the pigeon went to church

Oct 3rd is St. Francis's day.
Most of the churches in my area of all denominations hold a'blessing of the Animals" service.
Last week the Orthodox Greek church held a service as well as two Episcopal churches.
This morning the Unitarian Universalist church held service.
 I had been sick for that last few days so I had no energy to do much of anything. However, my dear husband volunteered to take me to the service with the pigeon.
Yes, you read that right.
I went to church with the pigeon.
I called my cousin to see if she was interested in attending the service with her dogs as well.
It was kind of funny seeing all kinds of people attending service with their animals.
Most people there took their dogs. One kid brought his guinea pig. I have to say, the dogs and their people were well behaved and attentive.
A few people brought pictures of their departed pets for a blessing as well.
Craow Dum enjoyed the service. I think she really liked the hymns. After an hour or so being stuck in her carrier, she was getting a bit restless and was bustin'-a-move cooing and twirling.
The same was said for my cousin's dogs, "Jackie" (her elderly pom) and "Cuddles" (her deaf cocker spaniel). Cuddles took it one step further and starting rummaging through an unsuspecting seated church-goers  purse for potential treats (or even tissue paper to chew).
The benediction is as followed,"Gracious Creator,
                                                 Hear and bless
                                                 Thy beasts and singing birds
                                                 And guard with tenderness
                                                 Small things that have no words"
                                                 Amen
And so, yes, the pigeon went to church and was blessed by the minister.
                                           
                           

purgatory

Tim Burton has nailed it on the head in the movie "Beetlejuice"
The RMV is purgatory.
Purgatory is the RMV.
Hurry up and  f*&^ing wait.
And come back, again, you need.......this and this, and THIS!
The worse part about getting a new car is having to go to the RMV to register it.
Every single time.
 I mean every single friggin' time I never have all the "proper" information" needed" to complete the process.
I always have to come back at least one more time.
It is one big pain-in-the-ass-waste-of-time thing you have to do.
That is, if you do 'the right thing" and play by the rules.
But "they" do not make it easy for you.
It is no wonder I see so many people on the police blotter blog that are pulled over for being unregistered and uninsured. The system makes it horrible for those of us suckers who go by the rules and regulations.
When I  registered my father's truck, I was sent back close to four times for nonsense! One "lady" says you need this and when you go back again and see a different lady they tell you, "oh you don't need that".
It's pure torture.
Have you ever noticed that All the ladies at the registry either look like "Mimi' (from the Drew Carey show) or like Rosanne Barr (with the "personality" to match) screaming "NEEEEEEXT!".
Oh My God.
It is awful.
I picture purgatory as the waiting area in the RMV. You wait and wait, and WAIT. AND then when you are finally called, you have to go out and get something else to complete the process. It's never a one shot deal. Maybe in  my case, I would be issued a 'special purgatory ticket" that would require me to make amends with people I've dissed or maybe I would have to bring a nickle to the drug-store where I stole the bubble-gum when I was six years old.
 Who knows.
You don't know until you reach that counter window.
UGH...

bells and whistles

My car has been giving trouble on a routine basis.

 I had brought it back to shop numerous times for the same issue and still, it wasn't resolved. I was hoping to hold on to it til at least after the winter but I had this nagging feeling that on the worst snowy/slushy/freezing rain day that my car would stall out at a red light and I would be stuck. 

Everyday I would have a hard time starting the car and then when I got it going it always felt like it was going to stall. Regardless, I really hated the idea of parting with my PT cruiser.

.There were things I really liked about this car but after hitting 110,000miles it was becoming increasingly unreliable and predictably unpredictable.

 I felt like I was breaking up with a long time boy-friend.

Unfortunately, I had to do it.

There were certain things I look for in a vehicle.

1# It has to be made in the USA (sorry, no Japanese cars. The Japanese still hunt whales. My motivations are purely ethical  so don't waste your time telling how great Japanese cars are)

2# It has to be good in the snow. Winters suck big time in New England and I have to drive in this white shit.

3# It has to be big enough to carry multiple bird cages.

4# It has to have decent gas mileage

5# And like  a "new boyfriend", it has to be "cute".

So I ended up with a Jeep.

I had planned on buying a pre-owned vehicle in the hopes of vehicle that didn't have all these la de da features and gadgets. I am the most technologically challenged person in the world.

My PT cruiser was probably the last car made that still had roll down windows and used an ordinary key.They just do not make car stripped down like that anymore with just the basics.

This "new" car has all kinds of bells and whistles.

I still don't know what half the stuff is used  for.

One feature worth noting is an "automatic starter remote".

I have this starter remote hidden away and locked up.

I made the mistake of leaving it on the counter.

As you readers might remember how my pigeon has an affinity for the TV remote.

I'll let you guess what happened.(!)

The Wild Pigeons of Salisbury beach part 82

It appears the bone/sinus infection on poor Craow Dum's face is not slowing down despite my best efforts of keeping him clean and through multiple vet visits hoping to curtail the spread.
However, he behaves like nothing is wrong. He is busy pecking on the floor. He will peck at the remote control in living room at 4:00 for "Judge Judy" and settle down. He will hide under the computer table. He has a good appetite.
I, just feel, like I am just waiting for a bomb to explode as I look at his sinus/eye area.
On a last ditch effort I emailed Dr Walker, a racing pigeon vet, in Australia.
 I have his book "The Flying vet". I sent him a photo and briefed him on Craow Dum's medical history. I also sent an email to my vet as well. I am now just waiting to hear from the both of them with any ideas, suggestions, or whatever.
According to "The Flying Vet", the book shows (successful before and after photos) of a pigeon who have had nodules removed from their sinus's. I do not know if this was a lucky one time success or if this case is even similar to Craow Dum's situation but, regardless, this (photo in the book of the successful surgery) is what prompted me to email Dr Walker for his thoughts on this case.
I know many people would just roll their eyes and say, "oh it's just a damn pigeon, fer God's sake".
I have not found a creature more loyal, smart and as funny as this pigeon.
He still jumps up on the couch, hip checks me to move over, looks up at me with his homely little face as if he is smiling.
He has never called me fat or stupid. He doesn't care who I vote for.He doesn't hold a grudge.He doesn't ramble on about stupid boring shit. He likes everything I put in his plate without a fuss.
 He is just a nice simple sweet bird.
Maybe the vets will contact me back or maybe they won't. Maybe they will offer suggestions or maybe this is all that can be done.
 This is my last life-line for this bird.

