We may lose Jack. He's not dying although he was attacked again by Algernon and bitten on the foot. He's walking very slowly and using his beak as a third foot. We've started him on another course of antibiotics. That's one thing but the other thing is he's not bonded to either of us. G and P came around the other night for tea and Jack went right off. He is obviously bonded to G and as they're monogamous birds it is not fair to have him stay with us if it can be arranged for him to return to them. G and P are working on it, extending one of their aviaries to connect with the main aviary but with a mesh between the two so that Crock can't attack.
I know we have to do what is best for Jack, and we will, but nevertheless we don't want him to go. We've become very fond of him in the time he's been with us. I'm back to scratching him under the wing. He's got better at taking treats and seems less inclined to go into attack mode. Even walked past him this morning to hang his fruit and veggies skewers and he didn't try and bite my feet. He thought about it but he didn't. I've answered P's emails with an 'of course you must take him if it's best for Jack' but couldn't help but selfishly add that we don't want him to go and are very sad at the prospect.
He has many new feathers on his head, all with the keratin sheath. My fingers itch to get in there and remove them for him. I did manage to do one just a few minutes ago but it was a very tentative process. Perhaps if I was like G and just went in there and did things, full of confidence, sure that we are friends it would be different. But then he's bonded to her and not to me. I am scratching him under the wings again. He looks at me as though he can't quite believe I'd do such a thing but he hasn't attempted to reach around and bite. I do have a small advantage at the moment because his feet are sore and he's not moving quickly.
Dimitri grows braver by the day - nano-micrometers of bravery but still, we are happy. Nidji, the released rainbow, has a full day each and every day. He guards the feeder from visiting rainbows, who ignore him, and watches with helpless rage as the satin bowerbirds eat their fill of his food. We've moved his feeder from the tea tree to beneath of deck but the bowerbirds still come. I thought being so close to people and the dogs would be a deterrent but it doesn't seem to matter.
My only constant is Marvin. Sweet loving dependable Marvin. I took him over the brow of the hill the other day. He fossicked around for seeds while I gazed at the bush and watched the birds. When Marvin tired of fossicking he came and climbed my leg to sit with me. He's such a love. Loves to have a scratch, loves to do tricks for a sunflower seed (loves his food full stop - don't know why we can't get him to lose weight when his food is measured each day), loves to have a real snuggle. I am very lucky to know him.
The centaur drawing is coming along slowly. I can't move forward when I don't know what I'm going to draw. The central space is complete, the centaur is complete but now comes the framing sea and sky scape and I'm afraid I'll mess it up. Have had a look at some water pictures for reference but as the look of the water is dependent upon what surrounds it they weren't very helpful. I'll just have to wing it and hope it turns out okay. I wish I was more creative/spontaneous technically proficient. Those things will only come with practice yet my desire for perfect pictures puts a wrench in my ability to draw them. Very self-defeating. Still! We'll soldier on.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010
dream art, Jack, The Other and the Love of Bikies
Have almost finished the Blake inspired drawing, in colour this time (pencil). It's a poor facsimile of what was seen in the dream but it's okay. Have got to get better at layering colours, building them up to a rich deep finish. I get too heavy too quick and then have no where to go when wanting to change them. Had to resort to some pastel over the top to get the effect wanted. It's not quite there, the three dimensionality is lacking but it's coming. I rather like it. Rather like a jeweled parrot - a parrot of my imagination. There is no such parrot in the wild.
Waiting in the imagination wings is another drawing whose origin is a dream. It's a surreal one. Don't know what these images say about me but I think they are worth exploring if for no other reason than they are unsought after images so are images straight from the creative part of me or at least the dreaming part of me.
Matisse, although a wonderful Siamese, is quite spoiled and demanding. Nairobi has the favourite spot in the sun atop a padded cat house which they squished down by sitting on the roof and making it a doubly padded basket sort of thing. Matisse wants to remove Nairobi and sit in the sun but Nairobi was there first. Heard the hissing, looked around the corner and saw them both with pinned ears. Growled at Matisse and he stopped his standover tactics. He knows when he's in the wrong.
R is working at the annual local show for the next 2 days. Went into town this morning to get groceries. Saw two heavily tattooed black clad bikie types enjoying the winter sunshine on the pedestrian crossing. One removed his hat to shade his baby from the brightness. Even those who wish to portray themselves as hard men are subject to the love of family. It was a sweet glimpse of the power of love.
