Lucille Dec. 9 2015

Lucille came to us through Dr Sagar's vet assistant, Deanna, who rehomed unwanted birds. Lucille was between 4-6 years old when she came to Deanna. Deanna called me sometime in 2003 telling about this 'little female cockatiel that needed a home". The poor thing was dropped off at Deanna's in a filthy rotten cage with wet tiny poop encrusted card board boxes used as food dishes. I chucked that nasty cage and bought her a nice big cage with soft perches and toys. Poor Lucille needed some rehabbing as well since  she was terrified of men and cried.
 It makes me so sad that people take in these living feeling creatures only to grow tired of them and neglect them. At least they were decent enough to give them to Deanna to be rehomed. Lucille's original name was "Beverly" and cried when she heard that name so I renamed her Lucille.
 I spent alot of time giving Lucille attention and she soon trusted me and was no longer afraid of men.
 She later bonded and mated with another rescue bird "Linus". They had babies together. Two of "babies" I  still have: "Fresh baby" and "Scizzorpoop".
Unfortunately this mating business became a problem. Lucille was constantly laying eggs which  beats the crap out of her body. I took her to vet whenever she seemed to be in reproductive distress and thankfully it passed.
As she aged I had to keep Linus in a separate cage because, like all males, he constantly wanted to mate and was pretty pushy about it. Later on, Lucille needed lupron (anti-hormone ) shots so she wouldn't lay eggs and daily calcium drops. Over the past year she was getting weaker and weaker despite my efforts in keeping her healthy through diet, supplements and exercise. She didn't look good last night and this morning her little soul left her body.
I let Linus see her and to be with her. When he finished visiting her and talking to her  I gave her a proper burial.
I hope she had a happy life with us. She was approximately 18 years old when she died. She was such a sweet little bird and I'll miss her.

gangsta pigeon

I have to change Trixie's name to "Trixsta".
 First of all, this pigeon to my dismay is not a sweet gentle female but a male.
 A very surly male with an attitude.
He is a total gangsta street pigeon. He bites the shit out of me whenever he feels I'm "in his face". He hates it when I clean his "crib". The only time he's civil when he wants a bath. He'll stand by the sink and demand (bustin'-a-move) I fill the sink with warm water.(He loves his bath!)
 He's a total"playah" .I caught him in Craow Dum's cozy hut trying to '"get busy" with her. Fortunately for Craow Dum that Trixsta's legs are splinted together.
The funny part is, even though he grabs and bites my hand if it is anywhere within biting distance he will want to sit next me and the other birds when we watch TV. He doesn't consider the other birds and myself as a part of the "flock' but just "homies' in "his" gang.

birdy business

* here is a pic of a "new client" a blue headed pionus named "Sweet".
This parrot is aptly named "Sweet" because he is very sweet, calm and quiet.

Owning your own business has it's challenges. One thing you can't do is be complacent. Clients come and go and you need to be "on the ball" as far as promoting your business to keep it alive.
I donated a Christmas basket with "kitty" items to a local fund-raiser in order to promote some business gearing to cat customers. 80% of my customers are bird boarding customers but I do home visits for people with cats as well. Cats for the most part are (and should) be easy to care for. I have on occasion have deal with some "challenging" situations in regards to cats and their (sometimes) neurotic owners.

I will be visiting other Chamber of commerce groups to pass out my business cards. Sometimes you need to expand to new territories.
I've joined a private chat group exclusively of professional pet sitters. Some of the stories people share are hilarious. They are hilarious because you've either been there and or you know this stuff can't be made up! Other sitters sometimes will ask for advice. And sometime sitters will just post adorable photos of some of their charges.

And of course, we ALL have stories. I once had to pet sit a turtle that required at night to say the Lord's prayer to him before he went to bed. I've had to care for a household that had multiple cats that were ALL "special needs'. I had one dog that needed stories to be read to him at night. I've had dogs that would leap over their gates to crap on the new rug. There was this one crazy lady who wanted me to put her cat's left over uneaten rotten food in a cup in the refrigerator (God know why).
Ah, the list goes on.

I prefer taking care of birds as neurotic as they are because that is my specialty. I guess I could say I'm a little neurotic myself so it is a good fit.
Right now I have a cute new budgie boarder named "Freebird" staying with me. My mission is to get him to "step up" on my finger. So I have been working with him using a yummy millet spray to coax him. This trick worked when I was training "Charlie" my cockatiel but there is no magic formula.Like everything else it takes time and patience.
Well that is all for now I need to go and check on the birds now. It's lunch time and I make sure everyone has clean water, snacks and clean perches.

Nov. 6 2015 Hampton beachin' it!

My long time childhood pal called me and said, "Hey! it's suppose to be warm on friday Let's go to the beach like two jerks for one last time"
I said, "great idea!"
It's November 6.
It's usually freezing cold, and at times we've had snow on the ground.
We went out midday with the sun poking it's head out. It was about 70F with a westerly wind blowing about. We had to wear our bathing suits too for the full 'effect". However, with the wind, I was a little chilly.
We took a walk and then my friend said," Oh screw it! Come on! Let's be two a$$holes and go in the water."
And so we did.
We ran in like thunderous deer into the water screaming our heads off!
Yes, a full dunk!
The water wasn't as cold as I thought. I am guessing maybe 55F.
A couple walking their dog on the beach were wearing full wind gear was watching us taking bets on whether or not we were going to brave it. Somebody lost the bet.
God, I love the beach!!!!!!

Halloween 2015

 I love Halloween.
 It is the one day of the year I can "get my freak on" and dance like Jim Carrey in public. I went as an "el dia de los muertos" (day of the dead) character. My husband bought a dime store costume made for a kid that actually fit him pretty well.

 We took the train from Ipswich to Salem on Halloween night. It was a total freak show on the train with everyone dressed in costume. I love it!
Some of the costumes were amazing. I met up with a group all dressed as psycho clowns. Even though clowns give me the creeps.

I had to have my pic taken with "Chappie" (from the movie Chappie) Like I said some of the costumes were amazing. There were a group dressed like the "ghost busters", one guy dressed as a hand giving the middle finger", a guy dressed and looked exactly like Mendez "porn stash' from "Orange is the new Black", there were lots of anime characters, robots,ghouls, pirates, monsters and of course, sexy police and witches. There were characters with elaborate props like a Frankenstein on an electric chair. Most people there dressed up. If you didn't dress up you kind of looked like a jerk.

 My husband doing a "selfie" shot.

  Here I am waiting at the train station. Nothing unusual here!

I met a scary Pope in front of a pyschic reading shop. The Pope (both evil and good ones) was a popular choice this year for costumes.
I found a centipede on  my travels. (for Robo!)

Here is some of the unusual costumes. These guys were jelly fish.
Oh I did see a lot of sharks too walking around.
 On the train ride back we unfortunately seated ourselves next to a drunk dressed as bacon. Yes, a slice of bacon.He was pretty  obnoxious. He kept yelling, "baaccccon! baCON! BAAAAAcon! Who wants a slice of f*cking bacon!" We ended up moving because he was not only irritating but he smelled like a dirty ass.
We stopped to eat at a Thai restaurant in Ipswich when we got back. The restaurant staff seemed delighted we were "dressed up" for the occasion.
Salem is a total blast on Halloween. I hope to do it again next year.
I also wanted to go to the "mourning tea" where you dress in Victorian mourning clothes, have high tea and you bring a photo of a deceased loved with you in their honor. They have a spiritual advisor in attendance at the tea. (My (deceased) Aunt would've loved that!) But unfortunately I got the dates messed up so  I missed that.
Next year I'll plan for that one as well :-)
Great fun!

a junkin' junkie or treasure hunter?

