Birdnut

Moussa loves to lap at ice water. When he sees my husband with his glass of ice water, he hurries over to him and pulls the glass to himself so he can get a sip. Will have to try the ice cube and see what he thinks of it.

Looks like a beautiful place. What a fun outing. What a beautiful family! (I actually worked with a fellow from County Cork once.)

Gasp! That was freakin' amazing! Like she had that pony tail plugged into that horse (like in the movie "Avatar").

I have heard that these birds are telepathic. No telling what kind of exchange was taking place there.

Where did you get that toy for Ana Grey? Looks like a great toy.

We call this game "birdie fetch." All the birds love it, especially Tazo the conure, who has learned to throw the toy on the floor and then exclaim "Uh, oh!" so I'll go pick it up.

Okay, here's my try: Okay. 'I swear I will not eat birds or disturb the peace of birds in any manner whatsoever, so help me Great White Parrot.' Now will you let me out of here?

The fragile flower May live but an hour, But forcing its stalk Through the barren walk It demonstrates nature's beauty and power. New word: life

That is really cute! Love the apparent expression on the macaw. That one begs for a really good caption. (can't think of one right now)

OMG! Thank goodness. I opened this fearing the worst for Cocoa. Don't scare us like that!

Yeah. I've been there. That letter really brings back memories. Used to work as a vet tech and got much of my training in the environment of a shelter. This letter doesn't exaggerate at all. In fact, it doesn't scratch the surface. Sounds like this person works at one of the "good" shelters that uses the more "humane" method of injection for euthanasia. The shelter I trained at used the gas chamber: slower, more terrifying, more painful, and some of the animals weren't quite dead yet when they were tossed into the furnace. We used to feel like it was the lucky ones that we got to put down with the injection. At least they got some hugs and cuddles and praise and cradled in someone's arms as they went to sleep. That's how we reassured ourselves, anyway. And then there were the dogs that were appropriately sized (similar to a human child) that were used for training doctors in new surgical techniques and equipment. We students got the job of holding them under anesthesia at the right level and keeping them alive for as long as possible while various organs were dissected or removed. All of us ended up with yards full of dogs and cats as we counted down the days remaining for each poor creature, until we couldn't stand it any more. If the shelter got too full, it would close. No problem; people who found the shelter closed just threw their pets over the fences. Yeah. I've been there. (Sure did look forward to zoo days, on Friday, when we got to meet at the zoo classroom instead of the shelter.)

Maybe everybody is too busy doing something else, like, oh, I don't know .... cleaning up after birds!

I haven't read Conversations With Cosmo, but just dropped it in my cart at Amazon. Thanks for the recommendation.

In the same vein, I have always loved "The Eagle and the Hawk" by John Denver: I am the eagle, I live in high country In rocky cathedrals that reach to the sky I am the hawk and there's blood on my feathers But time is still turning they soon will be dry And all of those who see me, all who believe in me Share in the freedom I feel when I fly Come dance with the west wind and touch on the mountain tops Sail oer the canyons and up to the stars And reach for the heavens and hope for the future And all that we can be and not what we are http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQjwZZbZ504&NR=1 John died way too young, and he died flying (plane crash).

Ooh, that looks like such fun! Too bad we have to wait so long to see it. My husband and I have often wondered why they don't do an animated movie with birds ... so many different, fun personalities and characters. Sometimes I find myself imagining how our different birds could be caricatured.

Is that the Beatles on your wall? Is Pippa a fan?

Dammit! I turn on the computer all cheery, and then I read one of these heart-wrenching stories and start blubbering, and then my husband comes home and wants to know why my eyes are all red, and he must think I've got some wicked case of hormonal problems or something!!! Seriously, Tweedle, yours is an inspiring story. How lucky Pippa is that she found someone like you who was ready and able to give her the care she needed. It sounds like both you and Pippa's lives have been enriched by each other.

Me too (sniff). Can you believe the love with which Solomon cared for Shirley?

Looks like you guys must have had a chicken feast yesterday!

You know, Gwyn is not really that loud. She does raise a ruckus when she gets excited playing, but she's not a screamer. She gets her "special time" in the evening after we've put the rest of the birds to bed. She gets to come out and watch TV with us and get all the cuddles she wants until she's ready to "go beddy." If I don't come and get her right away after lights out in the bird room, she does complain, but it's not loud. Of course, "loud" is relative, and we do have several conures, so our loud tolerance is set pretty high!

That is cute. Conures are such showoffs. Our sun loves to play and wrestle. They're like little puppies.

Okay. Let's see if this works. This is my goffin/umbrella too. She weighs about 300 grams. She is a softer, more ivory white than an umbrella. She has the lemony yellow under her tail and wings. Couldn't catch her with her crest up, but it's about halfway between the goffin and the umbrella size, and it has a deep peachy color on the underside of the crest feathers. Her name is Gwyneth, and she's a real honey.

I really have no expertise to address your question, but here are my thoughts. I think it probably goes to the predator/prey thing. I don't think prey animals can afford to show their age. Just think of it. As soon as they would begin to experience weakness of any kind ... boom! It's curtains. Other than the things Dave mentioned, I doubt you would see much evidence of aging. Health problems would be less about age, and more about their nutrition and general state of health. I wouldn't expect to see much evidence of aging until close to the end of a bird's natural life. My two cents worth.

Pearllyn: I don't know about you, but that really missed the mark for this Scorpio!

You have a beautiful heart. I like the star and constellation names. They never got a chance to fly, so I would like to imagine them in the sky now.