In lieu of an Art Dogs post this week, please enjoy photos of Flannery O’Connor with her peacocks.

“My quest, whatever it was actually for, ended with peacocks. Instinct, not knowledge, led me to them...I intend to stand firm and let the peacocks multiply, for I am sure that, in the end, the last word will be theirs.”

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Photo 1: Flannery O’Connor in Andalusia in 1962. Photo by Joe McTyre

Photo 2: “Mary Flannery” with her chickens in Savannah in the early 1930s.

Growing up, writer Flannery O’Connor was captivated by the chickens in her yard. She’d study their every movements, watching “their wings flap, their beaks peck, and their eyes glint.”

Photo 3: Flannery on the front porch of Andalusia.

She loved birds of all varieties, and throughout her lifetime owned chickens, turkeys, geese, pheasants, quail, and mallard ducks. But it was peacocks that became a her most significant companion. Flannery acquired numerous peacocks and peahens during her residency at Andalusia. Today there are still two peafowl at Andalusia to represent the writer’s love of the animals.

“When the peacock has presented his back, the spectator will usually begin to walk around him to get a front view; but the peacock will continue to turn so that no front view is possible. The thing to do then is to stand still and wait until it pleases him to turn. When it suits him, the peacock will face you. Then you will see in a green-bronze arch around him a galaxy of gazing haloed suns. This is the moment when most people are silent."

Read more here: pbs.org/wnet/americanma…