Margaret Thompson - Adrift on the Ark

Adrift on the Ark
		Extract: The peacock’s display is mesmerizing, no matter how familiar a sight it is, and not least because it is so unabashedly sexual. I was on my knees weeding in the front garden one day when I became aware of Percy stealing up behind me. His perfect fan was already unfurled, gently billowing in a slight breeze. The small head with its crown of tiny tufted blue feathers sat rigid atop the column of his neck, framed by the extravagant blues and greens of his body, an Elizabethan courtier with eyes like wet black stones. His gaze was intent, almost as if he were a mute compelling my attention by the sheer force of his will.
	One step at a time, he edged closer, such a menacing, deliberate approach that a flutter of apprehension rippled in my stomach. When he was close enough for the edge of his fan to brush against me as it undulated, he stopped and inclined his head slightly. His beak parted. There was a faint noise, a silvery rustling, as he vibrated each tail feather along its entire length, a susurration that gained in intensity until it became visible sound, the shivering so rapid that the individual filaments of the feathers blurred. Then he turned his back on me, sweeping the fan around like a Victorian lady managing the train on her ball gown, and ruined the effect from my point of view (but not his own) by revealing his downy posterior.
	Our fascination with the natural world is ongoing, though we continue to encroach on the other occupants of this planet. Is there anything we can learn from them? These essays serve a double purpose: as a reminder of our place in the natural order and our intricate connections with animals; and as a warning about how much we stand to lose by ignoring our responsibilities for all life on earth.
	ISBN: 978 – 1 – 897142 – 41 – 7 Brindle & Glass Publishing www.brindleandglass.com $19.95
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