My Cloudy Cloude is gone. I haven't been able to write about it yet. His testicular cancer tumor had begun to grow the last few months and he'd had some trouble breathing. He enjoyed his food and playing with toys up to the end but hadn't been able to fly for awhile. Flying was his joy. He'd been living in his cage with Sweet Pea, our pink rosy bourke, since Dandelion passed in January. A few nights before Cloude passed, I'd noticed Sweet Pea defending Cloude, and when I put them back in their cage for the night, I saw Sweet Pea gurging for Cloude. He followed her all around the cage and she preened him and loved him. It made me cry with happiness for him, that he had someone loving him and taking good care of him at the end. I was so thankful for Sweet Pea, she is such a good bird. My sweet Cloude, I don't know what to do without him. He was my first budgie. He is with all his buddies now - his beloved Dandelion, Skye, Cricket... Cloude is a pretty bird Lake is a pretty squeaky bird. I love you Cloudy Cloude!
here is the text from my first post about fairytale garden cottage we were considered buying a few years ago:
i saw a very cute teenytiny fairytale cottage on a hilltop overlooking a pond yesterday. It is very private & fairytalesque - on top of a hill, up some crazy stairs and then boom - an amazing expansive view of the pond, it's totally private and meadowy - there is a wishing well & wind chimes and the two houses on either side aren't close at all, the whole back of the house is cradled in tall trees and all in front of the house and to one side is begging for amazing butterfly gardens and sunflowers and a big bench swing! there is a big glass enclosed porch with a wood-burning stove - sit and have tea while watching the birds and the pond - tons of space for gardening and bird watching, playing on the pond
This is what it looked like then:
this is the view of the pond from the porch:
This is what it looks like now. It is COMPLETELY GONE. They have leveled it - the house is gone, the gardens and trees, the very hillside itself has been removed. Now it is some dirt with a bulldozer on top. They will probably put in some enormous hideous tickytacky mcmansion. wtf is wrong with people.
she was such a good bird. she had so much spunk and so much personality. more than any other bird i've ever known. she played hard with her toys. she was smart and taught us games - fetch the bucket and others. she would yell at berv and call her names when she got poopy butt and had to be cleaned. she loved her boys and especially cloude. she liked to sit in her cage on the back porch and listen to the other birds. when she rode in the car she liked to look out the window and would always duck when we went under bridges. she had lots of friends at angell memorial from when she had all the egg binding issues and other things. she was the most expensive budgie in the world. we spent thousands on her vet care. she was our sweet skye. every night she jumped up into her white swing. it came with her when i found her on craigslist. she once escaped from her previous owner and spent three winter nights outside in maine. she was so tough. she was fearless. all the other birds would look to her - she was always the first to try new foods or play with new toys. she loved to shred carrots and would get a big carrot beard. she also shredded pink mineral blocks and became efamous for being a rare pink budgie. she rode cuttlebones like surf boards. she loved her bucket toys and she loved her fisher price little man. once when she had no eggs, she laid on that little man for weeks. she was the best bird mom. she rode around on our shoulders and on our heads. she once landed on bervs face and bit her nose. she liked to go up to the top of the tower at mt auburn. she lived life loud & proud & fearless. she was an amazing creature - so full of joy and curiosity.
skye bird - i can't believe you are gone - i will miss you so much. i love you skye bird
( click here to see my favorite piccies of sweet Skye birdCollapse )
a kitchen garden outside the back door and wildflowers everywhere filled with butterflies honeybees bumblebees
a burbling stream with little metallic fish flashing by and dragonflies and smooth stones
ancient willow trees full of birdsong and an elm that looks like a person frozen into tree shape with a big swing so i can spend hours in the sky
gingerbread wraparound porch with white painted rockers
windowboxes cascading with moss rose
a tin roof to echo the rain
kittyloaves in front of the fireplace
a big birdroom with a high ceilings and skylights and tile floors a room we can fill with trees and plants for the birds to play in
i want to spend my days writing poetry and painting watercolors in the garden
berv at the wrought iron garden table with a stack of physics books
wildlife rehab in the barn
a few silky chickens pecking around at our feet
Total amount made for website sold: $0
Total amount paid to sell website: $.03
woohoo!
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice --
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do --
determined to save
the only life you could save.
he & Dandelion were in love since the day they met. Cloude didn't seem to mind. All the boy budgies loved Star.
just this week he & Dandy had started to cuddle really close in the cage - bodies touching. none of the birds do that - they all keep a distance. only Waldorf & Dilly ever cuddled like that.
twinkle, twinkle, little star
how I wonder what you are
up above the world so high
like a diamond in the sky
my current favorites for apartments are these
in Paris (this was my first pick for our last trip, but it was booked. it is on the ile de la cite near the bridge to the ile st louis where we stayed last time & has amazing views of the Seine)
Tired of charmless and expensive hotel rooms with a view on the neighbor's bathroom ?
