all attempts to get a decent picture. Usually a semi blurred dashing across the garden shot is the best Paul can manage. All the more confounding then, when our Pheasant will virtually walk up to Paul when he hasn’t got his camera and stand staring at him. Paul has even imagined these internal dialogues going on between them about why Pheasant won’t let him take his photo. So yesterday morning, Phez hooted and flew up onto a stump outside the Kitchen window, the early morning sunlight making him glow gold and purple. Paul said “there he is, wow look at him”.
After a few moments, Phez hooted at him again. What happened next? Paul went and got his camera and walked out of the kitchen door fully expecting another taunting. But Phez posed in the morning sunlight and a virtual fashion shoot ensued with Phez turning his head and giving different ‘looks’ as Paul moved about like photographers do. I watched from the kitchen window as they kept going, until Paul had shot a nice few stills (and his slippers were soaked through), and then Phez hooted and hopped away.
Wow, it was pretty incredible to see after five years of not being able to get even one photo! Then another hoot and Phez was waiting out by the back door for Paul to shoot some more. I’m not sure what they were saying to each other? But both of them seemed proud as punch. Phez posing away and Paul making approving noises as he captured the photos we had been hoping for, for years. I think Phez would approve of the results. What do you think?
