💛💛💛💛💛 OCTOBER 2025 💛💛💛💛💛
💛 13 OCTOBER 2020 - 13 OCTOBER 2025 💛
💛5 YEARS💛
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WEDNESDAY 01 OCTOBER 2025 : 5 YEARS !!!!!
6.00 and here I sit at the kitchen table, in the relative silence of the early morning. Out-side it's still darkness, the furnace was running when I woke, as I've been doing in recent days, at about 5.30 - I don't much look at the time, other than the hour, and if it's "5" I figure I'll get up and start the day. The 2 box fan/air purifiers, as they are, are droning, "white noise", one might say. It's a shame they're necessary, but they are, to keep the air in this old house as clean and clear of potentially detrimental toxins.
To think, up until 5 years ago this month, I didn't care about such things and, in fact, would have more-than-welcomed toxins, the stronger the better.
To think, 5 years ago come 12 days from now, absolutely EVERYTHING about "life and existence" changed.
To think, 5 years ago, the rest of the world turned its back to me in a time when I had so much need of the world, and together, the world gave up on TWO other-wise insignificant lives - to them, anyway - and yet, this morning, to the best of my knowledge at this moment, here we are, together, still breathing Earth's air.
They left both of us for "dead and gone".
But I wasn't going to let this little bundle of mind and soul, wrapped in beautiful feathers, waste away. He'd been through the worst-possible that this world, this "Creation" could impose: to be gnawed, torn, viciously, and then left, in terror, to die slowly. Maybe it's because I knew, to some extent, how he felt, laying there in the wet grass, then managing to find a dark, secluded corner, some-what out of sight, just waiting for the pain and suffering to end. I'd come back to New York for a similar reason. This house, this place was my corner, under the stairs.
But we were together, and I was still surviving, barely. WE WOULD SURVIVE TOGETHER, WE, TOGETHER, WOULD "REPAIR OUR LIVES"!
And today, WE, TOGETHER, have managed to WIN THE BATTLE!
The "war" of survival continues... AND WE'RE STILL IN IT... TOGETHER. AND I AM STILL IN ABSOLUTE AWE! WE, TOGETHER, ARE STILL HERE!
Looks to me, we're a "Force" the rest of Creation has to reckon with... Yes, I have a faint sense of "pride" in the success of managing to do what "professional, educated, veterinarians" out-right refused to do. I treated the wounds, gave actual compassionate "care" to a suffering, living, sentient, cognizant BEING. Having NO idea, NO training, just working on pure "gut and instinct", I did what my core-soul directed. After hearing those words that I'll never forget: "Just put it in a box with some paper and make it as comfortable for what-ever..." and "It's not a raptor and it's not endangered, nobody's going to want to deal with it."... "IT"! NOT "it"... a LIVING BEING. I do suppose that this Little One has given purpose to my existence, if there's ANY "purpose" to the existence of ANY other being in all of this nonsensical "Creation". Honestly, I had NONE until...
He turned my every-thing around completely. I'd been sitting here, night after night, downing the old vodka and tonic, every night. Vodka was the number 1 item on my "grocery list". Food was merely something to take simply to dispel hunger and nothing more nor less. A terribly inconvenient necessity, and only for the comfort of not being hungry. Drink until I was so tired that I HAD to lie down, and every night, the same prayer as my eyes closed: "Let me close my eyes tonight and never open them again."
Then? Then I came to face the reality that I HAD to be here, to make sure this Little Guy recovered, that his pains would be gone, his injuries healed. I was determined to get him back up, on the wing, back out the flocks that he was born into. Hoping that he'd re-unite with them, get out there, join them in a migration to more comfortable climate, find a little mate and continue his lineage. I HAD to "sober up", pull my affairs together, make sure he had a place of safety, proper nourishment. And when I learnt that "the average life-time" would be 5 years... I HAD to start trying to un-do the damages that I'd already inflicted via negligence, and "repair" me so that I could "repair" him. For the first time in my entire existence, I needed to check on things, conditions, and what-ever was found to be "wrong", make it/them "right" again. I dove into "personal health-care" like I'd never done before. And today, that continues... ONLY because... I have to be here for this Little LIFE.
Oddly, I've heard said, over the many years: If you save a life, it becomes your eternal responsibility. So true.
No doubt, there are those who would have been of the notion to "leave Nature alone" that morning. This Little One would be seen as "the weaker" and, in the "natural order of things", destined to be removed from the chain of Life. he was attacked because he wasn't fast enough or intelligent enough to avoid being half-slaughtered and that sort of thing isn't good for the general "whole".
