greenheads

The nasty greenhead.

Tabanus nigrovittatus.

Those Essex county nasties are out a week early feasting on the next red blooded sucker that walks by.

In the Salisbury area, they come out from July 13-Aug 2. I've made a note of it for the last five years. Some years, they are worst than other years. I think it depends on the weather patterns.

I could "smell "them by the marshy areas in Salisbury.

That distinct greenhead smell.

When I took my motorcycle from Maynard up to Hampton beach there was this stretch on route 1 in Rowley that greenheads were bad. You could smell them first and then, "PING PING PING PING!" They would be bouncing off my helmet and sunglasses like little bullets. I must have eaten a hundred of them in that area.

I walked Mattie in the woods to avoid the blasting sun over by the Seabrook power plant. In some spots where I walked, my arms were covered by greenheads.It looked like a had green and white gauzy long sleeve shirt on. It was weird though because it was just in certain spots on the walk that the greenies invaded.

I just couldn't deal with the blasting peircing sun so I dealt with the greenheads and ticks instead.

Their mouths up close are little serrated bottle caps that slice you to get at your blood. They are tenacious little bastards too. If you think you can drown them by dunking in the water you might as well forget it. They cling to you.

Their body is pretty strong too. You have to really hit them hard to squish them.

However, thankfully Purple martins eat them. You will see purple martin nestboxes in Plum Island. The only other way of controlling the greenheads is these environmental friendly black boxes set up in the marshes. The greenheads go in and can't get out.

Ah the greenhead...

If you are going to do the talk you gotta do the walk

I feel really grouchy this morning.

Everything hurts.

My head is pounding.

It's hot, hazy and humid AND I have a full schedule.

Fresh Baby immediately pooped on my head when I let her out of the cage.

Eddie bit me on the neck desperately trying to bite off a welt a green-head left from yesterday's chomp fest.

ARGH! They can be naughty little brats sometimes!

I think they are hot too so they get into mischief. I'm walking in slow motion so they think I'm playing a game.

So instead of spending this blog whining like a big baby about how crappy I feel today I will tell you about something really cool that I found on the internet.

As you recall, I did a "search" on ebay in pursuit of a St Teresa of Avila holy medal. I wanted to find a "special saint' for my mother-in-law. In my search, I found a link to a custom charm (medal) site. Here you can design or have them design a medal of a saint that is not listed in the conventional list of saints.

So I bought myself a present.

I had these jewelers make me a "saint Atlantis" medal.

Yup, I did. And it came out really nice.

I just have to get it blessed now to make it "official".

I feel pretty good about this. This gives me my goal to aspire to and live up to the name.

If you going to do the talk you gotta do the walk.

Right?

week 6 on WW

I like to think of myself as a vintage 1959 corvette.

Yeah, a few rust spots on the under carriage, broken tail pipe, leaking head gaskets but still running. As I say to my husband, nobody looks at a 1995 toyota Corolla but no matter how old a corvette is, a corvette still turn heads. HA!

Ok I did my weigh in today.

I really didn't want to do this post today but weight loss is all about honesty and reality. It was a bit disappointing because I gained two pounds.

I felt bloated and shitty this morning. I've eaten 4 zomigs and 2 naproxens in the past 2 days. Yeah, I could be a big baby and blame the zomgs or something. You know, most likely hormones.

But the reality is even though I've not had donuts, cakes or chai I need to monitor my intake a little more carefully.

Yes, this corvette runs on "high test" but it probably could run more efficiently on a "little less of it".

dive #793 & #794 June 26 2010

Dive #793

A decent day today. Jackie K was the only customer aboard Easy Diver today. She had been on the WW program and she looked great!

Chris wanted to do some UW filming so it was off to Cathedral rocks. As like last time we were there it was cold and murky. I'm not real fond of this sight because of fuzzy viz. It's a bit unnerving not seeing anything until you hit the bottom at 45 feet where it is pretty damn cold. I hit 50 feet and I got a temp reading of 41F. I was getting that 'feeling" in the back of my neck (that a migraine was creeping up on me) so no matter what, I wanted to get my head submerged in the icy brine.

I was wearing my dry suit so my body was fairly warm. I kept yanking on my hood so the cold water washed my head. Schools of pollack were all over the place.

I figured one dive was good enough for the day.

The boat anchored for the second dive at "naked man beach" (or you could call it "balliky beach") There is usually a naked man sun bathing on the rocks at this secuded sight. Pat pulled out the binoculars to "make sure we were at the right spot". Yup, there was a naked guy holding his swim trunks climbing up the rocks.

I got out of my dry suit and went for a quick "Hampton beach" dip off the back of the boat. Just as I was climbing back onto the boat. Pete poked his head out of the water and exclaimed, "dogfish! They are everywhere!"

I read in the daily news "fish report" that dogfish were out in full force. This is extremely early for them. You usually see them in August. Dogfish are small sharks that usually travel in packs.

