the wild pigeons of Salisbury beach part 43

As I was feeding the pigeons on the beach I spotted "cranky-40-something-singleton-who -still-lives-with-his-parents- guy "plowing down the street with his dog. As always, he let his dog go to run after the pigeons.

He is such a sour a$$hole. Regardless, I smile and say 'hi' to him when he passes by and he, in return, scowls at me.

I've notice one pigeon in particular in the new group on the beach that is dark grey with a brown neck. His/her head appears to be "frosted" over the brown. I call this one "Frosted".

I swear that this one had visited my back deck the day approximately 50 pigeons landed on my back deck. This one is pretty distinguishable. The two black pigeons that live by the fire-station still visit daily on a regular basis.

Craow Dum seems to be settled into his daily routine. He is eating pretty good. I still worry about the gravelly noises he makes. I suspect that perhaps one of his air sacs was punctured when he was tossed out of the nest. He seems healthy other than this.

He follows me around like a dog and sits by my feet.

If I tap the floor he will come running towards me. If I sit on the couch I will find him sitting next to my feet. If I am having a meal in the dining room, there he is again. Sometimes he scares the crap out of me because all of a sudden he will just appear. I can't help but think of that US postal service commercial where this couple is planning on returning a package, turns around and this clown doll appears.(It's kind of funny)

I leave the ramp door down on Craow Dum's pigeon house so he can go in and out of it when he feels like it. He seems to like his house but has a tantrum at night when I have to lock him up in it for bedtime. Oh yeah, he will squawk and hit me with his wings. Once I stroke his little head he will calm down.

The other birds are Ok with him now too.

He is a funny little thing.

* the above photos are pigeon cotes. I'm sure Craow Dum would love to live in the top castle-like pigeon cote as used in, I believe, Belgium. How la de da!!

**The rabbit hutch pictured below that is similar to what Craow Dum's pigeon cote looks like with a down-ward walk up ramp.

fashion report

I kind of look at fashion as 'wearable art".

I've created and made my own clothes for this very reason but I always like to see what is "out there' in retail stores, boutiques, thrift shops, and even websites such as etsy.com.

For the most part, I don't really care for the department stores such as Kohl's and Macy's. Maybe it is a subliminal prejudice I have against midwestern based stores, I don't know.

I do have to say since Filene's in Boston closed down the Macy's clothing line has gone down the shitter. Macy's waste money on getting silly celebrities to appear in their advertisements rather than upgrading their product line.

That's my opinion and I know former Filene fans agree. Macy's used to have a upscale "New York city vibe" and now it is a crappy middle of the road mid-American style.

Boring, expensive and poor quality. Filenes at least gave Macy's a healthy competition.

With that being said, Kohl's has now introduced "the Jennifer Lopez collection".

OK I'm a JLO fan so it peeked my curiosity. She always looks so polished and classy so I had to check it out.

I didn't care for the sweaters. I hate acrylic. yuck.

However, the shoes were "my style" (sky high platforms) and the dresses were also pretty nice (lots of wrap dresses that look good on any figure).

I ended up buying the dress she is modeling (above) but in a rich chocolate color. It fits well and the material is solid. It is as nice as any high end designer dress I've tried on.

I liked the JLo purses too but they are a little pricey. As always, I watch for sales. I have to say when Kohl's has a sale with added email coupons you can really get a bargain.

Another 'retailer" has also sparked an interest is......

Kmart.

Seriously.

Sophia Vergara has collection there (kmart.com).

She is the insanely gorgeous actress on the TV show"modern family". I just had to look.

She sells a bustier leopard print dress (online only for $44.99) that looks exactly like the Versace number that cutie, Jenna Fischer from the tv show "the Office' modeled a few months ago on the cover of RedBook magazine.

Really!

So there you have it, today's "fashion report".

JLo (Kohl's) gets a thumbs up and Sophia Vergara (Kmart.com) gets a thumbs up.

And Macy's gets a double thumbs down.

Patches' trip to the vet

Oh my God I worry constainly about my birds!

Poor "Smitty" (the budgie with tumor) is still hanging in there.

He is doing as well as can be expected. He eats and still flies around in short bursts. Who knows how long he will live but so far, he is still enjoying life.

"Patches" (my Bradley Cooper look-a -like) has been doing these giant wet poops for quite awhile now. He has also been eating this unusual amount of calcium from his calcium cup. He also has been regurgitating alot as well. I just took the calcium away to see if it would make a difference in his pooping situation. So far, it hasn't, so I figured this warranted a trip to the vet.

His gram stain smear came up negative. However, the vet noticed he had a very red throat. She did a throat swab. Unfortunately, I won't find out the test results for this for about a week.

Another thing she noticed that he had a lump in his abdomen. She looked at me and said, "I think your 'male' has an egg!"

"He " displays all the male characteristics such as talking (only males talk), walks with his wing spread (males walk like this in a swagger) and does 'teenage boy things" to his perch (only males do this). So conservatively, we decided perhap a DNA test would rule out whether Patches was a girl or a boy. (And then again, if he/she has an egg that will pop out soon as well) I won't find out the results from the DNA test for a couple of weeks.

Poor Patches was all in a tizzy in the vet office. He was flying around the operatory. He finally calmed down and sat on my head.

I will keep you updated on his results when I get them.

the wild pigeons of Salisbury beach part 42

I am reading the book, "Diary of a Pigeon Watcher" by Doris Schwerin (published in 1976.)

It is an autobiographical diary of a local Jewish lady analyzing and watching various pigeon 'families" outside her window as she undergoes breast cancer treatment. She makes comparisons of the daily, almost cruel, survival skills these pigeons endure by paralleling similarities to her Jewish parents and grandparents hardships. She talked about two particular baby hatchlings affectionately called "Plucky' and "Brownie" (yes, Brownie!) that lived on a ledge outside her apartment window enduring the worse of weather conditions along with fighting off nasty bully birds.

