#dove + olive tree sprig

[malkaleh]

I made this for me.

[nightly-ruse]

Another big jump but have a half finished draft for a cat based story I kinda really love

Before the sickness struck, before the whispers and the killings, cats were prized. Gifts from the gods. Bringers of good luck, peace, love. Their purr healing any emotional ail that struck into a hands heart.

They were dressed in white silks. Kissed on the heads. Adorned with flowers.

Breathing blessings.

And then the cough spread. Hands died in dozens. Cats were dragged from homes. Tossed into the streets to die on their own or burned for the sins they were accused of.

Where once black pelted cats were seen as the goddesses most beloved they now were the devil’s destructors sent to the town to bring the evil illness that spread faster than any plague that’d struck the town.

From here flew a new kind.

From Burnt Fur rose Black Feathers, and cats with soot clogged scars. As such the Ravens came to be.

Born in such a terrifying time the Ravens are a Clowder of cats that try to keep a distance from the humans who so easily betrayed them. They are colder but not cruel. Residing in a hidden haven that no hand could ever reach into.

They keep to the east side of town where less hands reside and the wild has taken over. The streets are less refined, the building even less so. Hidden in the old tunnels under the town.

The Ravens have a chosen Crown of sorts who cares for all under their caring claws. They are elected and can be taken out if need be but most often stay for the span of their life. They keep each other safe, protect their passageways, and take care of the environment around them. They keep the horror of their past alive. None under the Ravens will ever forget the terrifying tales of how those hands once harmed them. It will always be scarred into their minds.

* If a Crown has any kittens they are referred to as Jewels and are cared for especially but don’t get too much special treatment

* Most Ravens are either tortoiseshells or black cats since they most often aren’t from households. They tend to be more bony but still very strong with particularly sharp faces, noses, and eyes.

* All Ravens upon making it to an age where they can leave give an item of theirs to the fountain in the heart of their home as a way to always be a part of the passageways. Even after their death they still have a piece of themselves there. It’s often where all ceremonies are held after a cats passing and most grieve there.

* Near the fountain none are to speak unless it is a part of a ceremony but many will purr to try and send some sort of message to their lost one

* All kits who dies too soon are grieved by downy feathers being tossed into the fountain. Fragile but beautiful just like chicks. A feather is often kept by the parent/s to have a something to hold in place of their now lost child

But a lifestyle of isolating and protection cannot last forever.

And then the cats with love back in their hearts took roost in the crowded side of town, Doves with a sprig of an olive tree held out in peace

After generations have passed and wounds have healed over the relationship between hands and cats have gotten better. Not as severely revered but not murdered any longer.

And such the slightly more friendly fairing Clowder rose, donned as the Doves! They live to the west where hands sleep and sing. They live off offerings from the hands but also hunt.

A lot more loose in nature there is no strict loyalty to stay a Dove with many half there and half in the comfy care of a house. But those who fully reside in the Dove’s Domain are very welcoming to the fluidity in their home.

They have no clear home base but do follow a Crown of their own who keeps peace and keeps track of the needs of the cats.

[outerheavenbear]

The Raven belongs to the most intelligent of all the birds. to give some idea of its intelligence, if the average IQ for a human being is measured at the 100 mark, then the average IQ of a raven is 138. Its linguistic skills are legendary, and its possible that the raven can understand  as well as imitate human words. it is the Intelligence, and the playful nature of the raven, that makes it the ultimate symbol of the trickster.

In some societies, the Raven is as important as the eagle, and occasionally this black bird even surpasses the golden one in terms of its symbolic import. Like the Eagle, the raven has few natural predators except for man. Unlike the eagle, ravens will work together for the benefit of the group, and so have come to symbolize the benefits of teamwork. Conversely, in Denmark the term “Ravn-Mudder” or Raven Mother is a euphemism for poor parenting skills, and stems from the notion that the bird waits to see the colors of its chicks feathers before starting to feed it. 

Even if the raven has never been taught to speak in human languages, its voice carries a surprisingly human inflection and tone. This led to a belief that the bird knew everything , as personified by the ravens that belonged to the Norse God Odin. Called Hugin and Munin, from the words for thought and memory, the birds flew back to the god at the end of every day where they whispered into his ears all the doings of mankind. Odin--also known as the Raven God-- had daughters, Valkyries, who appeared as ravens and similarly,witches are able to shapeshift into the form of ravens,which is how they travel, anonymously, to thier meetings.