I knew since I was wet I could not get back into my dry suit so either I swim out to the sharks carrying a tank with just my bathing suit on (because I HAD to see them) or....

Pat grabbed her Mares suit for me to wear and helped me into it. It was a mad rush. I threw on Fred's booties which were probably a size 13. I looked like a circus clown but I didn't care. I HAD to see those sharks.

Dive# 794

I spotted Chris with her UW camera at about 25 feet deep and then soon the sharks appeared.

It was GREAT!

I'm not sure how many there were but there was a lot of them. Some of them were pretty big. I'd say, 4 feet or so. One came right up to my mask to get a good look. Chris's eyes were the size of grapefruits. Hopefully, she got a good shot of them for her film footage.

Yup, it WAS a great day of diving!

Thanks again to Pat for letting me borrow her wetsuit!

*photo of dogfish was found on an internet search

hazy, hot and horrendous

I gotta say, I just love living by the ocean.

The weather was hazy, hot and horrendous. Oh my God, it was digusting out.

The birds were in their cages with their wings spread out airing out their armpits.

The dogs gave me the look letting me know , "you've got to be kidding me!?! Walk in this weather!?!?! " I took them to the park where it is shady so they got a little bit of exercise and could relieve themselves.

I had a break at the end of the day so I decided to go the beach.

Should I take my car down to the state beach so that car bakes in the sun?

Or should I take my bike down to the public beach so I can get a slushie if I feel like having one at one of the stands?

It takes about the same amount of time getting there either way.

I opted for taking my bike down to the beach.

I drove past the marsh where I could smell the green-heads incubating. They are already out in the Seabrook marshes. In Salisbury, they emerge on July 13th but I think this year they will make their debut on July 4th this year. They are nasty critters.

I love the beach smells. The wafting aromas of pizzas, fried doughs and french fries. I didn't get anything but it was tempting.

The sandcastle displays lining the boulevard were fun to look at.

I was a sweaty mess by the time I arrived at the beach.

I could see many people standing in the water only up to their ankles. This was not a good sign. This meant the water was really cold. I walked up to the edge and yes, it was cold.

I was so F*&^ing hot I couldn't stand it.

I made a running start and jumped in the water. Oh my God, the water was freezing but it felt so good on my steaming head.

You gotta love the beach.

More BP BS

OK, let me get this straight. The BP oil rig exploded on April 20th and oil is STILL pouring into the ocean by the millions of gallons per day. Our current president came down to assess the damage in the gulf a month later after it occurred.
Countries have offered to help with skimmers but have been turned away. I can not for the life of me why every engineer and scientist isn't assigned to go out there to fix this mess. For God's sake, there is an MIT graduate who has invented a process of taking biodegradable dog poop bags filled with waste and converting it into energy.
I bet former President George W Bush is on his hands and knees thanking God this did not happen under his presidency.
Did I read the paper correctly that lame cap was knocked off the pipe and now the oil is flowing just as it was on day one?
What the F*&^%!!!
Tony Hayward was pictured enjoying a day out on his yacht. The whole world was pissed off at him for going out and enjoying himself while the disaster continues. That guy can't sit on the toilet now without any criticism until that oil pipe is capped and the mess cleaned up.
I not happy with Obama either. Talking tough and throwing a bone to the people in the gulf in regards to monetary compensation for damages is a joke.
Give me a break.
To me, that's an insult.
This whole thing is making me insane.

the wild pigeons of Salisbury beach part 12

Something odd is going on.

Four days ago, I brought the pigeons their usual food at their usual spot. They flew over near the spot but refused to eat the food.

I thought that was odd maybe a hawk is flying around.

The following day, the pigeons flew over to the telephone wire and just looked at me as I chucked the seed around. The seed from the previous day was still there.

The next day, I arrived at the same time as I always do and not a single pigeon was to be seen.

This was strange.

I was trying to figure out what was 'off".

I noticed some ignorant pig let their dog shit in the sand next to where I feed the pigeons. "Porky"did not have the manners to pick it up and throw it in the many trash buckets lining the boulevard.

Maybe the pile of poop grossed the pigeons out. It grossed me out.

I also thought that maybe I was placing the seeds too close to the beach plum bushes which could easily hide an awaiting predator. Maybe a cat was hiding in the bushes the other day and grabbed one of feeding birds.

The day following that, I didn't bring any bird food to the beach just to see if anything was different.

Strangely, as I started my run, the pigeons appeared and started to follow me- especially Craow Dum and Brownie. It was if they were trying to tell me something.

Today, I placed the food away from the bushes and the simmering turd.

The pigeons seemed happy with this relocation.

Everything was back to normal.

Estate sale

I always thought an "estate sale' was just another word for a yard sale with more "high end stuff" for sale.

I saw a post in the newspaper for an 'estate sale' in the town of Exeter. Exeter is a pretty la de da town so I thought it would be fun to check it out. I love to treasure hunt.

A policeman was directing traffic for cars to park at this "estate" with a lady sitting outside with a cash register. The house was this run down dilapidated building with yellow "condemned" tape all around the porch. It looked like this place was slated for demolition.

