The Girls... and I mean the chickens :)

I think it has taken me so long to get to my next group of wonderful animals, because believe it or not they are incredibly hard to photograph, at least for me.  They are constantly moving. Group shots are really hard to photograph and get all of them clear and looking at the camera.  I love my chickens.  They won't even lay eggs for 4 or 5 more months.  So I have 3 chickens.  All were born on the same day but of course being different types of chickens they are all different sizes and have very different personalities.   

Mama Cosmo  (Mama)  She was the leader for most of the time when she lived in the house.  Since the chickens have been in the yard, leadership has changed a bit.  She is a Wyandotte chicken. They will be laying brown eggs.  Her personality now is mostly a timid and scared.  She does not like being held as much as the other 2.

 Studio (Sweet Pea or Studio 54) She is a Austrolorp She is the leader now.  She spent all of her time in the house do super ditzy things and was always last to learn a new chicken skill.  She was by far a big airhead. I then started to call her Studio 54 for that reason and Studio stuck. Now in the yard, she is the leader.  The other 2 follow her and keep and eye on what she is doing.  She doesn't mind being held.  She doesn't love it but doesn't fight me or Sam either.  She is also very talkative. And YES I do talk chicken all the time to them.  They do respond to me and come over.

 Buff (Buff McNaughten) She is a Buff Opington chicken.  We called Buff, Buff McNaughten after a hemit that lived in the woods by Gull lake.  He knew my father in laws dad and my father in law.  So when we saw that name we knew even though she was a girl she had to have that name.  She has always been the shyest. She has always seemed like the youngest even though they are the same age.

 Mmmm Mangos

 Running free!!

 Night time.  Here they are in their Coop.  They make so much noise when they settle down for the night, it's kind of funny to just sit and listen to them.  I know what they are doing.  One chicken gets settled and then another one comes in and steals it, and so on.  This goes on and on.  Then all is quiet.  k~

Quail catch up.....

For those of you that only follow my blog, I need to send an update.  

Qauilly is officially a boy.  

With quail there is a specific test one can do to determine if it is male or female.  If you squeeze their bottom and a foam ball comes out, it's a boy, no questions asked.  And well, the other day, it happened.  I know, I know.  

Quailly has been crowing loudly around the house for a few weeks know (another sign of a male) but I just though "it could be Quailly singing her beautiful song"... denial.  I really wanted a girl.  I was hoping so for a girl so there would be no need to have Quailly fixed.  

But alas my luck is often tilted in the "not your way girl friend"  So I will have 2 Quail and a huge vet bill some day, and I will love them both.  Sigh. k~

Quailly the Quail

I thought I would start with Quailly since as of today, he/she is the newest to the menagerie.  The way I am figuring he/she was born in the week of June 10th. which makes he/she 6 weeks.  We hope to know if he/she is a he or a she.  There are ways that are not working.  SOOOO......I just need to wait for an egg to drop out.  That begins at around 7 or 8  weeks!  Really?? The male gender should be obvious by now,  All you need to do is squeeze their butts and a big white foam bubble is supposed to come out.  Well this quail here is just peeing a little and getting pretty irritated at me.  For the life of me I can't get it to work right so, I just wait.  Hey... I guess we all wait  :)

I adopted her from the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center.  He/she needs a covey so I guess our Menagerie is hers/his covey.  Sam put her in the doll house I am totally redoing.  This is one of the unfinished rooms.  She LOVED the bed. She/he sat and picked at the blanket for minutes and minutes.

Then there are other things that Quailly enjoys She/he loves to be held, A LOT.  She also loves being rocked, sometimes asleep.

It's just crazy how she loves this so much.  I do this daily. 

So birds are so new to my menagerie and so new to me.  I just love my Chickens and I love my Quail. 

Oh yes and Quailly makes this very load call now.  Lots of cooing and quiet peeps but then there are these screams.  She/he will do this if she/he hears my voice and I don't go and see her right away.

k~

The menagerie list

Sometimes the list of my animals can be hard to make, because I have so many.  I also get new adoptees and rescues often, so the list gets added to.  I think that a current list might be helpful and then I promise I will get some photos in here.  I do have several running down the side :) There are so many stories that go along with my animals some are hard to forget and some are fun to remember. 

The List:

1 Quail
3 Chickens
7 Water Turtles
4 Land Turtles
2 Snakes
1 Arboreal Frog
2 Water Frogs
6 Lizards
1 Millipede 
2 Bunny's
1 Hamster
1 Cat
1 Dog
2 Fresh Water Parrot Fish
Several Large Feeder Goldfish
1 Tank of small fish
3 Pools outside 
   2 With Brown Gold Fish
   1 With Bullhead
1 Cricket Farm
1 Meal Worm Bin
1 Meal Worm Egg Bin
1 Meal Worm Beetle and Pupa Bin
1 Super Worm Beetle and Egg Bin
1 Super Worm Bin (for growing up)
1 Super Worm Bin (for feeding Beardies)
1 Super Worm Incubation Bin (From Worm to Pupa to Beetle)
1 Carnivorous Plant that I have to special water and feed

I don't think I am forgetting anyone.  I think I have them all listed.  So that is my Menagerie.  That is who I care for daily, along with my 3 lovely children, oh and husband.  I love it.  It makes me happy. k~

  

What about that for a name?