I could be called a "junkin' junkie" or just simply, a "treasure hunter". The barnies might call me an "upcycle artist" making 'wearable art".
I am the ultimate recycler.
Whatever.
I enjoy combing thrift shops and junk shops for treasures. Sometimes I'll find bits of jewelry on the beach and incorporate it in my artwork. The bargains and 'steals" are fun but it's all about finding "unique" one-of-a-kind stuff. Vintage stuff. Weird stuff. Religious artifacts. Funky shoes. Parrot and pigeon things. Vintage clothing. Furniture.And of course, troll dolls.
I enjoy rehabbing and restoring my finds either changing them or bringing them back to life. It's all about the art.
My latest dumpster dive was a leather and fur coat.
 It was completely disgusting.
I think at one time it was ivory. (I should have taken a 'before" photo) The sleeves were torn off, the lining was completely torn and soiled. It was pretty much unredeemable but I thought to myself "aha! a project!"
 It just seemed like such a shame and a waste to throw out something with fur and leather.
 I had to 'rescue" it.
For the record, as everyone knows I am an animal lover so I would never 'buy' a fur coat.It just seemed to me to be more of a sin to let this go to waste. I am guessing from the style it was from the 1970's.
 At first, I gently pieced it together. It was extremely fragile and I didn't know if it was going to be worth the effort but I gave it a go.
It was also completely filthy and it stunk awful.
 I washed it with oxi-clean which did nothing and then I pulled out the "big guns" figuring at this point I had nothing to lose. I dosed/scrubbed it with heavy duty industrial pet cleaner and the outside water hose. And yes indeed it was an ivory coat but still badly stained.
I washed the fur with blue hair dye. It cleaned the fur nicely ridding it of vermin (I told you the coat was gross). The next step was dying the leather-which I used a tan leather dye. I then used lavender oil/wax to preserve the leather.
I combed out the fur and retouched injured/torn areas around the seams.
And there you have it (see above)
I took it for a "test drive" and wore it shopping. At least three women stopped me and asked "where did (I) get such a beautiful coat".

dive #970 Oct 11 2015

dive #970 Oct 11 2015
Well this may be the last dive of the season. It was cold in the morning (my thermometer read 43F at 6:00AM) But it was sunny and it warmed up into the 60s late afternoon.
We had Fred and Chris running the show, Pete, Andy, John from froggies, Kate and Jackie. So we had a good group of people, but then again we always have a  good group of people!
We headed off to Folly cove. There were 2 other dive boats anchored in the cove as well. Everyone out for their last hurrah.
I had (tried) to patch up the tear on my left wrist seal on my dry suit with something called "goop" which is used to repair rubber soles. The water temp at the surface was 59F but just a few feet below it dropped to 55F. Viz was about 10 feet with a current coming out of the north.
As soon as I started to descend I could feel a pin point bit of wetness around my wrist and then it started to spread quickly. I figured I'd continue on the dive until I froze or it hit my crotch. The viz wasn't that good but as I was groping around the sand I saw that the sand was covered with sand dollars! I made it over to the rocks and by this time I was soaked inside the suit. It was a short dive but at least I did it. I wasn't going to give up my dive without a struggle.
Well I guess I'll have to get the dry suit repaired properly.
It was a good dive season but waaaaaay too short!

any port in the storm

I couldn't decide if I should title this post "any port in the storm' or 'beer goggles".
Anyways, "Teddy" (the dove) is a typical randy male always looking for  some "action" .
And since there are no doves around, he decided to make his moves on Craow Dum in her hide away hut.
Let's face it, Craow Dum isn't the prettiest pigeon.
 She's over weight, missing her beak, her eyes bulge and always has a snotty booger nose. Not exactly a beauty queen in the pigeon world.
Teddy used to attack and pick on her but I guess he figured 'hey..what the heck....she's single ...I'm single...plus she has a nice apartment..."
I think I was more surprised that Craow Dum allowed Teddy to come into her cozy hut. She would peck him and bust-a-move but something changed. I think Teddy is a bit of a smooth operator with his good looks and charms. He would preen and groom her gently.
 I guess she didn't care if he seeing her through 'beer goggles" so long as he was romantic and nice to her. "Hey why not? She thought, "He's  kind of the 'George Clooney" of the dove world."
This wasn't just a one night stand either. I've seen this canoodling business happen many times. Although I haven't seen anything go on other than cuddling and grooming each other.
Regardless, it's kind of funny and cute that they are together.

Trixie part 5

All is going well with Trixie. She mostly flies around perching on the upper shelf on the cabinet to check out all the activity going on. She gets along well with not only Craow Dum but with the entire flock. She follows Craow Dum around and will hang out in the bird room resting on the table with the cockatiels.
When we were sitting in the living room watching a movie with the tiels she flew in to investigate. She knows the "routine" and is fine with it.
She will eat when all the other birds eat and will wait for me to put her in her cage when the birds get covered up for the night.
She fits in perfectly.
She's a cute little thing!
*As you can see in the above photo she is walking A-OK with her splints.

Trixie part 4

Trixie went to my regular vet  for a "look-see". Everything seemed A-OK. The vet was impressed with how Trixie's legs looked with my "foam rollers-paper tape and pipe cleaner" splint to pull her legs together. She has started to learn to walk forward too. She is cute with her splints like a 'tiny Tim" hobbling across the room. I take her splints off every three days to wash, massage and apply Vitamin E to her legs. She will have another vet visit for x-rays to see if anything can be done surgically but it's doubtful. She seems to be managing and adapting with her splints. I give her calcium drops everyday and try to get her outside for the sunshine. Though days will be far and few between as the fall approaches.
 She is upstairs now with the rest of the birds. She has found her fav spots to roost like on top of the cabinet. She seems to like to hang around with Craow Dum and the other birds in the bird room too.
 I was a little worried recently with the sounds she was making. Instead of her usual baby cries when I held her she was making croaking noises. The vet didn't notice anything with her lungs when I brought her in. If it was something respiratory she would not be able to fly. She is, in fact, is an excellent flier. It turns out her voice was in the process of changing not unlike a teenage boy. She no longer makes 'baby squeaks" but a grumbling pigeon coo.
She found her way to the sink and took a bath for the first time. When Craow Dum saw this she joined in as well.
So far, she is doing great.
Our house is absolutely filled to capacity with birds now.
 I almost refused to take Trixie in but I'm glad I did. She is sweet, she is thriving and gets along with everyone.
 I can't save everyone but I was glad I saved this one.