The place was packed with antique dealers taking everything worth salvaging including the door hinges. I am guessing this place from the looks of it had not been maintained or perhaps not lived in since the mid1800's due to the style of wallpaper and woodwork. The stove was one of those cast irons stoves that somebody dissembled ready for taking. The "washing machine' was one of those clothes wringers. There was no bathroom nor any electrical switches or outlets. The holes in the wall revealed horse hair plaster work.

Throughout the dust and decay I envisioned what this place must have looked like in it's hey day. Similar to that scene in the movie "the Titanic" where you see the bow of the ship underwater encrusted with decades worth of algae and coral hanging off it like stalagmites then the scene morphs into the bow having a shiny brass railing with polished mahogany floors with couples dancing in beautiful velvet gowns.

I walked into one room and there lay an overturned horsehair mattress stained and mouse eaten.

On the floor in a corner was an over turned ancient bedpan .

I got a cold chill down my spine as if an icy hand grabbed me on the back of my neck.
I had to get out of there.

Fast.

This wasn't a fancy "yard sale".

This was grave robbing.

I felt like I was trespassing on some poor unfortunate souls misfortune.

I thought I was going to see a Miss Havisham like apparition.

I peeled out of the driveway like my arse was on fire.

No more estate sales.

I'll stick to consignment stores and thrift shops.

week 5 on WW

I was deciding on what to wear for my cousin's wedding.

I had first picked out my lime green halter dress but I thought I might look odd since my tan is uneven plus being a halter dress I figured there might be the potential of a "wardrobe malfunction" (thank you Justin Timberlake) especially since dancing was involved.

I settled on my vintage leopard print suit.

The funny part is last December I had a wardrobe malfunction involving this dress. I squished myself into this dress. However, when I sat down I split the dress all the way up the seam exposing my (then) ample bum.

I still really like this suit. It's fully lined and "made in Canada". It's not like the cookie cutter limp suits you see in Marshalls that are all made in China. I had it repaired, double stitched and dry cleaned.

I tried the suit on prior to wearing it for the event since now the rear seam had to be brought in an addition 1/4th of an inch due to the repair.

The dress had room in the bum area.

I had lost an inch of pudge off of my hips.

I got on the scale this morning and to my surprise I had lost 2 more pounds. (A total of 10 pounds)

I ate normally at the wedding. A vegan rice ball with veggies, a olive bun and two small portobello appetitizers. Of course, no alcohol was consumed on my part nor did I have any cake.

I am actually afraid to eat cake because of my addiction to donuts. I'm afraid if I taste a sweet pastry I will fall off the wagon so I am glad I passed on that delicious looking cake.

And yes, it's been week 5 without a donut.

I have just 3 more pounds to go to reach my goal.

nice day for a white wedding

Yesterday, on June 19th, my cousin "Donny" got married.

I was really happy that he invited me.

I was a little nervous for "Don" especially knowing how methodically he and "Kim" carefully planned his wedding. Since it was an outdoor wedding at the Newburyport waterfront you get nervous about our unpredictable New England weather patterns. "Little ones" were a part of the ceremony and you hope and pray they don't have a melt down or fall in a puddle. You also worry about possible obnoxious guests especially if alcoholic beverages are consumed in abundance.

My first marriage, gag, happened almost 30 years ago on that day.

Thank God, nothing bad happened yesterday.

I guess I was just being silly and paranoid thinking that June 19th was a "bad luck day".

I have nothing against my "ex", as of now.

I am just glad I am not married to him anymore.

Matter of fact, Don's wedding celebration was just perfect.

Everything was perfect.

I have to say I had the most fun I've had at a party in a long time.

The food, the music and the company was fantastic.

I had a blast dancing and goofing around with my cousins.

I was seated with my (departed) Aunt's long time friends. I was really glad I was seated with these lovely ladies. I have known "Shirley" and "Kay" since I was a little kid and hung out with their daughters. I am glad my cousins have remained in contact with them. I call them the "golden girls".

I pulled Shirley up on the dance floor and she boogied like a teenager. I had visions of my Aunt in her day having a total blast dancing and laughing with Shirley. I just know my Aunt was looking down from heaven cracking up at us at our crazy antics. I felt like she was dancing right along with us. It was like I had one more moment with her.

Thank you Don and Kim for inviting me and allowing me to share that moment.

I wish you a long happy life full of adventure together.

don't try this at home

I am like the mailman.

I am out doing my job regardless of the weather conditions taking dogs out to relieve themselves and out for a little bit of exercise.

Rain, sleet, hail, freezing rain, ice, sub below temps, hurricanes, floods, blizzard, heat waves -you name it.

I am out there.

Yesterday it was raining. I didn't mind since it was warm out. And the dogs didn't mind either.

After taking them out I wipe them down with a towel I keep handy in my car so that they don't get mud all over the owners furniture.

When I got home, I decided to wipe my car down as well since I don't like rain splotches all over my car.