Had the best time with Jack yesterday. He took treats without hesitation and with less of that I'm going to gouge your eyes out with my talons look in his eye. Still won't eat pellets although he shows interest when I ooh and aah about them as I said yesterday. If he'd only crunch them and have a taste he'd know they are quite delectable. Even Algernon, who has been released for several years now, still likes pellets as a change from bird seed. Have been searching the net for Roudybush and Harrison pellets. I know I can get roudybush from Toowoomba but it's a long way to drive - and the price, knowing Doneley, will be exorbitant. Provet no longer stocks it. Dimitri will have to make the change to Vetafarm. I put it in his dish with Roudybush crumbles. So far he hasn't touched it. If only I could explain the difficulties to be had in trying to get their favourite.
Was sitting outside with R yesterday having a morning cuppa. Looked over at him as he was talking and it hit me that here is this person I'm sharing my life with and he's a complete stranger. I love him. That's not the question. It was just as he was talking I realized I had no real idea who he was, who he is. This 63 year old man, wearing a wool beanie against the cold, a man I've lived with since 1987, shared intimacies with, laughed with, cried with, fought with and made up afterward with was suddenly as foreign as that bikie shading his baby with a hat. How completely Other he is still. It doesn't seem to make a difference how much you think you know someone they are still Other. The only true companionship, true knowledge is the knowledge of Oneself and even that most of us, including me, are only on the pleased to meet you shaking hands level.
On Catalyst last night was a segment about transcendental meditation. Used to have a book about it but haven't seen it for years so probably gave it away. Sounds like basic meditation except in its use of a teacher given mental mantra - and the cost which can be $1500. Guess I'll just stick with my bumbling attempts at meditation after yoga.
Waiting in the imagination wings is another drawing whose origin is a dream. It's a surreal one. Don't know what these images say about me but I think they are worth exploring if for no other reason than they are unsought after images so are images straight from the creative part of me or at least the dreaming part of me.
Matisse, although a wonderful Siamese, is quite spoiled and demanding. Nairobi has the favourite spot in the sun atop a padded cat house which they squished down by sitting on the roof and making it a doubly padded basket sort of thing. Matisse wants to remove Nairobi and sit in the sun but Nairobi was there first. Heard the hissing, looked around the corner and saw them both with pinned ears. Growled at Matisse and he stopped his standover tactics. He knows when he's in the wrong.
R is working at the annual local show for the next 2 days. Went into town this morning to get groceries. Saw two heavily tattooed black clad bikie types enjoying the winter sunshine on the pedestrian crossing. One removed his hat to shade his baby from the brightness. Even those who wish to portray themselves as hard men are subject to the love of family. It was a sweet glimpse of the power of love.
Had the best time with Jack yesterday. He took treats without hesitation and with less of that I'm going to gouge your eyes out with my talons look in his eye. Still won't eat pellets although he shows interest when I ooh and aah about them as I said yesterday. If he'd only crunch them and have a taste he'd know they are quite delectable. Even Algernon, who has been released for several years now, still likes pellets as a change from bird seed. Have been searching the net for Roudybush and Harrison pellets. I know I can get roudybush from Toowoomba but it's a long way to drive - and the price, knowing Doneley, will be exorbitant. Provet no longer stocks it. Dimitri will have to make the change to Vetafarm. I put it in his dish with Roudybush crumbles. So far he hasn't touched it. If only I could explain the difficulties to be had in trying to get their favourite.
Was sitting outside with R yesterday having a morning cuppa. Looked over at him as he was talking and it hit me that here is this person I'm sharing my life with and he's a complete stranger. I love him. That's not the question. It was just as he was talking I realized I had no real idea who he was, who he is. This 63 year old man, wearing a wool beanie against the cold, a man I've lived with since 1987, shared intimacies with, laughed with, cried with, fought with and made up afterward with was suddenly as foreign as that bikie shading his baby with a hat. How completely Other he is still. It doesn't seem to make a difference how much you think you know someone they are still Other. The only true companionship, true knowledge is the knowledge of Oneself and even that most of us, including me, are only on the pleased to meet you shaking hands level.
On Catalyst last night was a segment about transcendental meditation. Used to have a book about it but haven't seen it for years so probably gave it away. Sounds like basic meditation except in its use of a teacher given mental mantra - and the cost which can be $1500. Guess I'll just stick with my bumbling attempts at meditation after yoga.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
dream, jack, vet nursing
Dreamed I was at a conference, perhaps a vet conference. Couldn't find my car and while searching the parking lot came upon a truck with a box trailer. On the trailer was a cage with a tailless female cockatoo. The driver was a young man. With him was his wife and a young girl, perhaps 3 or 4 years old. Asked him where he was going and he said Idlewild out near Esk. Don't know whether there is an Idlewild near Esk but as it was very cold and the cage was uncovered I suggested it would be better for the bird if she was in the cab with them rather than exposed to high winds and freezing temperatures. Loose in the truck cab was a budgerigar and a cockatiel. The little girl was suddenly, as in the way of dreams, in the cage with the cockatoo, as was I. She poked the bird on the beak, quite savagely. I grabbed her arm and pulled her away. Turning to the man I gave him my card, one of the vet business cards, with my number scrawled on the back. Told him if he wanted to rehome the cockatoo to give me a ring. The poor bird was very nervous and agitated which explained why she'd removed her tail feathers.