So as I said before, I am shifting topics on my blog and moving forward.  I have decided to mix it up a bit and focus on my menagerie of fantastic exotic animals and a few domestic ones.  Our house is a zoo, a haven, a rescue center, a place where the unwanted go. What ever you want to call it, animals are welcome here. 

At the moment every Phyla is represented.  If you are a bit rough on your Animal Phyla, I will refresh you.

So many of you already know about all of my animals.  I look forward to share my Menagerie.  

I have also had the great advantage of doing some extensive traveling in my life.  I did a lot when I was quite young and again when I started college and beyond.  

Much of my travels as a child are not easy to forget.  They are filled with fantastic true stories and wonderful almost unbelievable tales that I am sure some will leave you not believing them.  

Lastly,  I really have no where to display my art, crochet, and other various projects I pick up along my way.  So from time to time I am going to put them here.  I am really not sure why.  

So that is it.  This is my new format of this blog.  On the right column, there is a space for updates.  I don't expect that will be changing soon, often or detailed.   It is just not prudent right now.  

Thanks so much for hanging on if you do and thanks for reading if you don't.

k~ 

Whoop.... I let is slip.... I didn't know...

I am living under a cloud of regret.  It's not so much a depression, but a true regret in sharing my diagnosis.  I had no idea that what I was being diagnosed with was so hideous.  For someone who has cared about what people think about her, my entire life, THIS was not something that I should have let out to the public.  I have been told that it is just a label and I am the same person before the diagnosis as I am after,  But this time it isn't quite true.  I am suffering from depression (yes still) medically and emotionally. Where as, before the diagnosis I was JUST suffering from depression.  I have read article after article from very good sources about BPD regarding the dislike of a person with this diagnosis.  It has been confirmed over and over again. We are toxic humans.  WOW!  wow... I didn't know that.  wow. I have lost friends. since the diagnosis. I'm not cuddly, I am losing myself.  It has been hard to explain. So I am going to stop explaining it.  It is just an awful, terrible label to live with and to know that this has been me maybe even forever. It makes me what to just crawl right out of my skin. Apologize to everyone I know and run away. This IS a real thing and it in no way draws any empathy of any kind from those around you.  I am sorry for those who are receiving this diagnosis today or have had to deal with this for a long time. I wish I had know then what I know now.  I would have NEVER shared my label, that's for sure.  It's super lonely in here. It's icky in here. And for the first time in my life when I directly asked for someones help I was told "no, I won't help you" if that shows how this label, diagnosis, personality, does not draw sympathy from others I don't know what will. People who know your label forget you have anything else like depression too or anxiety they just see trouble.  Keep it in the shadows. Don't let it out. Borderline Personality Disorder is not embraced by society like alcoholism, drug addiction, etc. It is even lower. k~

The brain

In the last year and a half I have found out more about the brain then I care to know.  I was always good at anatomy.  I was the kid in college that people lined up to check out my notes after class. I was the one who got the A+ or the 110 out of 100, that isn't even possible in college.   Then I had to take anatomy again for some post graduate classes as well as Medical terminology.  After working among medical records and doctors orders as well as PT and OT orders for a few years in a rehab center of a nursing home, medical terminology became a second language to me.  I also became used to the looks that came with some terms and diagnoses. I was able to hone some skills and understanding of what was going on with certain patients around me.  I am not just tooting my own horn, I simply wanted to load my credentials in order to yet again show the following cartoon.

  

Cartoon by Kirsten Walsh 2014.  All rights reserved.  No coping without permission from Kirsten.

    This is a very beat up cartoon and it is time for a clean and updated one to emerge. I did however want to share it again.  It, in my opinion, can't be shared enough.  Whenever I have approached my metal illness or my children's metal illness as of late, it appears that most of the professionals, ironically consider certain of the mental illnesses that stem from the brain, are stemming from a brain found outside of the body.

Once when i was trying to figure out about these horrible headaches i was having, I went to a Neurologist.  He ordered a Cat-scan  of my head and sure enough, there it was, my brain. lodged right there in my skull cavity. From that moment on, I became a true believer of the the brain being part of ones body. It should be treated as such.  

That said, like the ocean itself, the brain has barely been touched when it comes to scientific research.  This includes all fields that are not excluded to mental illness.  There is mental wellness of the brain, anti-socialism, how we learn in different environments under different nutritional allotments, PTSD, Alzheimer's, and the like.  Much research has been started but much has not been ended, completed due to our vast expanse of our brain.  

The only thing we know for sure about our brain without a doubt, is that out brain is INSIDE our body and should be treated as such. It is a member of all the body systems.  It should not be excluded nor shunned if it might have a problem.  It should not be looked down upon if a new diagnosis path comes along. It is a member of our body and should be treated as such.   I 


I am compelled to end with a dah. but that would be looked upon as juvenile and I don't want to do that. k~