Big mistake.

I used the same towel I used on the dogs.

See the above photo I found on an internet search?

My car looked like that except the fur was brown not pink.....

I can barely see out of the windshield.....

Don't try this at home.

patron saints redux

I get a little ribbing about this blog as "saint Atlantis."
If you study and read about the not-so-famous saints you find that they are regular folks with a particular focused dedication and or talent.
Sure, the readily famous ones like saint Sebastian depicting him tied to a pillar with a million arrows stuck in him grabs your attention or saint Lucy with her eyes sitting on a plate make you stand up.
( I hate to say this but I can't help but wonder if Saint Sebastian is also the patron saint of homo-erotica because he is always depicted half naked twisted and tied to a pillar. Yikes...)
Not all saints are impoverished or have been piously praying every five seconds their entire lives. Many of the minor saints actually do something that they are dedicated to as a gift from God. This is why there are certain saints that are patrons saints of: fishermen, firemen, selling your house, childbirth, artists etc... you get the picture.
Saint Francis of Assisi, in his youth, was a privileged merchant's son and a soldier who was as we say today a 'playa". I think, in my opinion, he was a little crazy because he followed diseased lepers and kissed them on their rotted lips as a curiosity or as dare to himself testing his "faith". He later felt sorry for the poor and dedicated his life to becoming like them in order to empathize with them.
My husband who is neither a Catholic nor a Christian finds the whole patron saint thing fascinating.
Matter of fact, he thumbed through my book,"the lives of the saints" by rev. Hugo Hoever, picking out a notable patron saint that had particular "healing powers".
He picked Saint Teresa of Avila.
She is the patron saint of healing migraine headaches. I went online and bought two saint Teresa of Avila medallions. One for my mother-in-law and one for myself.
My mother-in-law gets migraines too. My husband thought it would be a good 'east-meets-west" lucky healing charm for her.
Hey, for myself, I need all the help I can get to stop these migraine demons.
My friend in Maine gave me a ribbing about my blog. I tried to explain to her my reasons. The funny thing is that she could be in fact a "patron saint of abandoned kitties".
Her house is in the middle of a wilderness area. For some reason, lost/abandoned/feral cats find their way to her home as if knowing that she has a kind heart and will feed them, take them in or take them to a shelter to be adopted or get appropriate veterinary care. I find it amazing how many kitties find their way to her back door. Oh sure, she doesn't go to church or anything like that and as a youth had her crazy times but she is a chosen dedicated animal helper and lives a simple normal life within the mechanization of today's society.
Hey, reverend Jen of New York's east side is the "patron saint of the uncool and troll dolls".
Yup, I live a clean simple life and care for my birds, fish, reptiles and any other critter that comes my way.
And that is all I will say as to explain myself.

sharks in New England waters

Front page headlines on the Newburyport daily News shouts, "Sharks spotted off New England Shores".
As I recall, about this time of year every year, the newspaper boasts a headline similar to this. We live by the ocean and the ocean has sharks.
Period.
Although it is rather exciting to see them.
As I looked at the photo in the paper my first thought was, "oh, it's a basking shark".
Sure enough, two basking sharks have been identified off the coast of Maine. Last year one was spotted off of Salisbury beach near the mouth of the Merrimack.
On June 7th 1998 dive # 239, between salt and milk island on the way to the Wreck of the Chelsea between the two light houses we saw what looked like a big log floating in the water. It was an overcast grey day and I wasn't expecting much from the day's dive but what had appeared to be floating flotsam was actually a 30 foot basking shark. I put my wetsuit on in Olympic record time and I was in the water with dive mate Pete.
Holy shit, batman.
It was thrill of a lifetime.
The water was murky so when the shark appeared with it's mouth open filter feeding heading straight for me.
It was pretty dam close.
Matter of fact I touched it and "his' skin felt like sandpaper.
I think it was just Pete and myself in the water with this behemoth. When I looked up to the boat screeching with delight I could see the boat slightly leaning to the side with crew and passengers watching the event.
Who said diving in New England was lame and you never see anything worth while?
That day of diving was the total balls.
I am also thrilled to bits when I see schools of dogfish sharks when I am diving. They are small curious sharks .
On August 8th 2009 dive #777, I was diving at the breakwater with Jackie K and Andy. We dropped to about 50feet in which there was a wicked thermocline (temp was about 42F) We were surrounded by at least 100 nosey dogfish. It was pretty exciting. They seem to come out of nowhere. Another great day of diving in New England.
Occasionally at the end of summer we see ocean sunfish.
Sometimes boaters mistake them for sharks since they usually have a big ol' fin flopping side to side on the surface. They are odd creatures because they look like a shark or a big fish cut in half with a little puckered mouth. They can be quite large but they are totally harmless.
You just never know what you will see when you dive here.

