Black cloud

I thought I could excape it but no matter what it finds me.

I could feel it sneaking up on my late wedsnesday evening grabbing me by the ankles. That sort of numbness slowing tuning into glass under-your-skin feeling. Then a icy claw grabs you on the back of your neck turning into burning heat with daggers. The pain is almost unbearable but it doesn't register as pain because pain pills do nothing.

The light hitting my eyes is terrible.

And sounds are unbearable. I thought if I had something to eat I might feel better but the "music" overhead in the neighborhood restaurant was like a screaching fax machine drilling into my ears like hungry earwigs.

I couldn't stand it.

My husband thought I was just being difficult and fussy. Maybe I was, but it wasn't just annoying but out right painful. I am dizzy and nauseous.

Smells. Oh my God. It seems like the whole world needs to wash their hair and their arses. I can differentiate nervous sweat from work out sweat. Either way, it's gross.

Forget about carrying on a conversation. I can't properly speak. I slur my words, can't remember words and I feel like I want to start a fight.

I feel like shit.

And it will probably last for a week. Migraines always hang around for at least a week.

All I want to do is lay down in dark quiet room, take a zomig, ice my head and eat something sweet.

I feel so self absorbed but I just can't help it. It's hard to focus on anything else.

Tomorrow should be a better day.

The Wild pigeons of Salisbury Beach part 9

I've been getting up earlier since it is light out to feed the pigeons and to go for my morning jog. The usual cast of characters await their morning breakfast except for Brownie. I haven't seen Brownie in a couple of weeks. He disappears in the summer mornings. I think he holds out for afternoon pizza crust, a discarded piece of fried doe, a dropped onion ring or fried clam instead. I've seen him in the afternoon.
I think Craow Dum's attempt at fatherhood was a bust. It looks like somebody threw a metal bracket up where he usually nests. I honestly don't know if it was there before but I had just noticed it hanging off the shelf where he usually roosts and the nest was destroyed.
It has been abnormally hot for this time of year. It is really gross walking dogs in this weather. I've been taking them in the woods to get out of the blasting sun. My choice is either get fried in the sun and throw up from heat stroke or go in the woods and get covered with ticks and green-heads. I take my chance with the ticks and green-heads.
Seriously, the ticks are unbelievable this year. My poor husband who gets grossed out by bugs is finding ticks crawling on the bathroom wall most likely from falling off of me when ever I use the bathroom. Believe me, the mere thought of ticks crawling on me and setting up camp on various parts of my body is not helping my love life. It is really disgusting but I guess that it is reality when you are outdoors all day long.
I couldn't stand the heat any longer so my long time pal came up to my house during my 'lunch break" so we could sneak off to the beach. "Sue" is a real New Englander and was keen on going for a swim in the ocean. Last weekend, when I went scuba diving, the water temp according to my UW temperature gauge read 42F so I was bit leery about going in with just a bathing suit.
The sun was beating down and we stood at the edge of the water up to our knees. The waves were huge and there was an undertow. We would inch in slowly until a big wave hit us and soaked us.
Oh My God! It was freezing!
Since we were already wet we decide to stay in a bit like two jerks screaming every time we got hit with a wave. Ah! I guess this is the official start of summer.
I have to say we were "good" this time with our choice of snacks. I brought a big tub of strawberries, granola bars and seltzer water. Sue brought some raisins. This is good since our usual choice of snacks is poptarts, yodels and of course, donuts. We would sit on our chairs with our faces filthy from chocolate and powdered sugar after making pigs of ourselves with our sugary treats. Nope, not this time.
Could it be that we are finally growing up?
Nah..I doubt it!

Cesar's way

I just got my second issue of "Cesar's way" magazine.
Of the course, the magazine cover has Cesar Millan looking all tanned and handsome with that smile.
That's enough of an invite for you to want to take a peak inside the magazine.
I have to say, I really like the magazine.
It has some interesting articles not only just about dogs but dealing and understanding people. It is quite insightful.
Even if you are not really a "dog person" you can't help but look at some of the photos of the dogs and go "awwwwwww!" There are some really cute photos (and funny ones too!)
If you travel with your dog the magazines features a section that shows you places, hotels, parks ect.. that are "pet friendly". There is some good info to pass onto some of my dog customers.
There are a couple of "ask cesar' question/answer columns that I find useful for general knowledge.
I even sent a letter in with a question dealing with a naughty jack russell. It would be pretty cool to see my letter printed but I am sure he gets millions of letters that need to be answered with more urgency.
Or maybe he will call me instead....
Ha ha! One can only dream.......

May 25th

Today would've been my Aunt's 72nd birthday.
It is hard to believe that she has been gone for almost 5 years.
I still think of her often mostly about funny stuff that I would've wanted to share with her that I know she would've appreciated. I also just miss talking to her about stuff in general.
Whenever I drive by her condo in Amesbury I get the urge to stop by out of habit.
Whenever I drive by her old place in Rowley, where I spent a lot of my childhood years with my cousins, I slow down and do a "drive by stare". I don't know why I do that but I just do. Maybe I think I'll see my "younger" cousin drive down the driveway on his unicycle with a turtle hanging out of his pocket or the neighbor' s excaped chickens running down their driveway. My Aunt's family hasn't even lived there in decades but the memories still remain.
Funny.
My cousins had a memorial bench erected for my Aunt at Moseley Pines in Newburyport. I sometimes take the dogs up to that park for a walk. It's a nice dog walking park. There are poop bag dispensers and buckets for dog walker's convenience. There is even a "dog" drinking fountain.The pine tree forest keeps the area cool so it is a nice alternative in escaping the heat when you have got dogs to exercise. In the summer time there are free concerts there at night at the park as well. The area where the bench sits overlooks the Merrimack river.
I will occasionally go up there to sit and have a chat with my Aunt. Sometimes I will even bring a cup of coffee with me. It is very soothing.
It is my Aunt's birthday and every year I bring a small bouquet of flowers to put on her bench. I brought Riley and KD with me. This was the first time this year I took the dogs with me here. They were completely bonkers with all the new smells and things to dig around at. It was a change of scenery for them and a cooler place to go since the temps reached 90F.
I'm sure my Aunt must have thought it was hilarious seeing me trying to control these two out-of-control hyper dogs AND picking up their voluminous poop with a bag using one hand.
And of course, the bag had a hole in it.
I am sure she got a laugh out of that.
Happy birthday Auntie.

week one of WW

Ok, so far I've stuck with weight watchers for a full week.

