Flash and Sugar Franklin are both on the back of the couch. Flash has moved to about 8 inches of Sugar. Any closer and she hisses and snaps at his tail. Sugar thinks she's a human and doesn't want to be bothered by some "bird." Poor Flash. She's just snapped at him so hard he flew off to stand on her cage with Nicholas. Even from there he watches her.
Nicholas is a different story. When I first saw Nicholas he was in the lobby cage at the avian vet's office. He looked like no cockatiel I'd ever seen -- grey with all his feathers curled up, and he was very thin. But with bright eyes and a lot of energy. I asked what was wrong with him and everyone said they couldn't find anything wrong with him, and I knew my vet wouldn't put him in the lobby if he was sick.
He always shrieked at Sugar Franklin, and when we would leave the clinic I would hear him call after us in the parking lot. Poor thing was in love with Sugar, I thought.
A year or so later one of the vets asked if I wanted him. His curled feathers had molted out to be replaced with a sleek soft plumage, and he still proclaimed his love for Sugar loudly. She, of course, ignored him.
The vet assured me there was nothing chronically wrong with him; he'd been through all the tests. He was thought to be 13 to 15 years old. One of the vets had rescued him from a woman who bred cocktiels but never cleaned cages and smoked two or three packs of cigarettes a day and kept him on a seed-only diet. Poor thing should have been dead. He weighed about 68 grams.
So I took him home in his old ratty cage, which I threw out as soon as I got him settled in one of my nicer ones.
Once he realized Sugar was "not interested" he eased up on the shrieking, and just a few months ago I learned he was given to me because he shrieked at everybody. And here I thought it was because he loved Sugar.
He always calls a different call when someone pulls into the driveway or steps onto the porch, even if I can't hear him. He's better than a dog about that. He's up to 78 grams now and is still bright-eyed and rarely stands still. I've had him several years now, and I love him dearly for his enthusiasm and optimism. He has loud calls and moderate calls; he loves to do the wolf whistle, only he messes up the first two notes. Charli doesn't like Nicholas' loud calls, and she'll chirp loudly at Nicholas to shut him up. Which rarely works.
Sugar Franklin, by the way, is drinking her special water but only when she's so thirsty she can't avoid it. She'll take a drink, look up at me, and then back away from the dish. Poor baby. I tasted the water and there is a very, very slight trace of vinegar.
I'm sure Flash would rescue her from water with vinegar and honey in it, if only she'd let him.globe_blogs.gif
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Vinegar, Honey, and Water
I mixed up the first batch for Sugar this morning and I do see evidence that she's at least stuck her beak in it -- a few soggy pellets. I'll probably have to change her water bowl eight times a day. But that's okay. Dr. Z said all of Sugar's lab work looked "fantastic." I told Sugar the news but she just continued preening.
This morning Nicholas and Flash were fighting beak to beak about whatever manly cockatiel thing male cockatiels fight about. I tapped on the cage (gently) and told them to hush. This scared poor Flash to death. He jumped, crest in alarm mode, and stared as if I'd just placed a hawk in the cage. I talked to him and put my hand in the cage and he bit me - first time ever. So I left him alone and went to the grocery and ran errands.
When I got back he was back to his shy, scared self. He's never liked anyone to touch him, including me. Breaks my heart, but I love him anyway.
Charli is diligently chewing up her roll of adding machine tape, her most favorite toy in the world (and cheap too!). She's never tried to make a nest of it; she just chews it into long strips that end up on the bottom of her cage or on my floor.
I've got about three more loads of laundry to do and then make a trip to Wal-Mart, which I've been putting off for about month -- I hate shopping at Wal-Mart unless it's three in the morning.
Then fill up the car with gas, and I'm really dreading that! Gas is $4.15 here now. Well, I'm sure Bush and Cheney need the money more than me . . . grrrrrr
We're on the verge of a big ole' thunderstorm, which I love. We've had thunder for about 10 minutes and it's started raining. Yea!
This morning Nicholas and Flash were fighting beak to beak about whatever manly cockatiel thing male cockatiels fight about. I tapped on the cage (gently) and told them to hush. This scared poor Flash to death. He jumped, crest in alarm mode, and stared as if I'd just placed a hawk in the cage. I talked to him and put my hand in the cage and he bit me - first time ever. So I left him alone and went to the grocery and ran errands.