Yeah? Well... There are those who would, have, and likely do see me as being the same. So it behooved me to prove "Creation" wrong. WE BOTH WERE AND ARE SURVIVORS.
When I was in the homeless shelter, I used to tell the shelter-mates:
"They don't like us and, to a point, they actually fear us. We're proving that we can survive in the worst conditions, under the worst circumstances. We can survive not having a little house, going with-out shelter, proper clothing, proper nourishment. We survive physically, mentally and emotionally. We have instincts that they don't have. We should simply perish... but we don't, we haven't. We might not be living as they approve, but we're still alive, against a great many odds."
Well? Here, today, there are TWO of us who've managed to stand on the precipice of destruction and... here we are... HERE WE ARE! SURVIVORS! WE'VE SAVED ONE ANOTHER, WE'VE SAVE EACH-OTHER!
It's "bitter-sweet" in the truest sense of the term. We've had 5 years of "yesterdays" and more of my readings mention that this Little Guy could possibly have another 5. But that "average"... We're heading for 5 years together, we've had our 5 years... and the more "yesterdays" we have, the fewer our "tomorrows". But, we're a couple whose "tomorrows" were snatched, 5 years ago. They've been rough and tough at times, but we GRABBED them, and we're still holding to them, tightly! If we have ONE "tomorrow" or 100, what-ever the number might be, we'll use them as we've used our "yesterdays"... to the best of what-ever they have to offer.
And me? Well... my "tomorrows" are numbered with Yonah's. He is why I'm here today and was here yesterday. He's why I'll be here tomorrow... IF and ONLY IF he's here.
What'll I do... with just... a photograph... to give my LOVING to?
I won't be alone, with only... dreams of you... For when you go... I'll go with you.
9.15 and this morning's little tasks are complete, from opening the house to attending "1st of the month" responsibilities to maintain this humble place of shelter we reside in. And as I continue to type here, at the desk, my SOLE REASON AND CAUSE FOR BEING is in the comfort of his "loft", in his "house" beside me. And we're exchanging "nest coo's" in an other-wise quiet place. The house furnace is running, the room is warm and dry. The sun is rising but not quite over the tree-line, up into a clear, crisply cool blue sky. "All is calm. All will be bright." We're TOGETHER... coo'ing. "LIFE"...
Last night trip "home to the roost" was quite calm... When I came back into the room after evening ablutions, the Little Character was on the desk shelf, waiting for me. The blinds and curtains had to be closed, his house to be positioned for the night ahead. I got right to it all whilst he watched. I managed to finish it all and he stayed on the desk shelf, to my surprise. So when I'd done with all the commotion of the evening, I brought his platform over to the shelf. I'd finished "Autumn Leaves" and was well into "I Wish You Love" as I brought the little platform up and as soon as it was level with the shelf, the Little Guy calmly stepped onto it and prepared for "flight home".
We "sailed" from desk to night roost and on arrival, another casual step and he was "in for the night"... all was well.
I put the moon lights on, turned the rest of the lights off and got me to the futon... and continued the evening repertoire... and again, skipped "I Think It's Going To Rain Today" and substituted our "Weißt du wie viel"... and went on with the rest. As I sang, I could see the Little LOVE tucking-in on his perch, ready for "Traumland" and at 20.50, the day was complete, the last light was turned off. Tuesday was closed and so too... the month of September 2025. We had "tomorrow"... wenn Gott will...
This morning, I woke, as I've been doing of late, and, as noted, got up to put the kettle on and face the day AND THE MONTH!
MORNING CALL OF THE MOURNING DOVE came through his door, almost some-what softly at... imagine this: 7.00! AND, when I opened the door to his room... the coo'ing continued! We had a complete dialogue, back and forth, with "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo's" and "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo's" and all sorts of variations of the kind ALL the while I went about opening his house, windows, settling the room for the day. SO VOCIFEROUS this morning!
AND... THIS MORNING... Actual KISSES!!! Several gentle pecks on the face. Not "many" but they were more like "kisses" this morning than in recent mornings. And our conversation continued through it all!
Poops: 11 so perfect that there were NO stains (save 1 ever-so slight) on the "rug". But they were a bit scattered... and that might just be because they weren't all that moist and they bounced a bit as they landed.
Before I even had a chance to actually get the place together... he was UP UP AND AWAY... off to the desk shelf! I got to the waters... didn't put the bird-songs on right away, and he was as pleased with the silence as could be. Seemed that way anyway. So I left them off and went on about the rest of our "regularly-scheduled morning do".
I have to note here, this morning that, at 8.00, I went out to check the electric meter, as I do every morning round 8.00 to keep a "forecast" of bills to come to preserve our shelter and oddly, this morning's reading was... "1013"! October 13? Of ALL the numbers to see today! (A message from "Creation"? I DO so wonder... but there it was.