Don't laugh. It is a (big) start for me.

It's so easy to 'fall off the wagon" but I didn't, as a result I lost 5 LBS!

I am actually quite surprised. My stomache doesn't feel as bloated. I've avoided items with yeast such as bread and donuts. I feel pretty good too. I'm starting to wonder if yeasty products aggravate migraines. I faintly recall my neurologist telling me that crusty bread triggers migraines for him. Hmmmm.. we shall see....

It would be kind of bummer to put donuts and bread on the 'no fly list" along with eggplant and rum (alcohol in general).

Last night, I was really hungry.

I thought I was going to "fall off the wagon" so we went for chinese food. I had this HUGE plate of steamed broccolli, egg drop soup and 3 steamed veggie dumplings. I was stuffed and managed to stay within my "points".

It is motivating when you do actually lose weight too.

I've tried various times to stay on course before but nothing really motivated me. Yeah, I thought to myself ,"Oh I'll give up.... for lent" "Oh it's bathing suit season" "Oh I'm going to a fancy party" ect... "Oh my pants are getting tight..with pudge squishing over the sides like a playdoe fun factory"

But it was my tight scuba dry suit that screamed, "CUT THE CRAP! STEP AWAY FROM THE DONUTS!"

I feel I can stick with it this time too.

It is funny what will motivate you to take action.

My father smoked cigarettes for years. He smoked about 5 packs a day. He didn't stop for his health or the fact that any of us kids threw up in the car due to his smoking. What stopped him was the price of cigarettes reached $2.50 a pack! I don't care what the reason is so long as he doesn't smoke. He has been "cigarette free" for about 15 years (or more).

Wish me luck!

Dive #790 May 22 2010

Dive #790 May 22 2010.
You never know what kind of day it is going to be even when you follow the weather reports. It was predicted to be in the 80's F but indeed it was rather cool with a wind blowing from the SW. It was a quiet day on the boat "Easy Diver". The Captain and Chris were present as well as Pat, Pete and Larient.
Since the wind was blowing from the SW we went up north and anchored at "the restaurant". It was a nice calm area.
Chris, Pete and Larient went in to do some UW film footage. I braved the cold water as well to explore the rocks and crevices for critters. At the depth of 30 feet I had a temperature reading of 42F. My dry suit kept me warm for a bit but my hands were F&^%ing freezing. I balled them up as if to fend off the cold. I was just was going to call it quits but my curiosity got the better of me. The viz was pretty good at about 30 feet.
Pete was busy filming a decorator crab in an abandoned trashed lobster trap. As he was filming, a big horseshoe crab was sauntering across the floor. I haven't seen one of those in Massachusetts north shore waters in decades. When I was a little kid, my cousin and I would see dozens of them at the Rowley landing. My uncle would pick them up and chase us with them.
As Pete was filming I awaited for him to look up so I could point to the horseshoe crab. I eventually lost my patience, picked it up and placed it in front of him.
I swam off still exploring but grimly aware of how frozen my hands were. Over by a pile of boulders I found a dead bluefish. It hadn't been there very long because it was fully intact. The sharp long dentition identified it.
I pretty much drained my tank but one dive was enough for me. Everyone else was equally frosted and called it a day.
The tide was a super low tide. Pat was driving the boat and was super cautious as to not beach the boat. We were just about getting to bridge and all of a sudden "THUNK".
The boat hit ground.
Oh shit...
Pete grabbed the wheel, pulled it out, went forward, and again, "THUNK".
He finally got out and around that elevated sand bar.
Despite that little precarious situation we had a great day of diving.

* picture of horseshoe crab found on internet search

cats

Cats can make really nice companions for some people.
When I was a little kid I had a cat named "Derekia". She was a female tiger cat. She was a very well behaved and friendly kitty. She pooped in her litter box, didn't wreck the furniture and wasn't fussy what she ate. She was no problem until sadly, my mother decided to find her another home because of suspected allergies to cat dander. I still believe it was my parents nonstop cigarette smoking that caused my wheezing and coughing because after the cat was gone I still had watery eyes, wheezing and that constant car sick feeling.
I seriously hate cigarettes.
I found through out the years that there is a difference between someone who "has cat(s)' for pets" and somebody who is "a cat lady".
My friend up in Maine who I have known for close to (gasp) 30 years has always had cats. I would consider her to be a person who "has cats for pets." She has five cats and her house is immaculate.All of her cats are well behaved. Her furniture is intact, her rugs are vacuumed and I have never smelled cat pee in her house. Never.
I have had customers who "have cats for pets" and that are 'cat ladies".
I've been in homes that the cats run the house. Cat turds everywhere, vomit and hairballs all over the place and the stench of cat urine floating around. Most of these cats are dysfunctional and have "issues".
One case in particular that this person had just one cat. The cat refused to use the litter box and left packages everywhere. The owner thought this was OK. She was upset that I didn't sit with this cat on my lap. (I had enough to do with caring for all her other animals)
No way.
Either this cat had mental issues, was carrying giardia or had worms.
I wasn't going to put this cat on my lap.
What is interesting that I have distinctly noticed through out the years is how many cats who have "issues". There are so many cats that have diabetes in particular. I have had to learn to give cats daily injections of insulin. Cats are getting 'people diseases".
Another disease that a lot of cats seem to have is feline HIV and leukemia. A lot of them also have psychological problems too such as separation anxiety.
When I had Derekia as a pet the only thing I had to worry about was rabies, distemper and worms. She got her necessary vaccinations.
I asked my friend up in Maine what her opinion was on why there seems that so many cats have issues since she has had many years of experience with caring for cats.
She said, and I have to agree, 'that there are just too many cats".
There was a population explosion and what has evolved is this myraid of "issues".
The shelters are just chock-o-block full of unwanted cats.
People need to spay and neuter their cats. The cats need to be vaccinated for a list of diseases and, they need to stay indoors. (Cats are the number one problem for the decline of the songbird population)
Cats can be wonderful companions but as with all animals under our custodial care is there is this sense of responsibility that come along with it and can not be ignored.

the dreaded "C" word...