week 4 on WW

Well, I weighed myself this morning and did not lose any weight this week.
I'm not surprised since I did not starve myself this week but at least I did not gain any weight. I've kind of went over my 'points" quota but not that much. I HAVE been eating really healthy foods. No junk what so ever.
It is has been four weeks and I haven't touched a donut, chai or cookie.
That's a wicked big deal for me.
Everyday I feel that this is the day I'm going to fall off the wagon but with the power of prayer I have not.
I still have five more lbs to lose. So I need to be more honest in counting my "points" accurately.
I've been pretty good about working out down in "cell block #9" every morning (except for weekends). My arms definitely feel firmer although as of yet they don't look any different. I've been eating egg whites in the morning for protein to build my muscles.
Hey, it took me a while to get squishy and dumpy over the winter so it is going to take time to get back in 'fighting form", but I'm optimistic.
Any 'fun' sports and activities I enjoy I need to keep my muscles strong and toned despite fighting chronic pain.
We will see how things report at week 5 since that is the turning point time frame of where your weight loss shows.
Hmmmm.....

dive# 791 & 792 June 12 2010

June 12 2010 Dive #791 Cathedral rocks
It was an overcast misty on & off rainy day. I didn't mind. I don't mind the cool temps especially since I had to get into my dry suit. If the sun was blasting I don't think I could get into the dry suit without overheating big time. This may be the last weekend for the dry suit for the summer.
The Connecticut crew came up north for some diving. Keven, Lindsley and the Hatches. I always enjoy seeing Kevin and Lindsley. Lindsley is one cool strong confident lady. If I had to go on that show "survivor" I would want her to be my partner.
Pete said the water temp was over 52F.
It was.
At the surface.
The "O" ring on my tank valve was faulty despite having it just recently replaced so I had to use one of Pete's little "minis". It had 3000psi in it so I figured I could do two dives off this one tank.
The water seemed unusually dark and murky. It was a bit unnerving. Once I reached the bottom which seemed like an endless struggle to get down due to a sneaky strong current then I was OK. There was a serious thermocline. My plan was to hang out with the Hatches but the murkiness seemed to spook them so they bailed on the dive. I tried to just venture around the anchor line but the current was so strong I was getting sloshed around losing my sense of direction. There wasn't a lot of life that I could see other than one lone cunner and an lobster but it was just good to get my head wet and cold. At 38 feet my temp read 42F. After 20 minutes of swimming around that was enough for me.
Dive #792 Lane's crossing
There wasn't many boats out for the day since it was drizzly. The environmental police was out cruising and decided to stop the boat for a 'routine check". I guess they just need to make sure proper documentation was there as far as lobstering and that sort of thing. Massachusett laws regarding lobster catch as far as licensing, proper size and catching non-eggers is a big deal here in this state..
I think it is a good law so that the species stays in existent and continues to procreate.
I had about 1000psi left so I did a quickie dive. For some reason, it was even colder here. It was clearer and not as bad of a current but it was really cold. I brought an extra pair of gloves which were actually mitts. They were a pain to put on but they kept my hands warm. They have had to be about 26 years old. I found them in one of my scuba "bag of antiquities" which I had as a spare.
It was good to be out diving for the day. When I got home I was 'in a bucket". I think swimming like a son-of-a-gun against the current did me in.
Regardless, I had a fun day.

* picture of cunner was found on internet search.

Never a dull moment

Jeeze, I woke up blindsided by a nasty migraine. People will say to me, 'oh did you eat something you shouldn't have?" "Oh it is probably the weather"or "what did you do to cause it?"
People seem to think I must have done something for one to occur.
Give me a F*&^%ing break.
They just happen.
Period.
I try to take it easy but it is difficult when you have responsibilities like a job to attend to. Luckily my schedule lately has been OK, not too crazy, plus it was cool and drizzly yesterday.
That's a good thing.
At least for me.
My birds are a big comfort for me.
Yes, they are brats and can do irritating things like poop all over me, chew the cabinets, nip my neck and bicker amongst themselves. But they also love to snuggle up to me when I'm resting with an ice pack on my head.
Linus will find this an opportunity when I'm not monitoring him to sneak in a bonk or two with Lucille. He is getting sneakier and sneakier by not making too much noise now. Usually you'll hear this raucous, "EEEH EEEH EHEEH!" I will rush in to break them up (because I don't want any baby cockatiels!) Now it's more of a whispering , "eehp eehp!"
Yesterday, I heard Linus who was very vocal, "YAAAP YAAAP YAAAP!" which meant he just announced that Lucille laid an egg. He is very proud with his wings spread letting everyone know about the blessed event. Louie joined in with the happy chorus while Eddie sulked making a snotty "blaahk " noise. Whook ran over and monitored the event standing guard outside Linus and Lucille cage.
I took the egg out and replaced it with four fakes eggs. I can usually fool Linus with this trick but this time the jig was up. He just looked at me with that look as if to say, "are you kidding me? Where's my egg?" He kicked those eggs aside and barked at me. The next day Lucille laid another egg. I left them alone. I try my best to prevent Lucille from laying eggs because her body is getting old and fragile but it seems that biological nature due to daylight and temperature overrules.
Eddie and Button preferred my company resting in a cool dark room with me. When they got bored they flew out to the bird room to see if they were missing anything exciting.
Smitty and Twillinger (I call them the "buzzards") were squawking alarm calls causing all the birds to scatter and fly around. They can be big trouble makers. They do this just for the"fun"of it. Sometimes I have to lock them in their cages because they send the other birds in a panic.
Brats..
I just want to lay down and rest.
Is that too much to ask? HA!