However, it seems that anyone writing about pigeons ,that I have recently read, appears to be almost apologetic or even embarassed to write about them. They feel the need to justify of why that they are even observing the lowly pigeon. Schwerin writes, "... I shifted my attention from my own mortality to the more mysterious one of another of God's creatures. Of all things, pigeons! Dirty, ubiquitous, lowly pigeons!"

I guess I don't give a flying shit through a rolling donut of what people think of me and my pigeons.

I find them interesting AND of value.

Every place that I go to I observe the pigeons.

It gives me a pulse of what the environment is like.

I found only 20 miles up north that the pigeons in Portsmouth were thinner and their mating dance was lack luster.

The pigeons in Bermuda were greasy and scrawny looking. They seems to like to congregate only at the bus terminals.

The pigeons of Barbados were huge almost chicken-like. No one seemed to notice them. Some of them were quite beautiful, almost regal in their appearance.

In San Francisco the pigeons live amongst "the wild parrots of Telegraph Hill".

Since Craow Dum has been living with us two pigeons have been visiting my back deck walking around, peering in through the french doors and eating bird seed spilled out from the feeders. One day 5-6 pigeons appeared.

Last saturday, my husband was in the upstairs bathroom and peered out the window. He yelled to me to look out on the back deck. There was total of about 50 pigeons congregating on the back deck peering in through the french doors as if they were trying to get a glimpse of a celebrity.

Craow Dum was their "Brad Pitt"

(Although Craow Dum looks more like Marty Feldman with one eye going in each direction with his crooked scrotty messed up beak).

And yes, I do wonder what they are thinking.

the wild pigeons of Salisbury beach part 41

I can't help but think of Mitt Romney when I saw this photo.
* For those of you who do not know what I am referring to, there was a story going around (and Mitt doesn't deny it) that he strapped his dog in a crate on top of his station wagon for a ride claiming "the dog liked it".
Dog lovers and animal rights folks were in a major tizzy over this.
I must say, I get the chills seeing this 1970's photo as a way of transporting birds.




I thought this photo ws kind of cute. My pigeon always climbs up my arm and likes to sit on my shoulder.





OK this photo is gross.
He is letting the pigeon pick corn out of his teeth.
It is really gross (and unhealthy)for the pigeon. The human mouth is a nasty cess pool of bacteria.



I had been trying to find books at the library on pigeons. Unfortunately, all the books I've checked out on pigeons are severely antiquated.

*The above photos I scanned from the book "How to Raise and Train Pigeons" by William H Allen published in 1972.

I thought I may get some 'old fashion' advice, at least, in some of these books. However, most of these book really reflect just the 'sign of the times".
One book I read that was written for the Boy Scouts in the late 60's recommended "spraying your pigeons with DDT if they had feather lice."
DDT!
Oh my F* God!

Believe it or not, there isn't a lot of books out on the market on caring for and raising pigeons.

I stuck gold when I found "The flying vet pigeon health & management" book. It was published in Australia in 2000.

So far, my little pigeon seems to be doing A-OK.
Saturday night he had a coughing fit and expelled a blob of mucus. He did this after he demanded that I hand feed him. I've concluded, since his tests all came up clean, that he gobbles this food down causing himself to choke. He should have been weaned weeks ago but he chase me down, hitting me with his wings and squawks for his "bottle". He knows how to eat from a cup because I've seen him do it. He will stop if he sees me watching him.

On sunday, I had to practice "tough love" and NOT hand feed him no matter how much he begged. I would know if he ate sufficiently by the amount of poops he dropped.
He dropped plenty of poops so he WAS eating on his own.
So far, he hasn't had any coughing fits and he doesn't appear to be starving.
He continues to follow me around the house and sit by my feet like a dog.
He likes his casserole dish/bath tub. I leave that on the floor next to the french door. He hops it and splashes around in delight. He can bath himself now.
My cockatiels and budgies have gotten used to him. They don't seem to be a afraid of him any more. "Fresh baby" (my Paris Hilton look-a-like) will lift her wings, rock back and forth as if to say "I'm the pretty girl around here STILL!"

Yes, I am the crazy bird lady your mother warned you about!

dive #842 & 843 September 25 2011

Dive # 842 & 843 September 25 2011

We had some serious fog roll into our area-especially up by the Seabrook area.

I wasn't sure if Gloucester was 'going to be fogged out".

Luckily, it wasn't so foggy down at the Cape Ann marina so were able to venture out to do some end of the season diving.

Fred, Chris, Pat and Pete were running the show. We had Larient (finally back from Tunisa), Linda, Myanna and Alex.

As Alex was setting up his gear he did 'something' to his back forcing him to stay topside.

He looked like he was in a pain.

Thankfully, it turned out to an "Indian summer' day so at least he got to get to soak in a little sunshine rather than enduring an Autumn chill.

Dive # 842 Kettle Island

We dive Kettle island alot but for some reason, today it seemed like a new exciting place with all it's boulders and mini caves.

(Ah yes, I just had another birthday so perhaps this is a sign of my aging memory not remembering this area's UW topography. (!?))

No matter.

I had fun checking out the "cunner conventions" in all the nooks and crannies.

Larient was a happy camper between finding giant lobsters and taking photographs.

Water temp was 58F with a viz at about 10-15 feet. The closer you were to the shore line the better the viz. I felt warm in my dry suit so I really wanted to go for a second dive in spite of my now rapidly expanding bladder.

Dive # 843 egg rock

I didn't want to miss out on an adventure.

On this dive, I used only about 1000psi using the little black AL tank (I can use the rest of the air next week) I saw tons of huge cunners, some big lobsters , a skate and lots of little fish. Some parts of this dive reminded me of the Florida keys. Unfortunately I had to cut this dive short because...well....I really had to use the loo.

That is the disadvantage of using a dry suit. Enough said.

