Look what fell from the sky

Husband and I were walking across the front yard this afternoon, just coming back from lunch, intent on doing a little flowerbed weeding. Husband said, look at the feather that fell from the sky. I looked, and here's what I found.



This feather measures 10-1/2 inches long. It is black with little white frilly feathers near the quill. It is a thing of beauty. Could it be from a buzzard? Or an eagle? We don't know as we haven't seen either of these birds up close. We are guessing that it's from a buzzard since they fly overhead all the time. Maybe it was molting and lost the feather, or another bird came along and plucked it right out of its tail or wing. Either way, it came from a big bird.

What shall I do with this feather? I could display it on a shelf, but I think our kitties (especially Tiger Lily) would think it was something to play with or to eat. I could make a necklace, or earring, or hat ornament out of it, but I don't wear that kind of jewelry.

Maybe I could make a quill out of it.
It looks to be the perfect size. I could use it to write blog posts with a bit of style and panache. If I used the feather as a quill, that would mean I would have to purchase fancy vellum paper and a bottle of real ink. I would also have to practice my handwriting skills. Since using a computer for the past 10+ years to write, my handwriting has degraded into a sloppy mess (you KNOW what I'm talking about). The only times I handwrite these days are when signing an occasional check or when placing my signature on other important legal documents, like signing out for a movie at the video store. I will have to think about making a quill out of it.

I could frame it, but that would cost money. If I framed it, I would have to hang it on the wall. The last time we painted our house, we removed all pictures and other framed objects, spackled the holes, and painted our walls a pretty white. I am loathe to pound any nails into them.

In the meantime, husband thinks this lovely feather is covered with unseen lice. You know the old wives' tale about birds carrying lice. He won't let me handle the feather until the alleged lice have all been killed. I guess I will wait until then to figure out what to do with it.

Maybe I should just make a bookmark out of it. What do you think? That would be a feather in my cap.