Attleboro poodle story

I enjoy the show "animal cops" where animal abusers are brought to justice. The sad part is that there is enough material (animal abuse crimes) out there to contribute into making a TV show.
Yesterday on the news one story specifically caught my eye regarding a abandoned poodle. "Little Orphan Annie"(as she was named) was found sick, filthy and left to die on the side of route 1A in Attleboro.
This dog was so matted with skanky fur that black mold was growing on it. This overgrowth and filth caused the dogs eyes to be infected and closed. Not only that, the dog was was crippled due to the fur binding her legs together so that she couldn't walk.
The previous "owners" must of had enough of her and chucked her out on the side of the road to die.
A kind person saw the dog while driving by and took her to the poodle rescue of New England to seek badly needed veterinary care.
The good news is the dog was cleaned up through surgical removal of his natty fur, given the needed medication and is on her way to recovery.
You got to wonder what this dogs previous 'owner's were like.
I saw a similar story about a severely matted cocker spaniel on "animal cops". Neighbors reported neglect of this dog to the ASCPA. The owner seemed mentally incapacitated and needed some personal hygiene intervention as well. The apartment was a filthy rotten pig pen filled with trash.The owner was clueless. However, I think in this poodle's case the fact that this dog was deliberately left on the side of the road like yesterday's garbage left to rot that the neglect and abuse was intentional.
Sad.
On the brighter side, I believe that this dog will find a caring loving new home.

the Wild pigeons of Salisbury beach part 11

Yup, the usual cast of characters were front and center this morning.
It is funny that the pigeons actually recognize me.
There was a woman getting out her car parked near my car walking towards the beach to take pictures. The pigeons stayed perched.
When I got out of the car the sky was filled with pigeons.
Funny, eh?
When I walk by Croaw Dum and say, "hi Croaw Dum!". He straightens up and looks at me as if nodding in acknowledgment.
Brownie was there as well as Galok and Patches.
I noticed one pigeon who was all black with white speckles on his head having problems flying. One of his wings was drooped which meant his wing was most likely broken. This poor bird would not have long to live between dogs, cats, hawks and cars. He spent the next day under one of the cement planters. The following day, I didn't see him.
These Salisbury beach pigeons have a decent life here at the beach evident by their plump clean appearance but regardless, nature can be harsh to those who are not fit.
I was hoping to capture this pigeon and wrap his wing up until it healed but I was too late.
He was no longer in the flock.
The pigeons also have to be careful not to get wrapped up in discarded monofiliment line left over from the early morning striper fishermen. Last year, Croaw Dum had this invisible line wrapped around one of his foot. The line finally fell off but as a result his foot is deformed. Big Foot wasn't so lucky. His feet swelled so big from the tight line that he eventually died from some sort of gangrenous infection.
The starlings are pretty resourceful. They hide as well as forage for food in the partially covered trash bins.
This time of year I've been more barn and tree swallows flying around on the beach. I haven't seen too many plovers nor sand pipers yet.
The summer has just started.

shitheads

OK, how long has this oil been gushing out? Fifty days now? BP just put a crappy bottle cap on the pipe funneling some of the leak. So it is still gushing out but not at the rapid rate now. WTF.
When the pipe first broke BP's response was to raise the gas/oil prices.
Nice.
The oceans are a f*&^%ing mess. No emergency first response clean up has been done on their part as it was happening.
Instead they launch a million dollar ad campaign stating they are 'doing their best".
Jesus, Mary and Joseph....
ASCPA volunteers are the one's cleaning up the fallen wildlife.
BP CEO Tony Hayward whines that "he wants his life back".
Right.
It's easy to blame one man but he's the stooge in charge.
It is painful to watch on the news as exhausted volunteers clean birds, turtles and other critters. They are taking cloths swabbing the gullets of pelicans that is full of oil. It is just a bloody sin to see these poor creatures as moving globs of toxic petroleum.
Hey Tony! Get your arse down to gulf and clean up your f*&^%ing mess instead of whining like a baby over spilled milk!

the way of the parrot

Ten Things You Can Learn from a Parrot

by Deb White

• Start each day with a song.
• Greet the people you love with enthusiasm.
• Make the world your playground, get out and explore your environment.
• Even the simplest thing can be an adventure if you use your imagination.
• If something bothers you, speak up.
• Pay attention to details.
• Having a flock is very important, socialize more.
• Climb your way to the top by plotting your course very carefully.
• Respect the space and independence of other beings.
• Be careful with your words unless you want them repeated and repeated.

