FYI

OK ladies and gerbils, this friday is National donut day.
Buy a beverage and get a free donut at dunkin donuts!.  :-P
You ever notice how shitty ol' starbucks never has any freebies or specials?
 It is because they SUCK!.
(And their coffee taste like cigarettes.)
Regardless, I will not indulge in the donut give-a-away..
 This is only a "public service announcement" (wink!)
I haven't had a donut in now three years.
Dunkin's just came up with a new breakfast sandwich  instead of using a bread or a bagel it is a donut cut in half with the sandwich fixings inside. It is probably a billion calories but I bet it taste like heaven.
Do you ever watch those cooking competition shows on TV?
There is one show with a bake-off starring Jeff Foxworthy  (the "you know you're a red-neck" comedian. I'm not sure why he is a judge in a baking show though(!?!)) Anyways, all you see is these beautiful creations of cookies, cup-cakes and pies.
 It is kind of like a "playboy channel" for people with a "sweet tooth".
My Mother could "kick ass" on that show with her banana cream pie and apple pie. I personally think my scones are the best. They are low fat/low sugar with healthy morning kick start ingredient such as:oats, whole wheat, dates, walnuts. However, a lot of  people may not like them since they lack the 'fun' ingredients.
Dive buddy "Andy' sometimes brings these polish donuts onboard the dive boat as a treat for those to indulge in.
I've resisted the temptation, so far.
However
 I think I actually caught one of those fluffy donuts peeking of the bag and winking at me.
What a naughty little thing!

pet parrots

Every once in a while I get  phone calls from strangers that range from : "I found this turtle..."  "do you adopt out....?"   "I have three large dogs that are a little hard to handle.." etc... etc...

The other day I got a call from a lady who had this poor abused emotionally demented cockatoo. She was looking for a home that could 'work with the bird" to hopefully help him. 

Big birds like cockatoos need someone with the experience and patience to understand their needs. This is a huge challenge. Think of a obnoxious three year old with emotional problems-only with a very sharp 4 prong beak and the voice like a siren.

Funny thing is dive buddy Chris pointed out an article in the Gloucester newspaper about the plight of an abused cockatoo to me. This was the very same bird! (see below article)

http://goodmorninggloucester.wordpress.com/2013/06/01/rescue-fred-the-cockatoo-from-lin-chandler/

The lady who called me was very nice and she had experience with larger big birds with "big personalities". Cockatoos in particular have big personalities and are very needy. This poor bird in question had emotional problems from horrible abuses from previous "owners". This on top of "just being a cockatoo".
 It was a bit too much for this "foster parrot mum" to handle, but she cared enough for the bird's welfare to reach out and seek help.

Sadly, I do not have the experience or the housing for this type of bird. I did offer some suggestions to perhaps somebody that would or could help.

I asked her where she got my number and she told me a vet's office because " (I) had experiences rehabbing small parrots" (cockatiels) (Ahhhhh..the word got out! (wink!))

Yes, I have cockatiels that were neglected and some have behavioral issues. I spend alot of time with my birds establishing routines and boundaries. I've learned to understand their behaviors and needs.

I am hoping things turn out well for that poor cockatoo. The sad thing about birds is they don't get the headlines and sympathy or protection laws like dogs and cats. Usually abuses are not reported or anything done about it, and for the most part they usually do not survive.

Yup, some bite, poop on my head, destroy books and make a racket when I'm on the phone. My close friends understand when I tell them, "I gotta get home for my birds".
It's not an "excuse" to leave. I really do have to leave and get home to my birds!
.My birds have their routines and they get agitated when I am not home for them.It's stressful for them when I am gone for extended periods of time during the day.

They are neurotic but then again....

How does that go?
You are like the pets you pick. :-)

dive #894 June 2 2013

Summah is heeeeyyaaaH!
Saturday at 10:00 am reached 97F. I bought my yearly beach pass and migrated onto the beach. It was so freakin' hot that I couldn't stand it. I stood at the water's edge and my ankles were numb from the cold.
Regardless, I took a deep breath and "Hampton beached" it.( I made a running start and ran in).
It was ridiculously cold.
"Crabs and ice water' cold.
At least this way I knew what to expect the next day when I went diving.
You are probably thinking, "gee, if the water is that cold why don't you wear your dry suit?" I packed it and re-packed my wet suit instead figuring I'd rather be cold rather than pass out on the deck of the boat from heat stroke.
I was in such a good mood on sunday.
My head was clear.
June is my favorite month.
I was going diving.
I was seeing my dive pals.
Life is good.
Fred and Chris were running the show along with Pete and Larient's assistance . I was glad to see Lareint onboard. He had issues with his ears last season. Apparently he was A-OK to dive again. Hooray!
 Also onboard, Jackie K & Andy were diving, and Bill L was out enjoying the boat ride.
We anchored at Folly Cove. The place was chock-o-block full of divers. I like this spot-especially for my first dive of the season. I was trying out my husband's regulator that I had piece mealed together plus his BCD with a new inflator hose. The regulator leaked a bit at the first stage/yoke area. Pete tightened something up that seemed to have done the trick.
I puttered around for a bit but my hands got wicked cold. My temp guage read 48F under the boat and 50F closer to the rocks.Everyone claimed they saw skates and sculpins. All I saw was a moon snail. The viz was about 25 feet. Even though I was cold I was glad to be in the water.
All in all we had a super day.