a month (and more) with Ray

Ray is a black headed caique (pionites melanocephela).
Ray had been a 'regular" birdy boarder with us.
Caiques are quite engaging and can be very entertaining.
They are small parrots with big personalities AND loud voices.
As a baby he was very sweet and delightful but not unlike a teenager he started to rebel, act up and test you. Some of the "unwanted behaviours" such as biting and screaming was becoming a problem for his owners . I wanted Ray to maintain a good relationship with his owners so Ray would stay with us for periods of a week or longer. I would observe Ray and work with him to curtail some of the unwanted behaviours.
One of the main things I would do with Ray is put him on a strict predictable routine. He was up at 7:30am and at night, in his cage to relax by 5:00pm, and covered by 7:00pm. When I fed him (healthy nutritious food)I left him to enjoy his food without fussing around his cage. He only got treats (nuts) when he was quiet as a reward and when I wanted him to go in his cage. I also did not let him climb on my shoulder. When he was on your shoulder he would start to assert dominance so this was something I would not let him do. So with these simple things he stopped biting.
Screaming was much more trickier. I would do things to keep him preoccupied and entertained. I would give him lots of attention. I would give him a morning shower. All these things helped curtailed the screaming but sometimes he just liked to scream for the shear fun of doing it and there was nothing you could do to stop it. caiques are parrots and parrots love to scream.
Sometimes it was challenging when I had a migraine run that lasted for two weeks. Thankfully my husband would take over and take care and play with Ray. Ray really liked him too.
Ray was happy just sitting on his lap while he worked on the computer.Ray pretty much demanded all your attention which would be fine if he was your only bird. Again, thankfully my husband helped out with all the birds as well because they needed our attention too.
Ray was also very much in tune with my emotions and when I was upset about something Ray would react. Ray stayed with us this time for well over a month -almost two months. (Ray's family was in the process of moving cross country).During this time we had a flood as a result of both the dishwasher, the garbage disposal and water line kaboomed. Needless to say my husband and I did our best as "Mack and Myer" to replace the dish washer and disposal ourselves.
All I can say is that Ray learned a few 'new words". I had to "retrain" Ray into saying "fire truck" and "night shift" rather  saying fuck and shit. Yikes! I also learned when I screamed about something Ray screamed also so I had to keep my emotions in check. No more meltdowns!
We also had an attempted break in during Ray's stay.
Thank God the bad guys didn't get in. My birds freaked out and there was feathers everywhere due to their "night terrors". My major concern is always about my birds so this was a wake up call to "secure" our home better and to reach out to our neighbours.
When Ray's stay finally ended I will be honest I was relieved. He was kind of like having a hyperactive toddler stay with you but after a few days of no Ray I was starting to miss him. I do miss him now.
Ray was then going to embark on a road trip  to his new home to Washington state.
 I wonder how that will be.
My husband was almost going to volunteer to drive cross country with Ray. That would be one long road trip-especially with a rambunctious parrot!
I'm sure that "adventure' would make for many chapters for the blog!

dive # 969 Sept.27 2015

dive #969 Sept. 27 2015
Sad to say, the season is coming to an end. The weekly weather has been really warm but it seems that crap weather falls on sundays, my dive day.
However, this weekend, the sunday weather was cooperative. It was sunny in the low 70s but for some reason I felt cold. Everyone was wearing wet suits and remarking on 'what a nice day it was" but  I was glad I packed my dry suit. With that being said, when I started to put it on my left rubber sleeve tore.
shit.
That is at least a $200.00 repair and a long drive to Somerville which is something I can't afford now.
Andy saved the day and taped it up so I could salvage the dive.
We had Fred and Chris in charge, Pete, Andy, Jackie and Alan H. A nice group of capable divers. Pete seemed like his old self telling corny jokes and such.
Despite my misfortune of a torn drysuit we had a remarkable day.
We anchored off of the 'restaurant" just above large boulders. The water temp was 55F but I was freezing. The viz was a marginal 10 foot at best. I made it down to 40 feet. There was lots of fish activity. The cunners were busy doing their thing. They are extremely curious especially when Chris was tapping on a rock. I do not know what the attraction is but they all gather when ever you are busy doing something. I enjoy just staying in one spot and watching the fish. I think the fish in turn like to do the same and watch us.
I am hoping for at least one more dive day. I patched up the tear on the sleeve but we shall see what happens next time.
One more day.

trixie part 3

Trixie is doing Ok.
 I re-splinted her legs with ladies foam curlers, paper bandage tape and paper twist ties.
 She is adjusting. She can fly and can land as you can see (the first photo on her playgym). It will help strengthen her feet by gripping. I take her splints off occasionally to clean her legs, massage her legs and to put clean rollers/bandages on.
 I am still tube feeding her 20cc in the morning for extra nutrition but she may not need it since she will eat seed/pellets on her own (so long as I am there!). She will not eat all alone. She likes when I hold the bowl and tap the inside of the bowl. The same with the water. My finger must look like a beak dipping in the bowl.
As you can see I put a soft shelf for her in the second picture. She will fly up there herself and rest on it like a hammock. In the evening I give her a drop of liquid calcium for her growing bones. She loves when I take her out of the cage and cuddle her. When my "visitor" birds go home I will then bring her upstairs to join the flock. Right now she is still on quarantine. I have seen no more lice so that business is done.
It's very hot today, when it cools off later I will take her outside for fresh air and ambient sun.
I am feeling hopeful. She most likely will always be handicapped but so long as she can get around, balance and stand I think she will be fine.

dive #965 & 966 Aug 30 2015/dive #967 & 968 Sept 7 2015

dive #965 Aug 30 2015
My first dive back from Andros. All aboard Easy Diver we heading to our fav place to dive at Foley Cove . (More specifically "calf's cove)" to check out the photosynthesis of bubbling green algae. We had Fred, Chris, Pete, Andy, Lyndia and Myanna and John from froggies. Even John did a dive. The water was remarkable y warm at 65F at the surface.
dive#966 Aug 30 2015
What a difference in temperature at various locations. We anchored this dive off of naked man beach. BTW there were at least 3 ballickly men sunbathing on the rocks. The temp at 30 feet was 50F. It was clearer viz but God awful cold.


dive #967 Sept 7 2015
You would never know the summer was on it's way out by the heat and amount of boaters/beachers today. It had to be in the mid90'sF
We had Fred, Chris, Pete, Kate and her two students, and Jackie.We headed over to Foley. The water temp was 63F. The viz was poor. I did see quite a few large rock gunnels. Jackie said she saw a torpedo ray. I checked out Anna K's grave marker near the point under ledge at 25-30F. It was quite nice. The water temp at this depth was dramatic and COLD!
dive #968 Sept 7 2015 We stayed anchored in the same spot-which worked well for me. Kate was busy with her students. I checked along the wall looking for critters.I stayed shallow so I could enjoy the warmer water.Hopefully we will have a few more of these nice summery days.

