the Wild pigeons of Salisbury beach part 77

I haven't seen "Kim", the beautiful white pigeon in a long time now.
The "Rock" managed to separate the string that had entangled his feet but the damage has been done because one foot is completely gangrenous. "Homer", the homing pigoen, is still there. He is very distinct with his long beak and yellow leg band. I am guessing he is from Brockton. There is a guy who is selling homers on craigslist from Brockton, but this is just a wild guess.
As I was walking up past Jilly's pizza to feed the pigeons I noticed this crazy little sparrow furiously banging into the Jilly's closed plexiglass counter window. He had made at least 5-6 attempts to get through the window even though it was closed.
I picked him up and realized he was a youngster, a young fledgling.
Perhaps during the day when Jilly's is open he finds a way to the inside of the stand to indulge on the corn meal pizza crust bits.
Who knows.
He kept picking himself up again and crashing into the window. I picked him up and carried him away from the window because he was eventually going to kill himself. I've seen dead birds by this window before.
I talked to him and he calmed down.
He eventually  flew off.

dogs in the city

There has been a new TV show on the regular network channel called "Dogs in the City". The show is similar to the "Dog Whisperer" in a sense that neurotic, emotionally needy, over-weight people need help solving the problems that are making their dogs: neurotic, emotionally needy and over- weight.
And like the "Dog whisperer" the star of this show, Justin Silver, is, 'easy on the eyes".
It is funny how people's "issues" are transferred onto their dogs making the dogs awful to deal with.  Justin tries to help the owners of these f*&^ed up dogs to first, correct their own emotionally F*&^ed up situations. I, myself, have dealt with these sort of people, "Oooh he's my baaaaby!", as their dog charges at you viciously and the owners blame you that their 'baby" is acting that way. Siiiiiiggggh......(eye roll)
Anyways.
I like the show.
Justin is cute. The people are ridiculous and the dogs are funny.
Yesterday as I was doing my usual evening routine of cleaning the bird cages and vacuuming the floor of the bird room I could hear this God awful yelping of a dog.
My birds were screeching and flying around in a wild panic. I looked out the window to see what was going on and I saw a small dog in a harness thrashing around screaming in pain. Cars were stopped and people were racing around with a towel gathering him up.
I am not sure what actually happened.
As I was getting my mind around what was happening I was ready to bolt out of the door with a blanket. The dog went limp as a couple picked him up to place in the back of their car.
My guess is that the dog was seated in a harness but not restrained, jumped out of a moving car through an open window and got slammed around as the car was moving as a result.
Sadly, I think the dog died due to his injuries.
The whole thing happened so fast.
Hopefully, I'll find out from my neighbors if they have any idea of what had happened and if the dog was saved.

fun photos

Patches

Cute little Eddie taking a bath. Isn't she cute?

                                         Twillinger and Eric having a "budgie conference"

I just thought I would share some cute photos I just took of some of my birds.
Oh yeah, they can drive me crazy and they are a lot of work but how can you resist them?

cooking shows

I can't watch that show "Bizarre Foods" or any of those cable shows that show people eating disgusting shit.
Thank God I don't have cable TV.
My husband likes to watch "Cook's Country". The recipes are normal USA style of home cooking. He's kind of like Dagwood because he has a crush of the two blond lady cooks ,"Julia" and "Bridget", not so much for their healthy Germanic looks but because they cook delicious hearty comfort foods like macaroni and cheeze, baked apples and pop-overs.
Lately, he has been watching Gordon Ramsey's two shows "Hell's Kitchen" and "Master Chef". It's not really a cooking show but more of a "reality TV" type of entertainment.
Both those shows have actually made me nauseous, but for different reasons.
The so called "Chefs' in Hell's kitchen are kind of gross pigs. They are dirty, sweaty and do nasty stuff that the camera catches them doing. The women chefs,( if you call them that), fart, burp and pick their noses. They look and act more like they are prison mates rather than schooled professional chefs. They call each other "m'bitchas!" with a threatening swagger so I can't help but think they are escapees from cell block #9.
Pretty scary.
One of the meals they were serving up in a fancy event was pigeon. 
Yes, pigeon squab.
Pigeon squab is a baby (6 week old) pigeon that has not fledged yet.
How F*&^ing sick is that?!?
And people were eating it like this a normal thing to eat (!)
In the other show, "Master Chef",  there was this one episode  that I thought I was going to puke.
Gag...just thinking about it (and writing about it) I get the stomach twists. ugh...
They were given a bucket of giant bull balls, brains, entrails and a skinned (lamb) head to cook and create something "delicious".
Really
It was sickening.
The sick part was a cook from China had no problem "putting a meal together" from that bin of body parts.
Nasty
Cool Whip is starting to look a whole lot more appealing to me!   It maybe a concoction of chemicals but at least it doesn't consist of animal parts.
Yuck.