The dreaded "C" word.
I'm not talking about that "C" word.
Not the the swear word that a piggy guy would call you causing an open invitation for you to viciously kick him in the scrotum. Not the same silly word comedian Craig Ferguson gleefully skips around in a wicked childlike manner described in his book "Between the Bridge and the River".
No, this dreaded "C" word is cancer.
It seems like almost every other week I hear of somebody coming down with this scary disease. Whenever I hear bad news that somebody has cancer I shrink down as if to hide from the grim reapers pointy little finger of fate.
One of my customer's son has terminal cancer, my pal up in Maine's favorite hair stylist has cancer, a dive buddy has cancer, and a dog walker's favorite pet, a basenji dog just died of cancer.
I've been to enough funerals. I've heard numerous times said at wakes as if to comfort the aggrieved "oh they are at a better place now".
What does that mean?
Heaven?
Is there such a place?
Or it something people made up so they don't feel so bad when somebody dies.
Do you actually see a "white light" or is it a completely gray void like falling face first in a vat of cement?
I remember in second grade catechism class the teacher telling us that only good Catholics go to heaven.
I thought about this for a bit.
At the time, I didn't know anybody in my neighborhood that wasn't Catholic so that part didn't phase me. To me, everyone was a Catholic.
What DID bother me was the exclusion of any other beings that weren't human.
So I raised my hand asking if my recently deceased anole (lizard) would go to heaven.
The teacher responded, "no, only people".
"Just people?" I responded.
"Yes, you'll be with all your dead relatives"
Then panic struck me.
"Oh no..."
I pictured myself sitting on a plastic covered couch told not to touch anything and to be quiet.
No pets, just mean old cranky relatives.
It occurred to me that going to heaven would SUCK big time.
If that was the case who the hell would want to go to heaven?
So what do you?
Is there really a heaven?
Do they or don't they admit animals?
I don't know.
If there is a heaven, is it something we just imagine it to be?
I'd like to think and believe that there is a heaven.
I'd imagine it to be sort of like "Atlantis" without the annoying people but with lots of fish, birds and iguanas. And of course, a dunkin donuts at every corner without having to worry about calories.
Regardless, I try to treat each day as if you are eating that last chocolate chip cookie in the bag.
I try to savor and enjoy life to the fullest.
I try to make an effort to be nice, cheery and the hardest part, trying not be an a$$hole but not for the (selfish) reason for thinking that you're going to get a 'reward in the end" but for just for the sake of being.

It's raining dogs and...

It is absolutely pouring out today.
I really do not mind the rain especially when the temps are above 40F but it is the wind that is a killer. I worry about fallen electrical lines on the street that may be laying in a puddle so I have to be extra vigilant in being aware of my surroundings of such dangers.
I dress in full fisherman's gear with rubber wellies when I have to take my dog clients out for their daily walks.
I know that Mattie will be hiding under the couch especially when she sees me walk in the house with my yellow rain gear.
She hates the rain.
It's going to be a struggle to get her out today.
And I know she has probably left a big turd on the rug as if to say, "see? I already "went" so I don't have to go out."
Riley doesn't mind the rain. Matter of fact, she likes the rain and mud a little too much. She has this habit of rubbing her face and chest in the mud. I bring towels with me so I can wipe the dogs down after wards so that their owners don't have a heart attack when their dogs come thundering into the house soaking wet.. Riley will grab the towel out of my hand and proceed to dry herself on me instead
KD isn't too keen on the rain. She hates cold water on her little feet. As soon as she finishes "her business" she will look at me as if to tell me , "OK, let's go back. I'm done".
Ruby doesn't mind the rain too much. She actually enjoys the towel rub-down after wards.
Jackie hates it. The humidity gives him the 'frizzys".
My birds are more vocal when it rains. They seem to rejoice when they hear the puttering of rain splashing down. I guess rainy season in Australia (where their great-great grandparents are from) means mating season and an abundance of food.
OK, I have to go now...

weight watchers

I can not imagine what it must be like to be addicted to drugs, cigarette and alcohol.
I am going to embark on another weight watchers weight loss program.
Eight years ago, I was successful in losing 25pounds with weight watchers. It was a struggle but I obsessed about it and stayed on course. The problem was when I was advised to add more calories (points) to my diet. I started to descend down that slippery slope of having just one extra cookie. Those 25 pounds ended up finding me again.
I am embarrassed to say.
I don't know about you but I can't just eat just one cookie. It's all or none.
I have to focus all my energy into planning and calculating meals three times a day. This is especially true at lunch time. I have to break away from grabbing a quick chai and donut/muffin at dunkin donuts.
This may not be a big deal for some people but it is a really, really big deal for me.
The donuts have landed on my arse and thighs and are growing at a rapid rate.
It was evident last weekend when I tried pulling up my dry suit over my arse. This suit cost me close to two grand so I have to fit in it.
I don't really eat much, it is just the crap I am eating. Migraine attacks make me reach for poptarts and muffins. Anything sugary and comforting.
I decided not to take on any more new dog clients, at least for now, since they are really time consuming and exhausting. I need to focus on my health and well being.
I look at how handsome and fit my husband is and I don't want to be the middle aged woman who "let herself go".
Gross.
OK so now I need prayers , will power and focus to lose the pudge.
This is day two on my detox from dunkin donut's donuts and chai.
AND measuring my healthy choices of food at meal time.
Wish me luck...*
***********************************************************************************
*I just went on the dunkin donuts website for nutrition information and this is what I found:

vanilla chai- 330 calories 9 g of fat 0 fiber
small coffee with cream-60 calories 6g of fat 0 fiber
white hot chocolate-340 calories 13 g of fat 0 fiber

egg white turkey sausage sandwich-280 calories 6g fat 3g fiber
veggie eggwhite sandwich-290 calories 9 g fat 3g fiber

glazed donut-320 calories 18g fat 1g fiber
plain cake donut-280 calories 18g fat 1g fiber

