7F5R weekly; Autangle 2025; Autangle's OrgTangle 2025; Refresher 281& 282; and my bird story comes to an end...

7F5R Tuesday Tangle of the Day

February 3 - 2woGather

Tangle Pattern: 2woGather

February 10 - Heartwine with Nina Dreher-Goeddertz FloFlower Reel from February

Tangle Patterns: Heartwing, FloFlower

February 17 - Dmsk. Dmsk is our fruit called Durian. It smells so bad that during Durian season hotels put signs on their doors showing a durian fruit with a big, fat red cross. You might ask yourself why on earth then do people spend quite a bit of money to eat that smelly thing. Answer: It tastes really good. My first tasting reminded me of a vanilla based dessert...like custard.  

As for the tangle. I try not to sound negative. Let's just say I had problems with the "M"s. So let me introduce you to my Dmsk, enhanced with the fragment Love on transparent paper, but only one sided.

Tangle Patterns: DMSK, Love Fragment

February 24 - Aquafleur with Sprang

I keep using that copy paper as a tile. There is one Aquafleur I drew on the backside, but as usual..."Huh, which one?"

Tangle Patterns: Aquafleur, Sprang

March 3 - Ashenfleur
When I saw Ashenfleur my brain instantly clicked: doesn't this look just like lezakimdesign's 'flower' on the pink tile?

Tangle Pattern: Ashenfleur

Autangle Series #4, 2025

Day 12, September 23 - Lillyflow and Blomkoal

Tangle Patterns: Lillyflow, Blomkoal

Day 13, September 25 - A-cute and Hafal

Tangle Patterns: A-cute, Hafal

Day 14, September 27 - Coto and Ico

Tangle Patterns: Coto, Ico

Day 15, September 29 - Aiposaat and Mazen

Tangle Patterns: Aiposaat, Mazen

...and thus ends Autangle Series #4 of last year. It was about time!!!

Autangle's bi-monthly OrgTangle 4th Year, 2025

January 31, 2026 - Ratoon (Stepout08) with Henna Drum on transparent copy paper

Front and...

Tangle Patterns: Ratoon, Henna Drum

...back sides

February 15 2026 - Qunfany (Stepout09)

Tangle Patterns: Qunfany

February 28 - Chinar (Stepout10)

Tangle Pattern: Chinar

March 15 - Holliflower (Stepout11) with Tipple

Tangle Patterns: Holliflower, Tipple

Refresher

Refresher #281 with tangles Springkle, Pokerooty, Sun, Rich, and Hanary published February 13th. Below is the backside...still not looking the way it should. Maybe I have to wrong paper....too thin, too transparent. Maybe if I use black on front and grey on back and no color on back...?

Tangle Patterns: Springkle, Rokerooty, Sun, Rich, Hanary

Refresher #282 with tangles Frondous, Ypsmi, Heartique, Flag-dow, and Nana.

Tangle Patterns: Frondous, Ypsmi, Heartique, Flag-dow, Nana

Animal Happy Day...or is it?

My Bird Story – The Ending

Do you remember my baby bird story from my previous post? If not, you can always go back and catch up, but here’s the short version.

On February 1, my cat Coal brought me a baby bird. Not my first rodeo, so I knew the drill: into the rescue box and hang it at the gate so the parents can hear the calls.

Only… there were no calls.

And no parents.

Plan B: I become mother.

The bird wouldn’t eat, so off to the vet we went. No clear answers there either—until a YouTube video appeared, showing *my exact bird* being fed with a plastic bag. That was the turning point. From then on, everything went well…

…until it didn’t.

Let me tell you this first: I loved that little Zebra Dove with all my heart...still do.

Outside flying session

Our first open-air outing with me being very nervous. Will it end with us going home together or will I lose my bird? Stick training is scheduled.

All went well. Thank you, Lord. And outdoor training became a daily task.

I encouraged him to fly further, land on thinner sticks, navigate around obstacles, and weave through hanging branches. My little forest became our training ground - and what I believed would be his perfect release spot.

Birdy sits right at the corner...

He never flew far. Never flew away.

We always returned home together- like a little buddy team.

But we had a small setback during one of our flight training sessions when he got confused and landed on the forest floor. Frozen. Not moving.

“Don’t worry, little birdy. Mama is here.”

I picked him up, placed him back on a branch…

and that was the end of training for the day. 

He refused to take another liftoff.

We went home. Together. Again.

February 20.

Time for a menu upgrade: Zebra Dove seeds.

At first, he attacked them like a toddler in a toy store, seeds flying everywhere, zero consumption. Two days later, I squinted… looked closer…

Yes! He was eating. Selectively, of course.

Black seeds? Approved.

White and brown? Rejected.

Seed preference

Apparently, even birds have strong political opinions.

February 28.

A breakthrough.

He flew higher than ever before, over two meters into a tree. I think he surprised himself. After bravely returning (to my head, of course), he decided that preening and sunbathing were much safer career choices.