Chris and I noticed these "new" ducks in the area. They were black with a puzzle-piece shaped white spot on their back. Some of these ducks had a powdery grey spot on their heads as well. Pete thought they might be harlequin ducks. I think they are ring-necked ducks because of that unusual puzzle-piece white pattern on their backs. I wish I could see their eyes or the shape of their tails up close to be sure in identification.

We got back at a reasonable time so Fred and Chris could attend a local dive club's BBQ event nearby.

Yes, today was like finding a large chocolate chip cookie hiding in a a fold of that seemly empty cookie bag .

hungry girl

Tomorrow is my birthday.

Generally when celebrating birthdays, anniversairies, holidays or even big (shoe)sale events one throws dieting out the window by indulging in stuff that makes you, well, fat.

Even though I am out of control when it comes to buying shoes I have to say, STILL, I haven't had a donut since May 2010.

I've actually had donut dreams.

Just picture the board game "candy land" but of just donuts.

(And shoe dreams too. Don't ask)

Oh yeah, I eat, but I think I figured out the "key" to this whole "keeping the weight off "diet part.

My "secret" is eating lots and lots of fruits and vegetables, cooking meals from scratch and trying to stay away from any pre-made foods.

When I shop for food I STILL read the labels.

You would be amazed at what is "filled in" on some items you would think is pure and simple. EVERYTHING has corn syrup in it. I mean just about everything. I went to buy bran flakes because I found a new scone recipe. Every box of bran flakes or sticks had high fructose corn syrup as the second ingredient. Can you believe it? That shit is in friggin' simple bran flakes!

Buying a pre-made item that doesn't have high fructose corn syrup in it is like trying to find clothing not made in China!

There are some things I can't avoid having this corn syrup shit in it like fat-free creamer and I know this is REALLY BAD..but, cool whip.

Cool whip is really pretty gross if you read the ingredients but it tastes sooooo good.

Anyways, I have a bunch of really good cookbooks such as Jamie Oliver's cookbook, Wilson's farm cookbook (Wilson farm is a local farm that I have been going to since I was a little kid), weight watchers cookbook, fat free international cookbooks, and a collaboration of healthy recipes I've cut out of the local newspaper.

Losing weight is hard but keeping it off is harder. I found the only way to keep it of is to continually prepare your weekly menu and then to cook the damn food. I know this is difficult, and may be impossible for people who work long hours.

I did find two cook-books with simple low cal recipes that use a lot of same ingredients which makes it easier to grocery shop for.

One book is "eat this not that". This book has a great restaurant guide for those who can't prepare food every night. This book also has some simple recipes in it too.

Another gem of a book is the "hungry girl" guides. They have simple low cal recipes. I think this book is decent book to kick start a weight watchers program. Even though I think it is a good book it doesn't really work for me because I don't use sugar substitutes as most of recipes call for. I did like the idea that most of the recipes in it were 300calories or less so that is why I think it is a perfect to at least start a new diet plan especially for people who work long hours.

I just got a "free coffee because it is your birthday" coupon from dunkin donuts in the mail today.

I'll get the coffee and then just stare at the donuts.

the wild pigeons of Salisbury beach part 40

Little Smitty (the budgie with a kidney tumor) is still hanging in there. He gets a burst of energy, flies around and then wants his "leave me alone I am sick" time in his own cage. I know his time on earth is limited but at least I can say he is happy and comfortable.

Meanwhile, the little pigeon completed his round of meds. (Antibotics, antifungal, antiinflamatory, antiprotozoa AND insecticide)

The vet contacted me to see how he was doing.

I was still concerned with his raspy breathing but she assured me it was a defect with his deformed nares. I was also concerned with his raggy feathers unsure , even though I could not see any lice (or mites), but that some may be still hiding out in the feather sheaths. It gives me the shivers to even think his feathers might have eggs or lice larvae on him.

Brrrrrr...The vet gave me the OK to give him another spray with scalex to be completely sure he is vermin free.

Craow Dum still wants to be hand-fed. I oblige knowing that he is now weaning. He is starting to eat "big bird' food now by himself. I am trying to wean him from parakeet food since he needs pigeon peas in his diet now. He also gets Harrison's high nutrition pellets, a pinch of spirilina and grit (for digestion). I've cropped up veggies for him but he isn't really all that interested in it.

At this point now, Craow Dum is now ready for a larger enclosure.

He has been stuck in a 5 gallon 'hospital tank". It is time for a "real home". I had been looking around on the various pet bird internet sites, craigslist, and pigeon sites to see what would be a comfortable set up for him.

Of course, there are fancy outdoor pigeon cotes but he will not be able to live outside.

Parrot cages are too small. He needs to flap his wings, have a cubby cove and be able to "walk". Pigeons do not climb like parrots do.

I decided on a bunny hutch (which is a smaller version of a pigeon cote) suitable for a single pigeon.

I bought it at a grain and supply store. The box in which it was packaged read 'easy assembly required". The box weighed a F*&^ing ton. I managed to drag the box up the stairs and thought to myself this should only take me 30 minutes to put together.

Famous last words.

Three hours later with half the hard-ware missing.

I kind of figured this would happen and thankfully, I had the hardware it was missing in my hand dandy toolbox. I had to draw out in my mind how the hutch should be assembled. The directions in the box must have been written by some Chinese guy who drew only crappy stick figures and knew only three words in English. Screw piece together.

It was a joke.

Craow Dum followed me around like a little duck. He sat down patiently gazing up at me while I pieced together the sides and front portions careful not to let him too close just in case a piece of wood slipped out my hand. I placed a towel down by the french doors and he hunkered down there basking in the sun inspecting my every move. When I finally put the latch door on which could act as a ground level ladder Craow Dum walked over to the entrance as if to say "ah well done!".

I had also picked up a shallow pyrex baking pan at a thrift shop which was perfect for his bath tub.

(The ladies at the thrift were I purchased the pyrex asked me if I could bring the pyrex back full of what ever I was going to use it for. I am guessing they thought I would be using it to make brownies or apple crisp. I think they would've shit themselves silly if they knew it was going to be used as a pigeon bathtub!)