multigrain bagel-390 calories 8g fat 9g fiber

Dive #789 May 16 2010

This was my first dive of the 2010 season in Gloucester waters. Fred & Chris were not running their charter trip today so I went out diving with Pete, Larient, Jackie K, Bill L, Andy and a new guy with with really white teeth. (I notice those things.)
The air temp started off fairly mild with a low wind.
We went to the wreck of New Hamphire so Pete and Larient could do their underwater salvage expedition. I just wanted to go in for one dive just to get back in the swing of things. It was also good to see my ol' dive pals to catch up on stories and adventures.
My dry suit, however, was really tight around the arse.
Not good.
Jackie K told me she had started weight watchers and had already lost 5Lbs. She looked great. I think I will embark on that WW journey once again with no excuses. I need to lose a few pounds so my dry suit isn't so damn tight.
I got in the water.
So far so good.
Pete told me that last week the water temp was 45F and the viz was great.
The viz today was about 15-17 feet. At about 28 feet, 15 minutes later, I checked my thermometer. It was pegged on 40F. My hands were frozen solid. I wanted to drain my tank since I made the effort of getting in the water so I stayed close to the boat looking around. I saw a few skates, a small moon snail, a few small lobsters and a huge red sea raven.
I was pretty well frozen at this point. Topside, the wind started to pick up blowing from the NW. Pete and Larient came back to the boat with a few treasures. Half the team went back in for the second dive at (stinky) egg rock island. Everyone was pretty much frozen at this point.
Still, it was a good day for a dive.
*photo of sea raven was found on an internet search

diaper patrol

I've never changed a diaper on a baby, not even for any of my nieces and nephews.
To be quite honest with you I planned to keep it that way.
Things, however, have changed in regards to the diaper situation.
One of my clients wears a diaper.
Yes, KD, my little poodle wears a diaper.
And I have to change the wee wee pad in the doggie pantie.
KD is get up there in age and is now is having a little problem with leakage so she now wears a diaper. She actually looks really cute wearing it because the color matches her little bows on her head.
It is kind of funny seeing a dog wearing a diaper but it is even funnier seeing a bird wearing a diaper.
Bird diapers are actually called "flight suits" but they are indeed tiny colorful panties with a wee wee pad insert. People mostly use then when they handle their birds a lot and don't want the bird messing on them.
I've also seen special capes made for the owners to wear when handling the birds to protect their shoulders from getting pooped on. Some of these capes have built in dowels (perches) for the birds to perch comfortably on the owners shoulder.
I actually bought one of these 'flight suits" for Button. Not so much to prevent her from pooping on me but to cover her bottom area so she would not pick (She's a feather plucker). She hated wearing it and yanked the wee wee pad out of it. I've seen other birds wearing them without a fuss but Button wouldn't have any part of it.
As you can see from the pictures above that I am not kidding about dog and bird diapers. They really do exist!

naughty dogs

I gotta tell you.
Dogs can be a "challenge".
They are worst than bratty little kids hunting down that precious cookie jar on the top shelf.
"Mattie" got into an entire bag of string cheeze. She ate the packaging plastic wrap as well. Nothing was left except bits of chewed packing wrap.
"KD" ate another whole DVD collection. The 'evidence' of her culinary delight made its way out later that afternoon in shreds of dark blue cardboard and plastic disks bits. She ate the "Godfather" collection who knows what she ate this time.
"Riley" lunged, grabbed and devoured before I had to react: a wad of gum stuck to the street, a squished pickle, a pile of rabbit turds, a used tissue, and a chunk of drywall, all in the matter of 30 minutes.
"Cuddles' shredded the Daily News, chewed up a soy milk container and swallowed a meat wrapper.
When my mother tried to give "Tony" his medicine disguised wrapped in a hotdog that little rascal managed to swallow the hotdog whole but was able to spit the pills out.
OMG....

The ultimate sin

I've been watching Fox news following the Louisiana gulf oil spill that occurred April 30th. It is quite horrific. You ask your self, "how the F#$%& could this happen"? Here we are trying to shake our dependency off of foreign oil and this unnecessary shit happens. Over 5000 barrels of oil are leaking into the gulf of Mexico. This is one of the worst oil spills in modern history. This is even worst than the Exxon Valdez disaster that happened at Prince William Sound in 1989.
Do you remember that?
Sadly, Representative Bart Stupak of Michigan said it succinctly that "we live in a culture of incompetence".
This should not have happened if safety checks were routinely checked and serviced but instead we have to listen to the' blame game" and "let's play the legal twist of words game so not to take responsibility".
This is a stunted juvenile mentality that is pervasive.
And who gets f$%&*ed?
The wildlife...
FOR GOD"S SAKE.... JUST FIX THE F*CKING PIPES!
Oops...
I just get so angry and disgusted...
I do not know if you've actually seen an oil spill.
It is just horrific
Hell must be one big nasty oil spill.
In 1973, it was a really hot day in in the summer. My pal "Gina" and I took the "T" to Revere beach. The waves were huge and coming up over the breakers. Despite the huge breaking waves I thought it was odd nobody was at the boardwalk on such a hot steamy day. We stood up on the wall and when a wave reached the breakers we jumped in letting the wave carry us back to the breaker wall. When the wave carried us up to the wall we slipped off the wall.
I thought to myself, "this is weird". After multiple tries of grabbing onto the wall we finally pulled ourselves up. When we did, we noticed we were completely covered with oil. The wall was covered with black goo and the sea was shiny with a rainbow sheen. There had been a small oil spill offshore a week before. There were dead seagulls and fish covered in black sludge amongst clumps of hay used in the clean up. We were completely black with oil tar.
I can still smell that rancid chemical stench today.
An oil spill is the ultimate sin against wildlife.