ya gotta wondah

You've got to wonder what they are thinking.
As you can see Craow Dum and Whook perched on the play-stand.
I can't help but wonder that Whook is expressing (non-verbal) communication to the pigeon telling him, "yeah, I'm old but I'm still THE sheriff in town!" "Don't mind my crippled foot...damn..I don't know what is wrong with it but I still run the place". "Soooo how are you managing without that beak?" "It's looks kind of gross  and you look like a big doofus but you are welcome to our flock so long as you stay out of my cage"
The pigeon responds, "seriously, I think I'm part "tiel., really! I'm not a pigeon." "I think I'm gonna lay an egg".I feel kind of crampy so if you don't mind I'd like to just rest here for awhile" ""Oops! Excuse me! I dropped a big messy poop. I didn't mean to! ACK! "oooh sorry, I didn't mean to sneeze on you but I have this post nasal drip issue"
"So what do you think is for lunch? I bet broccoli and naan bread" "I really wish we had corn on the cob or hard boiled egg"
Or maybe they were thinking,"when the hell are they going to get that AC fixed?"
I just thought it was cute that both of them with their handicaps were just hanging out together

dive # 864 June 23 2012

Dive # 863 June 23 2012
The morning started off with a downpour. I checked the news and it was just a passing shower. It was something we needed after the oppressive heat. I packed my NZ one piece hooded dive suit rather than my dry suit. I needed to get back in the water to practice my UW skills as a refresher. I felt like I was losing my "mojo" so I needed to focus and regain my confidence. My one piece wet suit is very stream-line and comfortable. Of course, it isn't as warm as my other suits but I actually wanted to feel cold to cool my head especially after this week of being in Hades. Also by wearing this suit I could drop at least 8 lbs. off my weight-belt too.
We had Fred, Chris and Pete as crew. On board we had Lareint, who is a great help on board, Jackie k and two guys guys from RI. The sky cleared and the water was flat calm.
The water temp  at 30 feet  was 59F. We anchored at the stone garage
.I spent the entire time directly under the boat practicing my skills. I was donning and doffing my tank and vest, taking off my mask and clearing it, removing my weight belt and putting it back on, taking my regulator out of my mouth and retrieving it and taking off my fins. I did each exercise at least 3 times each. I got water up my nose while clearing my mask but continued to do it until I felt OK. I know I need to practice these skills with my dry suit on as well since the dry suit is more cumbersome with all it's knobs and such.
I noticed under the boat there were two lobsters that were an iridescent aqua blue. (*Not as completely blue as the above photo) The arm before the claws were aqua blue while the claws were more of darkish blue. I can not recall seeing lobsters looking like that before.
I stood watch on the second dive. Both Chris and Pete reported a bit of current even though we only moved the boat a few yards further down from where we were originally anchored. The current can be scary and sneaky. Everyone made it back OK without incident.
All in all it was a great day.

