Pigeons in the Sun

It was sunny and warm today, almost 70 degrees I think. The pigeons really needed to get out and stretch their wings, so I opened their door and sat outside with them for a couple of hours to guard against the hawk. Then I put fresh food in their feeder and they all flew back in the pen and I closed the door. Such well-trained birds they are. I had my camera with me and took some pictures so you could see how pretty pigeons are with the sun on their feathers.

Big Red, who survived his run-in with the hawk

Little Red, his wife

Furniture shopping, choosing just the right stick

Oh no, she didn't measure the door. Will it fit?
She tried twice and it didn't so she backed up and looked at the situation,
 then turned her head sideways and the stick went through the door.

Even plain old gray pigeons are beautiful in the sun.

Piebald pigeon.

Piebald pigeon, back view, looks like modern art.

Miss Freckles

Big Spot guards the door, all who pass must have his permission.

Old German Owl

A couple of years ago when Katherine went to the poultry show up north in Eureka, she brought me back a little spotted pigeon, Val. Today I have about 26 pigeons and at least half of them are spotted. None are white with brown wings like the Taganrogs. Only one purebred Taganrog baby was ever raised in the 5 or 6 years I've had them, and I raised that one myself.

I do like to raise purebred chickens and show them, but I love my pen of mostly mutt pigeons. They're so colorful and fun.

This year when Katherine went to Eureka, she sent me pictures of the pigeons that were available. This is the one she brought back.

It's an Old German Owl. It has the coloring of the Taganrogs, and the same short little beak. I haven't put him into the pigeon pen yet, it's good to keep a new bird isolated for a few days just to make sure it's healthy. When I do put Ogo in the pen, I won't be able to let the pigeons out to fly for quite a while.

That's becoming very hard anyway. That nasty little hawk that has killed several of my pigeons did not migrate out of here this spring. It appears to have moved into the area. That's not surprising, since there is a large flock of feral pigeons in the area.

By next year my group of mutt pigeons might be even more colorful. And also have some cute hairdos.

Banned in California

I saw a list of animals that are banned as pets in California yesterday. Each picture gave a reason why it was illegal to keep the animal. Some are just too obvious, like tigers. Of course you shouldn't keep a tiger for a pet, though if you do you'll probably be eaten eventually and then the rest of us won't have to abide your stupidness.

Ferrets are illegal because they can negatively affect native wildlife. I've known people who lived in other states who had ferrets and loved them, but I've also seen mongooses running all around in Hawaii. Raccoons are bad enough, so I support the no ferret rule. Though I wonder what would happen if it was legal to keep a neutered ferret? If it got loose, at least it wouldn't proliferate. But then you'd have all the stupid people again, the ones who wouldn't get THEIR ferret neutered because they'd want to make money selling them, or didn't have the money to neuter them in the first place. I'm thinking these people live in trailer parks and have dozens of guinea pigs in their living room. (I'm not imagining this, I've seen it, it was amusing and terrifying at the same time.)

I think it's also not a good idea to keep hedgehogs, but the reason given is so dumb. Because there might be a germ on their quills? Using this criteria, no one should keep a dog that's big enough to bite off their faces, either, but the reason would be "there might be a germ on their teeth." I think hedgehogs are so cute, but am totally satisfied watching the home movies Uncle B posts from England, where there are actually hedges for these animals to live in. Our only hedges are in the center divide of freeways, not good habitat for anything.

My Aunt Beth has a nice collection of ceramic, wooden, and stuffed hedgehogs. I'd have a similar collection of armadillos if they were easy to find. (And small. And cheap.) But there are plenty of domestic animals that are legal to keep as pets who need a home.

A Welcome Sight

Mini Daffodils

Baby Time!

What was I doing out and about at the crack of dawn on a day like this?

I was on my way to the post office, I'd just been called to come pick up this package.

My first chicks of the season! I'd ordered 10 barred Old English bantam chicks from Cackle Hatchery in the midwest. Let me say right here that I don't want to hear any doodoo about how chickens should raise their own babies and it's cruel to hatch them in incubators and mail them across the United States. If you want to believe that, please do, just don't try to sell that story to me because I know better.

Usually you have to order 25 chicks at a time because that's how many it takes so they keep each other perfectly warm inside the mailing box. But Cackle Hatchery has devised a way to send 10. This is the box that would hold 25 chicks. Inside it is a smaller box, with insulation all around it. They also had a little piece of spongy wet stuff that the chicks could peck at and get moisture, though I doubt they did that.

I took the chicks out of the box one-by-one and gave each a few drops of water. I dip a small paintbrush in water and let the chick drink the drops. You could just shove their beaks into a bowl, but I find the paintbrush method less stressful. By the time I'd unloaded the last chick, the first two were already running around in the aquarium, jumping for joy.

By the end of the day, there was one chick that wasn't quite as lively as the others. It was obviously a little older, its wing feathers were visible. So I cut up a couple of mealworms and used the paintbrush to put a piece into its mouth. It ate the rest by itself, eagerly.

Here are some of the babies.

Here is a view of my brooding arrangement.

I use aquariums because I like to sit and watch the babies. It's a good way to make sure they're all doing fine. Also you can spoil the heck out of chicks this way, they get accustomed to seeing people and expecting treats. Sure makes it easier to catch them when they're grown up.

Did you recognize the workbench from a few days ago? It was $67 from Home Depot. It took a quart of paint and went together in 3 minutes, just like the label said it would. It has not (to my knowledge) been used to support anyone's vices, however.

Katherine is hatching some eggs from my own birds, so there will be more babies as the month progresses.

What's the Kid Up To?

Out here in the sticks, there's not much reason to wear a necktie. Bob was on his way to an Oscar party, though and had forgotten how to do a necktie. (In 4-H he had a clip-on.)

So he got on the internet and figured it out.

Hating California

In a recent poll, it was discovered that the most disliked state (by others in the U.S.) is California. I think this is great if it keeps people outta here. Some of the local newscasters surmised that California is unpopular because other people are jealous of our weather.

Here's another reason people might be jealous - we produce some darn good food.

Just bought these 2 days ago.

And maybe we can keep doing that if you all stay right where you were born instead of loading up and heading for California. Yes, the weather is good here. But you're going to pay a lot to live here, probably in a crummy little place that isn't half as nice as where you are. In the summer that nice weather turns hot and it will cost you a lot for air conditioning.

Our unemployment is as high or higher than anywhere else in the U.S. We have few "career" jobs anymore, outside of entertainment and the computer world. Even government jobs have gotten scarce and the politicians are taking great glee in cutting government pensions and benefits (except for their own, of course). So who wants to put up with being a "state flake" for 30 years if there's no pot of bronze (it never really was gold, or even silver) at the end of the rainbow?

Our taxes are high. Our gas prices are high. Our traffic is terrible and the roads are getting worse. The edbiz here is neither supportive of teachers nor students.

But if you really love fresh strawberries and other fruit and vegetables, I guess you don't have a choice.

Big Yum