Sex and the city part 2

I found a website while searching on ebay for bird supplies. I was specifically searching for (fake) resin cockatiel eggs. Accidentally, my pet sitter threw out my eggs out when I was away on vacation thinking they were real (soon to be rotten) eggs. My usual supplier up in Nashua ran out of them so I had to do a search to find some real quick.
It is cockatiel breeding season. These fake eggs act like 'birth control". Once the female sees all these eggs her body tells her she is done laying. If you keep removing the freshly laid eggs her body tells her to keep on laying. It is very stressful to keep on laying.
These fake eggs also keep Linus busy tending to them rather than pestering Lucille to mate and to keep on laying.
I ordered seven eggs.
I made the mistake of putting all of them in the cage at the same time.
I thought Linus was going to have a heart attack when he saw all these eggs.
He got all panicky trying to stuff all these eggs under him. I think Lucille knew they were fake. She didn't sit on them but it provided her the freedom away from Linus so she could eat and have naps.
I ended up just leaving just four eggs in there because Linus was obviously stressed and over whelmed trying to care for 'his babies". At the same time he gets really aggressive towards any of the other birds who dare to come near his cage- except towards Whook.
For some reason, he will allow Whook to come in the cage and sit with him. Linus is a male cockatiel and Whook is a male budgie. Linus will attack Smitty and Carl who are also male budgies but for some reason he doesn't feel threatened by Whook.
I am guessing because Whook is gay.
Yup, Whook is a gay budgie.
*I couldn't help but make this commentary after reading "Fox's' blog...
Whook has not exhibited any interest in any of the female budgies I've had but he has shown some very forward attraction towards the males. This has caused some serious budgie wars due to his advances. Whook has also spent alot of time, well, engaged in, um, self satisfaction shall we say(!)
Whook would try to "feed" another male budgie which is a sexual act. The other male will put up with it for a bit and then try to get away. Whook doesn't like to have no for an answer and would get aggressive to further his advances. He had a close relationship with his male friend Wilson. When Wilson started to show interest in the female budgie Dixie things got ugly. Whook would kick Dixie out of the cage so he could have Wilson to himself. When Wilson decided he preferred Dixie's company Whook got jealous and attacked Wilson.
Many of the phoney baloney bible thumpers prescribe homosexuality as "purulent and does not goes along with nature". Well, all you have to do is read some of Jane Goodall books about some chimps behaviors. There are clearly some groups of chimps that prefer engaging with their own sex. The same goes for dolphins as noted in the book "Dolphins" by Jacques-Yves Cousteau. It is not common but it is not unusual
Linus lets Whook help him guard the eggs prescribing him the role as "an uncle". When I had a nest box set up with real eggs in it Whook sat on the perch and stood guard outside the box. Linus didn't mind and neither did Lucille..
I have to say, the social activities and interactions of my birds are quite interesting and rather complex.

4:30am

The one thing I really love about the summer is how light it is in early morning.
I feel like a a happy sunflower poking my head out of the soil when the sun starts to come up at about 4:45am.
Thank God my husband is an early bird like me. We will hit the beach for our morning run at the crack of dawn. The pigeons are out patiently awaiting their breakfast. The usual morning dog walkers are out. "Karen' with her frisky little papillon. One guy with his two well behaved basenjis. Another guy with his two well dressed afghan show hounds. "Sylar" (this guy looks like the bad guy "Sylar" from the show "heroes") with his big scary rottie. At the other end of the beach, a lady with her trio of spastic pugs are out running around in various directions. It is just plain wonderful to be out with the sun shining and a cool light breeze blowing.
One of my most favorite things in the world was when I would take my motorcycle out at dusk to drive up to Hampton when I lived in Maynard. Even though when the forecast for the day was predicted to reach the 80'sF I would still dress in full leathers. The wind would suck the moisture and heat right out of you while you riding especially at a long distance.
Sure, I could have made it to Hampton from Maynard in perhaps an hour and fifteen minutes if I went on the highway but I hated driving highways. So instead, I took the back roads all the way up.
If I left my apartment by 4:30am I could reach Hampton by about 8:30-9:00am if I didn't make any stop-overs (other than the needed "pee stop" and "I gotta get the circulation back in my numb fingers" break at Burger King in Danvers). Occasionally on my journey I would stop at "my friend Johns" house and or my Aunt's condo since they lived off of route 1 and route 1A.

By the time I reached Hampton beach I was frozen, exhausted, my arse was completely numb and I would have a two inch snot dripping from my nose. My lipstick acted like flypaper.
Who said bikers were sexy?
My lips were an entomologists dream. I must of had a hundred bugs stuck to my mouth by the end of the trip. Yes, I can tell you what a lady bug taste like. They kind of taste like nail polish remover (They are really bitter).
At the Hampton beach boardwalk, there was a little coffee shop that sold green Mountain coffee in about a million different flavors. I would park my bike at the breakers, grab a delicious hot cup of Irish cream flavored coffee and quietly defrost in my leathers sitting on the beach while watching early morning beach goers frolic in the waves. Yes, people would be in bathing suits running around while I would be fully dressed head to toe in a leather jacket, pants, tall boots and gloves, shivering. That cup of coffee tasted like liquid heaven.
When I think of times like this I really miss my bike. I loved the feeling of the wind hitting my face, the heated smell of the engine oil, the sensory over load of the air around you, that feeling of independence and that zen like feeling of solitude. You know the old expression, "if I have to explain you would never understand".
Ahhhhh, I miss my bike...

*photo credit: "Mrs. Ballard's Parrots' by Arne Svenson

tick tock

With spring comes the ticks.
Deer ticks that is.
As a kid, I do not remember ever having a problem with ticks. I spent my childhood mucking around in the woods too.. Sure, dogs got dog ticks here and there but there wasn't this problem with deer ticks and all the nasty diseases they carry.
The only bugs we had to worry about other than yellow jackets were earwigs. Earwigs really didn't do anything but the rumor was that they climbed into your ears and burrowed into your brain laying eggs. You would find them hiding in the lining of your damp bathing suits (usually the crotch area) if you hung them outside under a pine tree. I remember shaking out my suit vigorously not wanting any 'surprises".
I don't remember knowing so many people who have spring allergies either. Maybe I am immune to outside allergens due to making club-houses out of poison sumac branches when I was a kid.
Who knows.
Most of the dogs I take care of have been diagnosed with lyme disease. Most of these same dogs wear frontline flea & tick collars too. The ticks are sneaky little things because they are out ALL year long just waiting on a blade of grass to jump up and bite you on the arse. Most owners put their collars on their animals seasonally. Some owners don't bother because they are afraid of exposing their pets to possible neurological problems that some pets have reacted to due to the chemicals in these collars and applications. The collars do not prevent the ticks from going on the animals but when the ticks bites the animals the chemicals in the animals blood stream kill the tick so that it is how it works.
Dog ticks aren't as bad as deer ticks. They are bigger and easier to find and remove. They are about the size of a lady bug and are brownish red in color. They may give you a bacterial infection but not lyme disease or any other tick "nasty" (i.e. rocky mountain spotted fever).
My brother was telling me he found a tick crawling in his arse crack. Now, I do not know if he was just pulling his usual sophomoric Adam Sandler gross out humor on me just to gross me out or if indeed it was true. I know that ticks do have a nasty habit of migrating to the groin area. Even Former President George W Bush got lyme disease from a tick bite. I do find deer ticks on my legs periodically. They are really really tiny. I do find ticks on the dogs periodically as well. At first I got really grossed out when I saw them and now I just methodically pick them off and chuck them.
I guess it is just one of those things you have to be vigilant about when you are walking through grassy areas.