fried

Again, it was horrendously hot.
Walking dogs in this weather is just awful.
I leave a pan of water on the dining room table for the birds to bathe and cool off in.
Again I drove down to the beach on my bike to avoid the traffic back-ups.The water was fairly warm with a strong undertow. And yes, a few assorted bathing suits floated on by.
I made the mistake of buying my father his favorite chocolate sugar-free candies stupidly thinking it would be OK to bring home in my bike basket by wrapping it in a towel. When I finally made it home, the chocolate amalgamated into one big melted turd..
My husband did his best to splice and connect damaged wires to fix the central air unit. Unfortunately, there were other things that were chewed and destroyed. We called a NBPT AC repairman and he came right over. We told him about the mouse caper. He made some adjustments and checked things. We thought we were A-OK after he turned the unit on and the air kicked on. As soon as his truck pulled out of the driveway, the lights dimmed and the entire unit fried and died..
My husband scrambled down stairs to shut off the circuit breaker because it didn't automatically shut-down like it was suppose to.
The entire F*&ing central air unit fried!
And all because of little shit mice.(!)
I couldn't sleep in the bedroom again like last night. The temp in the bedroom was a balmy 92F.
I do not do well in the heat. My "biological" thermostat  is on the fritz.
My head overheats big time and I, unceremoniously, threw up first thing in the morning.
So my husband and I, being  the "Mac & Myer for hire" team decided we will at least put one of our old window box AC's in the bedroom for the time being until we can get a "new" (and bloody expensive) central air unit replacement.
We did get the small box AC in the window after the both of us, in the true Boston style, serenaded the neighborhood with round of expletives from our second story window. Hey, at least the AC box didn't fall out of the window (this time)
So now, we are on the mission to replace the big ass central air unit.
We also have to figure a way to keep those damn mice from setting up shop in it as well.
sigh.....

first day of summer 2012

Up in the Boston area we were bracing for a heat wave hitting temps up to 100F.
I knew beach traffic would be terrible so after I finished my jobs I took a ride down the beach on my beach bike.
The beach was completely packed.
The heat and blistering sand were unbearable.
 I  knew I had to go in the water. The waves were massive and there was a really bad undertow. People were getting bowled over like candlepin pins by the waves by just standing in calf deep of water. I waited til the waves calmed down and did my usual "run like a manic" into the water without thinking about it.
Yes, it was cold but not unGodly freezing. It felt soooo good to cool my head. I tried to stay past where the waves were sucking people in and crashing. I saw a bathing suit (or two) well up from the sea foam.
The water was so refreshing.
Seriously, I live in the best place on earth!
When I got home I turned on the central AC to cool the  house down.
Hmmm, that's strange. It never kicked on.
Something is wrong.
I figured perhaps the motor burned out so I called a AC repair-man to check it out.
They were backed up and didn't know what day they could get there.
Oh great.
My husband came home from work and I told him the story. He thought perhaps a circuit was tripped or maybe a wire broke off. He went outside to the unit and uncovered the compartment were all the wires were.
I heard this horrible scream.
I ran out worried that he had electrocuted himself.
He stood two feet away from the unit horrified and dancing around.
Underneath the panel looked like the stuffing from a dirty cushion.
Except for.....
It was moving.
It was a massive mouse nest filled with all kinds of mice. Dead ones, rotten ones, bits of mice and heaps of live babies.
He turned the circuit breaker off.
I took a stick and pushed the nest out.
Mice scattered.
The smell was terrible.
My husband ran in the other direction completely grossed out.
I cleaned the nest out using a stick, toothbrush and a vacuum to reveal chewed wires.
Hopefully tonight since the nest is now gone he will be able to replace the damaged wires.
It is F*&^ing hot out!

the business of ....