Jack is very firm in not wanting to eat pellets. I went out a few minutes ago and ate some in front him, oohing and aahing about how delicious they were. He'd deign to take it in his mouth but he wouldn't bite down, wouldn't chew. We'll keep trying. He does get his fruit and veggies and at 3pm he gets seed (sans sunflower seed) so he's not doing without. Today is the first time I was able to reward him for lifting his head out of the attack stance. It is so obvious he'd have me if he could reach me. His head is lowered, level with his body, his eyes are beady and his stare obdurate. I held the spoon with tiny bit of almond and gave it to him when he relaxed his stance and lifted his head a little. Managed to do it again too - not that he's made the connection. I'm sure he hasn't. Just shows it's possible. It's interesting that when he was sick he was sweet and amenable. Now that he's well he's on for a stoush.
We wonder if Jack is Jackie for he's dug a nice shallow hole in the rear of the aviary and is lining it with chewed cardboard. Male cockatoos assist with nest building (or excavating as they use tree hollows) so perhaps it's not so odd that Jack is getting clucky. Saw Casuarina and Grevillea in flagrante delicto this morning...and they're both girls. Fern and Obama seem to have a love/hate relationship. It would be very good if they bonded. We don't want babies but it would be great if they formed a true relationship.
Two very hard days at work. Worry sometimes that I'll miss it, that I'll be lessened somehow by ithe absence of a job but then there are days like these and I realize I won't miss it at all. The exhaustion (fell into bed at 8:30 Monday) is one thing, but the sadness is another. We had a cat come in, had been attacked by 2 dogs, one of which was a staffie, most of its left front leg was chewed off at the shoulder, other injuries were less obvious but it's kidneys were swollen too. It was in so much pain Monday I wanted to put it to sleep. Despite pain relief, it was in agony. Woke up and worried about that cat, a very pretty, quite chubby black and white semi-longhair. Yesterday we amputated the leg. In one day it had festered and was starting to rot. I don't get too bothered with the usual stink of a vet surgery but this was rough. Never wear gloves to clip and scrub but I did yesterday. As it was I could still smell it on my hands. Anyway, we took the leg off, I cleaned him up as best I could where blood and dirt and dog spit had dried and we put him away. He was in obvious pain when I left last night and although I know it's hard, I no longer want to put him to sleep. If he can just bear this it will get better although K expects there will be some die-back as so much flesh had been crushed in the attack. His flesh looked like diced tuna when she opened him up. I know we do good work, do good things to make sick animals better but sometimes it is so hard to do. Sometimes I feel shell-shocked with what I see, what we have to do (blood samples from the vein in the neck of cats - I HATE that), that the means to an end can be such a difficult route.
Jack is very firm in not wanting to eat pellets. I went out a few minutes ago and ate some in front him, oohing and aahing about how delicious they were. He'd deign to take it in his mouth but he wouldn't bite down, wouldn't chew. We'll keep trying. He does get his fruit and veggies and at 3pm he gets seed (sans sunflower seed) so he's not doing without. Today is the first time I was able to reward him for lifting his head out of the attack stance. It is so obvious he'd have me if he could reach me. His head is lowered, level with his body, his eyes are beady and his stare obdurate. I held the spoon with tiny bit of almond and gave it to him when he relaxed his stance and lifted his head a little. Managed to do it again too - not that he's made the connection. I'm sure he hasn't. Just shows it's possible. It's interesting that when he was sick he was sweet and amenable. Now that he's well he's on for a stoush.
We wonder if Jack is Jackie for he's dug a nice shallow hole in the rear of the aviary and is lining it with chewed cardboard. Male cockatoos assist with nest building (or excavating as they use tree hollows) so perhaps it's not so odd that Jack is getting clucky. Saw Casuarina and Grevillea in flagrante delicto this morning...and they're both girls. Fern and Obama seem to have a love/hate relationship. It would be very good if they bonded. We don't want babies but it would be great if they formed a true relationship.
