So I am curious what a degus is. I thought maybe it was auto correct for dog, but you had dog below.

You are a bird lovin woman! My husband loves birds, but we both agreed I would not do well with one. This is one he fell in love with. I felt bad that I was the reason he couldn't enjoy having this little one :(
Attachment 8280

My cat is a great joy. She follows me everywhere and if I am making jewelry she is right there with me. Whatever I do she is there and often times riding on my shoulder if I can handle it. Here she is hanging out on top of our pilot watching my husband and daughter run up and down a sledding hill with our pups.
Attachment 8281

The dogs are a whole other story!

Thanks for sharing winic1

Jace

Oops...here's the bird.

Attachment 8282

MrsD great picture. Would love to see more. I am a picture girl. Can I buy that metal apparatus at the garden store? I could not picture before what you were talking about. Do now! :)

Do you have purple finches too? My neighbors tell me we do. I haven't seen one yet but I'm hoping I will soon. This weekend we will be buying the bird supplies.

Do you have a bird bath for the winter with a warmer on it? I'm wondering if I should do that.

This morning I sat down and made a bracelet. It's been a busy week so one was all I had in me but I'm glad I accomplished something.
Attachment 8283

It's for a wonderful nurse I have.

Ooooh... the bracelet is nice. I also like your black cat... we tend to adopt black ones, as they are not popular and get euthanized!

We have 3 kinds of finches. Only one type seems to stay the summer though, the Goldfinches.

1) The American Goldfinches (which are in my current photos)..

2) pine siskins
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/pine_siskin/id
ours do not have yellow wing bands

3) purple finches
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/p...m_medium=email
These seem to leave in warmer weather. They probably nest upNorth with the pine siskins.

In winter I have all 3 types at our front feeder with the sunflower chips.

You can use a square suet holder which are common in stores, and even Lowe's and WalMart sometimes have them, as a nesting dispenser.
This one I have was a gift from a friend....
http://www.fleetfarm.com/detail/Stok...FagWMgodvAsA4w
This can be very inexpensive, but more $$ at more upscale stores. We use this in winter to provide corn cobs for the squirrels.
another at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Stokes-Select-...eder+squirrels

If you have any feed stores near you check them out. They typically have lots of types of feeders for less money.

I'm not really one to watch birds, we have so many around here, they often drive me a bit crazy. Sometimes they are so noisy I have to shut the windows!!

But lately there's been a trio of Northern Flickers hanging around that have been interesting to watch. They make weird noises and have been doing weird dances. I assume that 2 are males and 1 is a female and they are courting her.

We also have regular woodpeckers that come to our yard and there's a pair of pileated woodpeckers nesting nearby that I see often.

Lots of great blue herons, owls, hawks, blue jays and many song birds that I can't identify but are sometimes so loud and irritating, especially when I"m trying to sleep!! LOL!!

Starr

As we live in the country, my feeders are busy. We get lots of chickadees, yellow and purple finches, red wing blackbirds, woodpeckers, humming birds, starlings, robins, sparrows, swallows, nuthatches, doves, pheasants and blue jays. All those birds attract hawks and eagles. The latter are ENORMOUS.

Climate change is also bringing some unexpected visitors, including the occasional oriole and cardinal.

We live on the ocean, so I also enjoy watching the shore birds.

I've always loved birds.

It is hard to grasp now (the new research data) that they are really modern dinosaurs! But watching the Hawks at Cornell's cam, certainly makes that evolution easier to accept! ;)

I have some photos in my profile. Both of our home birds and upNorth birds.

When they are newborns, you can really see the dinosaur in the bird.

One of my cats is only cuddly when she is in the bathroom sink. Why? Only she knows. But if she sees you heading anywhere towards the bathroom, she's off like a flash to get in there and up in the sink before you get there. Gonna kill me running through my feet one day. The other cat is ADD, wanders in the room, "oh hi, nice to see you, sure pet me but I gotta go now" and is gone in a second or two. He's big and clutzy and dumb and grey, he's definitely gonna kill me tripping me someday, he also likes to come up and stand just a millimeter behind you while you're at the kitchen sink or something like that, so then when you go to turn and move Dang Cat is tangled in your feet and you're desperately grabbing at counters or walls so you don't kill yourself or cat falling over him. He also sees you coming and decides that running between your feet, which really means right into your shins at full force (and he's a big 14 lb guy) is the best way to get out of the way.