I also bought a little plastic box for $1.00 in which he uses as his cubby cove. It fits inside his 5 gallon hospital tank which he likes to use for privacy and protection.

Tomorrow , after his final inspection he will move into his new home.

And yes, just in case you were wondering, the hutch in set up in the kitchen next to the french doors.

Smitty

Having pets definitely has it's joys but it also has it's sad parts too.

"Smitty" one of my green male budgies, which I believe, has a kidney or reproductive tumor.

The reason I say this is because I've been through this same situation over and over again from confirmed vet diagnosis from other budgies I've had in the past..

They look perfectly healthy. Then one day they look like they perhaps pulled muscle on one of their legs because they are limping. It goes away and then it comes back. They are eating, playing , pooping normally and carrying on. Then the leg gets worse and they are breathing heavy. The next day they are fine with a little leg dragging and this cycle goes on again. Then one day, they fall off the perch and they pass away.

From years and years of interbreeding budgies, tumors have become a prevalent mix in the genetics game of making budgies the pretty varied colors you see in pet shops.

I really thought Smitty would be safe. The green ones (the original dominate basic budgie color) are usually less suspectable to tumors. He must not be a pure "green".

He started limping a few months ago. I thought he must have stubbed his foot on one of the cage bars because Whook is always chasing him. Again, it went away and then it came back. His little foot was completely curled up. He would eat, poop, chase "Whook", groom "Twillinger", and have fun flying. This week, he was hunched over breathing hard with his foot completely useless.

I put him in his own cage with soft perches and his favorite treat, millet.

Sadly, I know it just a matter of time and there is nothing any vet can do.

I've lost four budgies due to tumors so I know the signs now.

For now, I keep him comfortable with his friends around.

It's sad to watch but at least I know I've done my best and I've given him a nice home.

He is resting now after enjoying a nice juicy piece of millet.

*photo above is Smitty & his pal, Twillinger.

dive #840 & 841 September 18 2011

Dive # 840 & 841 September 18th 2011.

As the Captain would say when this time of the year approaches with a nip in the air, "I can smell the turkeys cooking". In other words, fall is here and Thanksgiving is just around the corner. With that thought in mind I'd like to squeeze in at least another dive( or two or three )before the season ends.

My dry suit is nice and freshly resealed so the question of getting in the water despite of a growing sore throat wasn't something I was going to miss. Even if it was just a five minute dive.

Dive #840 Wreck of NH

Fred, Chris, Pete and Pat were in charge. We had a boat full of "froggies", AND Bill L hunting for dog-fish.

The first dive was at the wreck of NH. Pete led the group of froggies on one of his famous UW tours. "John" had a problem with his BCD. I was surprised to know that his inflator hose split because his BCD looked brand new (It was in fact only 3 years old!) As always, Chris saved the day by switching hoses from her BCD for the time being so he could go for his dive.

Water temp was 57F and viz was about 10 feet. I saw the biggest cunner I've ever seen. I think it was about 18 inches but it could have been 15 feet long. I also saw a very plump sea raven.

My hands were pretty cold. I couldn't feel my thumbs. I was debating on whether to sneak in a second dive with 800PSI left in my tank but I thought it might be a good idea to keep my dry suit on regardless just in case I was needed for assistance in the water.

Dive#841 I'm not sure the name of this dive but it was near Kettle island.

Pete had another "anchor rescue" mission for nearby fishermen. He was once again, "The hero of the day". There was a little bit of a sneaky current. I saw the group of froggies' moving off course. Those currents can be sneaky and can completely throw you off course without you even realizing it so I jumped in to lead them in the right direction towards the anchor line. I was just about out of air and Pete followed up in the rear to act as UW tour guide.

The water actually felt warmer at this dive spot and the viz was better closer to the rocks.

The air was nippy but at least it was sunny. At the end of the dive I noticed my primary air hose was cracked. I brought up to Russ's shop in Hampton and he fixed it lickity split.

Maybe I'll get to still get to do a few more dives before "the gate comes down"?

HA! We shall see!

the wild pigeons of Salisbury beach part 39

I still routinely feed the pigeons everyday at the beach.

There is huge crowd now. However, I haven't seen Brownie.

I do see Snowflake, Galok, Mocha and JLO. I watch the pigeons fly and land behind the Christie's sign wondering who the parents are of "Craow Dum", my little pigeon. Up by Jillian's fried food I see an opening in the vinyl siding up by the giant clown head where I can hear a clutch of baby pigeons squeaking. They are just about fledged.

My little pigeon is half way finished with his bombardment of meds. So far, everything seems OK as of this post. He is a funny little thing. He follows me around the kitchen like a little duck. When I look down at him he squeaks.

He has learned to run up my arm and sit on my shoulder like a parrot. He must have observed the parrots doing this. He will walk up to the bird room and sit there hoping they will invite him to join them. He is like the little foreign kid at the playground. I still hand feed him although he is definitely old enough to eat entirely on his own. However, when I hand feed him I can get the meds in his mouth easier. He is in that "eat and swallow" mode rather than fighting me. I think he is going to be OK. But I am cautiously hopeful.

He has flapped his wings and lifted but has not made any real attempt to fly which makes me a little nervous. If he refuses to fly then something is wrong with his lungs. The vet said his lungs were fine but like I said I am cautiously hopefully.

His feathers are all chewed up from the feather lice. I check him constainly for any 'surprise" visitors that may have hung on. So far, I haven't seen any evidence.

My next project is to find him a giant cage so he can fly and roost comfortably in.

* above photo is Craow Dum's chewed up tail feather.

night frights

September is a busy month for me in regards to my many 'bird boarder" customers.

I have both "Dover" and "Princess" staying with me for two weeks. "Billy Bob" stayed with me last week.

"Dover" and "Princess" are cockatiels. "Billy Bob" is a lovebird.