More sinisterly, the raven is seen as a harbinger of death, as personified in the Morrigan, the great battle Goddess of Celtic Myth who takes on the form of a raven. the raven is a carrion bird and was often seen at the sites of battles , making a grim meal of the bloody remains of the defeated army. In addition, the spooky black appearance of the bird certainly lends itself to the dark imagery posited by horror stories. In the Mahabharata, the bird is a messenger of death, but paradoxically to those of a western sensibility, this does not necessarily mean that the bird is a symbol of ill omen. However the idea of the raven as a bird of malice is promulgated by the bible story that Noah first sends a raven to find land; the raven never returned, and so was seen to be no friend of man. The dove, sent out next, returned with the sprig of the olive tree and has been a beneficial omen ever since. The ravens sent out by Viking explorers in search of new land seemed to have a better success rate than Noah’s bird,however, and in some parts of northern Europe, the bird is seen as a helper of humankind.

The ravens at the tower of London are a symbol of protection par excellence. Birds have been kept in this spot for over a thousand years, due to an ancient legend that the country would be safe from invaders while ravens remain there. Indeed, this idea is so firmly entrenched in the national psyche that when the raven population at the tower dwindled during the second World War, Winston Churchill arranged that ravens be “imported” from Wales to keep the country safe.

Despite its color, the Ancient greeks had the raven as a solar symbol, and it is dedicated to the Goddess Athena and the God Apollo. 

In Native american Belief, the raven is a symbol of the Creator and as such is a powerful protector of humankind. Myths tell that the bird not only made the Universe but also discovered and looked after the first man. the Shapeshifting abilities of the bird are mentioned here,too, and as such, the raven is the preferred bird of shamans, who converse with the birds in order to discover what the Gods have in store for mankind.  

[skwonkk]

Apple pie for you and me Honeydew, artichoke, hearts of lettuce Such as bread, cream, white sauce, and aspic "Ooh la la, ooh la la" chanted the traffic wardens but Steve was in no mood for Swedish Volleyball that day. He swore to himself that if Erica came home again dressed like a chicken, he would tell the Monopolies Commission who had really been putting cream cakes in the Lord Mayor of London's underpants. Then, the avocado dip would really hit the fan! Bacon blue bread dog eared... Buttered bagels and lox, cream cheese, rhubarb (Food) I'll never keep you waitin' like a green banana See what to do to all those healthy basil leaves I want a bean feast And I got myself a beer Well, those brownies oughta be just about ready now Caramel. With a carrot nose and hat on Extol your sacrifice with fine caviars and aspics Then maybe carrots and celery And they’re begging for a taste of my cherry pie Two squares of dark chocolate And you put some cinnamon, in a cup. Drinking coffee every hour until one You get cola from a nut Eating cookies when no one's lookin'! When the corn is past its prime Cotton candy clouds Cupcakes, icing pops Cream buns and doughnuts Think of the fondue that we’ll be sharin'! Pulling up the garlic Lots of gingerbread men At least I know about the grapes! Add the ham pieces Become the land of hamburgers and raisins that can sing? Hot dogs and baked beans and sauerkraut With a three scoop ice cream cone in his hand Ketchup and salt and ground beef Lemons growin' on our tree Lime and sugar, sprig of mint Sorrows lollipop lands stick-broken on a dark carnival ground Percy, the hapless FBI agent, disguised as a Russian reindeer salesman, slid into the sushi bar in downtown Frankfurt and realised with a start that the man with the macaroni on his head was infact his ex-wife Rosemary; herself disguised as a Peruvian professor of Chemistry. The boot was on the other foot however, when he showed her his Swiss Army pen-knife Pink macaroons We'll have biscuits marmalade, on a bench near the park Now I’m soft like a marshmallow She's had trouble with that milk and the moon ever since maybe it's a Chocolate cake, big milkshakes Peanut butter sandwiches, English muffins Black-bottomed mushrooms and chicken pot pie Door bells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles Lift me like an olive branch and be my homeward dove Omelette The layers of your onion, your emotional disease just Darth Orange Juice Do you like pancakes? Haven’t ever tasted a Georgia Peach But they still go for peanuts And sauté the onions and green pepper 'til they're tender When you're in a pickle and ya plum surrounded And pineapple patties to grill It helps us make pizza, it keeps things in line You bring the popcorn PotaTo potaTo potaTo If you wanna try Some Piggy Plum Pie Cakes puddings and pies White hat on a pumpkin Raisins come from grapes, people come from apes Over rice! Oh, the ricotta we'll be digesting! Like cooked meats, fruit salad, soil foods, and yolk! You love spiced salmon strudel. Fried egg sandwich, white bread, bottle of HP (White bread, white bread) Bacon, egg and sausage I like cake and scones, ice cream cones You bring the soda And some folks loves ham hocks and some folks loves pork chops and some folks love vegetable soup Spaghetti! He always ate in the Steak Bar. He loved to drive in his Jaguar. Oh strawberry moon She's a sad tomato Eat a bucket of tuna-flavored pudding, then wash it down with a gallon of strawberry Quik Vanilla chocolat Waffles! The look on your face will be priceless when you find that forty pound watermelon in your colon Whiskey bottles piling high I will drink the wine while it is warm Yogurt, butterscotch, granola

