Pink Flamingoes Invade Carson Valley, Nevada

Want a wildfire-proof way to jazz up a birthday, anniversary, or gender-reveal party? How about a fundraiser for a good cause? Trying flocking!

The only place I see a flock of pink flamingos these days is in front of a local quilt shop. They flew in on the whim of a local prank and never left the area. Apparently, the quilt shop provides a commodious environment for pink flamingos, especially the plastic variety.

Ten years ago, however, there was a major influx of these birds. Maybe it’s the abundance of standing water in Carson Valley, but huge flocks of pink flamingoes were spotted on lawns of homes, businesses, and government buildings throughout Minden-Gardnerville, NV. One day, they stood around a local firehouse. The next morning, the flock assembled on the lawn of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Dept. Tomorrow, who knows where they will spend the day?

Actually, this invasion of the plastic pink flamingoes was traced to the Flockers, volunteers from “Flocking to Nail a Cure,” which targets cancer research, one of 47 teams raising funds for local charities. According to Flockers' flamingo wrangler, Chris Beard, each team does its own style of fundraising. “We also held a bowling event. Some of the other teams have car washes, bake sales, bachelor auctions and other events. We decorate using our flamingo theme and usually have a few birds onsite to let us be recognized. We have signs stating, “Meet the Flockers”.

Victims of the Flockers have 48 hours to call and donate to the charity. For $20, the Flockers will pick up the birds, but for $25, donors have a chance to name the next avian victim. “At first, we flocked all of our neighbors. People saw the gatherings of plastic pink birds in someone’s yard and knew who would be next.”

Beard said the Flockers have three flocks of fifty birds each: one for businesses, one for private residences, and one flock that is migrating around Carson City, NV. “We’re losing a few birds, though, because people like to take one as a souvenir,” Beard said.

Most donors have been good-natured about finding these tacky avians clustered in their yards. Only one person felt he was being coerced into donating to something he didn’t choose.

When this project started, Beard and her assistant, Dana Dolan, wanted to flock Dolan’s boss. Trying to find the house, they drove up and down the streets, passing a couple of sheriff’s cars along the way. They wondered if they’d be suspected of casing the neighborhood.

They found the house and were pulling the bins of flamingoes out of the car when the sheriff’s car pulled up to them. “Um, what are you up to, ladies?” the deputy asked.

“We’re flocking, sir.” Can you just see his reaction to this casual explanation?

They told him how “Flocking to Nail a Cure” uses this method of collecting donations to raise awareness of cancer treatments and survival. The deputy regarded them with doubt, but told them to carry on and be careful. “Oh, and have fun,” he said as he drove away. We have some pretty cool cops in Carson Valley.

Another time, the Flockers flocked the wrong house. When the 90-year-old lady found her yard filled with pink flamingoes, she thought someone was angry. “What did I do to deserve this,” she asked her neighbor.

When Dolan learned of the mistake, she brought flowers with her apology to the woman and told her the situation. The next night, Dolan and team found the correct house at the opposite end of the horseshoe-shaped street and flocked the residents there. But a surprise awaited them. As they placed the birds, the sprinklers came on. Dolan wondered if things like this were going to happen every time.

Dolan did get caught trying to flock some people she already knew. There they sat in their living room watching television, when Dolan arrived with her flock. The residents’ attention turned to watching her place each pink flamingo in their lawn. As she was finishing, they walked out the front door. Dolan ran away and lost one of her flip-flops in the escape. The flockees found the flip-flop and held it for ransom.

“So, how much do you want to pay us for your shoe,” they asked when she returned for it.

“Well, it cost $1.95, so you can go from there. Then you can give me a check for the birds.”

While this sounds like an adult version of toilet-papering someone’s house, it’s done in the spirit of good humor and for a good cause. “And, unlike toilet-papering, we clean up the birds,” Beard said.

Furthermore, the cops haven’t arrested the team yet.