My bird room is a chock-a-block full of birds. I am constainly cleaning and fussing over all of them. I make sure my 'visitors" get extra attention. They are the first ones to come out to watch nightly movies. I get fun easy going movies . I am dead serious when I say my birds do not like scary or violent movies. They prefer romantic comedies or animation films. I also make sure they have their out-side cage time to stretch their wings and to socialize.

They get freshly washed greens or carrot slices with their meals. Needless to say it takes a good hour and a half in the morning and an hour at night to get everyone fed, cleaned and organized. This does not include lunch time or any other fussing I do with them during the the rest of day.

"Dover" likes to sit with me when I am doing laundry and working on the computer. "Princess" likes to sit at the edge of the dining room table to monitor everything. "Billy Bob" will fly into the room to aggravate and tease the other birds so I have to keep an eye on him. Sometimes I find him high on the shelf perched on the cookie jar singing and chirping his little heart out.

I usually cover everyone for bedtime around 7:30-8:00pm.

Last night, I heard flapping downstairs at about 2:00am.

Thankfully, I am a light sleeper. I bolted out of bed like toast flying out of a toaster knowing what that flapping meant: night frights.

Something will spook the birds and they will thrash around uncontrollably in their cage. They can really injure themselves. I think "Louie" (my elderly Princess of Wales) fell off his perch and startled the shit out of the other birds causing a domino effect of "night frights".

"Dover" was really flapping around. I had to grab him and hold him close to calm him down. Blood and feathers were everywhere. It was terrible. I have to remain calm not to aggravate the situation further. It's bad when your own birds have night frights but it's even worse when house guests have them.

It took me 45 minutes to get Dover to calm down. He had broken a blood feather as a result of thrashing around. I had to make sure the bleeding stopped. I took him upstairs with me to settle down. After this incident, at night, I take both Dover and Princess upstairs with me. This way I can keep a close eye on them.

During the day, I monitored Dover's well-being. He seems OK. He is sitting with me right now as I type. Needless to say, I don't like to be gone the entire day when I have all these birds.

I have to make sure the little pigeon doesn't wander into the bird room. He scares the shit out of all the other birds. Eventually, when his health checks out completley clean he will join them in his own cage in the bird room.

As of right now, I am focusing on my house guest birds well being.

Never a dull moment.

beer pockets.... champaigne taste

* I've so busy obsessing and caring for my little pigeon. Today, I am submitting as one would call it "a fluff piece" for today's blog. :-)

My mother used to say to me that I had 'beer pockets with champaigne taste".

Basically this means I had little money but I liked the nicer things.
When I was in high school I worked in a nursing home literally emptying bed-pans to pay for community college.

I was making $2.30 an hour . On this salary, I paid for my $500.00 a year tuition, along with books, gas, lunch and Christmas presents for my family. I was conservative with this (seriously) hard earned cash and I didn't have much left over for anything else.
In the late 70's designer clothing started to rear it's sparkly head as one of those "must have" items.
Do you remember Jorache jeans? "You got the look I want to know better".
(*Our handsome Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown modeled those jeans!)
Jorache jeans were $80.00 a pop.
Sure, all the snotty kids had those jeans. Never in a million years would I own a pair of those jeans for that price.
In the early 80's, various discounted 'seconds" shops started to spring up. These small shops would sell designer clothing that had imperfections at a fraction of the retail price. Maybe a button was missing, it wasn't hemmed properly or the stitching was not perfectly straight. Sometimes there seemed like no imperfections other than it was labeled the wrong size.
I remember scoring a pair of purple Gloria Vandebelt jeans with gold stitching for $10.00 and a purple irish linen Anne Klein t-shirt for $3.00 (I still have that t-shirt!) I remember coming home with these items.
I thought my mother was going to faint when she saw the Gloria Vandebilt label. "Where did you get the money to buy these jeans?!?!" as panic rose in her voice. She knew how little I made as a nurses aide.
I grinned, showed her the price tag and told her about this store. The next day, she took a ride over to this shop.
Ever since then I've had an eye for designer duds but for a deep discount. You are a major sucker to pay retail. Half the fun of shopping is the "hunt" and 'scoring". I still love to rummage in consignment and re-sale shops.
The ironic part is today, a lot of the low end retailers like Walmart, K-mart, target, and Kohls are selling designer labels. Walmart sells Jorache jeans for $18.00.(!) They are nothing like the jeans back in the 70's. First of all, they are now made in Sri Lanka and don't fit the same way. Walmart also sold Norma Kamali t-shirts for $8.00. I bought one because I liked the love-bird design on it (Norma Kamali was Barbara Streisand's favorite exclusive designer!)
Target now sells a Missoni line. I read in yesterday's news Target's sales was like "black friday"because of the introduction of this Missoni line.
Last night, my husband and I were watching this light romantic comedy called "When in Rome". There was a scene where the lead female character flipped off her shoes to jump in a fountain. I said to my husband, "that's not realistic.. no woman would take off her thousand dollar Christian Louboutin heels to jump in a fountain.."
He looked at me with wide eyes and said, "how do you know what kind of shoes she is wearing?" I said, "because the soles are red".
He was still glaring at me with wide eyes for a good two minutes.
And then it dawned on me on of what he was thinking.
I patted his leg in reassurance and said, 'don't worry.. I don't have a pair".
Yup, I've got beer pockets but champaigne taste.

the wild pigeons of Salisbury beach part 38

I was still concerned over the baby pigeon coughing up this gross yellowish gelatanious matter. This, to me, was not normal.
My vet was very responsive in returning my emails. I took photos for her to evaluate.
This week, I scheduled a vet appointment.

The vet did a crop flush. This test would speak volumes of the bird's condition. She took multiple cultures of his throat, choana (airway spot), the crop (food pouch)and beak.