Russian Icons

One of the things I wanted to complete on my "bucket list", other than places to see, was to paint a perfected piece of religious art.
I have been fascinated by religious art work from rennaissance Italian and Dutch painters as well as early Russian iconic painters.
How did they get the right color tones to create this mood? What was going on in their minds? How did they envision these portraits? What inspired them? What did they use for paints? Did they actually get a message from God?
I would just stand there and just stare at these painting trying to get in the minds of these artists.
I've made attempts to try to copy Dutch painters but I was not successful in getting the right color, feel and mood. I was missing something.
A year ago, the Newburyport art association was sponsoring a class on Russian Icon painting. I signed up for it ASAP. The teacher was a official Russian Icon painter. She was cannonized by the Russian Orthodox church to paint holy portraits. She had gone to school to study painting perfection for as many years as a surgeon. She brought in some of her paintings to class to view and I was mesmerized.
They were just beautiful.
I probably learned more about painting and technique within one hour of her class than I have in 40 years worth of other art classes I've taken. I asked alot of questions of why certain colors were used, the different use of brush strokes and to why some of the images seemed out of perspective. She simply said this is the way it is suppose to be. Icons originated from art work done by St Luke the apostle of the way icons are done.
To be honest, I had no idea how difficult and involved it was to paint an icon. Everything is done by painstaking perfected stroke layers. Each color and stroke means something. It is a process. In the instructors painting she used tempera paints (from ground powder), used rabbit skin glue, garlic juice, age wood as done similar to early century painters. Modern icon painting still using old techniques are just as stunning and inspiring as age old painters.
The teacher brought in samples and large colorful books of icon paintings. I was riveted by one modern icon artist who painted a russian soldier as a saint. This young solder had died fighting in Afghanistan in the 1980s'. I wanted to know what the artist was thinking. I couldn't stop staring at it.
In the town of Clinton Massachusetts there is a museum of Russian icons. I took a ride out to check it out. I amazed at the varied collection of artwork ranging from the 8th century to mid 1400's to modern times. Some of the icons were worn and scratched due to patrons touching and scratching them in prayer to recieve some kind of holy blessing from them.
The power of the icons.
I had completed a couple of of my own icon paintings. I have to admit I am pleased with the results however, painting an icon is not like just a landscape or a portraits. I found myself completely exhausted upon completing an icon. It took months of driving devotion to perfect the works.
Many of the Greek churches have Russian icon paintings. I would love to check them out. I never knew the Russian people were so religious. I would just love to study in depth more about these paintings. I took two courses from this teacher. I had hoped she would continue to teach these classes in Newburyport. I was surprised at how lame and inattentive 90% of the students were in the class. Most failed to show up for class or do their homework and research. Maybe they just weren't as inspired as I was.

* portraits shown above is of : Yes, Saint Atlantis!, Saint Lucy, Mother of God, and archangel Gabriel

sex and the city

This is a tough time of the year for the birds.
They are extremely hormonal at this time of the year. They are fighting, bonking, doing "teenage boy" things to their perches and laying eggs. They are grouchy and territorial.
I have to line the bottom of their cages with old pillow cases rather than newspaper. Newspaper acts like nesting materials which makes them even more territorial. However, the hormones have taken over due to the brighter daylight and warmer sunnier weather so I cant seem to stop their insane behavior.
I've noticed the goldfinches outside have changed into their bright yellow summer plumage. Even though they nest later than other native birds they have been at the feeders eating like mad. I clean the feeders periodically as well so they don't get sick from mold (when the feeders get wet). I notice the males have gotten more aggressive with each other lately.
When I came home from my vacation I noticed that the cages (and perches) had an distinct stinky odor. I won't go into to what I think it was but I decided to give all the cages and perches the big clean. I took each cage out one by one, removed toys, perches, swings , food cups etc..I scrubbed everything down including perches with a nontoxic cleaning product called "poop off". This process took me two days to complete. I replaced and repaired their toys and replaced their perches with new ones so the other ones I could disinfect thoroughly. I was hoping by jumbling everyone up and switching things around in cages that it would distract the birds from their driving mating obsession. It did but for one day only and then it was back to trouble once again.
You may be saying to yourself, "so what? let them mate and have fun". That may be OK for a little while but then they become obsessed with it.
I do worry about Lucille. Linus pesters her constantly for sex and she has been laying eggs which is not good for her tired older body.
I found a place online that sells fake cockatiel eggs made of resin. This makes Linus think that Lucille has laid eggs. These particular brand of fake eggs keep warm like a real egg when he sits on them so it keeps him occupied.
Another problem is that Whook will do "teenage boy" things to his perch all day long.
And I do mean, all day long.
At first it was kind of funny watching him but he gets himself in such a gyrating frenzy that he will fall off the perch. Not only that, health wise, he could develop a prolapsed cloaca. I really do not know how to stop him from this. At first, I thought it was because of his mirror but Smitty will" join in" (without a mirror) on top of his cloth swing.
This have a been a major topic on pet parrot chat groups on what to do to stop it.
Most suggest is to find 'triggers' and remove it. This is somethings I've attempted but still it goes on. I've also been putting them to bed at an earlier time so they get a good rest rather than than occupying their time with pursuing their urges. Beleive it or not they are better 'behaved" when they have had extra sleep.
Eddie thinks I am her mate. She will hiss and bite any other bird that come over to me. She will nuzzle her head under my chin, making "happy"little peeping noses and then try to burrow under the blankets on the couch. "Fresh Baby" will do the same to my husband. She has claimed him as hers. When Eddie starts this behavior I put her on my foot away from my neck. I do not want to encourage this behavior. I will also place the birds on the table top playgym and face them to look outside hopefully to keep them busy and distracted.
I have to be careful with Whook and Smitty. Even though Whook isn't interested in Smitty's porcine love interest, Twillinger. Whook likes to flex his macho muscles by challenging Smitty in pretty violent duels. Whook had killed his pal Wilson in one of these duels.
Is this what parents have to deal with having teenagers? Yikes!