And now... the room is at 23°, out-side is at 9°. The "high" temperature for the day is expected to be no more than 14° but with sun-shine. And with the sun staying closer to the southern skies, no doubt, it'll be flooding the room with light and warmth during the day so... we'll be fine. Earlier, I happened to see what I believe to have been a "Coopers Hawk" flying about the place out there. There was ONE mourning dove and ONE blue jay at the back gallery much earlier this morning and no-birdy's there since so... once again, I celebrate the fact that THIS Little PRECIOUS LOVE is here, in his house, in his loft, safe, warm, secure.
Yes, WE ARE HERE! YES WE ARE! AND HE'S SAFE, PROTECTED, LOVED, CHERISHED, SO BEYOND WORDS... IN ANY LANGUAGE!
15.20 and SUN is BRILLIANTLY shining in the clearest blue sky! SO sadly, the temperature out there is a mere 15° and the breezes are even cooler. So no, we didn't make it out today. But the Little Guy managed to grab some basking time this morning as it warmed his beach in his house at his windows.
I made my appointment this morning, leaving at about 10.45 and got back at 12.15 and when i walked into his room, there he was, in his loft, the radio was on, quietly and it was as though I'd never left. I went right to making lunch so that we had that time together and then... a 40-minute "lie-down"! And as I moved toward the futon, he came RUSHING over to the pillow! No sooner had I laid down, he was on my leg, all snuggled and when the alarm sounded 30-minutes later, he got up, toddled up to my waist and then back to his spot on my leg... and re-snuggled-in. That was the extra 10 minutes.
He headed out to the living-room too, for a little while. The front door is open, bringing in the warmth of the sun-shine and the bright light. And now, we're back together in his room... and he's having a snack.
Well... OK. Snack is done. He's on the desk shelf over my head. PLAY TIME!
19.56 and I'm dashing along here. Been working on the back pages of the journal and time has run away.
He's on his roof-top. The sun is LONG AGO set. The house furnace is on... LOW TONIGHT 3° !!! I closed the cellar door and checked the oil. We're half way to 1/4 I can hope... We have ways of getting more, should we need it soon. So we're OK in that.
Dinner this evening, was rather strange. The Little Guy was on his perch, over his pool, by his food, and had rested there for quite a while, still and silent. I was concerned that he wasn't feeling well, but when I popped my head in to check, he gave me the sweetest kisses, as if to say "I'm OK." I NEVER doubt that he knows my thoughts. And then he hopped over to the opposite perch.
He's got the longest "claw" on his back toe on the right foot and this evening, I thought I'd give it a try and clip it. The "lighter" part is clear to see so I don't worry about clipping "too close" so.. I got the little grey towel that I'd gotten specifically for such things and OH! With a bit of effort (on my part) I managed to cover him and hold him in my lap... TWICE. I tried to make it like we were playing, talking silly to him all the while. But, as always, he was having NONE of it! How he can managed to squirm and move and such. Just when I think I've got a clear access, he starts moving all over the place. He's one of those "2-Persons" deals here! He wasn't panicking. He just TRULY WAS NOT HAPPY ABOUT BEING COVERED. So.. after the second try, I didn't want to upset him any more so I let him just go....
Off he went, to the futon and so to make it more like "play" again, I went over and we played with Burdie-Birdie and the "Futon Flock". He had fun then! And even preened Burdie! So... we're on good terms again.
Right now (20.00) he's on the desk shelf watching me... it's time for me to get to closing house for the night here.
20.26 Ablutions done, the house is settles and the Little LOVE is on the corner of the desk, preening. The night music is on and there's nothing to be done but get us both settled (and windows... of course). Oh, but when, earlier, he saw me putting Burdie in for the night, he came FLYING from his roof-top, over to the wall shelves, to su-bird-vise (or maybe to make certain that I wasn't messing around with Burdie... under towels?) Anyway, I'm being paged... time to get to tucking-in. The furnace is running... tonight's cold is arriving.
Thursday 02 October:
He took him-self to the night roost last night! When I finally got into the room to close the windows and such, he watched from the desk for a little while and when I got his house into position for the night, he flew up to his door perch and up to the roost... not his roof-top. I figured he'd go to the roof-top whilst I put the futon together for me but no. He stayed right there on the night roost perch all the while, and when I'd done, he was all comfy already! So I finished with the room, leaned in and got a couple light kisses, turned the moon lights on, the rest of the lights off and went about closing his door and getting me to the futon for the night.