Trixie part 2

Poor Trixie.
She was having such a hard time getting around. I spent time searching for ideas for different methods of splinting her legs but none of them worked. So I freed her legs in hopes she would adjust to her handicap. Unfortunately her 'good leg' was turning out and she would just flop about. My husband thought I was fussing about her too much that it was harmful to her well-being so I let her be last night.
In the morning I washed her, fed her and took her outside for sunshine. Her freed legs looked worse. She was crying and fussing about.I couldn't stand it and thought about what I should do. She was messing about in the carefresh and most of it would land in her food and water.I thought the carefresh would help her not slip but it did the opposite.
 So I bought some nonslip rubber liner and lined her cage plus I put a nubby towel down. I took a sistal perch and I sewed a layer of craft foam and soft mesh screen to it making  a soft shelf so she could get used to perching. I rolled towels around the edging so she could rest as well.
I then took a ladies foam curler rollers plus paper tape and made a new soft leg splint for her. She could now balance on one leg now. She seemed so much more comfortable like this. So far this seems like the best thing for her now. When I put her on the soft shelf perch she didn't cry but appeared to be (finally) comfortable. I am hopeful.

Trixie

Last saturday, Jody from the Cape Ann wildlife rehab called me to home a disabled baby pigeon. I was hesitant since I just came back from vacation and have been inundated with birdy boarders. With that being said, 99.9% of disabled pigeons end up getting euthanasia.I don't mind having a handicapped bird so long as they can feed themselves and not sit in their own poop. (As you know I already have a beakless pigeon.)
This splay leg baby has it's challenges.
 I took her to my vet right away thinking and hoping the legs could be corrected with surgery. But unfortunately the doctor said the prognosis was poor and did not recommend surgery. Her gram stains were normal but I noticed feather lice crawling on me so she got a drop of ivermectin and sevin powder dusted in her cage. Gross.
 The vet  did recommend supplements and calcium drops that may help her. She was doubtful the splint would help since her leg was so out of joint and the ligaments stretched.She is about 5 weeks old. She still has baby fuzz on her head and cries. She can lift off the ground by flying and can eat a little seed/pellets on her own. Although I have been soft tube feeding her in the morning  20 ml liquid combo of kaytee exact and "recover" formula (harrisons) for that extra nutrition.. I had lined the walls and ceiling of her cage with a soft screen mesh so she doesn't injure her wings when she flaps. The bottom of the cage is covered with carefresh ( soft cardboard mulch) (or a towel)
I've been taking her outside in the morning for morning sunshine and fresh air in a mini-cage.
I have been trying all kinds and methods of wrapping and splinting her legs so she can stand.I used paper surgical tape, paper twist ties and I even bought foam (ladies hair)rollers to cushion her legs.However, She would manage to kick them off, tumble and cry. I would wash her legs and rub vitamin E on the joints since they looks irritated. It has been more than frustrating because the reality is her legs will never be corrected so I either prop her up with splints for the rest of her life or let her adjust naturally to her handicap with her one bad leg facing straight behind her. It's a hard choice to make. I took her splints off tonight and placed her in a tiny basket. Hopefully she will be comfortable and she will be OK.
One day at a time.

Andros island part 3

*photos above are done by Alex Shure   copyright

A bird boarding client of mine (who has a blue fronted pionus) told me she and her husband had sailed and anchored at Small Hope bay a few years ago. She remembered the beautiful harbor and the unique batik fabric that is sold here at the island.
And I remember the sharks. (chuckle!)
Lots of them.
Just about every dive we did there were sharks present.
Mostly Caribbean reef sharks.
On our last wall dive the dive master spotted a large hammer head shark at the ledge. I didn't see it but I wished I had.
Midweek Alex, Patrick and I did the shark feeding dive. Robo and a young kid name Ethan (who reminded me of my nephew Joey) snorkled at the surface.
If you want one sure way to get sharks in the area throw a couple snorklers in the water-never mind the chumsicle.
The sharks were very VERY  interested in those two snorklers.
All of us divers positioned ourselves in a semi circle at 60 feet..and watched.
As you can see in the first photo *above, that is yours truly watching the sharks above circling the snorklers above.
I've got to say that Robo and Ethan had major cojones.
 I counted thirteen sharks circling the surface and every once in awhile one brave shark would get all" jerky" and dash out and grab their fins.
Holy crap!
Once the chumsicle was lowered down the sharks lost interest in them and began chewing up the block-o-fish. * as you can see in the second photo.
My husband did not do this dive. It's not his 'thing".  I,on the other hand, love stuff like this. I thought it was "wicked pissah!"
The dive master collected a few teeth that the sharks lost in the frenzy and gave me one.
Not only were there sharks present but giant groupers! I hadn't seen big groupers like this in over a decade.Wow!
I didn't want this dive trip to end.
On our last evening a pod of dolphins entered the bay. I ran out with the kids to check it out. I wanted to jump in the water and follow them but sensibility told me not to just in case they had babies with them.
It was such a gift to see them.
It was as if they were saying, "goodbye! Come back and see us again!"
hmmmmmm....

Andros island part 2

 Our adventure started at Fort Lauderdale entering our private charter. It accommodated only 8 passengers which was our entire team! However it turned out we were 100 pounds over loaded. This meant a good amount of luggage couldn't go with us. OMG! I ditched my tool kit, snorkle gear and my husband's entire scuba gear and books. Just about everyone else had to ditch what ever they could so we could get off the ground.
Oh boy!
We were off on an adventure. I've got to say, it was a little scary on this plane. It was little like being on a scary carnival ride  especially when the pilot turned sideways so Alex could get an aerial shot. I almost pooped my pants.
The island of Andros is the largest island in the Bahamas. However, most of the island is inhabitable. It is one big mangrove jungle with "blue holes" (sink holes). I think the lodging we stayed at (Small Hope Bay) is the island's only guest house.
The lodgings were simple but comfortable. I believe if you asked for air conditioning it was provided but only per request. Electricity is at a premium. The Cayman island and Bonaire were both like this 20 years ago as well. We  did have nice big fans blowing on us (which I prefer) at night. The rooms were supplied with  giant jugs of drinking water in our room as well. Since it is a mangrove  jungle island you can expect bugs. The lodge provided skin-so-soft spray to keep the no-see-ums at bay. My husband gets eaten alive. For some reason the bugs love to munch on him. They must like Thai food. So as a precaution I brought "bug off" wipes for him. The bugs pretty much left me alone except this one spot behind my knee.
 Speaking of munching, the food at the lodge was tasty and plentiful. They had vegetarian dishes on the side that worked A OK for me! Some of the guests that stayed at the lodge as well enjoyed the" adult beverages". There were a few "bar flies" that never seemed to move from the bar no matter what time of day. I can not imagine why anyone would want to spend the time getting drunk on vacation. I can understand having "a cocktail" like you would have an ice cream sundae for a "treat". Some people are odd.
The blue holes are one of the interesting features of this island. One afternoon we had a cab take us to a Blue hole that had a cliff. This was "Robos" idea.
I was glad she suggested it. We all jumped off this ledge that was pretty high up into a what looked like a quarry. It was a blast! I jumped off three times. I could've done it all day. I felt like I was 13 years old again swinging off the rope swing at the Mystics (that was illegal)
Another fun thing we did was the shark feeding dive (which I will continue on in the next post)

