the Wild pigeons of Salisbury Beach part 87

The winter is tough one-especially when the weather is snowy, rainy and freezing cold.
.It so dry and dark out with blasts of blinding piercing light. Ugh
I am finally emerging from a two week migraine and zomig haze.
It's awful.
I strive to be outdoors for some fresh air and exercise but some days it's impossible.
We had yet another snow storm yesterday with wet heavy snow.
 I ventured out this morning to feed the pigeons.
As I was waiting for them to come down to eat  I noticed one up the telephone line had fallen off the line into a snowbank! I ran over to him seeing him struggle around with his beak stuck to his tail feathers!
The poor creature evidently tried to groom bits of ice and frozen debris off his tail feathers and got stuck! It was just like a kid who would stick his tongue to a metal pole covered with ice.(Think of the scene in the "Christmas story") With his struggle and my attempts to free him he was released unharmed. He flew up on the ice cream sign, frazzled, looking a bit embarrassed.
I noticed one poor unfortunate pigeon frozen and squished on the street.
sigh...

Frankenpigeon part 8

This baby picture taken about two years ago.( I added these photos for comparison purposes.)

This photo taken approximately a year ago. 

Notice the top beak area. There is no true upper keratin beak but just an exposed bone.

This photo taken in summer when a granuloma  had been emerging. from on top of his head. Notice the lack of upper beak area with only a bone bit stub.

The granuloma emerged and popped out with help of massive dose of antibotics last fall.

Later the bone bit emerged again out of the top of his nares like a unicorn!. 

This was totally independent of the the upper beak area. The upper beak has been completely gone for awhile. It is odd to why this bone bit was emerging out . I took this photo just last week.

The bone bit fell off. I took this photo this morning. 

He looks really gross and odd almost like a leper victim. He seems unfazed. He eats well, poops normally and carries on without any worries or problems.

I wonder if  more diseased bone will push its way out from that opening on top of the nares. I suspect perhaps another granuloma is in the sinus working it's way out.

Here is the bone bit that fell off. Nasty, eh?

It is quite remarkable that this pigeon carries on despite of what is happening to him/her. 

I thought I would just share the latest update.

 Lately, he has decided he likes to eat out of certain food bowls only.(He likes s specific green ceramic bowl in particular) If I don't fill them to "his specifications" or if he determines the bowls are 'dirty" ( boogery seeds/pellets) he will protest quite dramatically by "bustin"-a-move" and by charging after me in order for me to make the "necessary"changes.

He is kind of spoiled! 

Biscuit Whook Abbey

These are the ladies of (the TV show) "Downton Abbey" -circa 1920

Here is the lady of "Biscuit Whook Abbey"- the Countess of Salisbury -circa 2013

Or is this the lady of "Biscuit Whook Abbey"?

 I can't tell the difference

Dressed in detail of the (oh so gorgeous) Edwardian fashions including the shoes.

Shoes are super important, you know!

Here is the Lord of "Biscuit Whook Abbey"-the Count of Salisbury.

What handsome fellow!

Here is "the Count" patiently awaiting his formal High Tea. 

The china used in the place setting is an antique

dating back to 1920.However, the candles used are faux candles with battery lights.

*Sorry but I can't use "real candles" because it is too dangerous to use around the birds!

The winters here are so awful and so hideously boring so we decided to have a "Downton Abbey" night for Valentine's day. We dressed up formally. I brought out and  used all my fancy antique table-wear (What good is it just sitting in a a box?). I made all kinds of tea sandwiches, soup, desserts and proper tea 

(I guess that makes me "Daisy' the kitchen maid" as well for a bit)

 I even added roses to put in my antique glass cut vase.

It was all so lovely and romantic.