Two very hard days at work. Worry sometimes that I'll miss it, that I'll be lessened somehow by ithe absence of a job but then there are days like these and I realize I won't miss it at all. The exhaustion (fell into bed at 8:30 Monday) is one thing, but the sadness is another. We had a cat come in, had been attacked by 2 dogs, one of which was a staffie, most of its left front leg was chewed off at the shoulder, other injuries were less obvious but it's kidneys were swollen too. It was in so much pain Monday I wanted to put it to sleep. Despite pain relief, it was in agony. Woke up and worried about that cat, a very pretty, quite chubby black and white semi-longhair. Yesterday we amputated the leg. In one day it had festered and was starting to rot. I don't get too bothered with the usual stink of a vet surgery but this was rough. Never wear gloves to clip and scrub but I did yesterday. As it was I could still smell it on my hands. Anyway, we took the leg off, I cleaned him up as best I could where blood and dirt and dog spit had dried and we put him away. He was in obvious pain when I left last night and although I know it's hard, I no longer want to put him to sleep. If he can just bear this it will get better although K expects there will be some die-back as so much flesh had been crushed in the attack. His flesh looked like diced tuna when she opened him up. I know we do good work, do good things to make sick animals better but sometimes it is so hard to do. Sometimes I feel shell-shocked with what I see, what we have to do (blood samples from the vein in the neck of cats - I HATE that), that the means to an end can be such a difficult route.
Friday, July 9, 2010
The Momentous Moments
Woke up to a spectacular morning; cloudless, mild and still. It would be an Indian Summer, or maybe an Aboriginal Summer, if we weren't so far into winter already. Expected after the rain we had we'd get the customary cold Antarctic blast.
Have decided on a different course with Jack because he is so reluctant to take treats. He does take them but it takes him a long time to decide. Occasionally he will eat a few in succession with some enthusiasm but usually it is a long process where he stares at me, often with head lowered, while deciding, it seems, whether he will launch himself at my face or just take the treat. Now I am still offering the treat but instead of immediately offering another, I say 'Good boy!' and leave the aviary. So the reward is that he is rid of my presence at the same time as he gets a yummy snack. We'll see how it goes. I have also started him on pellets today. Not happy! He did eat a few but he talked and murmured and squawked, letting us know that he wasn't pleased with breakfast. At 3pm I'll put in seed. With the exception of one bird (another cockatoo) this method has worked in introducing seed addicted birds to pellets.
Did yoga for 50 minutes today. R had gone in for a haircut so had plenty of time to finish housework and still get in some mat time. Always makes the day better.
Woke up at 2am with a splitting headache (damn menopause). Took two aspros and went back to bed. Concentrated on the pain and after a while it wasn't pain so much as a sensation. I don't know how successful I'd be in coping with chronic pain as I'm so dismal at coping with any sort of physical discomfort, a real Princess and the Pea kind of oversensitivity, yet it was an interesting phenomenon nevertheless.
Babaji has been a sort of prayerful adjunct to my life of late. He was a yogi in India, a character in Autobiography of a Yoga that I'm reading. For some reason, more than the other saints in the book, he made an impression on me. I called upon his aid when Jack was so ill. Jack became better. I suppose it's another version of calling on Mother Mary or St. Francis or Gaia - not IT but a human face of IT. At odd moments I remember and am thankful for the now; for the gifts of a bed to sleep in, the air I breathe, my feet which carry me so well, odd moments and odd things, whatever comes to mind at that moment, in that moment. The purity and innocence of birds, the greenness of green, my husband, food. Yoga has everything to do with this. When I did drugs all those years ago while I lived high and loud in one sense, in another I think I was on a more spiritual wavelength and not so caught up in the illusion and minutiae of life. Part of the attraction of drugs but also the judgment of drugs for when you do them you get a glimpse and then become blind because of the drug culture/dependency. At any rate, perhaps another reason is that creativity and questing is all a part of the twenties. We get comfortable in the 30's and positively staid in the 40's. Perhaps the 50's can be the start of a childhood reversion.
Have decided on a different course with Jack because he is so reluctant to take treats. He does take them but it takes him a long time to decide. Occasionally he will eat a few in succession with some enthusiasm but usually it is a long process where he stares at me, often with head lowered, while deciding, it seems, whether he will launch himself at my face or just take the treat. Now I am still offering the treat but instead of immediately offering another, I say 'Good boy!' and leave the aviary. So the reward is that he is rid of my presence at the same time as he gets a yummy snack. We'll see how it goes. I have also started him on pellets today. Not happy! He did eat a few but he talked and murmured and squawked, letting us know that he wasn't pleased with breakfast. At 3pm I'll put in seed. With the exception of one bird (another cockatoo) this method has worked in introducing seed addicted birds to pellets.
Did yoga for 50 minutes today. R had gone in for a haircut so had plenty of time to finish housework and still get in some mat time. Always makes the day better.
Woke up at 2am with a splitting headache (damn menopause). Took two aspros and went back to bed. Concentrated on the pain and after a while it wasn't pain so much as a sensation. I don't know how successful I'd be in coping with chronic pain as I'm so dismal at coping with any sort of physical discomfort, a real Princess and the Pea kind of oversensitivity, yet it was an interesting phenomenon nevertheless.
