Peacock Feathers in a Vase

Posted on November 23, 2009
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I love peacock feathers.
I love their vibrant colors, and how each wisp of hair has just the right amount of color in just the right place resulting in a completely natural and breath-taking design.
No added colors or preservatives needed.

The way each hair comes together to create a perfect design in each feather reminds me of one of those Bob Marley posters that has a million teeny tiny pictures of him, but when you take a few steps back, it comes together as one large photo.
Only these aren’t computer generated.
A computer couldn’t make these.

When I was in elementary school, we used to have fun days in P.E. class from time to time. Our gym teachers would pull out the rope swing, lets us play with the giant parachute, and sometimes bring out a few dozen peacock feathers. Each of us would have to balance the end of a feather on our chin, and we’d compete to see who could keep it from falling. The trick was to look at the “eye” of the feather. I always ended in the top three.
Balancing a peacock feather on my chin: One of my many useless hidden talents.

I wanted to have peacock feathers as decor in one of our living spaces, so a couple of years ago, I ordered about a dozen peacock feathers from Amy’s e-bay store. Amy and her parents have a farm in Pennsylvania where they raise peafowl, and during our correspondence, Amy made very clear that all the feathers for sale are only collected after the birds drop them. This means that none of the birds are ever hurt when trying to retrieve their feathers.

After the feathers arrived, I still hadn’t found the right vase to put them in. I didn’t want anything really cool or contemporary — I was thinking more along the lines of vintage, or at least a little old fashioned. I went to a local thrift store and found this Bavarian-style vase that was exactly what I was looking for.

Even though I love fresh flowers, an arrangement like this is a good idea if you have allergies, can’t dish out $13 a week on flower bouquets, or have small children anyone who may accidentally knock over a vase full of water.

UPDATE: After I wrote this post, I knocked over my water bottle.
Small Children, I’m sorry I assumed.