week 3 on WW

Ok it has been three weeks since I've been on 'the program".
This morning I jumped on the scale and lost another two pounds. It's odd because I eat more often and obsess about my daily 'menu".
But it is working and that is what I have to do.
The bottom line is I haven't eaten any donuts or drank any chai for three weeks, reduced the amount of oil in my cooking and carefully planned dinners and lunches according to low fat specifications. I have eaten so many strawberries that I am beginning to sprout green leaves on the top of my head.
Last week was the big test for me.
June 4th was 'free donut' day at dunkin donuts.
I didn't even stop in to just look.
Last weekend, I took a class at the Ipswich sportsmen's club and they had free coffee and donuts. I did have a cup of coffee but I turned my back on the donuts.
The donuts were singing their little tantalizing song to me but I ignored them and ate my apple instead.
So far so good, I have 5 more pounds to go.
"Helpful healthy foods' keeping me on the straight and narrow are: seltzer water, strawberries, spinache, fat free cool whip, skinny cow ice cream sandwiches, "happy chicken' eggs, low sodium soup and tea.

*And yes, that is the Madonna and child munching on donuts in the above picture.

pet psychic

I am now reading the book "What the Animals tell me" by animal planet's renown pet "psychic" Sonya Fitzpatrick. I would watch her show on animal planet when I was vacationing down in Bonaire. I found it fun, interesting and entertaining.
Whenever I hear the words "psychic", 'telepathy", or any other new age hippy dippy terminology, I kind of roll my eyes and chuckle.
When you use words like this it makes things sound "mystical", "magical" and" out of reach" for normal people. I've witness this sort of bull $h&% regarding so called martial arts "masters".They want to make it "mysterious' that only a few superior elites can master and understand the art. The truth in the matter is if you study, practice and focus yourself on something you feel you have a talent for you can achieve mastering any goal.
I've been reading all kinds of books and watching tapes on people who have a talent dealing and understanding animal behavior. They call themselves all kinds of things such as : animal rehabilitator, animal trainer, behaviorists, pet communicator, pet psychic, pet psychologists and dog/horse/parrot whisperers.
In Sonya's book as well as other books I've read I am finding one thing that it seems all animal ethologists seem to say is: pay attention to the animals body language.
It takes discipline to step out of your own sense of self and focus on the animals needs, wants and fears.
Some dogs are easy to read.
Last week, it was getting really hot. I really have to pay attention to the dog's body language to make sure they don't get over-heated. I can't be single minded and think only that I gotta walk them no matter what. Some dogs mind the heat more than others some dogs hate walking on certain streets that maybe some animal lives on that street that they fear or maybe that particular street's pavement is hotter on their feet. I watch closely, observe and listen to what they tell me through nonverbal communication.
It doesn't take a genius to see when a dog is panting that he is hot.
I am having a better time walking my head strong little jack russell "Mattie" by being more open to her nonverbal clues of what she wants if I take her out for her walks. I give her a choice: we can walk in the cool woods or pick a street to explore. She hates "A" street because of big scary dogs that live on that street but she likes "B" street because there are lots of fun things to sniff.
Little KD has very expressive eyes and will let me know she doesn't want to go out because she doesn't feel well (she is getting pretty old) or that she just needs a "cuddle".
My birds let me know when they are tired, bored and hungry. I have to be careful where I position their cages.They are scared of dogs walking by the window as well as big crows landing in the yard. They all have favorite places where they like to perch. Button loves to sit on my husband's stocking feet. She doesn't care for mine but Eddie loves to nuzzle my neck. They almost purr with contentment.
You don't need to be a "pet psychic' to be able to communicate with your pets. You just need to pay attention to your pet's needs other than your own.

nightmare

It is day 47 with oil still gushing out of the pipes of the gulf of Louisiana.
BP must have hired Moe, Larry & Curley to stop the flow and as you might guess, it is still gushing at a rapid rate. They couldn't cap it or plug with a "stop kill" (piling mud on the break) so they decide to cut the pipe to put a cap on it. Of course, the saw gets stuck and it is now gushing at more rapid rate.
F&*%ing retards...
Seriously, I am wondering if this was all indeed an "accident".
I am not one of those conspiracy theorists but it just seems to be the perfect inside terrorist job.
Just think about it for a second.
Here we are trying to move away from imported oil but the pipes and drill sites he offshore the US do not have fail safe valves. For criss sake, even our aspirin bottles have safety caps.
Something is wrong there.
Secondly, why did it take this long to even think about doing something about it?
I can not imagine the devastation this will cause not only to our fragile wildlife but to our drinking water, the mangroves, fisheries, struggling economy, tourism etc..
We will drown in our own oil.
Saddam Hussien blew up his own oil rigs in his country. It was dark for years and rained oil. God knows how that has affected the wildlife and long term health of the Iraqi people.
Oil.
I can't watch the news watching birds flounder in in the muck. It makes me sick to my stomache.
It takes 4 volunteers 45 minutes to clean one bird. How much petroleum residue is in that bird's system? Will she survive? Will the toxins get passed on to her eggs?
That was one bird.
A lucky one.
BP had this ad on television showing a green Japanese Anime style 'happy" guy 'promoting a green lifestyle.
What a f*&^%ing joke...
How do we get away from this oil addiction? It would be great if we could get away from being so dependant. We would'nt have to deal with these crazy Arab countries anymore for one thing.
Could we harness hydrogen power or would take us down another scary path?
God.. we got to do something.