I am hoping to make this a tradition. :-)

I I think even "Biscuit Whook"- my gentleman budgie would've approved!

dog catcher shenanigans

http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/21192538/2013/02/13/animal-control-officers-out-of-control

This story (above) hit Fox news.
I am going to put my two cents worth in relation to this story.
I've lived at Salisbury beach for now eight years. During this time, despite signs posted at the beach stating "no dogs" during the busy summer months I've seen scores of dogs, especially pit bulls running amuck around the beach on a routine basis.
Dog shit is everywhere.
 The only time I've seen this so called dog catcher is sitting on his ass in dunkin donuts with his good ol' boys.
The surrounding towns of Newburyport and Amesbury have had qualified educated state certified animal control officers. They would "mysteriously" disappear. I've heard incidents where they would not get paid for hours worked. And yet, this guy stays on the payroll without any certification!. He now "covers" those surrounding towns along with his daughter. When he's been called up on matters of rabid raccoons he would say "it's not my job".
My cousin had an situation involving a lost elderly dog (posted in the Scrotalia" post) Since my cousin is involved in an off leash pilot program in Newburyport the dog officer's daughter called her to foster this dog. When she got the dog- the dog was filthy, stunk like urine and had a injured leg. The dog officer will charge people who claim their wayward pet with bogus vet bills. My cousin brought this sad little dog to the vet who  had informed her that the town has a contract with the dog officer for courtesy (free) vet care!
I talked to a guy a few years ago who found a dog and contacted the dog officer. A week or so later he called him to check to see if the dog was claimed and if not he would adopt him. This same dog officer charged him a "boarding fee" and wanted CASH! Hmmmmm...
I find it very odd that our local paper did not cover this (above) story. Hmmm..
Even the town manager defends this guy. Hmmmm.
And now this guy is running for selectman. Hmmmmm...
Seriously, this guys yard is a shit-h*le. If my yard looked this his I would be fines and cited for health reasons AND he cages animals there!hmmmm...
Well that is my opinion on this matter.

the Wild Pigeons of Salisbury beach part 86

I wasn't sure if the title of this post should be titled the 'the wild pigeons of Salisbury beach" or "frankenpigeon". Either way, this post is about pigeons.
I took this (above) photo, yesterday, of Craow Dum.
I've notice that the rotten bone area of where his top beak should be has been protruding more. It feels mobile too. Yuck!. Around his eye is bulging more as well. He definitely has another granuloma emerging from his sinus again (as described in the "frankenpigeon" posts)  Booger has now been leaking out of a fistula on top of his head.Again, yucko!.
Oddly, I'm not terribly worried about it.
I sort of expected this to happen. I clean him twice a day (sometimes more) of snot and debris.
He will actually walk over to me for me to clean him when he is messy and sticky. It must be hard for him to breathe.  The good thing is that there is no inflammation that I can detect. He still eats, poops, turns the TV remote on at 4:00pm and carries on without a worry in the world.
When I cook dinner, he will sit on my husband sandals at the door in anticipation of his arrival home to "the flock".
I do expect that the granuloma will emerge, and pop out.Perhaps the bone tip will fall off too. At that point, the vet may be able to do something to clean the offending area out once those things push their way out.
I am hopeful.
It is just another part of the daily bird care routine.
In the meantime, I try to make my way down to the beach to feed the pigeons just about every day. I was worried about them during the blizzard because I couldn't get down here especially with all the snow and the massive flooding with the super high tide along the coastline.There seems to be a smaller population but still, the same gang still reside over the pizza shop.
Craow Dum is now perched on top of my chair while I type this. It's just one day at a time.

Blizzard 2013 part 3

Oh what a handsome guy!

Poor Saint Francis poking his head out of a snowbank!

It's a mountain of snow mostly due to the drifts!

It took us about 3 1/2 hours to dig our way out of the snow. on sunday. My back and shoulders are sore. the goldfinches were happy campers that I cleared off the back deck to fill their feeders.I was up to almost my neck in snow venturing out to clear off the back deck.
On my back deck, which I think is a pretty accurate assessment of the snows depth since it is flat and even, was about 30 inches. I checked the heating vents and the direction of the wind had this area almost bare to the grass whereas the other side I had drifts that were well over my head.
*I took these above photos while I was up on the roof  shoveling off  a huge snow drift.
As I type right now, it is starting to snow.
Again.....
Oh crap.
The only good thing about the snow is that it is something easy to talk about.
It's a safe topic.
No politics, no religion  and no dicey off colour humor.
Well I gotta go and walk Mattie before it gets too dangerous to drive.