As I mention on previous posts, I like to watch the TV show "Shark Tank' where people try to convince investors to invest in their fledgling business ideas. I find the show educational. There is a lot to  getting a business started as well as keeping it afloat and profiting.
 On just every day day to day businesses I try to analyze on what I think are brilliant business moves and critique what I think are duds.
As I mentioned before I thought (actress) Sophia Vergara is brilliant in promoting her KMart line of clothing. (Yup, KMart)  She actually wears her clothing line and jewelry on her TV show "Modern Family".She will wear her own line so that you can see that the clothes are wearable and even nice enough to wear on her popular TV program.
Believe me, her strategy has worked.
 I bought a bunch of tops, shoes, underwear and pants (online). She has amazingly nice decent quality stuff. Some of her tops are as nice as some of the tops I've bought in high end boutiques, really. I am signed in as one of their 'bloggers". (I get gift cards as a result of my input!) :-P
Sadly, the same can NOT be said for Martha Stewart. I think she just puts her name on the product . I do not think she has ever tried or used or even wishes to use her own product line. It's just cheap crap.
I can't help but critique JCP's marketing strategy with their 'new" no coupon/prices all the same/no sale ever strategy
.Sure, that may appeal to those kind of people who just go in the store solely to buy, for example, a pair of black pants. Those "shoppers" (if that is what you call that group of people) go in the store buy the pants and leave.
Who ever is in charge of this shopping /marketing strategy should be fired.
I think their stocks are going down the shitter as a result
They have no clue in the mind set of someone who likes to shop.
And these are the type of people (people who like to shop) that brings in the profits.
 It's not the "one item thing I need" shopper.
Kohl's however has a brilliant business strategy.
Coupons coupons coupons and early bird sales! Sales sales SALES!
They work on the "impulse shoppers". You go in to buy those black pants but you have a 15% off coupon and you just happen to walk by the purses with the 30% of sale sign. Sure you don't  need that purse but how can you resist that sale?
 Perhaps all in all JCP prices might be better but it is that 'hunt for the bargain' that lures those extra "I better buy this now 'cuz I'll need it later"purchases.
My advice to JCP is: go back to those $10.00 coupons and sales events! Have a celebrity product line with the celebrities actually wearing their clothes or using their own products!

Hello!??! Is anyone there?

OK  I'm gonna sound bitchy. (And yes, even more bitchy-er than my usual self)

Don't you feel that no one listens to you AT ALL?

Other than the usual shit that you are just simply ignored (like at a doctor's appointment) 

Say your appointment is at 11:00 but you you don't even get seen til 12:15. You tell the doctor your symptoms even though he/she is looking at their watch. You know what is going on is not normal and it is not what he/she hurriedly projects of what he/she thinks it is, even though you haven't even  finished your sentence describing your symptoms.

sigh...

Years ago my throat swelled up like a bull frog's ranula. This was sooo not normal. I went to three different doctors and all three shit-heads told me it was "a pulled muscle". I know what a pulled muscle feels like and this was definitely not a pulled muscle It took a dentist to correctly identify that I  had an enlarged thyroid.

OK

People seem even more out of touch and oblivious to the world since the invention of the cell phone and ipod. Nobody seems to pay attention to anybody in the periphery .

 It is just downright scary driving on a highway now.

You see tons of nitwits posted on youtube walking into walls, streets, pot-holes, fountains etc...while texting, talking on their cell phones or grooving to their ipod tunes.

I've been to the registry of motor vehicles three (or is it four) times to register my father's truck. Why the F*&^  don't they tell you what you need the first f*&^ing time you go in? Why can't they look over your stuff and explicitly tell you that you need A, B and C the first time?

This weekend was father's day. My father wanted to go to the Olive garden restaurant. I got a bit nervous because it seems that every single time I go there they seat you 5 miles in the back. I called ahead to see if I could get 'call ahead seating" like I  do with the 99 restaurant. They said "no" reservations. It is first come first served.

OK

We get there and of course, there is a huge queue of people. I asked the host to seat us (as I point to the closest group of tables) as soon as a table opens up there.I explained to them that my father can't walk far-even with a walker.Thirty minutes go by and the hosts says the our table is ready. My father gets up and starts his way to the table. We are then diverted to a different table about 15-20 feet away from the requested table.

!?

I couldn't refuse it because my father was now up and walking. Now to turn around back to the waiting area would've been one big pain. Needless to say I was annoyed. I also knew that my father was going be completely exhausted after today.

My mother ordered a salad without dressing. She is allergic to vinegar and guess what? Her salad was drenched in dressing.(This could have been a medical emergency)

DOESN"T ANYONE LISTEN?

I kept cool though despite my annoyance. My father was happy and enjoyed his meal. He said the Olive Garden was one of his favorite restaurants so I "politely" told the waitress of "the mistake" with my mother's salad and to make the proper (and safe) exchange.