dive #876 & 877 September 16 2012

Dive #876 Sept 16 2012
The SE wind had shifted from thursday's heat wave to today's brisk NW wind.
 I was glad I packed my dry suit for today's trip.We ventured out to Loblolly cove hoping for some protection from the wind.
We had Fred, Chris and Pete in charge with Lareint helping out with just about everything. We had Lynda,Myanna, IL and Stu as customers. As we were heading out past the Eastern point Lareint spotted a mola mola (ocean sunfish) with it's fin flopping back and forth on the surface. "He' was a crusty ol' soul covered with barnacles (the mola mola, not Larient) .September is usually the time of year you see mola molas, if you see them at all. This was a treat!
The viz was so so at about 7-10 feet max. Water temp was 57F at 20 feet. It was nauseatingly surgy. As I am typing this, I can still feel the effects .I figured I was done for the day after that dive
Dive #877
For the second dive site, we anchored at Brace's cove.The waves were viciously crashing down by the rocks which made me a bit nervous.Chris was getting her exercise rowing close to where any divers drifted away from the inner part of the cove just to keep an eye out. One diver was heading further out in the ocean drifting a bit too close to the area where the waves were crashing on the rocks. Since he did not surface to check his whereabouts I opted to don my dry suit and steer him back to the boat, for safety sake.
He was swimming at a pretty good clip. I finally caught with him before he reached those rocks. I was dead tired after that swim. Lareint plucked me up out of the water with one hand like I was a suitcase.
Amazing.
All I can say is that we  will all sleep well tonight.
Never a dull moment though. As the boat was making it's way back through the slosh, another diver fell over board. I was glad I still had my suit on as I making my way to the stern of the boat  just in case I  needed to jump in. Thank God she was not hurt, just wet. Even her cookies got wet looking like a mushy pile of bird poop on the platform.
Yeah, never a dull moment.

The Wild Pigeons of Salisbury beach part 81

In 2006, Disney films produced an animated film called "Valiant". It's a cute film about the brave messenger pigeons used in WWII. I've seen the movie twice.It's funny and pro-pigeon!
As I type this page,  Craow Dum is sitting on my lap. He is dying to jump up on the key-pad to 'help' me type. Pigeons are very eager to be of service.
Yesterday at the beach boardwalk, my cousin wanted to photograph me holding a local state political front-runners cute little dog to use on their political web-site.The dog was definitely more photogenic than I was. He had a great big smile as if he was used to getting his picture taken. He kind of reminded me of Kelly Ripa with his practiced posed expression.
As we were sitting on the bench, my cousin noticed the pigeons walking over to me and asked in a joking matter, "do you know these guys?" "I said, "matter-of-fact, I know two of them. Those two (white speckled) ones are the Snowflake twins!" I pointed over to above the Christie's pizza sign to where they were born. I told her to listen carefully, that you can hear 'squeakers" (new hatchlings up and behind the protection of the signs) I think she was amazed that I was so observant of the pigeons. She appreciates nature and animals of all kinds as well
The pigeons just had their 'fall season' babies. It's a tough time of year because there aren't as many tourists out dropping french fries and pizza now. When I bring the jar of seed for them in the morning they are like teen-age girls grasping for Justin Beiber concert tickets! I've had pigeons land on my head! They are now feeding for two (or three!) so they are especially hungry.
A lady who owns a cockatoo in Seabrook told me she also feeds the pigeons on her street. She had noticed a "homer" coming around her feeders. I would love to see that homer. I wonder if it was the same one that was visiting the beach in the summer.
You just never know (if it is the same homer) and you just never know who you run into who also admires the pigeons as well! :-)

potty mouth birds

I couldn't help but comment on this case of the "potty mouth cockatoo".
A woman in Warwick Rhode Island has been cited with a noise violation over her swearing cockatoo.
 From what I gather from the pending case, is that this woman lives next to her ex-husband with his girl-friend. One way of getting back at them is having the bird squawk "fu*&ing wh*re" repeatedly.
I got to tell you from experience, birds love saying the word "Fu*&;" It's easy to say and fun because they get a 'reaction" from it.
I do think these two people involved in this case are both  class A jerks.
Either party should move away from each other in order to halt this aggravation
The owner of the bird "Lynn" should keep her bird inside and retrain him to say 'fire truck' instead.
I do not have a good feeling about this case and think it will end badly for the cockatoo, not for the two idiots involved.
Yes, my budgie swears too but he mostly says,"very good indeed" and "I looove being a biscuit!"
 I didn't 'train' him to swear. He just picked it up in passing because it is "expressive" .He will also laugh after he does it too. If I ignore the "fresh words" he will no longer say it because there's no benefit in it for him . If he says, "I love you!" I talk back to him, saying, "I love you too!" (this is positive re-enforcement to encouraging him to say it again) He usually will say it back again.
I think in this case, this "Lynn' has re-enforced the cockatoo to swear by saying "good bird!" afterwards, laughed (they love that) or perhaps gave him a treat after he said it.
Hopefully, both parties will "grow up', stop the nonsense and the bird will be spared any backlash.