[windycityparrot]

How do amazon parrots use light to synthesize Vitamin D having no preening gland? and other captive Amazon care questions

How do amazon parrots use light to synthesize Vitamin D having no preening gland? As I was curating this post on Amazon parrot questions it got me thinking about one of my favorite subjects, full spectrum lighting and the synthesis of vitamin D in birds. Amazon parrots are relatively unique having no preening gland (along with doves, pigeons and Hyacinth macaws). The uropygial aka preening gland oozes a slippery goo which a bird rubs its head and beak against. Then spreads this the oil over its feathered body. This oil must find the bird skin under the feathers in order to begin the process of vitamin D synthesis. So how do doves, pigeons, Hyacinth macaws and Amazon parrots syntesize vitamin D (which aids in the absorption of calcium)? Nutrition my friends, nutrition. What they eat. A good pelleted diet will meet the basic nutritional needs of most captive birds. A seed diet may require additional supplementation. If at-the-end-of-the-day in the absence of preening oil to be absorbed through the skin of an Amazon parrot no amount of light is going to act as a catalyst to a process that can't exist - without the oil.

This begs the question as to why does Windy City Parrot offer the largest supply of lighting for birds on the Internet? Two reasons one, many of our lights actually warm birds without light to help him sleep at night. Two more importantly to help keep their circadian rhythms synchronized with their instinctual expectations. More about that here. Next question about Amazon Parrots Hi   Enjoy your Sunday email and look forward to them. I'm not sure if you give out free advice, but thought I'd ask. I recently acquired a 33 year old Double Yellow Amazon.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb2AZun_52A   I am his 4th owner, the latest owner was no longer able to take care of him. He is very cage possessive and can not be handled.   Any idea how to help him trust me? He's in the main living area so we spend a lot of time together.   I'd like to get him eating fresh fruits and veggies. He looks at me and the food like I'm trying to poison him. I did have an African Parrot 15+ years ago so have some experience with large birds.   Thanks for listening. :) Keep up the good work. Ava F.   Thank you for the kind words Ava   Thank you for the kind words - For starters please watch the video in this product listing for $2 training clickers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUaVdivyDsQ I would advocate that you obtain some militant sprigs http://goo.gl/BAx15B - you can offer these through the cage or as you get close to the bird if he or she allows it to benefit is - these are tasty your bird will probably like them in the sprig keeps your hand 6 inches from the bird beak   If he doesn't care for millet, find a favorite treat like a non-shelled sunflower kernel, a raisin or on shelled unsalted peanuts.   Drop them in his food dish every time you go by the cage to find out what he really likes and then when you offer a treat, place it in a food bowl so to speak doesn't have to interact with your fingers.   Once he responds to not aggressively receiving treats from you we can move forward   mitchr   Hi   We've had Olive, our yellow naped amazon, since she was 8 months old. She's now 11 years old. She/he, spends most of her/his day outside her/his cage.   However, lately she's/he's been getting down and walking around the house. We never know where she'll/he'll end up. Fortunately, Someone is home with her/him all day. Would she/he benefit by getting another bird? If so, would she/he be ok with a cockatoo?   Thank you for your time!! Joyce   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD73m_5oIyY   Dear Joyce   Mitch would like to respond to you in depth but he is busy right now.   I will try to get it rolling.   Get your bird sexed. This behavior may be related to a female seeking out a place to build a nest.   Please get bird play stand or two. Having the bird out and about on the floor all the time is not safe.   If some one is not watching and the bird gets into something, destroys a treasured family album, chews an electrical cord, etc. Not good for bir or human   Getting a second bird will only double your work, will take away from your special time with your bird, or worse, they will hate each other.   Please look into the top two for starts.   "Olive" is only out of the cage when she can be supervised. She is covered at night as well.   I refer to her as a girl, as that is what we were told when we bought her at a pet shop. A veterinarian told me recently she is probably not female, or she would have laid by now, seeing as she is 11 years old.   Dear Joyce   Considering that Amazons do live a very long time, their reproductive cycle is not even slightly over at 11.   If conditions were not right for her previously, they may be now.   Editor's note: The vet was not an avian vet. Birds can lose eggs in folds of body fat so not seeing an egg is no confirmation of sex type   Yes  Catherine, its difficult to break the habit of referring to her as a female after all these years.   Again, thank you for taking time to respond!   Joyce   Enjoy Your Journey!   Hello,   We live in southern TX, and would like to take our Amazon outside since the weather is so nice this time of year.   