Quick Thoughts

Which really should be several long posts, but I am letting life get in the way of that, whether I should or not.

Good news with Lola! She has slowly been re-growing her feathers in the years I have had her. She has had a few set-backs, but that is to be expected. I was never sure how many of her feathers would grow back,as the follicles had clearly been very damaged. Still, they have recovered slowly, a few at a time. The first time a few of them really started to recover, and grow sickly little yellow or black structures that in no way resembled feathers, Lola clearly had a lot of pain, and began mutilating herself again. Those follicles eventually, and much later, produced real, if weak, feathers, and later follicles followed similar patterns, although I did learn ways to help with the pain, and therefore mutilating, so that was not always repeated. It really is amazing. I keep thinking she might have reached as many feathers as she will get after it has been a while with no new growth, and then she surprises me again with a sudden feather spurt! I have learned several things that help, supplements that boost her, etc., so they are offered in cycles. I am still holding out hope, even though she has been through a lot and is showing her age (or more than her age, rather), that she will one day be fully feathered!

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Just for the sheer cuteness of it, I thought I would post these pics of a squirrel that finally succeeded in getting the suet bell all for himself! And for anyone that says wild animals don't play with toys, this suet bell was well wrapped in a wicker shell. After getting the wicker part off, the squirrel did not immediately take his prize, but instead played with the wicker for a bit, and destroyed most of it alternately chewing, tossing, and waving it around. I got that on a vid, but unfortunately am unable to get that on the computer here with the slow internet! Very frustrating.

The prize, fresh down from the tree.

Taking the prize away! It was at least half the size of the squirrel;
he looked so funny running off with it!
He even tried to get up a tree, and failed, before going out of my view.
I am not sure what he ended up dong with it, though nosy me would love to know.

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The parrots are all well, all up to their usual antics, both sweet and not. I will leave it up to you to decide which parrots weigh most heavily on which side of that spectrum!

Ava in her favorite "secret playhouse"
between the two Aussie cages.

Yo-yo in the hospital (or maternity) cage,
sitting up on his perch after Miss Patty hissed
him off the floor for the last time.

Miss Patty, featuring a (well-deserved) angelic aura
around her thanks to the camera, while giving her toy what-for.
And in answer to the caption from Yo-yo's pic, despite
a few very close calls, she still lays a few eggs every couple of months,
whatever I do to convince her otherwise.

Linus, who likes is baths form the floor of the shower
for some reason. He really does love them, though.

Frank in the shower, clearly about to say something,
though I have no memory what.

Lola again, because she is so special,
this time after a bath and getting a bit sleepy.

Claudia, a bit blurry, who would a walking go,
now begging to be picked up.

Chester, playing peek-a-boo after a bath.

(Apparently I have an obsession with taking bath pics,
as that is the4th one.Maybe I should get help,
and learn to take eating pics or something!)

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On a sadder note, you never know what is going on in someone's life until you have been there; it seems mine just keeps getting more and more complicated. For those without MCS, finding a home that is safe for them to breathe in, where they can heal and thrive, may not seem too difficult, but I sometimes think I might never get that.

P.S. So much snow this winter!!