dive #952-964 Andros island adventure

I don't know how to begin to tell my story of our adventures in Andros Island (Small hope bay) in the Bahamas. There is so much to tell.
Fred and Chris so generously invited both my husband and I to join the team in the filming of the 185 foot wall dive. It was on Fred's "bucket list" to recapture the original dive descent/ascent filming that won him an award at a film festival many years ago.
 And to go on this trip was also on my "bucket list"
And so this trip turned out to be one nonstop BLAST!
I would have to say this was the best trip I've been on..and I've been on some really good ones!
I think, mostly because of the company I was with. We worked well as a team and ALWAYS had funny stories to share in our spare time. I never had time to even look at any of the magazine I brought. If I wasn't diving then I was swimming if I wasn't swimming I was hanging out with our group talking, laughing, making jokes and checking out film footage or we were off to another exciting adventure. We did more adventurous stuff in one week than 99.9% of the general population does in a lifetime.
The main purpose of the this trip was to dive and film the wall. Fred was pretty specific in how he wanted this done all the way to what equipment we would (or would not) be using. I will admit I was a little nervous about going down that deep but we, as a group, talked about so I felt pretty confident after that.
I used a 60cc tank, wore just a backpack (no BCD), one regulator, air/depth guage, six pounds of weight on a weight belt, force fins and a simple one piece black "Ester Williams type of bathing suit.
Chris filmed and directed how and where she wanted us positioned. Alex filmed hovering the wall. My ears for the most part behaved. I "exercised them" prior to the descents. As long as I went down on a easy descent I was OK. I did feel at about (about 135 feet although I refused to look at my depth guage in fear of freaking out) some pressure on the back of my neck and head. I also got a "little loopy" once I reached the ledge. I believe this was what you would called being'narked". I understood what it was so I dealt with it.
The filming for the most part went smoothly. We had only one "three stooges"  incident that all of a sudden we bolted down. I had a hard time clearing my ears at this rate of descent and when I finally did get down to the ledge I got completely narked. The holes on the walls turned into "Clutch cargo' mouths talking to me. Patrick knew something was off with me and kept an eye out.
That was one odd sensation.
We did these deep dives at the crack of dawn. I would study the dive tables to make sure we could dive later in the day. The 2:00 dives seem to work out fine. All these dives had curious reef sharks. That was a bonus (at least for me).
(I will continue on to another post)*

dive #950 & 951 August 2 2015

dive #950 August 2 2015
Perfect summer day. Hot and sunny. Aboard Easy Diver with Fred and Chris in charge.The boat was chock-o-block full of divers.
 Thank God we had Andy to help,especially with the anchor! That can be a "challenge'.
We also had onboard Pete,Kate, Jackie, Sandy, Pat S and his new dive buddy Maria. It was busy onboard but everyone worked well together taking turns to go in.
On our way over to Foley cove the ocean was pretty flat calm. Andy spotted a mola mola! This mola mola was a little guy. I remember seeing some pretty large ones in the past.
We anchored by the "restaurant". Water temp was mid 60sF on the surface with a chilly thermocline at 20 feet. The viz was remarkably clear at about 20 or so feet. I just followed the lobster lines and headed up to the wall. Kate showed me a method of "pre-clearing" your ears by jutting your lower jaw out to pop your ears. It worked pretty well!
Fred got in the water as well and was mighty pleased with himself. He had no problems"donning and doffing". When we got back onboard we had a feast sharing sandwiches, crackers and fruit.
dive #951
I was glad I had my spare tank onboard. It was such a perfect day to be in the water. We moved the boat over to the mouth of Foley. It was deeper to about 50feet and downright COLD. I had a little problem this time clearing my ears. I think,perhaps, the cold temp might have been the problem. I swam over to the caves where it was shallow and warm with cunners swimming around. I only saw a few small lobsters.
Yup, it was another great day. It doesn't get any better than this. When I got home my dear husband took care of the birds (cleaned their cages and fed them dinner) and provided yummy take-out vegetarian Indian for dinner.
Seriously, how lucky am I!

dive #948 & 949 July 19 2015

Dive #948 July 19 2015
Today's temps were expected to be in the 90'sF. Hot< hazy and humid.
 I couldn't have picked a better day to be out diving . Aboard Easy Diver we had Chris and Fred in charge. Pete. John from froggies minding the lines. Kate, Jackie and Sandy. Andy helping out with everything-especially the anchor.
Thank you Andy!
We ventured south to cathedral rocks. There was a slight breeze off the south so it would at least cool the Captain off while we anchored.
The water surface temp was 57F with crap viz. At 40 feet the viz was 12 feet but freakin' freezing at about 48F. My right ear cleared with a  slow ascension. I followed the lobster lines so I wouldn't get lost. I saw many schools of pollack.I noticed a rock formation that looked like a skeleton head. There was a slight surge and a current I had to watch out for.
Andy fixed the anchor in a better position since it looked it it would've been a bear to extract from the rocks crevices.I kept my wetsuit on "just in case" I was needed to jump in.
There was a lot of boat traffic and the boat was rocking. I felt a little seasick from the surge. As I was helping Andy to load the inflatable back on the boat I lost my footing and plopped down on the captain's lap.
 The poor guy.
I think I knocked the wind out of him when my big bum landed on him!.
dive #949
We anchored at the mouth of Folly cove at "the restaurant". And like last week it was chock-0-block full of boats. It was too bloody hot to be topside. John from froggies "Hampton beached" it as well as Chris. I drained my second tank nosing around lobster lines. There was definitely a thermocline. It was bloody freezing at 25 feet. The viz was a bit dicey too. I kept my eye out for anything interesting that may come my way. I saw the usual suspects of pollack, and cunners.
The on -boat solar shower felt good to at least rinse the salty brine from my face. For some reason salty water left on your body makes you sweat. ugh!.
Seriously, diving is the only thing you SHOULD be doing on a day like today!
Lucky us! :-)
Afterwards, Andy, Kate, Pete and I, as necessary, took the tanks to get filled. You can really determine the boat traffic because of how long and how often you have to wait at the Blyman bridge. Wow! So many boats!

dive #946 & 947 July 12 2015

dive # 946 July 12 2015
It was the perfect summer day.
The temp was to hit 90F. Everyone and their mother hit the beaches. I am thrilled that I was out on Easy Diver for a day of diving.
 A light wind from the south so we headed north to "the restaurant" at the mouth of Folly. We had Fred and Chris in charge. Pete.  John from froggies managing the lines. Andy helping out along with Kate and Amy. We also had Lynda and Myanna who are ol'time experienced divers.
Water temp on the surface was about 52F. At 25 feet the temp dropped dramatically to a "freeze-your-scroggies-off" 42F with a 12 foot viz. I had a little trouble clearing my right ear. This seems to be a "norm' for me now so I take my time going down.
I hung out by the wall hoping no fishermen were dropping their lines in. The viz was better and it was warmer. I saw a tautog, a skate and some colorful starfish. It turned out that Andy got his wetsuit sleeve caught in the large fishing lure. Thankfully, no damage was done to his person. Lynda and Myanna only came back with one legal sized lobster. So far this year I've only seen small lobsters
dive#947
We inched over to the mouth of Folly cove. I've never seen so many boats anchored in the cove in my life! There were at least 20 boats, not including floats and paddle boards. I had some air left over in my tank so I popped back in.The water was a good 10 degrees warmer. I got 58F on my gauge! The viz was pretty poor so I just skimmed by the rocks investigating. I scared the crap out of some poor girl paddle boarding since I surfaced right next to her. Maybe she thought I was some big ugly fish. This was definitely the day to be in the water. I am soooooo lucky to be here.
Just another fantastic day with awesome pals. :-)