Parrot would definitely be a bad choice around anyone with a sensitive head. Not always the best choice even if you have a normal head. Finches are less personal pet-like, some are noisy, others are softer, but they are always active and fun to watch. Spice finches are very quiet, Society (Bengalese) are a very good starter bird, easy, friendly, personable (for a finch), and not too expensive. There are many many others available, the difficulty of keeping and the prices go way up.

A degu is a Chilean ground squirrel. Sometimes they're called Mini chinchillas, but they're not just a smaller version of a chinchilla, they're different. Very active, diurnally, tho, very friendly, very cute.

http://i1187.photobucket.com/albums/...an42012365.jpg
http://i1187.photobucket.com/albums/z395/winic1/329.jpg

This is the bathroom sink cat, Ferrari:
http://i1187.photobucket.com/albums/z395/winic1/551.jpg

This is the big, dumb, clutzy but lovable cat, Lamborghini:
http://i1187.photobucket.com/albums/...1/100_3671.jpg
http://i1187.photobucket.com/albums/z395/winic1/027.jpg

Look up Degu on youtube sometime, there's all kinds of videos posted, they're just wonderful when you see them in action.

Okay Gals,

You are all very knowledgable about theses animals. Wow!:) I will be printing out these posts to reread and make my notes. I just bought book of North America birds so I can look up what I see. It's has good pictures and shows where the mostly live.

I've always loved nature but more landscapes and the culture that goes with it. We love the Great Lakes, history of early settlers, lighthouses, ships, ship wrecks, glaciers, rocks. Now to learn about the animals.

I keep seeing what I think are cranes with their legs long and behind them as they fly but maybe they are herons...must ask them to land so I can observe! :D

I now have some activities to fill some time. You people are GREAT!

Please keep sharing the pictures. I process those the easiest and LOVE being able to share and to be shared with.

Winic1 I love your pics. The degus are adorable. Do they get along with the cats? I've never seen one before today.

After my injury I became determined to have chickens. Buf Orpington's. At least 2. My family looked at me like I had a brain injury! Someday I will have my chickens.

Jace

Attachment 8290 one of my sweet girls

I have chickens, just 2 laying hens now, black sex links. We down sized dramatically since my injury.

Also 2 goats and 2 dogs.

Starr

Wish u could have seen my face as I read this. :). Oh please post pics if you can. Eggs daily? Do you worry about predators? How about their personalities?

My vet, wonderful woman, lives on a farm. She takes the chicks that the kids hatch in classrooms every year. When I'm ready she will give me buf Orpington's. I don't know where my fascination came from. Maybe it was dormant in my brain.

Have you ever heard of fainting goats? My pup in the above picture came from a family that loves animals. They have mini cows, mini horses, and fainting goats.

Sheep herders would keep fainting goats so when predators came around the goat would faint when it got scared and the sheep would get away. Sad for the goat. They do startle and faint easily.

Jace

Hi redoslingberg and everyone,

Just had to share with you what happened on my last day in Neuro Rehab on Thursday, 5/22. I was finishing up a cardio workout on the Nustep ( kind of a seated machine that works upper and lower body together), when out of nowhere the bird feeder they have outside the rehab gym was a flurry of wings when the small chickadees and red shouldered black birds suddenly flew away.

Next thing you know, a great big hawk landed on the fence behind the bird feeder, and sat there for at least 3-4 minutes, while everyone got pictures of it on their phones. A beautiful bird. I was told they got a woodpecker on that very same spot the next day.

That was a monumental treat!! I love to watch birds now, and especially the beautiful little hummingbirds we used to get at work. We had hummingbird feeders that stuck to the windows, and they would get so close, it was almost like you could touch them. Used to bring smiles to the patients, and frequent return visits to the gym, even when they weren't actually there for an appointment.