Everything came up negative.
"Craow Dum's" chlaymdia test results came back negative as well. Everything seemed fine-except for the beak situation.
The beak is necrotic. The tissue is sloughing off.
This may explain for the mucus expectorating situation too. He is having a hard time breathing around the nostrils.
Nothing was apparent from the gram negative slides. He did not have canker (common in pigeons)He did not have a yeast infection or a bacterial/viral infection.
However the concern was this rotting beak.
The vet prescribed a full spectrum antibotic and antifungal to see if this would arrest what ever was going on with the beak. I was a little hesistant in giving the bird meds since the results were inconclusive but I think I have no choice. I also added vitamen A to his diet (ground spiralina) . (Most birds lack vitamen A which helps in healing.)
All in all, he seems Ok.

He is pooping normally. The giardia meds did the trick. He has a good appetite and has gained weight. He is feathering in nicely. I sit him by the french door for fresh air and sunshine daily.
I will take photos of his beak to see if it actually eroding over time. There is no inflamation but the tissue is turning black and receding. By looking a pictures of pigeons in my vet guide it appears as the bird grows they grow "into the beak". Baby pigeons have almost Jimmy Durante size beak. But Craow Dum has barely a top beak. The bone is exposed and the tissue is turning black.
Today, I gave him a bath to keep him clean.
Thankfully, the vet told me to keep in contact to check on Craow Dum's condition. This beak situation is a mystery. Perhaps she sees this as a "project"
It is still, just one day at a time with him.

Lucy shoes

Have you ever felt you were in an "I love Lucy" episode?

Well, I did a 'Lucy".

I couldn't help myself.

I clicked onto that "justfabulous" shoe site. They have pages of colorful sky high heels.

Oh , it's just like looking at shelves of sprinkle donuts. Yum!

And yes, I ordered a pair of teal platform shoes that were half price. THEY WERE HALF PRICE!

(Mind you, I never have the urge to even glance at shoes in a LLbean catalog web-site. Oh gross!)

When I got the package in the mail I ran upstairs so my husband wouldn't see my new treasure. (Oh come on! You've done it too!)

As I pulled those delicious looking shoes out of the box I checked the receipt and all the other mailing info enclosed. As I was reading one "VIP" envelope enclosure I had realized I was now in a "shoe of the month club". Every month a new pair of shoes would be mailed to me according to "my profile" and deducted automatically from of my credit card.

Oh my God.

This is like a "whiskey of the month club" for an alcoholic.

My husband would kill me.

I mean, it would be pretty cool getting a new cool pair of shoes every month.

BUT

I gotta stop feeding this addiction.

I had to fess up, sit him down and explain my predictament.

I felt just like "Lucy".

He was actually OK with it.

He just calmly said, "just call them up and cancel the membership, that's all".

And that is what I did.

I had some 'splaining" to do.

dive # 838 & 839 Sept 11 2011

Today is September 11th.

It is has been ten years since those disgusting sicko terrorist pigs hijacked planes and killed thousands of innocent Americans.

It's a sad day for America.

Today, just like the day ten years ago, it was a spectacular day, weather-wise.

Blue-skies. Cool temps.

Days like today make me stop and reflect on how lucky I am.

Dive #838

Yup, I am a lucky SOB.

I took my newly resealed dry suit out for a test 'dive' today.

I am lucky to be able to have the opportunity and the freedom to go diving.

I am lucky to be diving with my friends who are of all ages-both males and females.

I am lucky to be able to reach into my lunch box to enjoy a fresh vegetable sandwich of my choosing.

Simple little things like that I am grateful for.

We anchored at "naked man beach" in hopes for finding schooling dog-fish.

Fred, Chris, Pat and Pete were in charge. The water was a chilly 55F at 35 feet . The viz was maybe 2 feet on the surface but better with a range of 10-13 feet at the bottom. There was a little bit of current so you had to pay attention to it.

Alex was filming. Bill was scouting for dog-fish. I hung out with Alex while he was filming in hopes of seeing a passing dog fish.

No dog-fish swam by but my dry suit kept me warm and dry.

Prior to donning my suit, my zipper gave me a bit of problem so I had cleaned all the wax off it with a tooth-brush and rubbed some dish deterent on it to loosen it up.

It seemed to have worked and I was able to get in the water with it zipped.

dive #389

Can I count this as a dive?

I only had 500psi left in my tank but hey, I wanted to snoop around Folly cove.

As soon as I jumped in I saw loads of cunners and a large sea raven. The viz was still horrendous but at least a made a second dive.

Pete helped a family on a boat that lost their anchor. He loves a "project". He found and retrieved their anchor in less than five minutes. He made their day.

We all had a great day of diving and enjoyed each other's company.

As Fred would say, "it's great to be us!"

Yes, we are lucky.

the wild pigeons of salisbury beach part 37

I was just starting to relax in regards to caring for my pigeon until after I posted my blog this morning. just as I was just ready to go out and walk dogs I noticed two gelatinous blobs inside Craow Dum's tank.

What the F*&^?!?!

It looked like he expectorated a glob of pale yellow mucus like a gross old guy would on the side-walk..

I promptly emailed my vet and then, I took photos of the blobs and Craow Dum's face. His eyes look like they are protruding. I don't know if it is my imagination but I thought I would inform the vet. I think he might have a sinus infection because of the bulging eyes which may indicate he has chlamydia.

Shit

His appetite is good and he is active. The only thing I can do now is wait to hear from the vet.

***post note: My vet got back to me after viewing the photos. She thinks the yellow stuff is just urates. She thought he looked pretty good in the photo. I will be taking him in for a recheck next week after he completes his giardia meds.He's eating good, drinking on his own, flapping his wings and pooping up a storm. All those things are good signs.

I am just a "Nervous Nelly" worrying over this little one.

* see above photo and check out his deformed beak

the wild pigeons of salisbury beach part 36

I recieved some of the test results from the vet in regard to Craow Dum's health.

As of today, he just has giardia. His blood work came up OK. I am just waiting for the test results for chlamydiosis which I will know the results sometime next week..

Hopefully he will not have it.