the wild pigeons of salisbury beach part 94

*I spoke too soon about the white pigeon in Seabrook. There he is sitting on the roof of a house right across the street from where Mattie the dog lives! (I took this photo with my cell phone)
It appears the lady around the corner still feeds him.
So far, this pigeon has been lucky.
Some are not so lucky.
I noticed a opening on one of the fried food places at the beach where pigeons come and go, and have babies. I saw a wing sticking out. Sadly a pigeon got stuck and couldn't get out. I think he died awhile back.
The youngsters milling around seem to be doing OK.Although the "little one" still seems to be thin to me. Young pigeons are suppose to be chubby.
Yesterday, I heard my husband yelling to me to 'come upstairs right now and see what your pigeon has done!" I had no idea what my pigeon has done.I thought perhaps he got on the desk and tossed the papers around. He's done that a few times.
I walked upstairs and saw my husband standing next to his closet pointing to his clothes hanging up. I was confused. What was the problem?
And then I saw bird shit all over his pants, hangers and a few shirts. What the ......(!?)
Oops..now, I remember. One day the pigeon decided to play "hide and seek" in the art room closet. I saw him poke his head out the closet on the top shelf as if to check to see if was looking for him.
 I am guessing he was waiting a long time for me. oooohhh naughty bird!

the wild pigeons of Salisbury beach part 93

* I took this photo a week ago of the two young pigeons that I was worried about. You can see the "little one" sitting on the milk crate. I had placed them up on the pizza loft so that cats or dogs wouldn't get at them..

The larger brother seemed to melded his way into the flock-eating and carrying on.
The "little one" just sat on the loft, to me, looking rejected.
Thankfully, I do believe, despite my worries, the father had been feeding him after he had his fill of morning seed. The "little one' remained on the loft for a good week longer than expected but today, he flew down to join the flock to eat seed!
In the meantime, the white pigeon up in Seabrook seemed to have disappeared. Food and water had be left out daily but no one has seen him since the weekend.
On other news regarding my 'birds".
My pigeon, Craow Dum, seems more boogery than ever. I think he is affected by this year's pollen season. I know one of my cockatiel chat-line members has a lovebird that has issues with allergies this time of year.
So even our pets are affected by seasonal allergies.
"Charlie" hopped out of his cage today. He was nervous but I  calmly and gently lifted him on my hand back in the cage.That was a big step for him. He is afraid of hands. Everyday I sit with him and offer him a delicious sprig of millet. He really enjoys it. "Patches' will invite himself in his cage. Charlie doesn't mind. I think he has a bit of a"bromance" going on with Patches.All I can think of is (movie stars) Bradley Cooper and Ryan Gosselin hanging out together.
Today is "Button's" birthday (hatch date). She is eleven years old. To celebrate, I gave her a big bowl of rice. It is like chocolate cake for her. She gobbles it up and makes a mess of it.
Well, that is all the "bird news" here for now.

the wild pigeons of Salisbury beach part 92

* I did not take this photo of a 4-5 week old pigeon. I found this pic on the internet just to show you what a 4 week old pigeon looks like. They look like adults except their beak and cere are not as defined as an adult and their eyes are bigger. There may be some remnants of fuzz through their feathers.They are fledglings.
Yesterday, I saw the youngster (again)sitting on milk crates positioned under the pizza sign loft. He was with another youngster who looked a bit more developed. They were sitting ducks for any wandering cats or busy dogs.
 I brought my ladder with me and put him and his brother back on the lofts. A supervising adult up on the loft (I presume the father) charged over and inspected the bird and then went about his business. This seemed like a good sign.Although the adult didn't feed him.
I went for my jog and came back to inspect the birds. The older one was on the ground again along with the other foraging adults.The smaller one paced nervously.
This was a bit disconcerting.I made up my mind, the next morning if he was there, and if he looked like he was not being cared for I would take him home.
The next day while all the other pigeons raced over for their morning seed I saw the little one wandering around. I thought to myself. "oh shit.." I went to pick him up and he flew up to the loft!
Hooray!
The father pigeon came down and started to "bust-a-move". This was a very good sign. I could see the older brother mixing with the other birds which was also a good sign.
Meanwhile, I haven't seen the white pigeon over in Seabrook. He must be still around because the lady who has had the pigeon visit her had set up a shelter with food and water for him.
I am still hoping he finds his way back home-where ever that is.

the wild pigeons of Salisbury beach part 91

Here is Craow Dum basking in the sun by the french doors.
Never a dull moment with these darn birds.
And yes, the white homer is still hanging around at the end of "A" street by Mattie's. It seems he has grown attached to the roof where he now resides. However, he has not linked up to the group of six resident feral pigeons that roost on the telephone wire nearby. The lady who lives in the house has left food and water out for him. daily.
 I'm not sure if this is a good thing or bad thing.
The good thing is that he has food and water daily.
 The bad thing is he might think this is home-and God knows where "home" is for this  hand raised lost athlete.
 The scary part is there are lots of hawks and cats that live on this street as well.
This morning I noticed as I was jogging on the beach there was a tiny baby pigeon chick dead on the sidewalk along with bits of egg shells.. I see lots of nesting pigeons right now tucked in around the pizza signs along with some of their sad failures .
I found a young fledgling under a nesting area. I wasn't sure if his parents were around or if he could fly back up where ever his nest was or if he was well. He was a youngster at perhaps 4 weeks or 5 weeks old. However his beak and nares were wet and dark. I'm not sure if he had some respiratory infection or it was just wet from drinking water. I was very very tempted to take him home to rehab him but I worry he could have something infectious to my other birds.
Sigh...I'm not sure what to do.
Hopefully, he is OK and safely back with his parents. Maybe I am worrying about nothing.