Ad: We have what you have always dreamed about !
A luxurious and cozy apartment with a Breathtaking Panoramic View on the Seine River in the heart of the most romantic city in the world : Paris !
Everything you need will be at your disposal : Flat screen TV with Cable, High Speed Internet, Fully Equipped Kitchen, Large Comfortable Bed, Washer, Spacious Shower, Elevator, etc...
Ile de la Cite is the most prestigious location because you are in the epicenter of Paris !
The Notre Dame Cathedral is just steps from your door; The Hotel de Ville is just across the bridge; St. Michel, the Place des Vosges, the Marais, and the Latin Quarter are just a 5 min. walk away ! The stunning Eiffel Tower is just a stroll away by foot down the river or by one of Paris' famous fly boats.
in Prague (this was one of the few i found that had antique decor and wasn't hyper modern with plastic Philippe Starck chairs - hate those. it has views of the river, Charles bridge, and the castle. it is right on the Vltava river and next to Kampa island.)
Ad: Sleeps 4 Views of the Castle & Charles Bridge, modern kitchen & bath, 2 toilets
The Living room, with it's wooden beam and painted ceiling offers the grandeur and romance of a castle, in the Heart of Prague. Completely reconstructed, this Renaissance flat offers a modern bath and kitchen with all modern conveniences. The living room is spacious and elegant. Parquet floors, 10 foot ceilings, carefully restored trim and windows everywhere provide a light and airy sense of comfort on a very quiet street close to shopping, transportation and the finest restaurants. The views from the bedrooms and the living room will delight you.
A beautifully reconstructed flat in a 16th century building, the flat is just a wonderful few minutes walk to some of the most interesting sites in Prague, including, the Castle and The Charles Bridge. Cobblestoned, gaslight, winding streets will charm you. The flat is entered either through hall door or the private lift. Deep-set windows, thick walls contribute to the ancient romance of this flat.
the hard part i'm having now is figuring out the planes - it looks like it's easiest to fly from boston to paris because there are no direct flights to prague or from prague to boston - there are layovers and plane switches. we can layover in london or budapest or montreal.
sadly, the only quick & onestop flights are airfrance - who made our day hell with their strike (which apparently they do often)
easiest might me:
boston to paris
paris to prague
prague to paris
paris to boston
lots of flying that last day!
check out the new victoria's secret commercial shot in prague - ignore the chicks - look how pretty prague is(!)
Paris Videos Slideshow
The way there and back were hellish nightmares out of Bosch where everything that could go wrong did (Airfrance strike, figuring out how to get a train from the airport to the apartment, endless stairs & hours of lines, running with luggage, I forgot to pack shirts, et al).
Paris, however, was a dream. We went to all the flea markets, ate street food and picked up food at the open air markets and cooked in the apartment.
Our apartment had stone walls, cobbled floors, 17th century beams, and huge old French windows that opened onto a courtyard. We were directly over a bakery so the whole apartment smelled AMAZING all day long. The bed was a cloud from heaven. I loved to lay there and stare up through the canopy and listen to the bells of Notre Dame tolling. We were in the middle of the Seine, so we got to cross it everytime we went anywhere.
So often it was so perfect it seemed like a dream. Berv saw shooting stars over Notre Dame. We went to the Eiffel tower in the rain the first time, and when we got off the bus the sun came out and there was a rainbow. The ravens and magpies followed us from grave to grave in Montmarte & Pere LeChaise.
I got lots of antique skeleton keys, scarves, tapestries, trinkets, geegaws, & fripperies at the fleamarkets. There was a gorgeous blue bird at the bird market behind Notre Dame that I fell in love with and wanted to bring home.
We went on the last Bateaux Mouches boat-ride down the Seine at night in the pouring rain - the lights on the water were all shimmery like an impressionist painting. Everywhere you looked was stunning beauty. I loved how the lights from the Bateaux Mouches would light up the golden leaves in the trees on the banks of the Seine and cast fluttering shadows on the old townhouses.
We had our own red velvet box at the Palais Garnier for the ballet. There was a gorgeous green sparkly fairy that I loved and could watch him dance all night. The box was huge with ornate gilded red velvet chairs, red brocade walls, a large mirror and dressing table. The domed ceiling was covered with angels and dancers painted by Chagall (one of my favorite artists).
We found lots of secret gardens and walked across every bridge. The bridges and the Seine and Notre Dame were my favorite things. Pont Alexander with its golden frolicking nymphs...