My husband sometimes thinks I am being bitchy when I repeat myself when I want to make my point clear if I am ordering something.. He will say, "they heard you the first time!" Unfortunately, when (whoever) 

I' ve dealt with still F*&^s up a request my husband will look at me sheepishly, "I guess you were right..they weren't paying attention".

The point is: I don't want to be right. I just want people to pay attention!!

the wild pigeons of Salisbury beach part 76

This morning I noticed "the Rock"'s foot has now swelled up due to the string wrapped around his foot. Not only is it swollen and disfigured but it is turning black from infection.I can't help but feel sorry for him.

A new pigeon joined the group this morning. He looks like a homer ( a popular breed of homing pigeons) His beak looked  like it was pointing down characteristically  like a homer and his cere looked different too.. As I looked closer I saw that he had a yellow leg band.

 He is indeed a homer!My question is: where did he come from? Is he lost or just stopping by for a meal?
 I tried inching closer to him to check his band for identification but just as I got close some stupid lady beeped her car horn for me to move.  At she she didn't try to run me or the pigeons over.I'll have to check again tomorrow if he is still there.
"Craow Dum" is still the same. I cleaned him very nicely this morning. I even got some debris out of his throat.Sometimes I call him "nugget" because he is always dropping nuggets.
I do think "he" is most likely a "she"."She" have been exhibiting nesting behavior. Sadly, the poor thing will never have a mate. If she ever did have a mate she would not be able to feed her babies with that missing infected beak.However, she never seems to fret or worry about what she doesn't have. She is happy to plunk herself behind the pillows on the couch. She also likes to go under the trampoline when I am on it. I get her away from it but she go right back under it.
I was really ill last thursday and in terrible pain. She climbed up the stairs and jumped into bed with me.
It was if she knew I was sick and tried to comfort me. She climbed right on top my stomach/rib area and fell asleep.She is really the sweetest pet.

Duh!

I just finished reading some article on the internet about "shoe personalities",  a study done by the Journal of research in Personality.

They state 90% of personality traits are revealed by people's shoes.

Duh!

"practical" shoes:" =agreeable personalities (I guess that leaves me out)

"Ankle boots"= aggressive personalities (I have at least 15 pairs of ankle boots. Hmmmm)

"Shoes that look uncomfortable"=calm personality (What determines uncomfortable looking shoes?)

"many pairs of shoes"=may project a person with "attachment anxiety" (whatever the f*@& that means)

The article does claim that certain shoes reveal political leanings. For example: comfortable shoes are preferred by liberals (Do see those hideous earth shoes above? You can bet Elizabeth Warren wears those) 

Oops! Did I just say that out loud?

It must be my sky high Dolce & Gabbana ankle boots talking.

You just never know when....

I routinely get my hair done up every 5 weeks. Like the high maintenance corvette that I am, a wash and a primer  is in order to keep up that "shine". (wink wink)
As I am thumbing through the assortment of magazines  while the stylist is preparing up my colour, I grab "Hello" magazine. "Hello" magazine is basically Britain's "glossy version of the USA's National Enquirer". When my sister lived in London she used to save all of her "Hello" magazines for me and I would in return save all my "National Enquirer" mags for her.
I found this photo (above) in "Hello"'s under "the World in Pictures' page.
This is a photo of Captain Slate from Key Largo participating in a fundraising UW Easter egg hunt!
Yes, all the way from London England I find this photo!
 This is the same man who married my husband and I UW in Key Largo in 2000.
I showed my hair stylist this photo telling her the story. She cracked up.
Never a dull moment.

