The JOYS of feathers-Day 2 of Daily Be's Daily Joy photojournal week!

1. Vane 2. Rachis 3. Barb 4. Afterfeather 5. Hollowshaft;Calamus

One of my pleasures of living on 10 acres of land is to walk it and see what I can find. I started collecting feathers immediately after moving here.

My collection contains mostly turkey feathers but I have a couple of odd-balls that are really beautiful. I keep them in this container I got from Pottery Barn. I tipped it over so you can see all the feathers better:

Tonight I found this white feather, which Valentine thought it to be pretty interesting too, as it was stuck to the end of her little sniffing nose!

Feathers are really very cool. They are the most complex skin structure found in vertebrates. They serve to waterproof, insulate, cushion, protect, not to mention allow for flight! They are also used to cushion & insulate a nest. Humans have been enjoying the benefits of feathers for centuries. We use them for cushion & warmth in our blankets and jackets, decoration, writing utensils & jewelry. Did you know that a birds feathers out weight it's bone structure by 2-3 times?! Amazing. In the United States it is illegal to even have a single feather in your possession of a Bald Eagle. Only if your Native American and can prove it or else you could be fined up to $25,000!! Wow. We have some Bald Eagles in Missouri. Truth be told, I would be very tempted to keep one of those awesome feathers if I found it! shhhhh!