Take care, M-i-m

Hi Jace,

So why do we say someone's a "chicken" when they are afraid? Maybe we should say you're a "goat"!! But, poor goats!!:)

Jace,
I'll try to remember to get some pics later when I go out and post them.

We get eggs almost daily, especially this time of year when the days are long. Their laying is tied to daylight hours. So in the winter when its darker, they lay less.

We do worry about predators. They have a very secure coop that they get locked up into at night and during the day I turn them out into a fenced area for them to forage for bugs, grass and worms. The fence deters many predators, but not all. I've had hawks swoop in and take a hen before, but the fence keeps out the coyotes, foxes and stray dogs.

They do have personalities for sure. One of my current hens is super friendly, almost annoyingly friendly if you are busy doing something. She will peck at you until you pay attention to her. The other is a bit more stand offish, but both will eat treats out of your hand, no problem!

I have heard of fainting goats and while this is probably not the place to get into a big debate about it, I don't find it funny to laugh at a genetic condition /disorder or to breed for it. I personally find it sad and irresponsible and one of the many ignorant things that we as a society do to our animal friends.

While breeders and supporters of fainting goats or myotonic goats insist this condition is painless, I can't imagine that actually falling over and hitting the ground is. And since goats are a prey animal and this happens when they are startled and they remain conscious when they fall, I would also imagine that they must feel pretty vulnerable and exposed every time it happens, even if there is no actual danger, since they can not use their normal defense of running away.

I just imagine what that would be like in human terms, you're walking along a dark street at night, you hear a noise and get startled, all your muscles tense and you fall over and you can't move but you are entirely conscious and all you can do is lie there and wait for whatever scared you to come and get you. To me, that's what happens in horror movies... but if you're a goat, it gets put on youtube and millions of people laugh about it.

Oh and by the way, myotonia congenita does happen in people too, not nearly as funny.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llmgLi_cJjA

Sorry to say as much as I did about fainting goats, but its something I feel strongly about and I think people should be aware there's more to it than they might realize.

Please don't think I'm picking on you or anything though. I just love goats and wish they got the respect they deserve. :)

Starr

If ever I get a chicken, it will be one of these:

https://www.google.com/search?q=fluf...w=1067&bih=713

I learned about this type of chicken from our member here, Kitty.
Her Vet has a tech who has a chicken like this...here is her
heartwarming video:
http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/new...d-pup-chicken/

Starr

Thanks for the information. They make the goats like this? The only knowledge I have is from the farm I was at. They were adorable and did not faint while we were there even when the barn cats jumped out of no where and frightened me.

I'm always open to others perspectives. Thanks for your view. Are they still used like that today? I never thought of it your way.

I can see me with my chickens sitting outside and one on my lap. We had a pigeon that had broken its wing where my father worked. Her brought it home so it could heal and he never left.

We had him for 10 years or so. One day as I walked past the back door I caught out of the corner of my eye a hawk eating him. It was too late. Very upsetting.

I'm headed to watch degus and chicken videos soon. :)

Jace

Oh my, when the video started and I heard that chicken my heart danced! Beautiful, great story. Thanks for putting that link up. I'm going to share it. At my support group on of the therapy dogs his back legs didn't work and he had a wheel chair. A little dark chihuahua.

I have looked at these guys online!
Attachment 8297
So curious how their feathers feel. Even the feet are adorable!

Jace :)

I went onto the patio to wave my hands, finished painting them, and all is calm except for frogs and crickets.

Then I thought about how cute the little birds must be all snuggled in theirs nests...and then I wondered.

Do you think they ever get insomnia? Sleep a bit late...

Home most of the day Saturday and got bored. I decided to work on some jewelry. I don't have my studio set up permanently yet but I do have enough to get going.

Attachment 8304

Attachment 8303

Bracelets for my neurology nurse and earring for a new friend. It was nice to have something to do but I notice my hands were shaking more that they used to.

Anyone do metal stamping?