falling asleep behind the wheel

I really hate when I do stupid things.
Yeah, I can blame it on being in a 'zomig haze" (which I am in 95% of the time ) but it is "me" that makes the mistakes.
I was making fun a of a sign I saw advertising hancook tires.
"Who would buy crappy Korean tires with a knock-off name like hancook (Hancock)?" My husband reminded me that I did. I looked at him in utter disbelief, checked my tires and saw the name "hancook" branded on the tires.
WTF
Never in my right mind would I have purchased shit foreign tires. I seriously must have been in a zomig haze, needed tires at the time and said to NBT tire guys, "whatever... just put new tires on my car". ( I have since replaced these tires with American made quality tires)
Before I go on a trip I have a check point list to make sure I don't mess up. I know how I can be "zomig dopey" I can be so I try to be proactive when making plans and decisions with my many lists and calendars. This really helps. I am a very organized person with my lists.
When I lived in Burlington, I built a goldfish pond. It was 5 X 5 feet and 3.5 feet deep. I had about 4 goldfish in there and they even had babies. In the winter, I would take them in the garage so they wouldn't freeze outside. When I moved to Salisbury, I gave one of the fish away to a customer the rest made the trip up north. Sadly, one of the fish jumped out of the acclimation tank across the basement floor and died. Two remained. They were both quite large at the time.
I built a much smaller pond for the remaining fish. They did well for the next 5 years. However, last summer there was an infestation of tape worms. I was horrified to think that I clean the pond out with my bare hands and sometimes water gets on my face and mouth. I was worried that I might contract the worms but I didn't.
I started using gloves at this point and treated the fish with praziquantel to rid them of worms. One fish didn't look that good but managed to survive the winter. I was anxious to get the fish back in their pond in the spring.
I do not know what I was thinking but I failed to age their water and treat the water with a dechlorinator. I know I've been taking more zomig more than usual which may have caused this lapse in judgment.
A week later my ten year old goldfish were dead. I checked the fish and they had hemorrhage spots due to some kind of chemical toxicity in the water.
Shit.....
I F&*%ed up big time.
It's like falling asleep behind the wheel.

doggie dentist

Yesterday the weather spiked and I was actually feeling sick walking dogs mid-day with the high noon sun beating down. I decided to drive my afternoon dogs to the park in my car since I knew it would be shady there. I piled the dogs in the boot of my car with the windows slightly cracked. One of the dogs was breathing heavily and I almost puked from her stinky breath. It smelled like a mix of tuna, rotten leaves and sewer. She either needed to see a "doggie dentist" for a cleaning or she just finished licking her anal glands.
Gross.
Yup, dogs do go to the "doggie dentist" for cleanings which are generally their veterinarians.
Who ever spread the old wive's tale that dogs mouths are sterile must have been retarded.
One of the number one complaints people express to their vet is that their dogs have bad breath. Bad odors comes from an overgrowth of bacteria.
In fact, one of the most commonly diagnosed disease in dogs and cats is periodontis. Beagle dogs in particular, have similar oral flora as humans and have been used in various tests at Tufts University school of dentistry regarding periododontal disease.The bacterial species found in dogs mouths causing gum disease is: Porphyromonas denticanis, Porphyromnas salivosa and Porphyromonas gulae plus 26 different species of black pigmented anaerobic bacteria. In humans the main bacteria causing gum disease is: Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans and Porphyromonas gingivalis. Dogs, like humans can suffer from a bacteremia (bacterial infection in blood stream) due to poor oral health.
My Mother took her geriatric cocker spaniel to the "doggie dentist" on a routine basis especially as he aged. Smaller breeds of dogs tend to develop gum disease more easily than larger breeds so she was pretty vigilant in his oral care. What is interesting that dogs and cats do not generally get cavities. My Mother would also brush "Tony's" teeth with a special doggie toothpaste. Flouride can be poisonous to dogs so you need to use "dog toothpaste' made for dogs. Oversized rough kibbles treats also act as a tartar debrider similar to the effect of eating apples. Tony was pretty good about sitting there having my mother brush his teeth. My mother could not tolerate anyone having stinky breath- even the dog.
I have even heard of show dogs having orthodontics in order to make sure their teeth are aligned right and to look perfect.
Even though my birds (obviously) don't have teeth I check them regularly for any odors out of their mouths. Odd odors could indicate problems such as bacterial infections in the crop or yeast infections.
I think I needed to give that dog a breath mint.

The Wild Pigeons of Salisbury beach part 8

I look forward to some of my daily"routines".
One of those routines is going for my morning run and feeding the pigeons at the beach. My first day back only a few of the "regulars" gathered in their "spot". I got nervous that I didn't see Craow Dum. He is usually the first one present. I didn't see Brownie either but that isn't unusual for Brownie. Word must have gotten out because the next day I was mobbed by pigeons.
Craow Dum was there but he was more preoccupied with the current activity at his roost.
I spotted a black headed pigeon poking her head up. It appears Craow Dum may be a father. This black headed pigeon appeared to be sitting on eggs. I found an egg shell on the sidewalk blowing around in a tumble.
last year, Craow Dum had a clutch of eggs (3). I do not think any of those babies made it to maturity. Maybe he will have better luck this year.
As I just finished feeding them I noticed that guy who doesn't pick up after his dog make a bee-line straight for where the pigeons were feeding. Some people are just sour pusses. I'm sure his dog left a big steaming package in the sand where some unfortunate little kid will step on with bare feet.
Brownie was there which I was surprised. I usually do not see him on Monday since he is usually full of pizza and french fries from a busy weekend. Galok, Patches and Busta Move were there too plus a couple of additional friends.
The beach is starting to get that familiar "summer smell" now that the weather is getting hot. The smell of coconut sunscreen, the sweet waft of pizza, fried dough and a tinge of salty breeze. Maybe this week I will drive my bike down to the beach in the afternoon.
Who doesn't love the summer?

