Grace by Nissa (age 10)

Grace is an amazing bird. Not in just one way but in many ways. She talks and says things at the right moment, whistles and barks, stands on one leg and beeps like an oven. She can say hello and hang upside down. She plays with her toys and swings on her swing.
Grace is a pretty bird with short grey feathers, a large sharp black beak and white mask on her face. She has a long ruby tail and sharp claws on her feet. She picks up her food and carefully nibbles it. But sometimes she drops it down onto the floor.
That is Grace, the pretty amazing bird, the one that is loveable and easy to remember. That is Grace, the one that I care about, the one that I love.

Ticks Already

Last night just before I went to bed I found a little tick on the bathroom floor. Kabira had just run in from outside so I guess it fell off her. We caught it on a piece of damp tissue and trapped it in a ziplock bag. It is still running around inside looking for a way out. I wanted to keep it for a bit so that I could get a good ident on the web today. I gave the dogs a quick check over, but the tick was so small I would be lucky (or is that unlucky) to find one on them. Fast forward to today - after our walk this morning I found something small crawling around on Spike but squished it too much to identify it.

doesn’t it give you the heebie-jeebies just to look at these photos!

Needless to say I spent a good part of my night awake with my skin crawling. And when I did fall asleep I was quickly awakened by nightmares of ticks on me. At one point my shouting to turn on the lights woke me up! So now here we are... do I get the drops for the dogs, which will kill the tick once they bite. But since they can walk around their host for up to 4 hours before biting (and in that time may fall off onto me) what good is that? One website mentioned tick collars. Do they work? Are they dangerous for the dogs? Or perhaps the risk of Lyme disease offsets any risk? Or maybe my peace of mind (and not having my sleep patterns disrupted) make it well worth the risk? Or do we do both?

Did everyone celebrate St. Patrick's Day with a pint of Guinness? We didn't... but the bubbles we had came out of a green bottle - does that count?

Pleasures:
1. being "here" back from the grey abyss - there are pleasures to be had again
2. bouquet of yellow tulips brought over by a friend. They are like yellow sunshine in my house
3. bare tree branches against a moonlit sky
4. being outside early in the morning and listening to the cacophony of sound - all the bird song was almost deafening
5. sharing a bottle of bubbles with Carm, along with a little piece of steak and some perfectly grilled zucchini
6. windows open – it’s 24C (75F) in March!!!!
7. sitting outside in the sun with Grace. She was smiling in that special way that parrots have

“My dog is usually pleased with what I do, because she is not infected with the concept of what I “should” be doing.” — Lonzo Idolswine

Cats?

I got a call from an old friend Pat Wolfe this morning. He currently has Britt, the horse that we donated to TROtt last fall. His wife Jane is now editor of the Fjord Herald, the magazine of the Norwegian Fjord Horse Association and needed an extra article for the next issue. I'm going to write up a few pages about starting baby horses off on the right foot. I'm looking forward to it as that was one of my favourite things about breeding horses. I always loved working with the little ones. I'll have to get busy cause she needs the article in less than two weeks.

It was so nice to hear from them both. Pat was a mentor for me when I was into horses and he gives the best hugs. I'm reminded of the time I almost knocked his socks off by getting one of the horses to load into the trailer.

It started one afternoon at his place. Viktoria (one of my mares) had been at Pat's to get bred and now Pat was kind enough to trailer her home for me. Well. It was a disaster. She would not load. He had trouble getting her to load when he picked her up and it seems she hadn't changed. We tried numerous methods, but she just wouldn't step on. Finally out of desperation Pat got a winch and basically dragged her on. It was awful and I swore that this would never happen again.

Once we were home I borrowed a trailer from a nearby friend (thanks Laurie) and stuck it in the pasture. I got out some of my books on clicker training and Parelli and came up with a plan. It had to be doable by me - a novice - simple and most importantly, safe for both of us. Training day one, with Viktoria in hand on a nice long lead rope, and a bucket of carrot treats, I approached the trailer. Just as Viktoria put the brakes on I had her walk/trot in little circles. We stopped to rest when her head was facing the trailer. We moved a few feet closer... circle... repeat... until her head was in the trailer - jackpot - tons of little carrot bits and a long rest. Move away from the trailer and repeat. It wasn't long before she was aiming to get closer to that trailer. She WANTED to get near that trailer. Next step - one foot on. Ask for one foot - reward with carrot - retreat. Approach, ask for two feet - treat - retreat. Then boom - she was onto the trailer all on her own. Victory! And in under an hour! I had gone out there with the plan of taking several days, thinking that the steps would have to be that baby. But she caught on fast. Over the next couple of days we practiced some more, always with treats and resting while in the trailer.

A week later the vet confirmed that Viktoria hadn't conceived so it was back to Pat's. He got his trailer into the laneway and opened up the doors, prepared for more drama. I went and got Viktoria, walked up to that trailer, let her have a good sniff then sent her in. I swear Pat's jaw dropped! It was a pretty proud moment for me. She never gave a moment's problem with loading after that, even when I got my own trailer which was a jump up (yes, jump, not step).