I will purchase a cage of course, but my concerns are what types of bugs and disease am I potentially going to expose her to? She will also be in a covered patio. How do I keep her safe? Thank You, Joyce https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_R7g4lAuZc Hi Joyce,   Thanks for your questions and your sincere concern for your Amazon's safety.   I have had companion parrots for 30+  years and for 7 years had an outdoor breeder aviary.   I currently happily share my life with a single Timneh African Grey, Timmy, who is a rescue from a bad home but tame and loving even after what he has been through (including being batted against a wall, losing consciousness).   I do clip wings slightly to prevent upward flight, unlike Mitch and Catherine.   But that is a personal choice and I love to hear of flighted birds. So I am not truly an advocate of clipping, it's just best in my situation.   I live on the east coast of Central Florida, just south of Kennedy Space Center and only 4 blocks from the ocean.   This area is sub-tropical, just as your weather is right now in Texas. We also have summers much like yours (hot, hot, hot and often dry), though you probably have colder winters than we do.   The only concerns you should have about your bird outdoors as long as it is safely caged or in a harness or flight suit is it consuming standing water or any grasses that could have been sprayed with pesticides and the ambient temperature.   Cool strong breezes can cause respiratory infections or "colds". Overheating can kill quickly if not recognized and controlled. Consuming or chewing on items that may not be bird safe such as metals, pressure treated wood, and similar items could cause poisoning that could kill the bird.      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Waf2e3rAGHg   While we humans are plagued by concerns such as West Nile Virus, Zika Virus, Malaria and other maladies due to insect bites from mosquitoes and are plagued by other stinging insects, my research and personal experience have revealed no diseases transmitted to parrots via bug bites.   Consider this: our parrots evolved to live in pest-infested jungles with insects we've never encountered, yet they remain healthy.   On good weather days, my Timmy and I go outside in the unfiltered sunlight for at least 20 minutes to help both our bodies produce needed Vitamin D naturally. It also helps us absorb the vitamins we consume in food.   While I get bug bites if I do not protect against it, Timmy never is bothered.   Perhaps it is the way parrot feathers  create a tight, thick layer of protection between the environment and their skin so that biting pests can't penetrate the feathers.   The only pest I am aware of that you should worry about is mites. The only way your Amazon would get these is if you allowed him to play extensively in outdoor trees where these pests live.   Wild birds live with them but you don't want to bring them inside your house as they do cause itching in birds. This is why you should wash and bake at low temperature for 20-30 minutes any branches brought indoors for perches. This ensures any mites present are killed.   When outdoors, use the temperature rule that if you are hot and perspiring, the bird is also getting too hot, and if you feel chilly, so does your bird.   Also, during hot weather if the bird opens its beak as if panting, go into a cool area or spray water on the bird because that is a sign of overheating which can kill quickly. Parrots have no sweat glands to control body temperature.   When you are outdoors, you experience pests, so I'd like to refer you to a blog post about bird-safe insect repellents, Mitch and Catherine use these and so do I, they are all natural and keep pests away from you and the parrot.   Visit 6 Bird Safe All Natural Home Made Mosquito Repellants....... I know you will find it useful. You can make a batch and use it for the rest of the season. It has been bird-tested with Mitch and Catherine's birds and mine.The repellents really do work well and are safe with the single exception that you might have an allergy to an ingredient.   To test for that, drop one drop of the oil on a  cotton ball and quickly touch it to your skin. If no reaction appears (redness, itching, burning, discomfort of any kind) then you are not allergic to the ingredients. Most people are not allergic to any of the ingredients but there are rare exceptions.   If you read the ingredients and the essential oil is made from a plant or flower you know you are allergic to, then you are allergic to the essential oil. If that is the case, choose one of the mixtures that do not contain that specific ingredient or simply leave it out of the mixture.   For indoor pest control, I recommend Mango Pest Control Aviary Bug Spray for general pest control and if you have any concerns regarding mites, use Mango DynaMyte Mite/Lice Pest Control.     Both products are totally bird safe and very effective. You might even want to spray around the cage outside with these products. Do allow them to dry before permitting your bird to enter the area and, of course, do not spray directly on the bird.   They have residual effects for up to one week if the area remains dry, although outdoors it might be less, especially if rain gets the area wet. But they dry quickly so it is not a long wait to spray again around the outdoor cage after dampness or rain.   I hope these helps. If you have further questions or concerns, please contact me.   Nora Caterino we_speak_bird@windycityparrot.com Curated and edited by mitch rezman approved by catherine your zygodactyl footnote Read the full article