We went through our lullabies (no "Rain Today" again) and all the while, he was just so settled. By 21.00 he was tucked-in and the last light was turned off.
This morning! Well! I was up at 5.00 and decided to just get some extra snooze time this morning so I closed my eyes and laid there, thinking that I'd likely just get up anyway but, the next thing I knew...
"woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo".
I thought it was still some-where close to 5.00 but when I looked at the clock it was 6.45! We'd BOTH slept until! As I got up to open the door to his house, I said "Well! Good morning to YOU! Looks like we BOTH got a nice long sleep for the night here." "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" came the reply. "Yeah? Well, a woohoohoohoohoo to you too then." I said to him. And as I leaned in for "Good morning" kisses (I got the now-customary 2 light pecks on the nose) another "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo". He was up and wanted to get on to the day ahead!
I checked the weather this morning, along with the rest of the morning commotions: 2° out there! Thankfully, the room was 23° and the furnace was running. And the Sweeter Heater is there so there's plenty of warmth in the room, in spite of the coolness because the windows are open a touch.
And POOPS? WOW! 11 PERFECT PERFECT IN EVERY WAY! Couldn't possibly hope for any better!
Oddly enough, I got to the water run and such of a morning and WOOSH! The Little Bundle of Energy was up and on the wing and out to the living-room almost right away! Didn't stay long and he was back to his house and to his loft so settle-down for a bit.
By 9.57, as I was starting the Little Guy took his breakfast and the sun rose, POURING in through the windows! Light, warmth, and a new day ahead.
11.18 AFTER FLYING ABOUT THE PLACE. SO MUCH THIS MORNING.. HE'S BASKING!!!! THE SUN IS THAT BRIGHT AND CLEAR AND WARM! Such a shame it's still so chilly out there. But at least he's getting "real sun" and no UV!
We haven't had ANY music this morning. No radio, no bird-songs. I never got to put any of that on and some-how I think it's been appreciated. Seems there's a bit of a better mood. Maybe he's sick of hearing the same stuff every day. I have to get busy finding something new for him to hear.
I AM AT A LOSS FOR WORDS! 13.20 AND I'M UP FORM A 45-MINUTE SNOOZE AND... ALL THE WHILE, THE LITTLE LOVE WAS ON THE PILLOW, AT MY HEAD! AS SOON AS I LAID DOWN, I HEARD HIM COME OVER (AND NOW HE'S ON MY SHOULDER!). HE DIDN'T MOVE, DIDN'T MAKE A SOUND AND I WAITED TO FEEL HIM ON MY LEG AS USUAL. WHEN I DIDN'T FEEL IT, I THOUGHT HE'D GONE OUT OF THE ROOM (AS HE'LL SOME-TIMES DO) SO I DRIFTED-OFF.... TO SLEEP. WELL! THE "30-MINUTE" ALARM SOUNDED, I TURNED IT OFF AND LAID THERE FOR ANOTHER 15 MINUTES. WHEN I OPENED MY EYES AND GLANCED TO MY SIDE... THERE HE WAS, AS COMFORTABLE AND COSY AS HE COULD BE! AND HE STAYED THERE! FOR A GOOD 10 MINUTES LONGER (until I tried to give him a kiss). I ALMOST CRIED! IS THERE A BETTER BLESSING IN ALL THE WORLD? (And to think of today... Yom Kippur. I can't help but think this is "God's" intervention... or some-body's. When I think of how un-deserving of this LOVE I am... I mean, I've done nothing in my life-time that's so super-stupendous. And as I wonder about the coming "MRI" and fear the results of that... HERE IS THIS DIVINITY, RESTING BESIDE MY HEAD, ON THE PILLOW! There are moments in this Creation... there are moments...)
And now... I'm at the desk, his mourning dove video playing on his lap-top and he's flying back and forth between the lap-top and his house... coo'ing. The sun is POURING in through the windows. The sky out-side is clear blue. Temperature in the room is almost 25° yet, sadly, it's entirely too cool for us to be out-side. I SO wish we could be out there. I SO wish we could come up with a system where he could be out-side and not confined. But then again, the Yardies have been so scarce these days and I DID see a hawk flying about yesterday so... probably best we're where we are... safe and sound.
20.38 We only JUST got to the water changes, the news is still on the lap-top and the Little LOVE is on his night roost. The windows are closed and back-board on.... we had a little "business" to attend this evening and it ran LATE. POOR SWEET HEART! And after an afternoon of SUNSHINE and warm house, but I was so at the desk all the while until dinner. We were together, but it was another one of those days where I kept finding "things" to attend. I can only justify my being a miserable companion by saying that I get into all of the "work" because I want and need to make sure that, even though this isn't where I like us being, Yonah has his house in his room by his windows and he's safe and secure (well, as "secure" as we can possibly be, considering all the circumstances here).