dive #945 July 5 2015

dive # 945 July 5 2015
A slow start this year but I finally made it out for my first scuba dive of the season on Easy diver. Seriously, it is so good to be back.
It was a perfect summer day.  Everyone was out and about enjoying the day. The wind was blowing from the north so we headed south to the wreck of the New Hampshire. We had Fred and Chris in charge. Pete onboard as well as John from the froggies. Andy helping out as well  providing sandwiches. Two surprise guests- Kate and her pal Amy. I haven't seen Kate in ages so it was a delight to see her and chat up about old times.
Even though it was my first dive of the season everything went fairly smooth. Although I packed two "right" booties . One bootie was bigger than the other some even though it was for the wrong foot it still worked. A few spiders and earwigs got flushed away out of my wetsuit. The water was a chilly 50F at 25 feet. I had a little trouble clearing my right ear but that was to be expected. The viz was 12 feet at best. By the rocks I saw some good size stripers, a hake, some big crabs and a large nosey tautog. Bits and pieces of copper still lays around in the wreck site. I got a little disoriented but again, I expected that and stayed close to the boat.
 All in all it was a fabulous day.
Gotta love the summer!

Remembering Bobby

DIVE LOG

date: July 21 1984             number: 1
place: Folly cove-west wall-Gloucester
depth:26 feet
submersion times: down-7:11am     up-8:04am
weather condition: sunny    temp: 70F
water condition: calm (high tide)   temp: 47-53F
water viz: 15-20feet
partners: EP Williams PADI-dm# 19872   Bob Boyle PADI-instructor #17390
equipment used: 30lb weight, rental suit 64L, sm.hood
(information for rentals) rinse equipment at dive shop
notes: marine life: star-fish, moon snail egg casings, anemones, crabs, flounder, urchins, snails, sand dollars, horse shoes crabs


It is hard to write this as I copy this from my first log book describing my first UW session with Bobby.
And now 30 something years later, almost 1000 dives later, I still dive.
All because of Bobby.
I remember him as a skinny kid with blond shaggy hair and always barefoot
I even took an UW photography course from him some time in the 1980's. We still stayed in contact all through the years. I would stop by his shop on occasion with my friend John who also took scuba lessons from him as well. I bought all my initial equipment from Bob at Northeast scuba in Danvers and many years later I bought my DUI dry suit from him at his shop at Undersea Divers on water st in Beverly as well. He was always cheerful and always eager to talk about diving adventures.

Dive# 222-236 March 16 1998 Bonaire
I took my first trip to Bonaire with Bobby (along with Fred, Chris and Ann L)
And of course, I fell in love with Bonaire.

The last time I saw Bobby was at the froggie's holiday party last year (I think 2013) We would joke about who's been to Bonaire the most times. He, of course, had been there the most(-even when he was sick he would still go).I would call him on occasions whenever I saw a super deal on air flights to Bonaire to give him the "heads up".
I really hope there is a heaven.
And I hope heaven is like Bonaire.
Someday I will see you there Bobby.
Keep an eye out for seahorses, will ya?

June 13th Pigeon Appreciation Day

Palomacy (a pigeon rescue in California) announced that June 13th is pigeon appreciation day.
I like to check their facebook page on their rescue stories and for the most part they have happy endings.
It is summer time on at the beach so I can no longer feed the pigeons. I did feed them in the winter because there is no food available for them. There are less and less pigeons at the beach and therefore less nests. Mostly because the pizza shops built barriers so the pigeons can't roost there. I did see a couple youngsters on the beach. I can tell they are youngsters by their pinkish beaks and residue fluff hairs. I saw one chase an adult for food. I found a few new nests under the pilings which makes me nervous at every high tide.
A week ago I got a call from a lady who found an injured pigeon on rte 114. from what she described there would be nothing I could do initially unless she could bring the bird to the vet first of all. The wing was torn off at the tip and there was a hole in the chest (crop) Once a vet checked the bird out and did what needed to get the bird in the right direction I could step in and provide the palliative care (i.e. give medication, clean dressings, feed, clean ect...)
It has been a problem finding a vet who will examine pigeons especially ones found in the "wild". The odd thing is that they are not considered technically as "wildlife" since they can be kept as pets or..as food in some cases. (gasp)
With the help of "Jody' (wildlife rehabber) to have her vet look at the pigeon. I awaited the call so I could step in and help this bird.If the wing was so damaged that he could not be released but still could live out his life as a pet (resident) he would be welcomed in my home.
Sadly, the wing was'nt the only thing  messed up. The injury on the chest was a torn crop and it was seriously infected. (The crop is what holds the food in). This little pigeon was a youngster and must have stumbled into the traffic to have obtained these kinds of injuries. With that being said, he couldn't be saved.
My pigeon must have known something was up because she followed me everywhere I went in the house. People don't realize how smart, loving and loyal these birds are.

I don't own birds... they own me

"Button's" health has been improving since I've tweeked her diet by adding cooked food and bringing her outside for some muted sunlight.
 I've been trying to alternate the rest of the birds to bring outside as well for sunlight.This has now been added to the daily routine as well as cooking and cutting up veggies for them.
I had been recently diagnosed having extremely low Vitamin D and I now have full blown osteoporosis. I am relatively young to have such a severe case. The bone density level dropped dramatically within a year span since my last test. I'm not really sure of why but it could be medication (?) I take that could suck calcium from my body, hormonal changes, lack of sunlight from the winter and I now think, overhead fluorescent lights.
With this being said, I think my birds as well  are all suffering from low calcium and low levels of vitamin D.
"Lucille' laid an egg that was paper thin. The colouring on Button's beak was anemic looking. So lately, as well as bringing them outside for sun and air, I've been also feeding them with nice big delicious dandelion greens. These leaves are loaded with vitamin and minerals. I told my husband not to mow down the dandelions in the back. People think dandelions are just pesky weeds but they are actually a golden food source (the dandelion leaves)
On a decent day, I'll bring two birds at a time to sit with me outside. Their food is healthier and my egg layers get a sprinkle of calcium on their food.
I've just started taking calcium tablets and vitamin D3. I do eat calcium enriched foods such as broccoli, collards, spinach and almonds but apparently not enough, and no, I don't eat yogert, cheese or drink milk.
Yuck. Dairy makes me gag.It feels slimy in my mouth.
My doctor prescribed fossamax but it is sitting on my counter unopened. I've heard only bad side effects from taking this stuff-like jaw bone resorption. I haven't heard from a single person so far touting the benefits of this pill.
So there it sits.
Remarkably my beak less pigeon who has/had a bone eating disease appears to be healthy and strong. She sits by the screen to take in the sun. She is kind of fat and flies on occasion but mostly likes to walk. Her main diet is harrison's enriched pellets and pigeon peas. She also loves Indian food in which she will mob me to get a share of my left-overs. She hasn't laid an egg but lately is very "nesty". She took a bottle cap, pushed it under her chest as if it was a egg and guarded it.She has taken over my slippers and charges me if I take them away so I've left those slippers there and I just wear a different pair for now.
I just went food shopping and my thoughts were "what will be healthy and yummy for the birds..oh yeah, what will be healthy for me too.."
My priorities seem to be always about my birds,