Babaji has been a sort of prayerful adjunct to my life of late. He was a yogi in India, a character in Autobiography of a Yoga that I'm reading. For some reason, more than the other saints in the book, he made an impression on me. I called upon his aid when Jack was so ill. Jack became better. I suppose it's another version of calling on Mother Mary or St. Francis or Gaia - not IT but a human face of IT. At odd moments I remember and am thankful for the now; for the gifts of a bed to sleep in, the air I breathe, my feet which carry me so well, odd moments and odd things, whatever comes to mind at that moment, in that moment. The purity and innocence of birds, the greenness of green, my husband, food. Yoga has everything to do with this. When I did drugs all those years ago while I lived high and loud in one sense, in another I think I was on a more spiritual wavelength and not so caught up in the illusion and minutiae of life. Part of the attraction of drugs but also the judgment of drugs for when you do them you get a glimpse and then become blind because of the drug culture/dependency. At any rate, perhaps another reason is that creativity and questing is all a part of the twenties. We get comfortable in the 30's and positively staid in the 40's. Perhaps the 50's can be the start of a childhood reversion.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Jack, DImitri, yoga and dreaming
Bit of a barney this morning with Jack. Yesterday discovered that he'd either been attacked through the wire by Algernon, as one toenail on his right food was mangled and bleeding, or less likely, he'd caught it in the wire. I think he'd had a fight with Algernon as Algernon has been sticking close to home the past week or so. I've broken up skirmishes before. I was vacuuming when whatever happened happened as I'd been out just before to visit him and went out immediately after because I heard black cockatoos in the distance. And there he was, blood smears on the perch, coagulated blood on the ground and him holding it up and looking forlorn. Not that injury and my soft words improve his temper. I put his seed out this morning but he ignored it as he was on the ground (hope we don't get another infected toe). Anyway, he tried to climb but had trouble so I extended, with some trepidation, the handheld perch for him to get on. He did but just as he was stepping from it to the aviary perch he lunged for my hand. I dropped the handheld with him on it and in retaliation he attacked my foot (luckily ensconced in ugh boot) and bit. Connected too the little toad. So I kicked/tossed him away and scolded him. Not that he cared. He's not one bit cowed. Naturally I don't want him cowed but he does need to understand that a) it's not acceptable to bite and b) it's not acceptable to bite. I haven't been out since but am going to later as there are some delectable torelliana tree branches which have fallen that can be divided up between the birds. They always like having fresh chewable branches.
At least he's in good feather and looking well. He's energetic and getting around, an entirely different bird than when he arrived.
Dimitri continues to relax around me. Yesterday he even walked towards me as I was walking towards him. I don't think he even realized what he was doing. I love his little 'hooo?' sound that he makes. Like a contact call. I repeat it back to him so we have this little conversation going which is pleasant for us both. I haven't worked with him, as in clicker training, for awhile. I do think it's important but frankly it's been too bloody cold to sit on the floor and train. Perhaps that's why he's relaxed. I must advertise to him that I want something for he's less relaxed when we're training than when we aren't even though I try and keep a relaxed body posture and try not to want things from him. Bird training is very zen really. It's when you don't want too much that you make progress.
I'm intermittent in my yoga training. Some days I just don't get to it and feel guilty for not training which is self-defeating I know. But I do want to do yoga as the changes in me are noticeable. I am far more supple than I was this time last year. I think it's helped clear this heavy chest cold that I've had too. The deep breathing but also the inversions. I do a decent shoulder stand but haven't been game to really attempt a headstand yet. Tried yesterday and what used to be so easy felt very awkward and difficult. Will try again today. Did a backbend which I couldn't do last year. I can't stay up for very long but that's because of weakness not because it hurts my back. The Plank with bent arms is still difficult but is easier than it was before. Half Moon is much better. It really illustrates how differently the two halves of my body cope with postures. It's amazing to me that despite being fairly regular in my practice I still feel it in my body the next day. The feeling after being on the mat is tremendous. Yoga really does work all of me, stretches and invigorates.
As for meditation. Well, poo. My ability to concentrate has improved a miniscule amount. A reallly minisule amount. Usually when something is practiced regularly there is some noticeable improvement. The improvement is negligible, so much that I'm a bit defeated.
Had a really great dream two nights ago. Two paintings, influenced by William Blake's The Flea. Haven't seen that painting in quite a while but must have recalled it because of seeing a reproduction of The Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with the Sun in the book (a horrific book BTW) The Red Dragon. (Almost decided against finishing the book as it is the mental equivalent of pigging out on ice cream and doritos). Anyway, there were two paintings; mine and someone else's - both an old yellow gold on black background of faces of a surrealist nature. I can still see the colours although I can't see the faces. I would like to try and duplicate that colour using pencil rather than pastel. May have a go today. Then again I may whiffle the day away and do nothing.
At least he's in good feather and looking well. He's energetic and getting around, an entirely different bird than when he arrived.