In fact, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Dept. formed a team that did a different kind of fundraising because one of their employees died of cancer. After that year, they no longer had a team.

So, Dolan decided to flock them on behalf of “Flocking to Nail a Cure.” While the team was busy placing flamingos on the jailhouse lawn, the sheriff got a call that something strange was happening just outside their building. In moments, deputies with assault rifles and S.W.A.T. gear rushed out the door, scaring the living daylights out of Dolan and her teammate. Of course, when the cops saw what was going on, they stood down and joked with the Flockers.

“Hey, I’ve always wanted to go hunting,” one deputy said.

“Oh, these birds aren’t good eating. They’re kind of tough.”

Apparently Pink Flamingo Flocking is still a thing. What better way to raise money for a cause? This can be on the national level or locally. While there are professional groups who do all the bookkeeping and scheduling as well as the care and feeding of the livestock, this activity can also be done by anyone. Liven up a birthday or anniversary celebration for friends and relatives. Just be sure your recipient has a sense of humor as well as a generous pocketbook.

If you're wondering where to find pink flamingos for flocking purposes, there are a bunch of sites online to explore if you Google "pink flamingo flocking." Here's a site in Portland

https://www.thinkpinkflamingoflocking.com/

with some great occasion ideas for flocking. You might have to start your own flocking team, though, which could actually be a lot of fun.

And nothing says 'fun' like finding a flock of pink flamingos roosting in your front yard.

Couldn’t resist stealing this meme from Facebook.

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All my books, Paradise Ridge, When the Horses Come and Go, and Ghost in the Forest are currently available on Kindle.  Ghost in the Forest, is available in paperback as well for ten bucks. Paradise Ridge is out-of-print, but the Kindle version is re-edited and better quality. Hard copies of “Horses” are gone, unless that dusty box in the corner still has some.

Book Review of Ghost in the Forest:

E.R. Flynn, Illustrator, Cartoonist, Storyteller and Creator of "Escape from Clowntown Comics" here on Substack.

"Ghost in The Forest" is a great read! Take note People. If you love stories about environmentalism and nature, its clash with urban mindsets, as well as personal transformation, this is the book for you!

"Ghost in The Forest" is a quick 126-page read. It's the story of Dori, a woman trapped in a mix of grief over parental loss and refusing to accept how her hometown and her friends have changed over the years. Because of this, Dori has become a recluse and a self-imposed misanthrope who finds more comfort amongst the hiking trails around her hometown of Morristown than in her dealings with the raw reality of other humans.

The book, in some ways, resembled Edward Abbey’s “Desert Solitaire” in that the story follows a protagonist's love of nature and angst about humans encroaching on it. In this case, it’s how Morristown is transforming into a mountain biking destination where cyclists run rampant on trails and nature.

However, a tragedy involving said mountain biking becomes a major pivot point for Dori, leading to a series of events that eventually bring about personal evolution and discovery.

If you're a nature lover, this book is a must-read. It beautifully portrays the clash between environmentalism and urban mindsets and the journey of personal transformation. The book's vivid descriptions of nature and the protagonist's love for it will surely intrigue you.

Paradise Ridge Review by western author D. B. Jackson:

If you draw circle roughly around an area that includes northern Nevada, southern Oregon, and southern Idaho, within that circle exists a culture and people who live a lifestyle largely untouched by modern values. These are the "buckaroos" and Basque characters author Sue Cauhape brings to life in her literary novel, "Paradise Ridge".

Leandro, the illegitimate seventh son of patriarch Xavier Arriaga and his mistress, Gisela, is at the center of this intriguing story that travels exceedingly successfully at both the personal level of the characters, as well as the compelling level where the story is told.

Cauhape writes in a literary style that reminds me of Annie Poulx. Paradise Ridge, on the surface, appears to be an upscale Western novel...once inside the pages, you will soon discover a potential classic waiting to be discovered.

I rated this book a 5...because that's all the stars there were.