I ate lots of frommage and crepes & peche glace! I only stepped in dog poo once! You could get a huge wheel of Brie at the supermarche for a couple bucks, and bottles of wine for two bucks - cheese, yogurt, and wine were crazy cheap.
i am working on picking the piccies i want to upload - i am on day five. once i upload them i'll post a day-by-day from my travel journal with accompanying photos! so, more soon!
we both got new wheely carryon suitcases at building19 for supercheap that will hold a ton. they had a very cool swanky samsonite in rose that i really loved that was like $350 off its normal price of $400. they also had cheap-cheap purple wheely suitcases for $9 but they seemed a little flimsy & cheaply made so we went mid-grade & got sleek black ones. hopefully now i will be able to bring more than 2 outfits & will even be able to bring a nice pair of shoes for the ballet!
nightmare getting all the prescriptions together. there is a supply-shortage on my antibiotics. they had to call a thousand pharmacies. picking it up today.
nightmare getting euros - everyone wants to charge an arm & a leg & most places don't have them. picking them up tomorrow.
going to see midnight in paris tomorrow in waltham at 5 -the only showing i could find!
i am having trouble getting up at 5 am. (we are trying to right our schedules so we will be on paris time) i have gotten up at 6 today & yesterday. tomorrow i will get up at 5am!
poo!
so, the plan is to go in a couple weeks. hopefully all the leaves won't have blown away!
3br 2ba 1600sqft farmhouse on 8 acres, private pond, pool, barn, wood floors, apple trees, gardens, down the road from the sea further north in new england...
we have caught about 2 dozen mice this year. we take them all out to the woods in dracut, where berv leaves them with a peanut butter bagel. we name them all rudolph, because the first one we caught was around christmas time and we kept him in a princess hamster cage. he LOVED his wheel, and all the tunnel tubes, and peanut butter bagels were his favorite. we were sad to let him go in the spring...
at the pond, beneath the willows, in the darkest corner of the garden...
I am tied to you, my favorite piece of string. The seas may boil and the mountains may fall to dust and the stars may dim and die. But to you, my favorite piece of string, I shall be tied forever. And after forever has come and gone, forever again I shall love you.
my gift to her is we are renting an apartment for a week in Paris - in November(!!)
her gift to me is she is building a pond in the garden(!!)
extremely excited about both!!
berv is building a pond!
i am worried that the sunflowers are over-crowded and so will not grow as high as we wanted (17 feet). we don't want to pull them as this would hurt the roots of the neighbors and we don't want to cut them as they are all wrapped up in morning glory vines. we are going to try lots and lots of fertilizer.
the morning glories are taking longer to reach up this year but this morning we had our first purple bloom on the lamppost
the cosmos have grown much quicker this year - are already 4-5 feet tall and covered with blooms. it was september last year before they really got to blooming.
there are many random plants that i am not sure what they are or if i want them. i will wait to see if they bloom or not before i get rid of any...
the gladiolus are bending over they are so heavy with blooms. must stake.
This is some sort of bizarro linoleum. Much better than disgusting carpet anyhow. Eventually we will paint this or put down some hardwood to match the other hardwood downstairs.
I didn't even know she was doing it - it was just on our list of house projects. I came home from work and it was totally done - all in one day and on a really really hot day too! Crazy! The cats were all freaked out because of all the furniture moving and banging to bring up the tack board. Mazzy especially, she hid. She prolly thought we were moving again! The garage is full of gross carpet now. hahah. Berv got up all the tack board and the million staples. The room seems so much bigger now. Yay!!!
Before: royal blue carpet
You tell them what type of habitat you have, the size, and description. Then you describe how you meet all of the requirements for food sources, water sources, cover, places to raise young, and your environmentally-friendly practices.
Click to view all the pictures!
Create a Certified Wildlife Habitat in your backyard
Food Sources
Plants provide food for wildlife. Feeders can also be used as a supplemental source of nourishment. How do you provide food for wildlife?
Food provided naturally by plants
Seeds (tons of flowers with seeds that birds like: purple cone flower, cosmos, morning glory)
Berries (blackberry, blueberry, raspberry bushes)
Fruits (weeping cherry tree, pear tree, crabapple tree)
Nectar (purple vetch, morning glory, columbine, bleeding hearts, beesbalm, foxglove, gladiolus)
Sap (maple tree)
Foliage/Twigs (privet, thuja, berry bushes, other various shrubs)
Pollen (tons of flowers, clover, dandelion)
Need to add: Nuts (thinking of a pink-flowering almond bush)
Supplemental Feeders
Seed (9 feeders nijer seed, black oil sunflowers)
Suet (7 suet feeders with different kinds of suet in each)
Nut (Peanut feeder for jays and squirrels)
Hummingbird (7 feeders - so far)
Squirrel (corn/sunflower/millet mix)
Need: Butterfly Nectar Feeder
Need: Oriole Nectar Feeder or hanging Jam plate (organic unsweetened grape jam!)