Jace

I have a bird bath and the birds love it, there is an old grape vine wreath that I hung above it they sit on it and play in the bath. It is deep but if I keep just an inch or so of water in the bottom they play in it rather than just drinking. Will upload a pic if I can figure out how. Next I need a new feeder, maybe I will make one from stuff laying around the house.

I saw the doc today ok to drive but only close to home, still only one working vehicle so I won't be going anywhere anyhow. Long from back to normal yet though. Mostly the vestibular and headaches holding me back.

Congrats on getting back some driving privileges! :)

LauraM,

The doc may have OK'd you to drive but please take a serious look at how you handle all of the driving tasks. I have driving days and days when I know I should not attempt to drive. I suspect you will notice the same.

My best to you.

So true. I'm not allowed to drive far, but some days I can't manage even that. So I don't. There are also times when I feel myself getting fatigued/overwhelmed, while behind the wheel. I pull over immediately and rest. If I can't return home safely, I call hubby or a friend for a lift.

For all my bird friends, today I got a finch feeder, hummingbird feeder, and a suete box feeder to use for nesting materials. I got all the necessary foods and a three arm sheppards hook. After install I will post pictures!!!!

Good idea to use the suet cage for the nesting material. I think I'll copy that. I've got an extra cage. Some animal swiped it, and I replaced it because I thought it was gone forever. However, I found it when the snow melted.

Mark,
I know....there are still a lot of days I do not do much and my husband takes my car most of the time as well. His truck is a stick, I do not know how to drive. I am lucky in that the tiny little city I live in has a lot of small stores and one way streets. I go out my street turn left onto a one way street to most of the stores I need, and come back on another one way street to the other end of my street.

I stay off the highway, I could go to a bigger shopping center just half a mile away, but would need to get on the highway. I am safer this way.

Thanks :)

I tried to put a suet cage out in the warm weather once.....it got UGLY...will save that for winter. Still waiting to buy or build a bird feeder. Maybe when I get paid.

OHHHHH.....did I tell you all SSD approved me?

Not that anyone wants to be disabled, but congrats on your SSD approval.

I totally agree but is one less stress sort of. The disability Ipaid for through work made me apply and appeal and is now hounding me to get the lump sum payment because they want most if not all of it...will be happy when I get them all off my back for a while.

QUOTE=Hockey;1073996]Not that anyone wants to be disabled, but congrats on your SSD approval.[/QUOTE]

[/QUOTE]

Yes, I get that. You probably feel a lot like I did when I "won" my MVA litigation. :hug:

You got that.......we could all use one less stress. maybe more

LauraM,

Congrats on your SSD acceptance. What a load off your shoulders. :)

I'm getting ready to apply. Seems like a mountain of work!:(

Jace

Audio books and dark rooms. I found that house management/cleaning helps and fills the day. Going for 2 long walks every day helps too, especially if at dusk or slightly after sunset so that its not bright.

I don't bring my wallet, just in case... :)

Yup, its miserable sometimes. I really need to go to Walmart and Costcos to pick up stuff for the house, but I just cant. Both are close enough to where I can HOPEFULLY safely make it there, but the way my driving has been, its not worth it to endanger anyone. Thats the other thing, if I were to go, I probably could not handle all the bright lights and stimulation from other shoppers. Had difficulty at the grocery store thats 2 minutes away with my wife the other day. Its annoying.

Oh well, im hoping soon someone can bring me there, just so I can get out for a little bit. Its sad that I looked forward to going to the Dr and the therapist just to get out.

Oh my! Waiting on everyone else to take me somewhere makes me feel like a burden. On days I feel like getting out it all depends on if someone is available. I'm not one to be dependent. I've always been the giver.

Really, really feel bad that people are putting so much energy into me. I never wanted to be in this spot.

I do shop for some household things on amazon or walmart. I set aside quiet time and use my iPad. Keep it quick. Free shipping right to my door. I even ordered a46lb bag of dog food and the delivery man put it inside the front door for me. ☺️

I'm still trying to come up with more ideas for us all

The chat is set up. We could all have some real time conversations soon!

Oh! I know this is going to sound silly, but coloring books.