the wild pigeons of Salisbury beach part 75

This morning while feeding the morning beach pigeons I  noticed 'the Rock" was stumbling as he tried to walk over to the pile of seed. His feet were tied together by line. Sadly, once again yet another pigeon has been entangled in old fishing line unable to free itself.The other pigeons were pecking him since they realized he was weak.He won't be around for too long.
Last Friday as I was drying Craow Dum's face after his bath, I felt a donut -like ring encircling around his eyes .It felt almost telescopic. I also felt a hump on his forehead that I never felt before. Something was telling me that this was not normal.
I called the vet.. She thought it might be sinusitis from what I described. She suggested that I bring him in to the clinic for an examination..
Sure enough, both eyes were protruded as well has this new hump on the frontal portion of his head.
The vet also noted "tissue changes" in his throat and oral cavity since his last vet visit (which was only a month or two ago).
This was not good news.
We like to think of animal doctors as curing our beloved pets making the story end with a Disney-like  ending.
In reality the vets are also the bearer of bad news.
 It's not all happy happy happy. They also have the awful job of having to put animals to sleep or telling the owner despite numerous treatments/operation that nothing else can be done or sometimes even during a seemingly routine procedures an animal can die.
I asked the vet if anything can be done to help Craow Dum. She said at this point nothing medically can be done. She suggested doing a CT scan  for diagnostic purposes only to verify that he indeed has a granuloma mass spreading in his skull but the end, she didn't push it because she didn't think he would survive any surgical procedure.
She said I was doing the best that could be done for him by keeping him clean, fed and happy.
The best mode of care for him is to just  keep doing what I am doing.
I do not know how long he will live.
 It won't be long.
Maybe three months, six or maybe a year, yet doubtful.
I suppose it is a miracle he has thrived and survived this long with everything he was up against.
He just climbed up the stairs to sit with me while I type on the computer.
He doesn't seemed bothered.
He is happy today.

dive #862-863 June 10 2012

*photo above was sent to me from Dive buddy Bill L . Don't you wish there really was scuba fins like this?

Dive #862 June 10 2012
Today was my first dive of the season.
For some reason I felt a little nervous. I'm not sure exactly why. Maybe I'm afraid I'll forget how to do something or I'll suddenly get sick out of nowhere.
I really don't know why. I knew I had to get in the water.
It was a cool sunny day.The wind was blowing out from the SE.
We were going to "an easy dive site" -the wreck of the NH.
We had Fred, Chris, Pete, Lareint, Diane K, Bill L and a new guy "Vinny" from the Frogmen onboard
Water temp was about 52F so I was glad I had  my dry suit even though it takes a little time to get used to.
As soon as I jumped in the water I could feel a current. I kept drifting away from the boat. I descended down with Vinny. We spotted a couple of large moon snails "getting busy".
After just a few minutes of swimming around I knew something was amiss because my depth gauge was reading at 35 feet. The wreck which was suppose to be right next to the boat. My depth gauge should have reading at 20 feet tops.
 I surfaced to see where we were. We were nowhere near the wreck. As I tried to swim towards the boat the current was pushing me further away from the boat. It was impossible. I was getting exhausted. As I rested for a few seconds I still was drifting. As I put my hand to my weight belt ready to dump it Lareint swam out to help me to the boat..Lareint saved the day.
Oh my God that current was awful.
I was beat.
The only time I can recall swimming in a nasty current like that was off of Grand Cayman. I fought like hell to swim to the mooring. When I got there I said, "uh uh this is awful I'm aborting the dive". And I was glad I did. Two divers got carried around the bend and had to be rescued by a fishing boat.
Dive #863 June 10 2012
Chris moved the boat around to find a spot with less current. I was a little unnerved from the incident but I had to get back on the saddle again.I made a second dive. Pete was scootering around with his UW scooter so I stuck out my thumb in order to hitch a ride. That was pretty cool. Unfortunately like a dope I can sometime be I found myself disoriented of my location.I was in an area with some current so I just pulled myself along the ocean bottom towards the boat rather than to fight any current at the surface.There were some good sized lobsters poking their heads out of the rocks watching me.
Lareint made a third dive by loosening the anchor that appeared to be stuck or wedged. A 'keeper" lobster swam by him probably thinking "ha ha you missed me!" But he didn't miss him. Into the catch bag he went.
OK I'm done typing. I am beyond exhausted.