Water Sources
Animals need clean water for drinking, bathing, and reproduction. How do you provide water for wildlife?
Birdbath (2 big birdbaths, several small bird/butterfly drinkers)
Butterfly Puddling Area (big birdbeach area)
Shallow Dish (over by the fairy garden)
Water Garden/Pond (soon!) I do have several solar-powered fountains now
Do not have any of these: Rain Garden, Lake, River/Stream, Seasonal Pool, Ocean, Spring
Cover
Wildlife need shelter from bad weather and hiding places - for both predators and prey. How do you provide cover for wildlife?
Wooded Area (2 huge maples arch over the back yard)
Dense Shrubs / Thicket (row of 20+ thujas)
Meadow / Prairie (front garden is a cosmos meadow with occasional sunflowers)
Evergreens (thujas plus a spruce)
Ground Cover (lots of clover, sage, chamomile, creeping thyme)
Roosting Box (a couple dozen bird houses)
Water Garden / Pond (soon!)
Bramble Patch (berry patch!)
Burrow (under deck)
Brush / Log Pile (2 of these going back by the compost bin)
Rock Pile / Wall (rock pile behind sunflower patch)
Do not have: Cave
Places to Raise Young
In order to provide a complete habitat, you must provide places for wildlife to raise their young. How do you provide places to raise young for wildlife?
Mature Trees (2 big maples)
Dense Shrubs / Thicket (thuja line plus berry bushes)
Meadow / Prairie (cosmo garden)
Host Plants for Caterpillars (milkweed in front of brush pile)
Dead Trees / Snags (pile back by the brush pile)
Nesting Box (dozens!)
Burrow (under deck)
Water Garden / Pond (soon!)
Do not have: Wetland, Cave
Eco-Friendly
all organic garden
organic fertilizer
compost bin
no pesticides
Soon: rain barrel, next year: soaker hoses!
put the ladybug container in the fridge when they arrive in the mail - the cool will settle them down after their long journey
ladybugs must be released in early evening - just before dark so they can settle in for the night - you don't want them to fly off.
water the garden first - the ladybugs will be thirsty after their trip
sprinkle them about the garden - where there is food for them - don't dump them all out in one place
"Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys.
Look on them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death!"
- Sun Tzu, the Art of War
Beverly is weeding the sunflower patch
( click here to see current garage and victorian cottage inspiration picturesCollapse )
click to see all the piccies - front & back
we used martha stewart's aegean blue paint
i ordered lady bugs a week ago and they just TODAY bothered to ship them (no explaination). ugh! this happened recently with the old time violets as well. ugh!
maidenhair fern
wild red columbine
butterflyweed
trumpetvine
bluebell bellflower
blue mistflower
american holly
wild lupine
crabapple
scarlet beebalm
virginia creeper
wild blue phlox
sweet william
rhododendron
azalea
black-eyed susan
aster
blueberry
violet
wildflower.org
they also tilled under an english garden, removed all the (eww!) flowers, and complained that they'd have to rip out all the clover to plant grass so their spawn could play outside.
and they removed the checkerboard floor from the entry way and sawed off all the gingerbread and are painting over the lovely bright blue porch floor (which i loved)...
we had always talked about becoming wildlife rehabbers someday when we got a farm but today we got to thinking - why wait? why not check out what is involved - maybe we could set up the barn as the rehab outbuilding - it has electricity/heat/ac - we could put the windows back in... i don't know for sure if i will do it as well but Beverly has the magic touch with critters great and small - it is her calling.
i was tempted to also get some praying mantis cocoon's but they like to eat hummingbirds and as i am trying to attract hummingbirds (10 feeders, lots of plantings - columbine, phlox, bleeding hearts, purple vetch, etc) - i am going to avoid them!
nearly all evidence of grass/lawn is gone - berv conducted a great wheat harvest - that is now drying and will be fed to the budgies and she has been collecting the last grass
we got 2 huge homemade bird condos from an old fellow who lives nearby and makes fabulous huge birdhouses - also picked up a bat house for the bats to live in and eat all our skeeters! i need to paint the roof black and the outside dark grey - as is proper for our area. apparently, you should paint your bat house specific colors depending on where you live.
i have some space along the stone wall - thinking of more lilacs and maybe doing a row of berry bushes along the front of the deck.
i want to add a nut tree somewhere - a dwarf variety - for the squirrels - and also a peach tree!
i know for certain that there are inhabitants of the big blue birdhouse - each day i see different grasses sticking out the hole! i think they are house sparrows! so cute!