horseshoe crab bonk-o-rama May 18 2015

On occasion, I would see horseshoe crabs at our shore-lines from Hampton beach all the way down to  Rhode Island. In the 1960's, I remember seeing hundreds of horseshoe crabs at the Rowley landing (boat launch).
My husband reported to me there were sighting of horseshoe crabs converging at Great Bay in New Hampshire.
The Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve is quite a large area dipping inland of the New Hampshire coast. We sought out first in our quest to find horseshoe crabs in Stratham, NH (Sandy point). It's a nice place to take easy hikes and bird watch. We walked around the shore line but no horseshoe crabs.
 The next place we ventured to was Turtle Quarry. This spot is located deep in the woods through unpaved roads in Newmarket. We wore hooded sweatshirts, long pants and hats but it was no match for the ridiculous swarms of horseflies and mosquitoes. We got lost in the woods  but lucky for us, we found our way back to the car unscathed. This place looked like a scene from the Blair witch project.
We found other more "civilized paths" in Newmarket to view the ocean but none close enough to walk on the actual shoreline.
The next spot we went to was Adams point in Durham next to UNH's research lab. You absolutely have to wear long pants here. The walkways are one big a poison ivy 'farm". I've never seen so much poison ivy and sumac in one area in my entire life.
We found our way to the shoreline and alas! And there they were! The shore was teeming with horseshoe crabs in various stages of coupling. The horseshoes that were amiss in the action were quite mobile trying their best to kick one male off the female to gain position.It was easy to spot the females because they were larger. The males were like little jockeys. It was a horseshoe crab bonk-o-rama.
It was interesting that the horseshoe crabs picked this particular area to mate. Whereas a few hundred feet away around the bend, I didn't see any. Perhaps it is the mineral content of the mud here that is best for them and their babies.
Anyways, it was fun looking for them.

Button's dilemma part 3

I feel a little more optimist.
 I've been separating Button from the other birds at dinner time so that she is not disturbed while she eats. I've been giving her carrots, dandelion greens, zucchini and cooked rice, veggie pasta with cooked greens and her pellets. She has been eating it with gusto. Her appetite is back.
She has her pain management medication, metacam, twice a day and I do think this has helped her. She flew across the room without crashing. She hasn't done that in over a month.
In addition, I've been taking her (and Scizzorpoop) out in a small cage for outside morning sunshine (vitamin D)She even took a bath by herself!
I weighed her yesterday and she gained 5 grams (She is now 103grams)
She looks scroggie looking but so far with this extra attention paid to her "whole health" she seems to be doing OK. I know myself when I am feeling lousy that good plain greens, sunshine, a nice bath and (for me, migraine meds) makes a world of difference.
One day at a time.

Button's dilemma part 2

I took Button back to the vet after her second visit this year 2 weeks ago.
 Her condition had deteriorated significantly. Her preening gland is huge. Just the slightest touch causes it to bleed. The same situation goes for the spot on her head. The skin pulled away from the "tumor" leaving a gaping hole.
Her weight on April 27 was 117grams. Her weight two weeks later on May 11 was 97 grams. That is a 20 gram weight loss in a short period of time. The vet was concerned and not very hopeful in her prognosis. If she had an infection the baytril would have made her gland smaller- not bigger.
It appears that she has cancer.
To operate on her, if indeed you could remove the offending tumors, she would most likely bleed out, even with the best of care. Her skin is like paper. The fact that she lost so much weight and she isn't flying indicates possible internal shit.
She is mostly alert and has a good appetite. I now feed her away from the other birds with rice, veggies and her pellets, with a sprig of millet for dessert. She is on metacam for pain management. I took her outside in the morning for vitamen D sunshine.
 I am doing the best for her comfort. I couldn't bear having her pass away alone on a operating table. At least this way she is having managed care surrounded by her friends.

Button's dilemma

Button is my first lutino cockatiel. She was hatched on May 16 2002. She will be 13 years old. This is not especially old for a cockatiel. I've read they can live to 25 to even 30 years of age. Fancy variety breeds such as lutinos do not live as long.
Through the years Button has had a bunch of different health issues. I do think it is because she is a lutino (albino). She's a feather picker and tends to get yeast infections. The latest health problem is I noticed she wasn't able to fly. I thought perhaps she banged into something and injured her wings. I took her to the vet, she had x-rays and a dose of metacam (pain reliever) But the problem still existed. Then, I noticed a nod on her head like a wart. I took her back to vet and the vet found that in addition, that  her uropygial gland was huge and missing it's wick feather (This is the preening gland which is important to keep the feathers oiled and cleaned)
As instructed, I gave her antibiotics fora possible  infection, put warm compresses on her head to hopefully open up the little cyst on her head but for some reason the hot water from the cloth caused the skin to pull apart and she would bleed. I can not figure out why this would happen-no scrubbing or anything else would make this happen. Just the light pressure caused the area to bleed and pull apart. The same thing happened with the preening gland. I would gently press it as instructed because it might have been clogged with wax but instead it would bleed and the feather base would bleed too. The gland got bigger instead of smaller.
This was most distressing. And alarming.
I read in my bird vet books that it is not uncommon for 'older birds of especially of the variety strain" of cockatiels to develop cancer.-especially on the uropygial gland.This makes me nervous.
If it is just a major "clog" in the duct she will need an operation -which is very risky for birds.
Either way I am worried.
She has been quiet and sleeping alot.
Tomorrow she has a vet appointment. One can only hope...

home improvement avalanche part 2

I'm just about finished with what I planned to do for indoor home improvements for right now. I am just waiting on a pair of roman curtain blinds I ordered through JCPenny for the bedroom in which I will install.
The kitchen needs a major over hall but funds are limited right now. Even if I "Mac and Myer" it and do 99% of the work myself it will still be costly so I will wait on that for now.And, with every project you think you are only going to spend X amount of money and it ALWAYS turns out to be XXX amount of money. Always.
In the meantime, I decided that the front of the house outside needed some cleaning up. Most of the landscape stones have disappeared and the bushes looked like Phyllis Diller's hair (see above)
 The rose "bushes" were dried up sticks. Weeds over took the walk way. All of this is low cost fix-ups. It's mostly manual labor.
I bought eighteen 50 pound bags of stones. I had to make two trips to Home depot because of the weight of the stones in my car. That's a lot of stone you would think but it just about covered the walk way. It took me two days to trim those "Phyllis" bushes. My forearms were killing me. I feel like Popeye! Not to mention dragging those bags of stones. Ugh.. I'm still hurting.
Instead of spraying the weeds with store bought weed killer-which I was opposed to doing because of the birds and critters that visit my yard I used a home-made concoction. My mother used to use mixes like this.
1 gallon of vinegar, 16oz of epson salt and 1/4 cup of (blue) dawn in a spray bottle
I sprayed the weeds twice and it works! All of the weeds kicked the bucket. My mother used to spray her veggies in her garden with just soapy water to keep the aphids away.
It doesn't look like "home beautiful" but at least it looks cleaner. Sadly most of my border bushes died because of the harsh winter.
I have my little garden plot all churned up and cleaned up patiently waiting for the warm weather to plant my herb garden.
I am so glad it is finally MAY!

