Leonard gets a Pedicure

Yesterday we talked in general about the Spice Finch.  Now, let's talk about Leonard. 

Leonard, a Spice Finch,  lives with Pearl, a Society Finch.  (Interesting tidbit:  both Spice and Society finches are not dimorphic.  In other words, it's hard to tell males from females because they look very similar.)

Pearl and Leonard get along fine.  Better than fine- they are pals- evidenced by the fact that they groom each other, frequently sit close together when perching, and at night they sleep nestled together in their grit cup.

Leonard and Pearl

 

 

One of the necessary husbandry chores required when keeping finches is periodically trimming their nails.  While it is pretty easy to trim a bird's nails, it is not without its challenges. 

 

If the bird has light colored nails, the quick is visible, which helps a great deal in avoiding cutting it.  If you do cut the quick, the bleeding is rarely severe enough to endanger the bird.  Furthermore, dipping the injured nail in a clump of corn starch is effective at stopping the bleeding almost immediately.

 

Birds don't usually hold still to get their nails trimmed.  You have to hold them still.  

 

My method for trimming nails is to do it in the cage.  That way if the bird escapes your hold, he can be easily re caught and the trimming continued.  Some cages have multiple small doors whereby you can put one arm in one door and one arm through the other, your hands meet inside the cage.  You hold the bird with one hand and clipper in the other.  The job can be done in cages with larger doors too.  For that, you shove your arms in the cage and press your torso against the door opening to block the exit.  The cage method is soothing to me because I worry about gripping the bird too hard and crushing his delicate bones, therefore my hold on the bird is very light, thus birds escape my grip with regularity.  Happily, with the bird safely in a cage, when he slips out of my grasp he is contained- not flying about the room into whirling ceiling fan blades. 

 

Which brings us back to Leonard.  A few weeks ago, I trimmed Leonard's nails.  He has sort of beige nails but with good light and reading glasses, the quick can be seen.  There I was holding Leonard gently in the palm of my left hand, with one of his legs between my left thumb and pinkie finger.  Right hand wielded the clippers (There are scissors style bird nail clippers available. I prefer people  nail clippers as they are shorter which I find makes it easier to control the aim of the blade).  Snip snip.  So far so good.  Then Leonard squirmed out of my hand.  He fled to the far corner of the cage. To my dismay, lying in my left hand were his tail feathers!  So much for my light touch. 

 

There's good news, though.  It's been about 3 weeks since Leonard's de tailing.  The picture above was taken a few days ago. You'll notice he has tail feathers!

Spice Finch

Lonchura punctulata, AKA Nutmeg Finch, scaly breasted munia, spotted munia, or Spice Finch is about 4 and 3/4 inches long.  They have a white or lighter coloration on their bellies with brown or reddish brown on the head and wings. 

  

 

 

The wild Spice Finch is found in grassy/weedy areas in Ceylon, India, Indochina, Southern China, Formosa, Luzon, Palawan, Malaysia, Java, Bali, Celebes, Sumatra...

 

 

 

 

 Spice Finches  live in small groups sometimes with other Lonchura species such as the Lonchura striata, or Society Finch (the white bird pictured above).

 

Spice finches eat grass seeds off the ground and maturing rice kernels directly off the plants.  In captivity, Spice Finches eat millet, assorted finch seed mixes, greens, meal worms, eggfood.  (Eggfood is available commercially usually in biscuit form.  Many bird keepers make their own eggfood:  hard boiled chicken egg yolk and just about any cooked grain, mash it with a fork and serve.)

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

Spice Finch pairs nest apartment style in bushes.  Nest material consists of grass, straw and bamboo leaves.  Clutch size:  4-8.

 

When keeping Spice Finches, you will notice they are active.  All Finches fly around in their cages, of course, but some species tend to zip about.  Spice Finches, like other finches that come from reedy vegetation environments, tend to be zippers.    

 

 

 

 See a real nice picture of a Spice Finch

Things You Don't have to Teach a Dog

New improved ways to boss your dog around abound.  There's always somebody eager to tout a better way to teach your dog, the ultimate training technique.  I too, have my own best training methods.  Today, let's take a break from micro managing our dog's behavior and celebrate some of the things dogs do without being taught. 

 

 

You don't have to teach dogs which vehicle contains their people.  They figure out the difference between your husband's truck and the truck belonging to the guy who lives down the street.

 

When one of the dogs in the household goes blind, you don't have to teach the other dogs how to help that dog find his way around.  They simply offer a shoulder nudge or the beacon of footfalls.

 

The sound of the dog's bowl being placed on the kitchen counter is in a certain key.  No dog requires music lessons to hear it.