When I got back he was back to his shy, scared self. He's never liked anyone to touch him, including me. Breaks my heart, but I love him anyway.
Charli is diligently chewing up her roll of adding machine tape, her most favorite toy in the world (and cheap too!). She's never tried to make a nest of it; she just chews it into long strips that end up on the bottom of her cage or on my floor.
I've got about three more loads of laundry to do and then make a trip to Wal-Mart, which I've been putting off for about month -- I hate shopping at Wal-Mart unless it's three in the morning.
Then fill up the car with gas, and I'm really dreading that! Gas is $4.15 here now. Well, I'm sure Bush and Cheney need the money more than me . . . grrrrrr
We're on the verge of a big ole' thunderstorm, which I love. We've had thunder for about 10 minutes and it's started raining. Yea!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Later that Night . . .
Got some rude boilerplate e-mail from GoDaddy, so I sent e-mail to the prez.
Sugar Franklin was a tyrant at the vet's today; screaming and fussing as if her wings were being sawed off with a pocket knife. I had her tested for everything; she's ten years old and hasn't had blood work for about five or six years now. Plus a gram stain and urinalysis. We had to wait about 20 minutes for her to poop/pee for a sample -- nothing like standing around waiting for an angry cockatiel to poop.
Her weight was 108, so no worries there.
$186.00. These birds are going to bankrupt me. But it's far cheaper than having blood work done every year. Dr. Z says the trend now is to not do blood work every year unless something is up; only every few years. Easier on the birds and easier on the wallet. Results tomorrow.
Dr. Z just called; the urinalysis was fine but the gram stain showed some budding yeast. So I'm to give her 1 teaspoon of organic vinegar in 4 ounces of distilled water with two drops of honey a day for two weeks (or offer it; I can't make her drink it). And come back in two weeks. No problem but Sugar uses a water bottle and I'll bet the honey will clog up the spout. She'll just have to get used to a bowl for two weeks.
Now I'm going to eat some Haagen Das and watch Gray's Anatomy and Hopkins. Keep your fingers crossed the GoDaddy pres gets to the bottom of my stolen domain name.
Sugar Franklin was a tyrant at the vet's today; screaming and fussing as if her wings were being sawed off with a pocket knife. I had her tested for everything; she's ten years old and hasn't had blood work for about five or six years now. Plus a gram stain and urinalysis. We had to wait about 20 minutes for her to poop/pee for a sample -- nothing like standing around waiting for an angry cockatiel to poop.
Her weight was 108, so no worries there.
$186.00. These birds are going to bankrupt me. But it's far cheaper than having blood work done every year. Dr. Z says the trend now is to not do blood work every year unless something is up; only every few years. Easier on the birds and easier on the wallet. Results tomorrow.
Dr. Z just called; the urinalysis was fine but the gram stain showed some budding yeast. So I'm to give her 1 teaspoon of organic vinegar in 4 ounces of distilled water with two drops of honey a day for two weeks (or offer it; I can't make her drink it). And come back in two weeks. No problem but Sugar uses a water bottle and I'll bet the honey will clog up the spout. She'll just have to get used to a bowl for two weeks.
Now I'm going to eat some Haagen Das and watch Gray's Anatomy and Hopkins. Keep your fingers crossed the GoDaddy pres gets to the bottom of my stolen domain name.
Busy Thursday
It's always rain or drought. It's been so calm and peaceful and under control the past month, then, just like that, things are getting crazy busy again.
Fired off an official fax to GoDaddy about my site, which I fully expect to be restored to me since they ILLEGALLY sold it to someone else (no, it was not up for renewal).
Finished one project at work yesterday, and had twice as much more work dumped on me every day this week.
Start physical therapy next week for my shoulder; my PA said it would probably hurt as much or more than the original pain. Gee, I can't wait.