Blizzard 2013 part 2

This morning there was a mandatory evacuation of Salisbury beach residents due to the super high tide surges.(see above photo) The National guard had to rescue some beach front residents with a cherry picker. As of 1:30pm the main streets are still not properly plowed.
I was expecting, perhaps, some of my clients calling me to see if I have power. Many people had lost their power.
Thank God we still have our electricity working
I did receive a call from a long time client this morning .
 However,this was a call I did not expect.
Billybob the lovebird died suddenly last night from a seizure. Billybob's owner was so distraught and needed to call me.
Needless to say, I was shocked and sadden.
You get so attached to these pets.
You wrack your brain trying to figure out what could've caused a seizure on what seemed to be a healthy happy bird.
Birds, however, are masters in hiding their illness.
 I feel so bad for his owners. They truly loved this little bird.
I'm really going to miss that cute naughty little Billybob  :-(

Blizzard 2013

As I am typing this a major MF* snow storm is bonking us on the northeast coastline.
We could lose our power at any moment.
 The entire town of Plymouth has already lost their power.
Oddly, I haven't seen any snow plows on the street this morning.
 In past, during minor snow storms, there is usually a parade of plows up and down the street with the nonstop sounds of scraping metal.
Today, nothing,
Just the muffled hiss of the howling wind.
I looked outside the window this morning and my heart stopped.
Without my glasses it appeared to be this giant wave in the middle of the street.
It was in fact a HUGE snow drift!
One can never tell . There was a evacuation warning along the coast due to super high tides.
I was out at 11:00am yesterday when the snow just started to fall to get Mattie out for her walk and her afternoon poop. She kept lifting her paws up to lick them. I am wondering if the town pre-treated the roads first. I didn't keep her out long because God knows what she was munching off her paws. So long as she did her "business" outside I was satisfied with her abbreviated jaunt outdoors.
 I tried out my "new' 4x4 since the roads were getting covered at a rapid pace . So far, so good.
 The worse part is that the storm hadn't  even begun. The grocery stores I passed were completely packed with people.
I talked to a a couple of my pals yesterday on the phone as the snow was falling. Everyone told me what they stocked up on. All I can think of is back to the storm of 78' when the stores ran out of milk & bread for about a  week or so. I think that 'stock up' mentality since then has subliminally been ingrained in us  I,  for one, made sure I had a full tank of gas in my car, a couple of bags of broccoli, tea, soup, batteries for the flashlights and water.  If I lose electricity at least I can cook on the gas stove.
 I gotta have my afternoon tea.
I had filled the outdoor bird feeders as well. This morning I saw a cluster of goldfinches hanging onto it for dear life. The big huge pine tree in the back (home to hundreds of goldfinches) was swinging back and forth.
It's now 9:00am saturday morning and it is still snowing and blowing like mad.
I'm not sure when will be a good time to attempt to clear the driveway because I'm not sure when it will stop snowing.
Oh boy this blizzard is a doozy.!
P.S. I'll take photos later on and post them on the next post*

New year's resolution updates

Every year I start out with good intentions as far as New Year's resolutions.
Some of them I keep and well, some I don't.
The ones that I have continually failed at are:
 1) To stop swearing (This lasts for about seven hours (max)after the stroke of midnight. It's clearly impossible to keep.
2) To stop buying shoes (I did good for about three weeks until I get the "sale" notices.
That is the bad thing about the internet.
(*If you "suspect" that you "may" have an addiction problem all the goodies are always right in front of you via the internet! Oh oh!).
On the positive side, I've completed two paintings that I had put off. Once I get started on a painting I thoroughly enjoy it.
Another thing I try to stick with is staying on track with weight watchers and exercising. It is always a work in progress. I go up and down. I felt myself slide a bit by indulging more than usual but at least I caught myself instead of denying it.I just have to just pay attention to the portions (as always) and use the trampoline regularly instead of plopping my butt down on the couch.
 I can do this . And as always, you just have to focus. Once this deep freeze subsides there is another activity I want to start up as well-maybe archery.
I started taking spanish classes from my cousin. She had told me she was tutoring a few people and I asked if I could join in..I have to say I am having a really good time!.
My cuz is a good teacher. She makes the lessons fun and funny. She had taught junior high school kids for a very long time.Since she understands that I am the "forever 12 year old" I can get away with some of my silly shenanigans when I do my homework. For example: "moco' is the spanish word for booger and "excremento de conejos" is rabbit poop.
 Here is a youtube video I like (don't worry it's cute not naughty)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cjV3gbex1E
Ja ja!