Dimitri continues to relax around me. Yesterday he even walked towards me as I was walking towards him. I don't think he even realized what he was doing. I love his little 'hooo?' sound that he makes. Like a contact call. I repeat it back to him so we have this little conversation going which is pleasant for us both. I haven't worked with him, as in clicker training, for awhile. I do think it's important but frankly it's been too bloody cold to sit on the floor and train. Perhaps that's why he's relaxed. I must advertise to him that I want something for he's less relaxed when we're training than when we aren't even though I try and keep a relaxed body posture and try not to want things from him. Bird training is very zen really. It's when you don't want too much that you make progress.
I'm intermittent in my yoga training. Some days I just don't get to it and feel guilty for not training which is self-defeating I know. But I do want to do yoga as the changes in me are noticeable. I am far more supple than I was this time last year. I think it's helped clear this heavy chest cold that I've had too. The deep breathing but also the inversions. I do a decent shoulder stand but haven't been game to really attempt a headstand yet. Tried yesterday and what used to be so easy felt very awkward and difficult. Will try again today. Did a backbend which I couldn't do last year. I can't stay up for very long but that's because of weakness not because it hurts my back. The Plank with bent arms is still difficult but is easier than it was before. Half Moon is much better. It really illustrates how differently the two halves of my body cope with postures. It's amazing to me that despite being fairly regular in my practice I still feel it in my body the next day. The feeling after being on the mat is tremendous. Yoga really does work all of me, stretches and invigorates.
As for meditation. Well, poo. My ability to concentrate has improved a miniscule amount. A reallly minisule amount. Usually when something is practiced regularly there is some noticeable improvement. The improvement is negligible, so much that I'm a bit defeated.
Had a really great dream two nights ago. Two paintings, influenced by William Blake's The Flea. Haven't seen that painting in quite a while but must have recalled it because of seeing a reproduction of The Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with the Sun in the book (a horrific book BTW) The Red Dragon. (Almost decided against finishing the book as it is the mental equivalent of pigging out on ice cream and doritos). Anyway, there were two paintings; mine and someone else's - both an old yellow gold on black background of faces of a surrealist nature. I can still see the colours although I can't see the faces. I would like to try and duplicate that colour using pencil rather than pastel. May have a go today. Then again I may whiffle the day away and do nothing.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
The Great Escape, Jack and Dimitri
Three whistling ducks are padding across the paddock. I can often hear them in the middle of the night as they fly over. Flying ducks are quite extraordinary. They are heavy creatures with comparatively short wings which they flap hard yet they are fast, strong and fly long distances in the dark. Aeronautical design seems somewhat deficient yet they overcome this with ease.
I was driving home after dark a few weeks ago and saw a large flock of ducks flying swiftly across the night sky. What did they see from up there? How did it feel with the cold wind of their speed fresh in their nostrils? There was moonlight and I imagine the paddocks and fields and trees and black square blocks with amber lights shining was a thrilling sight in that swift silver silence.
Our whippets, Jamaica and Radar, had a view of the night last night. Sometime around three they sighted a wallaby (we suspect as wallabies have been coming down to feed on the verges now that winter frosts have killed the grass elsewhere). They must have bolted after it and being so fast hardly felt the jolt from the radio collars they wear. We got in the truck and drove the roads but they were no where in sight. They didn't come home at dark. R went to a party we'd committed to while I stayed home and listened for the sound of the sleigh bells they wear on their collars. We'd turned the fence off so if they did come home they wouldn't be zapped on the way in. R got home at 9:30 and they still hadn't returned By eleven, with frost on the ground, they were back, curled tightly in their beds as both had lost their coats. I was so relieved to see them. When I went out Radar did the oddest thing. He got out of his bed, came over with his tail scrunched between his legs and pressed his forehead against my legs. I wasn't mad at him. I wasn't mad at either of them. Disappointed yes, as now we have to chain them at 3 when the wallabies start to wander in, but not angry. Was it contrition on Radar's part, or relief at being home. It wasn't gladness at seeing me as his tail was tucked so hard. I gave him a cuddle. Smelled him. He smelled like wallaby so I can only hope the gamey smell was only because he'd gone bush and not for some more sinister reason. No blood on either of them. Radar has a sore dew claw pad and a ding on his hock. Other than that they both seem fine. Exhausted but fine.
Jack the cockatoo has improved physically. We put him on antibiotics for a week because despite there not appearing to be infection in his foot it was still sore. He's also still on coccivet. Once a poo sample has been examined this week a decision will be made whether to continue with it or not. Psychologically he's a different bird too; far more territorial and aggressive. He was on the ground last week and I went in to give him his breakfast. He wasted no time and went for me, head lowered and running fast. I caught him with my ugh boot and lifted/tossed him backwards, very gently of course but enough to thwart his advances. I had to do it five times, never violently but then again I couldn't let his challenge go unmet either. This morning when I took his breakfast in, wearing my tall ugh boots, he was on the ground. He watched but he did not challenge.