happy as a clam

Every once in awhile I see the Kneeland shellfish of Rowley truck drive by. It's a family run business that has been around for decades.
My cousin and I used to work for them shucking clams in the summer when we were kids. It was gross hard work but it paid for our voracious comic book addiction. The clamming business in Essex county is a major source of income and a way of life for natives in the region. Locals and tourists will line up all the way down the street to have a plate of those famous Ipswich clams at the Clam box.
I have to laugh out loud knowing that one of the 'favorite nude models" at the Newburyport art association's life drawing classes is a long time well known clam digger. He will even pose as if he is digging for clams.
If the clam beds are closed down due to the red tide or some other environmental pollutants it causes havoc within the shellfish community economically.
Yes, my cousin and I were, indeed, a cog in the machinations of the summer clamming community.
We shucked the clams.
Shucking is where you take a knife and open up the clam. You cut the slice skin off as well as the "head" (it is really a foot) and squeeze the bellies out. The bellies are a dark lump of sand. Some people like to eat them but we were instructed to remove them. It would take forever to fill a paint can full of now shucked clams because the clams were mostly made of salt water. Our hands would be raw and blistered from the salt water and sand. I think we made $2.00 a bucket. Being kids alone in this room doing pretty monotonous work we found ways to entertain ourselves.
The clam skins were black and sticky. We would chuck them against the wall so see if they would stick. We then positioned them in such a way spelling out our names (or anything else we thought was funny). The clam heads were pretty gross looking things. They would recoil when you touched them. They kind of looked like little black wrinkly penises. We would make a mountain of them or simply chuck them at each other. We would die of embarrassment when Mr Kneeland would came in to check on us in the midst of a clam head fight or to see our artwork on the wall made with the clam skins. I don't think he really cared so long as the buckets were filled with clam bodies within a reasonable amount of time.
When I was about 14 years old I was 'treated" to a Japanese restaurant with my friend Gina to celebrate (I think) some sort of victory in karate class. Most restaurants have a distinct alluring smell to them. Italian restaurants have a sweet basil aroma from the pasta sauces. Mexican restaurants have a spicy sharp scent from their chili cooking.
This Japanese restaurant smelled of damp towels left in the washing machine.
It was not appealing but I thought I would be open minded in trying something new.
Everything presented looked wet and slimy unlike a plate of snots. I figured I would be safe ordering something called"cellophane noodles".
When I looked down at my plate I thought I was going to puke.
On the plate was this wiggling mass of see-through noodles with ridges on them.
Oh my God...
It was a plate of clam spines.
I mean, that is what it looked like.
Seriously, clams have spines and they look exactly like cellophane noodles.
I still can not eat cellophane noodles even today.
So where did the expression "happy as a clam' come from anyways?

the Wild pigeons of Salisbury Beach part 10

I am finally crawling out of the zomig haze. I feel a little better but then it boomerangs right back. I am trying to manage it the best I can. It is slowly lifting.
Regardless, I haven't fallen off the WW wagon. It's been two weeks now and I managed to lose another pound. Even though my body was screaming for a coffee cake muffin and DD chai I refused to give in. I must have eaten at least 10 pounds of strawberries lately as compensation.
I finally got out to do a little jogging this morning. I've missed jogging and even scuba diving on the weekend because I felt so shitty. The pigeons, however, were all waiting for me at the beach. Even Brownie was there! Brownie's coloring looked more vibrant. Brownie appeared to be more of an auburn color as if he or she had been to the pigeon beauty parlor. I think a healthy dose of sunshine enhances their coloring like it does us.
There was tons of half eaten pizza crusts, fried doe and french fries all over the place but it seems the pigeons prefer seeds. Although Craow Dum was unsuccessful in his nest making endeavor I saw a pigeon fly over and under the "Sea Glass" restaurant pilings with a beak full of straw building a cozy nest. I got a little nervous for that pigeon because at super high tides that nest could be under water. I noticed there were at least two nests built under there.
The bird watcher report in the Newburyport paper reported that the house finches seemed to have disappeared. Well, I think they all migrated to my house. I have quite few house finches posted at my feeders. The full sized fledglings squawk at their parents for food even though they perch themselves on the feeders. I have to fill the feeders twice a day because of the amount of finch and nuthatch traffic that passes by. I clean the feeders out often too so that fungus doesn't grow. The birds can get really sick from fungal growth and can pass it along .
Today's paper reported two successful bald eagle hatch -lings are thriving. The chicks are doing well so far.
It is nice to hear a bit of good news for a change.