It's kind of a nasty bacteria but it can be treated with a month long treatment of antibotics. Most pigeons carry it.

I've been able to trick him into getting his flagyl down his throat. When he gobbles his food out of a bottle in the morning he leaves a space of his mouth open. That is the time I drop the meds down his throat.

It works!

I've added the Harrison's mash (powder) to his food which is a highly nutritional mix. So far, he is drinking water from his deep dish rather than the bottle.. This is a very good sign.

He is very eager to flap his wings. I know I will find him some day sitting on the cabinet. As time progresses, as he is growing and getting healthy I will set a pigeon cote for him. He can not stay in a small aquarium for much longer. I use this solely for rehabbing him.

I just found a pigeon fanciers chat-line online so I think that will prove helpful. So far, on what I've read on this chat-line, people are sympathic towards pigeons rather than thinking they are just used a racing pigeons, or regarded as pests.

This little bird has absorbed alot of my energy and time. I think he is going to be OK. Last night, I spent quality time with my other birds. They have been acting up since they were not getting their usual attention. They need to know that they are still the top birds!

the Wild pigeons of Salisbury beach part 35

On a wing and a prayer.

Last friday, I felt I did all I could do to help the baby pigeon.

He has a hard time eating because of his deformed beak.

I had just discovered he was also covered with feather lice.

Needless to say I was in major panic mode.

I had to stop, breath and then, take action.

I bought some scalex which is a .03%pyrethrin solution effective in killing lice & mites on pet birds. I soaked him in the stuff and then I washed the floors, the walls, the tables, curtains, the corners, the window sills, the french doors, bird covers, the trash barrel, the laundry baskets, the vents on the floor, and vacumed the rugs. It took me from 5:00am to noon nonstop on monday. It turns out feather lice on pigeons are just "species target specific" so it would not bother my other birds. However, it didn't matter. It just gross and disgusting.

For the untrained eye you wouldn't give it a second thought because the lice looks like little splinters or fibers. An hour after I sprayed the pigeon, the little buggers fell off of him and covered the white paper towels I had him rest on. Yuck. Mission accomplished.

I went diving on sunday, resigned to fact that this little bird has no chance of survival. My dear husband said he would stay home and try to get him to eat seed rather than the hand feeding baby formula we've been giving him.

He had success. The bird still needed the bottle but he was eating seed. This showed a glimmer of hope. I bought some small cups which I filled to the top with seed. If he could get his poor little deformed beak in the seed and plunge in to eat this would be another big step. He did, but with difficulty. He did take one or two seeds at a time.

My husband and I talked that night on what we should do in regards to the future of this bird.

I struggled with a heavy heart resigning to fact this bird will not make it. I felt he had other issues as well. I couldn't get my vet to even give him a proper check up. Nobody cares about pigeons and nobody wants to treat pigeons.

To hear this little bird squeaking for food and comfort was unbearable.

My husband said he did not want to put the bird down.

He said, "we have one more chance. Let's find the top avian vet and ask for a second opinion".

I knew this would cost a fortune but if my husband was onboard willing to take the risk, so was I.

So I had an appointment yesterday with the top avian surgeon from Angel Memorial hospital.

I asked her straight out if this pigeon was worth saving.

She said "yes".

However, this bird can not be released in the wild due to his deformed beak. The bird did not have pigeon pox but the beak problem was due to some sort of trauma.The bird was going to be handicapped.

The vet ran a bunch of test which I approved of. One test came up positive was that he had an intestinal giardia parasite. It is treatable with flagyl. It is tricky getting the meds in him but I dropped the drop of meds in his mouth while I was feeding him his morning seeds.Even the vet said it is tricky getting meds in a pigeons mouth.

I will get the results from the other tests in about a week. If anything else comes up, which is very possible, I am hoping those issues will be treatable as well.

For now, as I await the other test results I am still working with him to get him to eat seeds from a deep cup since he can not pick seeds up from the ground. Yesterday, he drank water from the cup all by himself.

There is that glimmer of hope.

I know not all stories have a happy Disney ending.

And perhap this story will not have a happy ending either.

Dive buddy Chris gave me very solid advice saying "you take the good and the bad when you make a committment in caring for someone".

She absolutely right.

And I have to face that reality if it comes down to that.

As of right now, I have this tiny tiny glimmer of hope.

dive #837 September 4 2011

Dive # 837 September 4 2011

I almost didn't go diving today.

I had a customer early morning that has 9 cats plus I was worried sick over my baby pigeon. My dear husband stepped up to the plate and took care of the pigeon so I could go diving.

I really needed to go diving and see my friends.

Sunday is my "hall pass" day.

It's september already so the season is starting to wind down. Lucky for us, the rain held off and the water was relatively calm despite the passing hurricane the week prior. Salisbury beach was closed down due to rip currents and pollution issues in regards to those gross sewer disks that are still washing up on the beach. (This has been going on since April! yuck!)

Pat was away on her "girl's weekend" in the vineyard so it was Fred, Chris and Pete running the show. We had three customers from the Frogmen's club plus our buddy, Bill L.

We anchored at FG cove.

The viz was pretty crappy. Ten feet at best. It was also horribly freezing for this time of year. I'm guessing around 50F (That is the temp I got at 45 feet deep)

I followed the froggies on their compass reading adventure. I felt we were not heading to shore since we were going deeper and I was getting unbearably cold. I could hear a boat overhead which also meant were not close to shore. At 1000psi I went to the surface to take a look/see. Yup, they were heading towards the open ocean. I swam back to boat to alert the crew where they were. I swam back out to where they were without my tank and weights to act as a "marker" above them to make sure we knew where they were just in case we lost sight of their bubbles.

As I said, the viz was terrible so it was easier to just follow their bubbles. Plus, it was much warmer on the surface! They were fine and headed back towards the shore without having to surface. I didn't see much of marine life on this dive except for a large sea raven.