I read in the bird click files about how one woman who had a very aggressive parrot clicked every movement (lifting of the head and neck, etc) that was not aggressive. I am working on that with Jack. There is a small but significant problem; he isn't very enthusiastic about the treats. I'm using almond which seems, by a small margin, to be the most popular, sunflower seeds (which I've just started leaving out of his food bowl altogether) and pumpkin seeds. I break the almonds up into pieces and serve them on a long wooden spoon to keep fingers safe.
Just went outside and he was on the front perch. It's lovely to see him using the entire aviary. When he was unwell he pretty much stayed in one or two spots. Now he's on the ground excavating holes and using all the perches as well as climbing the cage. Losing his second toenail hasn't seemed to make a difference. Anyway, I offered almond treats and he took them but without enthusiasm. Am going to check the bird click files to see what others have used.
As for Dimitri, he's going well. He's been taking millet from my fingers as I sit on the floor. There are incremental improvements in his confidence. Each time I go onto the verandah I toss him some millet so even though he always hops down from his perch and takes off he is quicker to turn around and approach me. He has also let me come closer when cleaning the floor (on hands and knees) before he moves away. These are small things but still encouraging.
A month or so ago R built him a penthouse. Because Dimitri was falling off perches alot we grounded him. None of his perches are more than a foot off the ground. It keeps him safe but is quite sad to keep this bird of the air anchored to earth. I was trying to think of some way we could allow him some height yet keep him safe. The result was The Penthouse. We took an old compost bin, tall, black and narrow, but a wide hole in the base and smaller holes around the sides to let in light. Inside we put in a wooden ladder, cut off the top of the bin and placed a cocky cage on top. Unfortunately Dimitri disdained to use it. Yesterday we updated it; made another large hole opposite the entrance and replaced the ladder, which had a solid light blocking first 2 rungs, with another lighter one. This morning Dimitri had an explore. Was wonderful to see him up high where he could see out, yet safe. With the bottom of the cocky cage intact, save for the entrance hole, even if he jumps in fear from a perch he is not going to fall.
I was driving home after dark a few weeks ago and saw a large flock of ducks flying swiftly across the night sky. What did they see from up there? How did it feel with the cold wind of their speed fresh in their nostrils? There was moonlight and I imagine the paddocks and fields and trees and black square blocks with amber lights shining was a thrilling sight in that swift silver silence.
Our whippets, Jamaica and Radar, had a view of the night last night. Sometime around three they sighted a wallaby (we suspect as wallabies have been coming down to feed on the verges now that winter frosts have killed the grass elsewhere). They must have bolted after it and being so fast hardly felt the jolt from the radio collars they wear. We got in the truck and drove the roads but they were no where in sight. They didn't come home at dark. R went to a party we'd committed to while I stayed home and listened for the sound of the sleigh bells they wear on their collars. We'd turned the fence off so if they did come home they wouldn't be zapped on the way in. R got home at 9:30 and they still hadn't returned By eleven, with frost on the ground, they were back, curled tightly in their beds as both had lost their coats. I was so relieved to see them. When I went out Radar did the oddest thing. He got out of his bed, came over with his tail scrunched between his legs and pressed his forehead against my legs. I wasn't mad at him. I wasn't mad at either of them. Disappointed yes, as now we have to chain them at 3 when the wallabies start to wander in, but not angry. Was it contrition on Radar's part, or relief at being home. It wasn't gladness at seeing me as his tail was tucked so hard. I gave him a cuddle. Smelled him. He smelled like wallaby so I can only hope the gamey smell was only because he'd gone bush and not for some more sinister reason. No blood on either of them. Radar has a sore dew claw pad and a ding on his hock. Other than that they both seem fine. Exhausted but fine.
Jack the cockatoo has improved physically. We put him on antibiotics for a week because despite there not appearing to be infection in his foot it was still sore. He's also still on coccivet. Once a poo sample has been examined this week a decision will be made whether to continue with it or not. Psychologically he's a different bird too; far more territorial and aggressive. He was on the ground last week and I went in to give him his breakfast. He wasted no time and went for me, head lowered and running fast. I caught him with my ugh boot and lifted/tossed him backwards, very gently of course but enough to thwart his advances. I had to do it five times, never violently but then again I couldn't let his challenge go unmet either. This morning when I took his breakfast in, wearing my tall ugh boots, he was on the ground. He watched but he did not challenge.