chicken lesson 101

I had a client who had chickens and ducks. She was located a bit out of my driving range and had a menagerie of animals but I decided to take the job because she had chickens. I figured I was up for challenge.
Chickens are cute little creatures with funny distinct personalities. Regretfully, this woman decided after I finished a weeks worth of cleaning all of her many bird cages, shoveling hay in the rain and picking up after an incontinent cat that she wasn't going to pay me for my services so I had to take her small claims court.
What a pain.
It was too bad, really, because I liked the chickens.
I buy my eggs from a small local chicken farmer in Newbury for about $3.00 for a dozen eggs. When you pull up to this residence you can see the chickens walking around in the back yard happily pecking at the ground for bugs. You bring your own egg cartons to get filled with eggs. Sometimes you get colored eggs depending on what kind of chicken is laying. Rhode Island red hens lay brown eggs. White longhorn hens lay white eggs. Usually I get eggs that have poop or feathers stuck on the shell. At least you know where the eggs are coming from.
I started buying my eggs from local farmers after reading an article about how horrible chickens are treated in factory farming. They do not get level of 'humane" (I use this term loosely) treatment as cows. I will not go into how horrible they are cruelly treated because it makes me sick to even think about it. All I can say is I can not with a clear conscience buy 'cheap' eggs in a grocery store.
I've even thought about raising my own chickens as pets and for fresh eggs. Maybe some day I will.
The town of Newburyport and Newbury have been urging folks to join in a vegetable garden coop. The New Eden Collaborative co-op has been sponsoring various courses on gardening and organic farming. This group has recently started a co-op for raising chickens. I decided to sign up for one of their class on raising chickens for my own interest.
The course instructor "Mary" started off with the basics describing various chicken breeds and their personalities. She said the "gold comets" were the friendliest. (I thought so too after picking this cute little chicken up, holding her and scratching her little head)
"Mary"then started the talk with how to care for a new born chick up to adulthood describing what types of food and heating requirements they need at each stage of their life. Newborn chicks need an ambient air temperature to grow at 90F by using a a red infrared heat lamp. They are given "chick crumble" until they are 6 weeks old then "grower feed" until they are 8-10 weeks old then they get "layer feed" and grit (for digestion). Chickens don't just eat grain but they also like greens, grubs, slugs and even spaghetti!
She advised to buy chicks from a reputable dealer such as Agway since they inoculate the chicks from diseases. She added little tips about caring for little chicks such as adding pebbles in their water dish to help prevent these little ones from drowning. She advised to keep chicken species the same size to avoid bullying on the smaller ones. She emphasized checking the birds routinely for cleanliness making sure their bums were clean to avoid impaction.
The co-op was in the process of building a chicken coop and and constructing a fenced off area for the chickens to walk around. She mentioned the importance of burying the fence at least 8 inches in the ground so to deter burrowing predators.
I found the lecture quite interesting, and who knows? Maybe some day you'll see me wearing overalls chasing chickens around in my yard

dunkin donuts vs. starbucks in Nassau

I spotted three dunkin donuts in Nassau, Bahamas.
I couldn't believe it.
I also spotted two starbucks coffee shops as well. You can tell that the reason there are three DD on this small island is to cater to the snowbird Bostonians. When I walked into DD to get to some food and drinks there was a sea of Red Sox baseball caps waiting in line for their fix.
The Bahamians are shrewd businessmen. They know they have you by the scroggies once you walked in there.
I was shocked at how expensive it was. I bought two egg-white flat bread sandwhichs, a vanilla chai and a bottle of water. In Salisbury, it would cost me under $9.00. In Nassau, it cost over $22.00 for the same thing.
I needed my fix and they knew it.
I'm sure it was even worse in starbucks. (I still can't for the life of me see how anyone can drink that cigarette butt flavored sewer water). Same thing, you can see all the yuppies in there wearing bad shoes yapping on their cell phones with a screaming brat in tow. They too, needed their fix. And I am sure they paid for it too.
I got a decent package deal to Atlantis. I really did. It was a super fabulous trip. I HIGHLY recommend going at least there at once to vacation.
You did, however, have to pay attention to what things cost there. Dinner in the restaurants in Atlantis started at $40.00pp. "My friend John' advised me to go to a little Italian restaurant across the street from the Comfort Suites called "Anthonys". It was not cheap but reasonable, and the food was delicious with a good selection for vegetarians and carnivores alike.
There was some serious "sticker shock" on some items in Nassau and Paradise Island, just to warn you if you go.
For example: Pepperidge farms cookies priced for $2.50 in the US cost $8.00 in the Bahamas.
Banana boat SPF 30 sunscreen was $2.99 a bottle in the US. That same bottle was like liquid gold in the Bahamas selling for $22.00 a bottle. An "Atlantis" logo sweatshirt went for $70.00-$94.00 depending on the style. A 1 liter bottle of spring water was $9.75.
Regardless, it was one of the best vacations I've been on but I am now glad to be home with all my birds!

Scuba diving in Nassau

When I was booking my trip to Atlantis I originally planned to do 3 days of scuba diving with the Stuart Cove's dive operation. Diving is pretty expensive in Nassau at $105.00 pp for a two tank dive. I thought I could put together a dive package at a reduced rate but none were available. My husband suggested that we wait til we got to our destination and to 'see how I felt" before we booked any diving. Predictably, I get sick on every vacation so I agreed with his reasoning.
I was pretty lucky on this vacation. Although I had to take zomig 5 of 7 days I was there my headaches were relatively manageable. At least I did not vomit or have my head packed in ice on any of the days spent here.
Thank God.
The wind was starting to really pick up blowing from the SW. The flags posted on the beach were red flags which was not a good sign. I called the dive shop and said they were still going out but heading north to a safe area.
We booked the trip.
A van picked up us divers. It was a good hour and 10 minutes to the shop. The dive trip was going to be an all day affair.
Dive #91-October 28th, 1994. I went diving with Stuart Cove's dive operation.In my log book I described how "beautiful the reefs were and how many colorful fish there were".
I was pretty chuffed to get in the water.
Dive # 787-April 25, 2010. What a difference 16 years makes.
The reefs were barren and covered with sand and green algae. What was most remarkable is that there were no fish. No little dither fish such as blue chromis or damsel fish that are always present nor where there any nosey little grunts or parrot fish.
The only fish I saw on this two tank dive were two (non-native) lion fish.
WTF
Apparently there has been this problem of this non-native invasive species breeding rapidly without any predators eating up all the native species fry (in addition to humans over fishing, coral bleaching and pollution).
The reefs were completely strip mined.
It was really sad.
The lionfish, Pterois volitans, are a native species of fish located in the ocean waters off of Indonesia. Apparently they had been introduced to waters off of Florida due to careless marine aquarists who no longer wanted them.(although this is just a theory)They are beautiful but poisonous. Supposedly they have caused the decline of 70% of the fish population.
So far the only predator these lionfish have are the Goliath groupers. Sadly, these beautiful large friendly fish have been slaughtered for fish & chips. Back in 1990 I saw at least 5 of these giant groupers the size of volkwagen bugs off of Freeport Bahamas when I went on shark dive.
I wonder if there are any left.
Needless to say, diving was the only disappointment on this trip.