home improvement avalanche

  It was a brutal winter.
During this time being stuck in the house I decided to do some home improvement updates. As anyone knows when you start one minor project an avalanche of other things pop up that need fixing.
When the house was built the nitwits building the house bypassed laying down tile in front of the fireplace. I found tile in the basement that fit perfectly (already pre-cut) in front of the fireplace so after reading "how to" books and talking to the home depot tile guys I decided to tackle the project myself. I thought it would be easy but there is a lot involved in tiling.
After I surgically cut the crappy buckling rug in front of the fireplace I knew that I had to be committed to the project. Luckily, the plywood underneath was sound. I had to mix up and lay down thin set mortar, then lay ditrex fiber board over that, then another layer of mortar. I had to "butter board" the backs of tile with thin set laying it down carefully in a framer separated by spacers. Two days later, I had to apply the grout.
What friggin' mess.
Grout (and mortar) was everywhere.
 After carefully cleaning that up two days later I had to apply the tile sealer.
As you can see I got ambitious I did the mantle tiling as well. I had to use a different type of mortar with a polymer base for the wall.This was much more challenging because after making a first attempt using sea glass and tiles they  were sliding off the wall making a mess. I had to frantically remove them and wash them before the mortar set and try again. I then had to use a framer to hold the tiles up plus I ditched the sea glass idea and used simple cut tiles on a mesh that helped hold and line the little tiles up. I had bought a custom tile on zazzle.com of a pigeon along with colorful Mexican tiles. The arduous results came out satisfactory. Since I shitted up the carpet it was a good excuse to get new carpets.

 Here is the end result.
 (The photo makes the tiles look distorted but I assure you the tiles were spot on level! I had to use math to make it right!)
As I said, one project led to another and then another.
The old rugs upstairs were of poor quality and poorly installed. After a year of moving in the rugs were buckling so bad I was tripping on them. My mother urged me to do hardwood flooring but I am cold all the time and I like soft warm carpeting on my feet. Since I planned and ordered new plush carpeting I figured this was a good time to repaint ALL the rooms.
 In the process of painting (and yet this led into another project) I had to plaster and repair gouges and cracks on the walls and door jams. Wood putty and spackle became my friend. I had to move, organize, fix and clean up furniture to make way for the painting and carpeting.
 All this painting and carpeting forced me to clean my house thoroughly. A lot of spiders are now homeless.Let me tell you how much shit you can accumulate in a period of just ten years. I then, had to clean out the attic, basement and garage to make room to move most of the furniture and stuff in for the carpet guys to lay down the carpet.
During all of this the toilet needed repairing, which I fixed by changing the ballcock unit. This had been now the fifth toilet I repaired! We also had a broken pipe in the basement in which we tried to fix but ultimately had to call professional plumbers because it involved  cutting of pipes.

I told the carpet guys to carpet all the rooms upstairs with a bright blue carpet (For downstairs I went with a speckled grey carpet. It's "bird poop friendly color". I had initially picked a pretty lime green color but realistically decided that color would be wrecked in less than an hour))
All the rooms were to be carpeted except my shoe closet. I didn't want to empty the closet and the carpet already in there was OK.
The rooms were empty of stuff and furniture except for the bed, empty bureaus and empty book cases. When I came home to check on the progression of the carpet being laid down, the guys "confessed" to emptying my shoe closet. (!)
To my amazement I found all my shoes lined up and arranged in perfect coordination filling all four book cases. I think the guys were in total amazement with the amount and assortment of shoes. I think they  had to take a photo to show their wives/girlfriends of my collection. The head guy confessed he had "never seen so many shoes in his life".
It's a good thing I had packed up my troll collection.....

the wild pigeons of salisbury beach part 114

Here is Craow Dum.
 I hardly ever call her that.
I mostly call her "booger" or "Bust-a-move". These names mostly ascribe to her personality with affection.
She is doing wonderfully after over three and half years later since I found her half dead in a gutter.
She is the love of my life-boogers and all.
She still follows me around like a dog. As you can see she has claimed my slippers on top of the dryer.
After leaving that other poor pigeon that was so severely injured at the  vet's office I have been second guessing my decision.
Could I have done more?
The vet was pretty adamant that this poor bird would never recover and was suffering.
My husband on the other hand was not convinced, and was furious.
 Euthanasia was not an option, in his opinion.
 Let's just say we had a "marriage encounter" over the vet's decision.
I really felt shitty enough.
Really shitty .
I've never seen him so pissed.
Our birds could definitely feel the tension in the house.
When ever we spoke the birds squawked loudly and paced frantically.
"Eddie" (my fav cockatiel) kept flying to my shoulder and to my husband's shoulder making alarm sounds. The squawking was deafening.
Even Craow Dum was crying in the laundry room.
We finally sorted things out on what to do next time in regards to helping other injured pigeons in the future and peace was once again restored in our house-hold.
It has been a brutal winter for birds.
Jody had told me from her report from the Tufts wildlife clinic that in one day alone they brought in 75 owls that were injured or starved.
This is in one day.
 And these were the ones that were found and rescued.
Earlier in the season I found quite a few dead pigeons that were starved and frozen to death on the beach.
Craow Dum was lucky. She  has miraculously  survived and thrived. I guess my husband thought the same luck would befall upon that other poor frost-bitten pigeon with my "magic touch".
Sadly, it wasn't meant to be.

the wild pigeons of salisbury beach part 113

I felt a little hopeful today even though the little pigeon's condition has not improved I still felt hopeful.
 I tried various things to make him comfortable and upright. I would spend the better part of the day fussing over him making sure he was clean, fed and upright.He would peck a little at the food right in front of him but I wasn't sure he was eating anything. He had the same issue with water so I would force his mouth open to hydrate him. I would also administer meds, peas and pellets. There was always problems .He would somehow manage to get out of the wrappings (or rather entangle himself) messing himself and flipping on his back.While I was talking on the phone he nearly strangled himself in the wrappings.
Jody-the wildlife rehabber-got in touch with her vet and finagled a vet appointment for me.
 I was delighted.
Even if the prognosis was that he would be disabled so long as he could eat he could stay with me as a pet. Prior to his appointment, after an hour  of coaxing and by holding him, I got him to drink water and eat on his own.
This was another small spark of hope.
Unfortunately my hope was short lived.
The vet examined him and concluded he had spinal damage with no real chance of recovery. In addition the pigeon's lower jaw was broken. Every time I tried to open the bird's mouth to feed and administer meds was causing it to fracture more. The bird was suffering and could possibly starve to death.
My husband had a hard time accepting this and continued to believe this was not the end.He was extremely upset and refused to believe there was no chance of recovery.
Yet the bottom line was that the poor little pigeon did not go home with us.
Was this the right decision?
I do not know.
 I really do not know.
 Jody met us at the vet office and we talked.
Even with the best efforts some animals don't make it.
I think about this situation and I get so furious with the @$$holes that drive so  fast at the beach area where the pigeons reside.This poor bird was hit by a car and was left stuck in a snow bank to die.
I tried saving him.
sigh...