 

You get up from the easy chair and go to the kitchen to refill your water glass. When you return, the dog has taken over the easy chair.  There's a twinkle in his eye.  No, you don't have to teach a dog his sense of humor. 

 

 

Then there is the love and loyalty.  You are busy typing.  You look up, the dog is there on the rug beside the desk.  Simply there, with you.  Nobody teaches the dog how to comfort us just by being present.

 

Your dog's enthusiastic willingness to join you, just hang out with you, regardless of whether you are going for a jog or doing laundry or watching television, that's friendship. You don't have to teach dogs that.  They teach us.

 



Pop Culture Frenzy, Round 16

Welcome once again to Pop Culture Frenzy.  Let's get on with it.

Sourtoe, a popular drink served at the Downtown Hotel in Dawson City, Yukon now lacks a key ingredient.  The Hotel is advertising for this ingredient so they can once again serve Sourtoe Cocktails. 
What is the ingredient?
Molly?

 

Pickled Pigs Feet?

 

Hostmaster:  incorrect.

Bryan?

 A pair of black pumps marinated in lemon juice?

 

 

 

 

Hostmaster:  hmm.  Kinky.  I like that.  Incorrect.

Cyndi?
 

 

 

 

Alcohol and bars and all that drinking serve to

 encourage the objectifying of women.
 

 

 

 

 

When women go into a bar, I imagine

that most of the time, their objective is to drink!

 

 

 

 

 

Stop encouraging me!

  I'm suddenly thirsty for a whiskey sourtoe!

 

 

Hostmaster:  back to the missing ingredient.

Bryan?

 

 

 

It's a toe.  A dead human toe.  It all began back in the 1920's. 

 Some guy named Otto was a trapper and rum runner.

  He got frostbite while running rum on a dogsled.

  The Mounties were after him.  He didn't want to get
 caught by going to the hospital for treatment
 for his frostbitten big toe.  He had
 his brother chop the toe off with an axe.
  Otto had to use up some of the rum stash for anesthesia for him
 and courage for his brother.

 

  Anyway, apparently, not wishing to completely severe

 his relationship with his toe, Otto dropped

 it in one of the rum bottles.
 

 

 

 

So it's like the worm in the tequila bottle.


 

 

Yeah.  For a while the toe was served
 in champagne in a beer glass.  Drinkers proved
 their mettle by touching the toe with their lips while drinking the champagne.
Now the toe is dropped into any booze of choice.
  Swallowing the toe is forbidden and results in a $500 fine.
  Evidently, that is why the Hotel is out of toes.  Some guy swallowed it.  

 

Now they are looking for another toe.
 

 

 

 

Why didn't they just induce vomiting and

 get the toe back from the guy that swallowed it?

 

 

 

 

That makes too much sense,  I guess.

Now they are looking to buy more
 toes to have on hand, so to speak.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How do they preserve the toe?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They soak it in alcohol to sterilize it,

 than store it in Margareta salt.



 

 

 

Bryan, how come you know
 so much Liquor Lore?  

 

 

 

My owner is a Liquor Hobbyist. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So ends another round of Pop Culture Frenzy.

  Who's up for a round of Sourtoes?

 

 

 

Round 16

Fluffy/Molly      7

Bryan/Cyndi      8

 

 

 

 

 

Fluffy the Dogwalker

Illustration Friday's topic this week is LUSH.  I usually draw stuff for IF on my other blog ...sometimes IF and Fluffy merge!

Breed Profile: Great Dane

The history of the Great Dane is slightly murky.  We are reasonably sure it was fully developed in Germany some 400 years ago.  However, there is some discrepancy in what went on prior to that.  Some say a Great Dane-like dog was seen and described in China around 1100 BC.  Some say there are pictures of dogs resembling Great Danes in Egyptian tombs.

The Dane is thought to be a product of crossing the now extinct Molossus war dog (believed to be the progenitor to the English Mastiff) and a Greyhound or an Irish Wolfhound or both. 

One look at the Dane of today, Mastiff qualities are obvious -especially the head and Sight Hound qualities are obvious -especially the deep chest and tucked waist.

 

 

Why is a dog from Germany called a Dane, you ask?  It was called German Boarhound for a while, but later, somehow Great Dane stuck.  One theory is that the name came from the French "grand Danois" which means big Danish.  Of course, that still fails to explain why a dog from Germany is called a Dane.