I read in the bird click files about how one woman who had a very aggressive parrot clicked every movement (lifting of the head and neck, etc) that was not aggressive. I am working on that with Jack. There is a small but significant problem; he isn't very enthusiastic about the treats. I'm using almond which seems, by a small margin, to be the most popular, sunflower seeds (which I've just started leaving out of his food bowl altogether) and pumpkin seeds. I break the almonds up into pieces and serve them on a long wooden spoon to keep fingers safe.
Just went outside and he was on the front perch. It's lovely to see him using the entire aviary. When he was unwell he pretty much stayed in one or two spots. Now he's on the ground excavating holes and using all the perches as well as climbing the cage. Losing his second toenail hasn't seemed to make a difference. Anyway, I offered almond treats and he took them but without enthusiasm. Am going to check the bird click files to see what others have used.
As for Dimitri, he's going well. He's been taking millet from my fingers as I sit on the floor. There are incremental improvements in his confidence. Each time I go onto the verandah I toss him some millet so even though he always hops down from his perch and takes off he is quicker to turn around and approach me. He has also let me come closer when cleaning the floor (on hands and knees) before he moves away. These are small things but still encouraging.
A month or so ago R built him a penthouse. Because Dimitri was falling off perches alot we grounded him. None of his perches are more than a foot off the ground. It keeps him safe but is quite sad to keep this bird of the air anchored to earth. I was trying to think of some way we could allow him some height yet keep him safe. The result was The Penthouse. We took an old compost bin, tall, black and narrow, but a wide hole in the base and smaller holes around the sides to let in light. Inside we put in a wooden ladder, cut off the top of the bin and placed a cocky cage on top. Unfortunately Dimitri disdained to use it. Yesterday we updated it; made another large hole opposite the entrance and replaced the ladder, which had a solid light blocking first 2 rungs, with another lighter one. This morning Dimitri had an explore. Was wonderful to see him up high where he could see out, yet safe. With the bottom of the cocky cage intact, save for the entrance hole, even if he jumps in fear from a perch he is not going to fall.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Jack
It's time to introduce a new member of our feathered family. Jack is a male sulphur crested cockatoo of unknown age. He was found wandering on the side of the road on the Sunshine Coast. His rescuer looked for his owner, apparently he was found in an area that wasn't heavily populated, but without success. While he was looking Jack lived in a cat carrying cage. I don't know for how long. Then he came to our friends, G and P who introduced him to their population of rescue cockatoos. All was well until one of the males took a dislike to him. This bird attacked him and kept him from food and water, unless P was present. The sad thing is Jack didn't try and defend himself and what's worse, wouldn't even move while being bitten. P rang us May 23 and asked if we'd take him. Of course we would.
Jack talks, murmurs and occasionally screams which is great as he was completely silent for the first few days. He's lost a toenail on his left foot and has a wound on the backward facing toe of the same foot. The toes don't appear to be infected but we started him on antibiotics a couple of days ago because he's still extremely sore after 3 weeks. So sore that he uses his beak as a third foot to get around. He's allowed me to touch his toes but I don't try and flex them and feel for a break. They don't look broken but they are swollen. Despite the cleanliness of the wounds (there is new pink skin at the wound site) I am concerned that infection has gone up the bone. But then if that were the case he would be sick in himself and he's not. He did have a very bad case of coccidiosis and trichomoniasis when he arrived which isn't surprising considering the prolonged stress he had to endure.
There is another possibility - that the wounds are fine in themselves and the reluctance to move and the pain stems from having spent his entire life in a cocky cage. He will not flatten his toes ie, walk on a flat surface. It obviously causes him pain. Bumblefoot is a possibility. Have just written to his previous carers asking for more information about how he behaved when he was with them. I knew he was sedentary before but what I'm asking specifically is if he used his beak as a third foot before he was bitten.
Jack talks, murmurs and occasionally screams which is great as he was completely silent for the first few days. He's lost a toenail on his left foot and has a wound on the backward facing toe of the same foot. The toes don't appear to be infected but we started him on antibiotics a couple of days ago because he's still extremely sore after 3 weeks. So sore that he uses his beak as a third foot to get around. He's allowed me to touch his toes but I don't try and flex them and feel for a break. They don't look broken but they are swollen. Despite the cleanliness of the wounds (there is new pink skin at the wound site) I am concerned that infection has gone up the bone. But then if that were the case he would be sick in himself and he's not. He did have a very bad case of coccidiosis and trichomoniasis when he arrived which isn't surprising considering the prolonged stress he had to endure.
There is another possibility - that the wounds are fine in themselves and the reluctance to move and the pain stems from having spent his entire life in a cocky cage. He will not flatten his toes ie, walk on a flat surface. It obviously causes him pain. Bumblefoot is a possibility. Have just written to his previous carers asking for more information about how he behaved when he was with them. I knew he was sedentary before but what I'm asking specifically is if he used his beak as a third foot before he was bitten.
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