Wild Game Hunting.

On our way home from picking up some buckets of compost – free from the city! – we happened across a garage sale that appeared to have a decent selection of toys.

We’re still collecting “in good shape” toys for our kid(s) and trying to build up a good bunch of interesting play-things without spending a lot of money. Once the kids arrive and we know their tastes, we can pick out specific toys for them (new, too!) but for now, this is working nicely and will give them a pretty good assortment to destroy in their first weeks here.

After locking the car and wandering up the driveway to peruse the tables, I noticed a hand-written sign reading, “DOVES – $5.00 each or $7.00 pair” which made me a little giddy. I love me some pigeons, my friends, and while I suspected Coffee wouldn’t be enthused about building me yet another aviary, I really wanted to see the doves.

The couple who were hosting the sale were kind enough to let us into their yard so I could check out the birds – even opening up the cage and bringing one out for me to hold. I love birds – they really are Nature’s Packing Peanuts – so light and fluffy and soft. I still miss my finches!

Here’s where things start to get a little wacky and delightful.

First, the dove in my hands decided to make its way to the ground and underneath a tree. Soon enough, Coffee was on his hands and knees crawling around the base of said tree, attempting to scoop the bird up. The little dove kept waddling away – in circles – around the trunk. This caused much laughter on my part – and on the part of the couple who owned the birds. They assured us that she wouldn’t fly far if she left.

Once she was safely back in her cage, we stood chatting about birds and dogs and various animals and their behaviours. They had the world’s quietest beagle in a run! Silent. Totally silent. It was very un-beagle-like.

Feeling that, perhaps, we were taking up too much of their time, we made our way back to the garage sale area and poked through more of the offerings. I looked up and noticed a taxidermied duck mounted on the wall of the garage itself – so I commented that I thought it was pretty cool.

I’m not a big fan of hunting – especially for sport and not for obtaining food – but taxidermied animals really intrigue me. No, I don’t want to own a dead, stuffed animal. I’d love to take it up as a hobby, however, and give away my finished projects so they couldn’t stare me down late at night.

As I spoke, the woman motioned to her boyfriend and said, “Take her inside!” (That’s a very Canadian thing – inviting strangers into your house after knowing them for 30 seconds at a garage sale..)

Inside the house – the small, unassuming house – we were introduced to a huge collection of stuffed birds, mounted fish, a very large raccoon, a mink and a stack of butterflies waiting to be pinned. I swear, my jaw dropped. I must have uttered the words, “ohmygod, this is so cool!” seventy times.

The man of the couple told us that he had caught/killed all the various animals and had them stuffed and, in some cases, mounted. Again, I’m pretty sure I uttered the “so! cool!” words another fifty times.

They allowed us to peek at their assorted moths and butterflies (pinned, of course) and then, as I was preparing to go back outside, they asked if I wanted to see “the fish”.

“The fish” were about 50 beta fish in bowls spread across the surface of two tables. And oh, they were gorgeous! Turns out the woman’s son obtained a pair from Thailand and now breeds them in Ottawa and sends them down here for his mom to sell – and they had a bit of a build-up at the moment. So we had the chance to gape and ooo and awwww at the stunning fish.

The viewing was followed by a discussion of some pretty gnarly health issues – the kind that makes you sort of glad to be YOU and not THEM – but my god, talk about fascinating.

By the time we left, they had told me to come back “any time!” to see the doves (or to pick some out for myself – cage included!) or to hang out with caterpillars or visit their beagle or, um, I dunno, maybe I could also pet the raccoon?

Melle reminds me that I am prone to attracting “crazy people” but, seriously, this was just insanely weirdly cool. Who knew that stopping at a garage sale could lead to that kind of interaction?

I love love love people.