It was fun reliving those moments! Having horses was rewarding in so many ways. Not to mention the friendships that were created.

 

 

 

Back to the present - I walked into the house this afternoon to the sound of loud cat yowls - what the heck! How could a cat have gotten into the house? Then I realized... the sound was coming from Grace's cage and unless a cat had not only gotten into the house but also into her cage it had to be Grace! We haven't had a cat in the house for a few years. The last time was when a stray showed up and we housed it until a proper place was found. In all this time I can't recall hearing Grace yowl but something must have reminded her about it - I wonder what triggered it? After a good laugh I gave Grace a little scratch on her head for being such a clever bird.

Nothing is improbable until it moves into past tense.
George Ade

Finally

Did you ever have one of those jobs that just seem impossible to tackle. You know, the one that you put off month after month until years have gone by. Well, today  we finished a job that we have been dreading for years... vapour barrier and drywall ripped out from the old aviary. As it turns out, the job only took a three hours - how crazy is that - all those years of stressing. Oh, there are a few more little bits and pieces left, but NBD (no big deal) :-)

When we first moved into the house 17 years ago, we were accompanied by 5 breeding pairs of parrots - 2 pairs of red-sided Eclectus, 1 pair of Blue & Gold Macaws, 1 pair of African Grey Timneh and 1 pair of African Grey Congos. We knew that we wanted to build an aviary that was easy to keep clean, could easily be disinfected, bright, and had room for large flight cages. Thus the "birdroom" was born. The floor was coated with a special rubber paint, the walls were carefully sealed using a huge piece of thick vapour barrier (see below), the baseboards were made with rot proof cedar, 4 sets of full spectrum lights were installed in the ceiling, and large flight cages were built using dog ex-pen panels (which are now in use on the camper).  The floors of the suspended cages were wire, so all food and feces just fell to the floor. Every night the floor was swept - we had a pretty active composter in those days. On the weekend the hose would come out and the whole room, except for the strip on the ceiling where the lights were, was hosed down and scrubbed. The room functioned perfectly. Many many baby birds were hatched in that room.

The wallpapering of the birdroom with vapour barrier deserves its own special mention. Have you ever wallpapered with your spouse? Well I'm here to say that wallpapering with regular old wallpaper is NOTHING! Try instead to put up one continuous sheet of plastic around a 14 x 24 ' room. With no holes punched through, and not only does it have to go along the walls, it has to go across the ceiling - uh huh - divorce time. Seriously though, there were words. It seemed an impossible job and we had to yell and scream at each other until we came up with a method. Which we did. We built a jig out of 2x4s that helped us get the job done. And the amazing thing? Once we got our method worked out not a shout was heard again (for that task anyway!).

 

I suppose part of the reluctance to tackle that job was not wanting to face the empty room...

Finally Something Good that Grace will Eat

It is a drizzly day here so it seemed like a good day to put away some food for the winter. I’m not skilled enough to actually “can” things, plus I’m way too scared for that but we did get some things put away into the freezer. Most of the credit goes to Carm as he chopped up the giant butternut squash, cut up and roasted the red peppers, while I just made soup and a version of the butternut squash risotto for Grace.

It turns out Grace just loves the squash dish that I made last week so since it is reasonably healthy I made a batch just for her. I added some extra carrot and 4 red peppers to add another dimension of health, but otherwise the recipe was the same. We all did a taste test – Grace, Carm and I. YUM it was good and had a nice hot overtone from the hot pepper that I got from my friend Christina (thanks!). Grace wanted to be fed spoonful's like a baby, tipping her head back for the spoon. Once was cooled I froze it in batches. Getting her to eat healthy meals can be a challenge – she’s a junk food gal – so this brown rice dish will be good to have on hand (and will be a good snack for us in a pinch!).

Cooking is an amazing thing isn’t it – just this morning there was a pile of raw vegetables and dry rice – a few hours later a tasty meal – it’s like magic!

 

 

 

This afternoon we headed back over to the farmer’s garden to get more butternut squash. It’s so cheap this time of year and I can use it in so many recipes over the winter and as a bonus it’s full of good nutrients. I just wish I had a cold storage room.

Remember yesterday I mentioned buying a learn to sketch kit from Costco… well… I forgot how frustrated I get when things don’t come easily to me. But! I will make myself persevere – it will be good for personal growth! The first lesson was to take a basic shape (circle, oval, etc.) and use it as a basis for a sketch of something around you. As you can see I was at the kitchen island where pineapples, pears, and Grace’s slow cooker rice were around me. Hummmm… More practice required!

Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you.
Frank Lloyd Wright

If It Be Your Will

It was just a bit cool out, with a stiff breeze tossing the branches of the trees around. I packed up the table and chairs on the deck but decided that it was nice enough to enjoy a few hours out on the swing. I started out listening to music – Leonard Cohen – but got too depressed. Some find it strange but I don’t usually find Leonard’s stuff dirge like – it usually makes me want to dance – not today though. So I changed the music to something up beat for a while and then picked up my book, “The Edible Woman” by Margaret Atwood.

