The Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ is known world wide for beautiful sculptures placed here, there and everywhere in a magnificent landscape.
Somehow Chuck discovered that nestled among the sculptures were peacocks. Loads of peacocks living there. He wanted to see them. And he had tons of questions about them.
So as we wandered throughout the grounds, it was clear from the start that Chuck had a mission. Find the peacocks.
We'd been to the zoo before and to spot a peacock in all their splendor is exciting. But imagine a magical place where everywhere you look, you see another one. And you can sniff another one.
Peacocks are amazing to watch. Someone whistled and we watched as the peacock looked up and all around. What is that sound?
Chucky wanted to know--what do peacocks eat?
In front of us, to our amazement, a peacock was munching on an apple. They also eat beans, peas, leafy greens, berries and other kinds of fruit.
Chucky wanted to know--why do some peacocks have super long bridal veil like feather tails and others don't? Well, the peacocks are the boys and the peahens, which are smaller and mostly brown and white are the girls. The boys are so beautiful in order to attract the girls during mating season. Together they produce peachicks.
Chucky wanted to know--how many feathers are on that tail anyway? About 200 or so.
Chucky wanted to know--how long do they live? In the wild, between 10 and 15 years, but in captivity they can live up to 50 years.
Chucky wanted to know if peacocks can fly? Like Superman. Yes, but not long distances. Still, it's amazing to see them move through the air.
Of course, what Chucky really wanted to do, was dying to do, was get close enough to sniff a peacock. Cats and dogs alike learn so much from their environment from their sense of smell. But, as you would have guessed, as Chucky angled closer and closer, the peacock shifted away.
Mr. Peacock was no dummy.
Chucky did not give up and was about to try again when something happened. I'm not quite sure what occurred, but someone startled one of the peacocks. Peacock #1 let out a shrill call that sounded like a high pitched HELP. Peacock #2 repeated that same high pitched HELP. The air around the peacocks vibrated with the sound. Scientists say that humans can only hear a fraction of the sound that peacocks make.
It was a bit unworldly.
Chucky jumped back. I'm assuming he heard more than I did. And whatever he heard, it was enough. He was warned. Keep your distance, buddy. And the Rascal cat did. To live another day and have another adventure.