gas stove saga

I invited my cousin and her husband over for dinner. Thankfully, they seem to like whatever I cook.
I made two vegetable dishes I retrieved from the "weight watchers power food" cook-book and a Indian rice dish. For dessert, I put together the ingredients for baked apples. As I pressed the electronic panel to turn the oven on the panel broke loose and dropped inside the top part of the stove.
I thought to myself, "oh shit!" Now what?"
 I tried reached into the "window" to pull it up thinking to myself, "did this just unhinge from me pressing maybe too hard? or is it broken and now, stuck in the recess?"
I pulled the stove out away from the wall to see if there was a way I could get in. I unplugged the electrical outlet and slowly pulled the stove out of it's cove.
Oh gross.
There must have been two pounds of old bird seed, orange peel, bits of rotten garlic and dust bunnies stuck on the sides, under and behind the stove. Not to mention sticky grease and splattered old spaghetti sauce.
It was nasty!
I vacuumed and washed the floor, stove and walls of all the disgusting debris.
And of course, the pigeon had to investigate.
He is extremely curious. Whatever I was doing it became very interesting to him.
He was" the foreman" sitting on the counter monitoring my work.
 I carefully unscrewed the back panel and saw that the grimy electronic bracket had indeed broken off in all four attachments. The face plate covering the electronics had fused to it despite gentle my efforts of trying to carefully  peel it off. I ended up removing bits of the aesthetic paint causing the face plate to have a mottled look to it.
 I spent more time cleaning the exposed inside and coils. This was seven years of debris even though, I really thought,  I kept my stove clean. I couldn't help wonder that all of this built up crud could eventually be a fire hazard.
I order the electronic panel replacement online. I received it the next day. It was remarkably easy to install even though I had to unscrew and refit the back cover numerous times.
It worked!
Ah! I have to pat myself on the back for being "Ms. Fix-it".
 I probably saved heaps of money by fixing it myself. Not only that, it gave me the chance to clean out the subtle mess that could possibly end up posing a hazard.
And yes, we did eventually have the baked apples!

the wild pigeons of Salisbury beach part 74

I haven't been down to the beach is the last two days because of the pouring rain and I have been having these nonstop monster head-aches.
I hope the pigeons on the beach are OK.
I had just read a disturbing post on the pigeon biz chat group.
I just read the post, but not the link, that would direct me to the full detailed story. I couldn't bring my self to view the news link.
A church in NYC set up netting around the windows to prevent pigeons from perching on the sills. Apparently numerous pigeons were getting caught and stuck in the netting left to die from starvation and the elements.
One of ladies from the pigeon group took a two hour drive out to investigate the situation. Sadly, the story was true and the birds were already dead and disposed of. She talked to the people in charge of maintenance to see if something could be done not to ensnare the birds. From what she wrote other folks from animal rights group also talked to the workers as well. Not wanting to further bring bad press they agreed to a compromise of doing something to the nets so the birds would not get trapped.
The fact that this had happened with intent causing numerous of helpless pigeons to die a horrible cruel death  from a church's orders only further mars the reputation of the Catholic church.
Really?!?!
Where were the priests?
What happened to honoring St. Francis?
Was this just another example of the Church looking the other way?
Or were they just disregarded as not  viable living creatures thinking that nobody would care?
I am sick to my stomach

the wild pigeons of Salisbury beach part 73

Ahhhh summer!
I cleaned up my bike, added air to the tires and took it to the beach for the first time this season.
Don't laugh but it is a pee wee Herman bike but it is perfect for the type of bike riding I do. I go to the beach and back.It's a total of five miles back & forth. That's all and enough riding for me. It has a basket for my towel and water. My husband bought me a "special' three stooges bell to give it the added effect.
It was lovely day. I took the bike down to public beach to sit and enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of the beach.
And of course, I am so lame. Here I am taking photos with my camera phone of the "afternoon' pigeons. These pigeons are a different crowd than the "morning" pigeons.I haven't seen "Kim" the white pigeon lately. Sadly, I found a squished pigeon on the road.
As I was sitting here watching the pigeon this little boy started to throw sand at the birds. I said, "Hey, don't do that! That is mean!"
The little shit then turned and threw sand at me.
It's no wonder I like birds better than people.