 

After listening to “Waiting for the Miracle” I had to look up “If it Be Your Will” sung by Antony. This version was on the documentary “I’m Your Man” that we saw a few years ago. It really touched me – he really added a pleading, haunting sound to it. Check it out on YouTube  http://youtu.be/1MDlMdu2gjw

I read “The Edible Woman” over 25 years ago and thought that it would be time for another read. Well, I’m past the 80th page and haven’t remembered a thing! My memory seems to have given up on me for these types of things. The good news is that I can re-read books from my own library as if they were brand new… scary eh!

Grace even got outside for an hour or two this morning but then the wind picked up (I could see it ruffling her feathers) so I took her in before she froze – I haven’t figured out how to convince her that a sweater would be a good idea ;-)

Tonight we will finally have our Thanksgiving supper – Turkey breast with all the fixings, although there will be a big cheat with “Stove Top Stuffing”. I tried it a few years back when making turkey dinner on the camper – I simply did not have the space to make real stuffing so I tried the boxed kind. It’s actually not too bad, although nothing like the real thing…

I saved the rest of the turkey (uncooked) for the dogs. Turkey is a great deal for raw feeding when we can get it for $0.99 lb. – I save the breast for us making the rest of the turkey almost free – good cheap dog food!

Trees love to toss and sway; they make such happy noises.
Emily Carr

Grace Has Friends Over

Yes, it was Grace’s turn to see her friends (and as a bonus I got to see mine too!). Carm got me all set up at Riverside and then headed to so that I could entertain friends. Ruth came over in the afternoon for an evening of visiting and laughs. It was so nice to see her and really get to gab. I think the birds had fun too although they were all yawning this morning – maybe nobody got a good sleep.

Ruth is one of my bird friends. I met her when she came to buy a baby timneh from our very first clutch – they were very special to us – she played with the babies for a bit but they were still too young to go home. Finally the day came for her to pick up her new baby. I was at work so Carm was handling the transaction. It was a clutch of three and of course she chose the oldest one which was my favourite. Carm called me at work to let me know and I cried at my desk. Letting go of babies, whether birds or horses was always worth a few tears. I got so attached to them. But at the same time it was so rewarding to see them go to new, excited homes. Anyway, long story made even longer – we ended up keeping in touch and when the time came for me to find a hand-feeder for the next clutch Ruth was the one.

She was an excellent feeder and care-giver, giving the little bappies all the love and care that I would have. It wasn’t long before we were really good friends too, so that now even though there are no more babies, we remain friends. Some people are just special like that.

 

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a
miracle. The other is as if everything is.
Albert Einstein

Baby parrots (bappies) are one of those miracles!

Animals are Such Agreeable Friends

 

Animals are such agreeable friends - they ask no questions; they pass no criticisms.
George Eliot

Hot-Diggiddy-Dog

We had such a lovely drive yesterday. The countryside is so beautiful this time of year. The fields are a patchwork of greens and yellows as the different crops mature. There were some fields that were such a dark green they looked like deep green velvet. And then there’s the corn. Field after field of corn line the roads. It hasn’t tasselled yet, it had a late start with our cold wet spring – I hope there is a chance for it to mature before fall cuts the days short. I love driving through the countryside – it can brighten all but the darkest mood.

This morning I made the dogs “hotdog” treats to bring on our next camping trip (just 5 days away). Now those who know me know that I feed a RAW diet and am a bit picky about what I feed them. So why the hotdogs? They make cheap, easy to carry treats that the dogs consider very high value, perfect for those leash-training opportunities that are sure to present themselves at Presqu’ile. I make them by cutting the hotdogs up into bits and then blasting them for 4 or more minutes in the microwave. The house still stinks of hotdog … but better than the stench from making liver treats.

Carm has been working away with the whipper-snipper and lawn mower to battle back the overgrown patch between our “lawn” and the pond. He finally finished a good part of it today – it looks great! The bad side to this though is now the dogs have really easy access to the pond and all the stinky stuff around it. Already this afternoon Spike found a particularly smelly bit to roll in – peeeuuu.

We haven’t cut down the dead tree in the middle of the photo as it is a favourite perch for the birds. Sometimes the Kingfisher even hangs out there.

Grace got a new addition to her outside cage today. Carm was trimming up some trees (the job that never ends) so I grabbed a big branch and shoved it into the cage, leaves and all. It took Grace a few minutes to get used to them after which she happily stripped bark from some branches. African Grey Congo's are notoriously known for betting skittish and neurotic. Grace is neither. It usually takes her no time at all to accept a new toy or branch, she’ll eat just about anything (the junkier the better), and she enjoys going to new places (she LOVES camping). She is an atypical Congo and we love her :-)

Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life.
Seneca