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March 2006 Dear Primates, Aves and Proboscideans, Why can’t Aristophanes just be a good boy? He stands on my arm and I pet him and hug him and he behaves so well and he is so affectionate and loving and then he MUST misbehave. He grabs a button on my shirt and rips it off. Someone, please write him a message, and I am sure he will read it, and tell him that it is not nice to tear buttons off his daddy’s clothes. If Daddy didn’t want the buttons, he would rip them off himself. And so, the insanity of my life continues along its convoluted route that only my fellow bird club members can understand. Yesterday, the plumber was here and I forgot that Emma was loose in the elephant room. Suddenly, we hear someone playing scales on the piano. Emma is so talented! But, I ran into that room to make sure that Emma was not exercising her/his redecorating skills as well. That room has gone through some severe changes in the shape of the walls and picture frames since Emma and the cockatiels moved into it. Sometimes I understand why people have a special bird room. The only part of that which gives me pause for worry is the question: would I give them enough attention if they were not with me all the time. I imagine you can do it if you make the effort. Good news for us. We have a new, board certified, avian veterinarian who has just started a practice in our area. Her name is Dr. Laurie Hess and she sounds warm and wonderful. She will be our speaker in May. She has also invited us to do a club trip to her new office. She has a conference room where we can all sit and ask questions. It is so nice to welcome another vet into our area who specializes in birds. She loves chickens too and that, of course, makes me very happy. Chickens are for petting, not potting, Matt! Speaking of chickens, I have to go and make a nice pot of warm oatmeal for mine this morning as it is cold outside and they enjoy that so much. I alternate between oatmeal and pasta, depending on the day. They prefer certain pasta sauces to others, and I try to accommodate their tastes. Hey, chickens are people too. Our April meeting will be hosted by AnnMarie and Mark, and our guest speaker will be Charles Wade. Charles has spoken at our club before and has regaled us with stories and information on many kinds of birds including canaries, finches, wydahs, parrots and parakeets. This meeting should be really interesting. Charles certainly knows his stuff. I am trying to have Chad Seewagon, from the Bronx Zoo, in June. His experiences in New Guinea as well as his doctoral work on migratory birds should be fascinating. Tonight we are thrilled to have Dr. Valerie Freer, the erstwhile president of the Audubon Society, present a power point program to us. Dr. Freer has spoken to us before and the sharing of her knowledge and expertise about birds is truly a gift we appreciate. Good stuff, people, good stuff.....We have to get together and decide when we can make the trip to Dr. Hess’ office. I believe that will happen on a Saturday. Let’s talk about it. It gives us the chance to learn so much together. Right now, I want to wish everyone luck and radiant health............................................. Love you all, RICHIE |
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