In less than a month I'll be at Vermont College of Fine Arts for their post-graduate week-long residency. Of course, I've barely gotten my poems in on time to be included in the workshop books -- four new ones (bad) and two old ones (not bad) -- and am in no way ready to go anywhere. It's been 18 years and I don't know if I can still write good poetry. I used to be very, very good but quit for several reasons. JBH, my mentor here, was thrilled when I called him about going back to Vermont, so I'm holding on to his good energies.
I'm flying, which I dread because of the way airlines treat passengers. Plus I'm determined to fit 7 days' worth of clothes and sundries into two small carry-ons. All I need are tee-shirts and shorts and underwear.
Today is the Staff Senate, and all the newbie senators will be attending -- all innocent and full of faith and good will. Just wait till reality sinks in.
Summer chorus rehearsals will begin this coming Monday for the women who tape the practice CDs and "spot," i.e., be sure the tapers are singing the right notes. I agreed to learn how to be a spotter, so Monday night is shot.
Tomorrow is T's birthday, so R and I are taking her out to nice lunch.
O gave me another "difficult" piano piece to learn. Sigh . . . I don't have enough fingers to play all those notes! She says I'm doing very well, but it doesn't sound that way to me.
And at 5 o'clock today, Sugar is due at the vet's for her blood draw. Her weight is up to 115, whereas it's normally 108 or thereabouts. The vet said she's probably getting to lay an egg, but that was last week and there have been no eggs. That means either that Sugar is gaining weight and I'll have to put her on a diet, or something horrible I don't even want to think about. We'll see today.
All the birds got some Harrison's birdie bread last night and I ate some Haagen-Das, so a good time was had by all.
Fired off an official fax to GoDaddy about my site, which I fully expect to be restored to me since they ILLEGALLY sold it to someone else (no, it was not up for renewal).
Finished one project at work yesterday, and had twice as much more work dumped on me every day this week.
Start physical therapy next week for my shoulder; my PA said it would probably hurt as much or more than the original pain. Gee, I can't wait.
In less than a month I'll be at Vermont College of Fine Arts for their post-graduate week-long residency. Of course, I've barely gotten my poems in on time to be included in the workshop books -- four new ones (bad) and two old ones (not bad) -- and am in no way ready to go anywhere. It's been 18 years and I don't know if I can still write good poetry. I used to be very, very good but quit for several reasons. JBH, my mentor here, was thrilled when I called him about going back to Vermont, so I'm holding on to his good energies.
I'm flying, which I dread because of the way airlines treat passengers. Plus I'm determined to fit 7 days' worth of clothes and sundries into two small carry-ons. All I need are tee-shirts and shorts and underwear.
Today is the Staff Senate, and all the newbie senators will be attending -- all innocent and full of faith and good will. Just wait till reality sinks in.
Summer chorus rehearsals will begin this coming Monday for the women who tape the practice CDs and "spot," i.e., be sure the tapers are singing the right notes. I agreed to learn how to be a spotter, so Monday night is shot.
Tomorrow is T's birthday, so R and I are taking her out to nice lunch.
O gave me another "difficult" piano piece to learn. Sigh . . . I don't have enough fingers to play all those notes! She says I'm doing very well, but it doesn't sound that way to me.
And at 5 o'clock today, Sugar is due at the vet's for her blood draw. Her weight is up to 115, whereas it's normally 108 or thereabouts. The vet said she's probably getting to lay an egg, but that was last week and there have been no eggs. That means either that Sugar is gaining weight and I'll have to put her on a diet, or something horrible I don't even want to think about. We'll see today.
All the birds got some Harrison's birdie bread last night and I ate some Haagen-Das, so a good time was had by all.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Piano Woman
Tonight is my weekly piano lesson. My teacher is a young woman from Russia who has X-number of degrees in musicology and is also the pianist for the women's chorus I'm in. When she fusses at me her accent is so thick I usually can't tell what she's saying. But she's a good teacher and good person and a great musician and I think she's great.
She won't be pleased tonight. She gave me three pieces to do, one of which is "difficult" at my level, and I haven't been able to do it. The notes are all weird -- like playing middle C with the left hand instead of the right. But she'll explain it and I'll learn it and it might even make sense.
Or not.
I got my committee assignment today for the upcoming Staff Senate: Staff Issues, which is a bummer since most of the people on that committee and the chair don't believe there are any staff issues.
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