Bill L was on the hunt for dog-fish but came up without seeing a single one. This time of year you see dog-fish, torpedo rays and mola molas.

It was just good to be out diving.

lead us into temptation...

The internet can be a dangerous thing.

The internet can also be a God-send as far as making information so accessable. I find all kinds of cheap flight deals. I find all kinds of info on my birds as well.

However.

If you have an obsessive personality or any kind of addiction predilection the internet is just the vehicle to enable you.

Oh boy..

I made the mistake of clicking onto a pop-up ad called "justfabulous".

It's a website just devoted to gorgeous shoes and purses at "affordable prices".

As I clicked on, I looked over my shoulder to make sure my husband didn't see what I was doing.

And yes, he has caught me before.

"Don't tell me you are looking at shoes again".

I jump and click the "X" button. I wait til he leaves the room and I click back on again.

There they are: Beautiful shoes.

Purple stilletos.

Hot pink pumps.

Lime green platforms.

A banner flashes on stating: FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY FIRST TIME CUSTOMERS HALF PRICE FIRST ORDER WITH FREE SHIPPING!

My heart is pounding. My palms are sweating.

I mean, how can I resist such a deal, right? Free shipping AND half price for one little order?

Teal blue platforms.

They are beckoning me to just try them on.

Seriously, what would you do?

underwear and ice-cream

I called my cousin up and the conversation went like this:

"Hey cuz, I just made pistachio ice-cream. Come on over!"

"Pistachio ice-cream? I've never had it before"

"Are you serious?"

"No, I only get vanilla. If I am adventurous, I'll get chocolate chip"

"Are you shitting me? Do you also wear granny panties?"

"What?" "What are you talking about?"

"Ha ha ha ha!" "I equate flavors of ice-cream with what type of underwear people wear"

"What the...!?!?!"

So there you have it.

I guess I equate vanilla ice-cream with someone who would wear white high waisted undies.

I hate white underwear.

(I don't hate vanilla ic-cream but I find it boring.)

I think of when I had to work in a nursing home or dentist office when you had to wear granny white undies under your white uniforms. It would'nt be cool to wear red, white and blue bikinis under a white uniform. Everytime you bend over somebody would inevitably salute to you.

OK I think I made my point.

I could go on and on about underwear but I will stop here.

And I will go back to the pistachio ice-cream topic.

I had a craving for pistachio ice-cream so I looked at different recipes on the internet. Most were just loaded with fat and calories and the fat free versions I know would taste like flavored ice crap. My banana ice-cream recipe is still tops! It's low fat, healthy and yummy!

So I made up my own version of pistachio ice-cream and it was spectacular. It is not fat free but low fat (appx 6 grams of fat compaired to some versions I read that were 25 grams of fat! OMG!)

2 cans of cold regular evaporated milk

package of instant pistachio pudding

3 tsp of sugar

1/2 teas of vanilla

1/2 cup of shelled chopped WASHED pistachios

1/4 tsp of saffron (Thank you Larient!)

Put all ingredients in blender, except nuts. Pour inmixed ingredients in a glass container and leave in refrig for at least 6 hours before puttting ingredients in ice-cream maker.

Pour in ice-cream maker when ready , then nuts.

Viola! A culinary delight!

Yes, you may eat your pistachio ice-cream wearing your lime green leopard print french cut knickies. :-P

the wild pigeons of Salisbury beach part 34

There are now three very large dark pigeons that come to visit my back deck in the morning and in the afternoon. I throw seed out there to encourage their visits.

I just recieved my book in the mail ,"The Flying Vet's guide to Pigeon's Health and Management". It is a nice big book with lots of color photos.

According to the book, my pigeon should be weaned by 35 days. He is almost at that age already but he appear a big slow in growth and maturitiy. He (now) demands to be fed 3 times a day through his hand-feeding bottle. He literally attacks my lime green nail polished nails. He equates my nail colour with his warm kaytee food! I need to cut back to 2 feedings very soon to force independance. I leave seed, grit, corn meal and crushed cheerios out for him.(All babies love cheerios. My cockatiels nibbled cheerios as their first "big bird' food when I was weaning them as well)

He is slow at sucking the seeds up. He doesn't peck at the seeds like I've seen birds do. He sucks a seed up one at a time like a lizard using his tiny skinny whip-like tongue. In contrast, parrots have fat stubby tongues like little balloons.

Using the book as a guide, I checked him closely for feather mites and lice. So far, he is A-OK. I inspected his poop for odd colour and worms. Thankfully, he is still A-Ok in that department.

*I know that sounds gross but a daily poop check with birds is a major determining factor in monitoring their health.

The one thing that is a bit off with him visually is that he has a noticeable scab on his beak. From checking a photo in the book to see if this is 'normal" it looks to me like he is recovering from "pigeon pox". When I first spotted the words "pigeon pox' and vaccination" in the book my heart stopped. Oh my God, what is this? Is this deadly? Can I contract it?

It appears that this pigeon contracted this virus probably at birth. It scabbed over causing only a little bit of deformity denting his beak with a yellowish crust. Pigeon breeders vaccinate their racing birds after 6 weeks of age. The birds get scabs at the innoculation spot just like this bird has. Some birds who aren't vaccinated can be blinded and deformed depending on the severity. Since he contracted the virus at such a young age he is pretty much self inocculated. I think he made it under the wire so to speak. I wash him regularly and I constainly wash my hands not to spread any germs to my other birds.

He flaps his wings alot for exercise. I bought a small stand-up perch for him to perch. However, he isn't too interested in it. He does like the long door lock pole to perch on instead as it holds the screen door from opening up. He is quite happy observing the birds that hang around on the deck. He is still bald under his wings and around his neck. Even though he is chronologically over 4 weeks old he is physically only 3 weeks old by way of growth, still.

He is sitting by the screened door watching his pigeon friends eat.

* The photo above is from my camera phone. The pigeon in the fore-ground is the baby. The one in the back-ground is one of the visiting pigeons on the deck.