Confidence, I learned, comes in installments.

Over the next few days, everything shifted toward independence:

- Egg meals? Rejected.

- Crop? Full of seeds (yes, I checked).

- Flight? More purposeful.

- And then… a soft, shy *coo*.

I’m not taking credit for that milestone.

It might have been the “Zebra Dove Sound” video I repeatedly played him.

March 5.
Release Day.

Is today the day to let go? 

Is Birdy ready?

Am I (!) ready?

Is it going to be the Sanctuary of Truth or the field next to it? After this morning's research I opted for the field. There are leafy big trees, nearby power lines, and a wall for perching. Seeds and water from the box onto the wall... Let's do it!

I opened the box.

He stepped out…

and immediately flew onto my head.

Of course he did.

I picked him up, placed him on a low branch, turned around, and walked away quickly.

!! DO. NOT. FOLLOW. ME.!!

I felt relieved. Proud, even.

I had raised a seed-eating bird. I had done it.

March 9. 

Boomerang Bird

Two days and six hours later…

He was back.

He still sported that little antenna at the back of his head. 
Maybe that is the homing device hand-raised doves develop.

Alive. Calm. Hungry. Thirsty.

As if this had always been part of the plan.

Out came the familiar box, seeds and water trays, and a stick to perch during the night.

Poor Birdy. How did you survive the 54 hours?

Isn't he cute?

After he had his fill he took position on the box and took a well deserved nap.

And just like that, we had a routine:

- Morning: release

- Lunch: re-release (I believe he challenged me here. Why flap all the way out there alone… when his personal boxcarrier is available on demand? Pasha jumps do mind.)

- Late afternoon: back into the box for safety

There were moments that nearly stopped my heart.

Like the day C.O. walked in through the gate…

while Birdy sat on his box.

I grabbed the cat, turned toward the house... 

"flutter flutter"

and suddenly there was a bird on my head.

Now I had a cat in my arms and a bird on my head.

No rehearsal prepares you for that.

I managed to place Birdy back onto the box while still holding C.O. and somehow… nothing happened. No attack. No panic. No stares. 

I think they both didn't even notice the other. 

Good cat. Very good cat. 

Or...

Birdy casually parading in front of Coal…

Coal staring like a statue…

Me waving my arms, chasing away an innocent cat and a very naughty bird. Birdy, instead of flying off properly, did that awkward zig-zag escape from me, me!, when I tried to catch him and get him off the ground. What a character! Thinks he can out-smart me.

But there was also a very funny moment during one of the later releases. Birdy had long since understood the rules of the release game. He no longer waited graciously for me to turn the corner and letting me go home, instead he flew onto my head as soon as I turned my back to him. 

The 3rd time I tricked him by walking along the wall and hid behind it. 

I waited...

No wing fluttering...

No feet on my head...

I dared to peek over the wall. Nothing. No bird.

Great!

I turned to leave when I look down and what did I see??? Birdy was following me on foot!

I was so dumb-founded, so surprised, instead of keeping the camera on him on the ground, I checked the tree whether I can see him there! Can you believe that?

By \March 11, I knew this couldn’t continue.

He needed distance. Real distance.

And then - my brilliant idea.

My neighbor is a teacher at a local international school. Large grounds. Plenty of greenery. A perfect environment. They even have an animal farm. 

How better can it get?

Adrian immediately agreed to help. He was genuinely happy to do it and so we planed that he will pick up the bird early the following morning and chauffer him to school. 

That night, I slept like a log.

Finally… a solution. THE solution.

March 12. 

Early morning.

No talking. No teary goodbyes. No pep talks. Just routine. Ignore.

I took the box from the gate and handed it to Adrian, along with all the many seed bags. 

We even took a picture of his young son, Archie, posing with the box.

“Birdy goes to school.”

Back into the car the box went.

And then… something felt wrong.

Too quiet.

No movement.

No fluttering.

No sound.

We checked.

He was still inside.

Too still.

He had died overnight.

Please don’t ask me why.

I don’t know.

Nothing had changed. Everything had been normal.

And yet… it wasn’t.

I took the box back home.

I was stunned.

Even now, writing this, I have tears in my eyes.

It hurts.

I so much wanted him to live. To build nests. To have baby birds himself (or maybe he is a she)

I know what some people might say:

“Susie, it was only a bird.”

Yes.

But it was my bird.

R.I.P., little darling. 

The funeral was held on the same day of his passing. I decorated his little grave with two of my wilting Black Bat flowers. It felt right.

Would I do it again?

Yes. Of course. In a heartbeat. 

I’m sorry this story doesn’t have a happy ending. I could have written one. But that wouldn’t be me. It would not be fair towards you, my valid visitors, nor would it be fair towards my Birdy.

BTW: Zebra Doves in Thailand lay eggs from September to June...just sayin'.

Till next month...and a happier post.

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