 

Great Danes were originally used to hunt wild boar.  Later they were used to guard estates.  After that, they took the job they hold today:  companion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some Great Dane Facts

 

-  height:  28-36 inches

 

-  weight:  110-180 pounds

 

-  life span:  7-11 years

 

 

 

The short haired Great Dane comes in a variety of colors/patterns: fawn, brindle, black, blue, harlequin, mantle.  The coat is easy to care for, requiring occasional brushing and bathing as needed.  The ears are naturally droop.  Some Great Dane owners crop the ears into an upright point. 

 

 

Great Danes are affectionate, friendly, calm dogs that prefer to be inside the house with their people.  They are intelligent enough to be trained, but not so bright that you have to forever entertain and challenge their minds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great Dane Manifesto

 

-  yeah, I'm a Gentle Giant.  That's why I'm asking you politely to move over so I can take over the couch

 

-  the cat and the other dogs can squeeze in next to us

 

 

 

 

See some nice pictures.

 

 

 

American Crows

 

Looking for murder?

During non breeding periods, American, or Common, Crows congregate in large flocks.  A flock of crows is called a murder.  Hundreds, even thousands of Crows may be part of a murder.  In the morning, the birds leave their murder, flying as far as fifty miles to feed.  In the evening, they return to the communal roost amidst raucous cawing. 

When a bird of prey is flying in the area, a bunch of Crows take flight to surround the predator.  The gang of Crows shriek, chase and lounge at the predator bird.  You might say, they escort the unwanted guest out of town.



Crows are all black, their feathers, their beaks, their legs and feet.  The sexes look similar.  Crows are roughly the same size as a gull, that is, 18-20 inches in length. 

Crows are often confused with the larger Raven (approximately 24 inches long).  In flight, the Raven has a fan shaped tail while the Crow's tail is more straight and narrow.  The Raven's beak is thicker than the Crow's beak.


The American Crow is found throughout the US and in most of Canada.


During the breeding season, Crows break off into smaller groups.  Soon the business of courtship and mating commences.  Crows do not appear to make the big production out of courtship that some birds do.  However, in spring, you may see Crows bobbing, cooing and spreading their feathers alluringly.  The voice of the Crow is softer at this time.  Rather than the harsh sounding CAW usually uttered, the Crow emits a Rattle-call.  This is apparently the Crow's version of a love song.

Nests are typically built in trees, 20-60 feet above the ground.  The nests are about 24 inches in diameter, with an inner diameter of 7 inches- where 4-5 eggs are laid.  Nesting materials include, bark strands, sticks, twigs, grass, moss, string and cloth.  A pair of Crows may have one or two broods per year. 


After the youngsters are fledged, they join the murder.



Hear the voice of a Crow and see some pictures here. 





 

Pop Culture Frenzy, Round 15

Welcome to Pop Culture Frenzy.  Let's get on with it.

The Washington Redskins are feeling some heat lately from voices asserting that their team name is offensive. What team name could they (or any sport team for that matter) choose that won't offend anybody?

Molly?

 

Maybe they could use alphabet letters. 

 Like Team X?

 

 

 

 

Then there'd be complaints that

that dominant alphabet excludes

 the differently alphabeted.

 

 

 

 

Football is violent and encourages

 men to be physically hostile.

 

 

 

 

 

Football is a game.

A game that many people enjoy playing

 and watching.  I hope the Redskins

 refuse to change the name of their team.

 

 

 

 

 

So you don't buy the assertion
 that "Redskins" is offensive?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course not.

"Redskin" is an old fashioned informal word

 referring to a North American Indian.

  It conveys courage, toughness.

  You know, the very qualities one

 would want in a competitive team.  

 

 

 

 

 

Some Native Americans have complained

 that the name is offensive.

 

 

 

 

 

So?  Every time somebody complains that they are offended,

 we have to change something?  That doesn't make sense.

  I am offended that I must be on a leash in public. 

 If I complained and made self centered

 demands,  I'd never get to take a walk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Native Americans are special.

  We took their land from them and stuff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, many early settlers mistreated the Indian.

  We all know that.  What is pathetic is how Native Americans

 have been turned into helpless waifs dependent on government

 and fed a steady dose of rancor against their "conquerors". 

 What present day people with Native American blood really

 are, or ought to be, are Americans.  Rather than accepting

 history and learning from it, why must we keep apologizing for it?

 

 

 

 

 

It's their heritage, their identity.

 

 

 

 

 

There's a difference between having a connection

 to the past, your heritage, and expecting

 special treatment because of it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had a feeling this pop culture frenzy question

would prove unanswerable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah well, ha!

  Let me tell you something.

  I self identify as a dolphin.

  Dolphins are intelligent peaceful

 docile creatures ill suited to the hostility of football.

  I demand that Miami change their team name!