But this evening, we did have dinner and THEN...
OH! WE PLAYED WITH BURDIE! ON THE DESK! BOUNCING, KISSING, FLYING ABOUT! AND I BROUGHT THE NEW DOVE OVER TO HIS HOUSE AND HE CAME RUSHING OVER TO DEFEND HIS TURF! BUT IT WAS SOME-WHAT PLAYFUL! NOW I'M NOT SURE IF IT'S LOVE OR HATE. I OBVIOUSLY MADE THE MISTAKE WHEN I FIRST "INTRODUCED" BURDIE TO HIS ROOM. HOW IT APPEARED, TO ME, THAT HE WAS ATTACKING BURDIE AND I IMMEDIATELY TOOK IT AWAY AND HID IT ONLY TO FIND, MUCH LATER, HE WAS WELCOMING A NEW "FRIEND"! My heart will never heal from THAT mistake. I took his little friend away! BUT THEY'RE ALMOST INSEPARABLE NOW SO I'LL WAIT AND SEE WHAT'S TO BECOME OF THIS NEW ADDITION TO THE HOUSE-HOLD. It's all I can do, really. I WISH I could KNOW, but this Little LOVE will show me... to be sure.
BUT RIGHT NOW, time for me to get to ablutions and get us tucked in! Babe's tired... and so am I. We'll be a little late but... he's still on the night roost... we'll see how tuck in goes.
21.00 on the mark and he's on the night roost, waiting so patiently and I'm off to set the futon for me for the night and wrap this day - I think - we'll see. More, tomorrow...
Friday 03 October:
9.48 BUSY BUSY MORNING, THIS! And last night, the Little Guy stayed on the night roost, so no ride home. But we did manage to get through a "truncated" rendition of the lullabies, cutting out "Turtle Dove" (since there's no more "I Think It's Going To Rain Today") and by 21.20, the last light was turned off and we were both quite tucked-in for the night.
This morning, I woke at 5.25 and decided that I'd give me a couple more minutes and the next thing was...
"woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"... and I looked at the clock... 6.45! Well! WooHoo indeed! So before I got up from the futon, I said "Good morning to you! Look at that! Time's just passing us by!" and I was up to open his door and pop in for a "Good morning" kiss. Oh, the now-customary "2 pecks on the nose" and a string of "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"s. Seems we BOTH got a good night's sleep last night and SOME-birdy got the "required rest".
Now... POOPS: I CAN'T REALLY UNDERSTAND THIS, AND I BELIEVE THAT WHEN WE GOT HIS HOUSE TOGETHER FOR THE NIGHT, AND I PUT THE "RUG" DOWN, I'D CLEARED ALL THE DAY'S POOPS OUT SO THAT WE STARTED WITH NONE, BUT THIS MORNING'S COUNT, FROM THE RUG AND "ENVIRONS" IS... 18 (EIGHTEEN) !!! ALL OF THEM ARE PERFECTLY HEALTHY IN EVERY WAY IMAGINABLE. THE SIZE IS "NORMAL", NONE "LARGE", BY ANY MEANS. THE COLOUR IS "BROWN", NO "GREENS". THE COMPOSITION IS "POOP" AND NO "SEEDS" IN ANY ONE. THE EVER-SO SLIGHTEST BIT OF A "STAIN" ON THE RUG, SO THEY WERE "MOIST" BUT SURELY NOT "WET". THE MAJORITY WERE UNDER THE NIGHT ROOST, SO IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAD A CALM , RESTFUL NIGHT, LAST. BUT... MY WORD! 18?
I DO HAVE TO SAY THOUGH, THE ENERGY LEVEL THIS MORNING IS * IMPRESSIVE * ! HE'S BEEN FLYING ALL OVER THE ROOM THIS MORNING! AND PLAYFUL TOO! SO OBVIOUSLY, HE'S IN GOOD SPIRITS AND REALLY QUITE IMPRESSIVE! I CAN'T, FOR THE LIFE OF ME, IMAGINE WHAT ALL THE POOPING WAS ABOUT LAST NIGHT, BUT I'M ABSOLUTELY THRILLED THAT IT WASN'T DIARRHOEA! AND THAT THE MOOD AND ENERGY ARE PERFECT!
Mean-while... the morning sun is JUST making it's way up over the tree-line so the room is BRIGHT and the forecast is for 23° for the day. So too, for the coming days ahead. Last night was a bit of a "chill" out there. We woke to a mere 5°, tonight is threatening 9°. But the nights ahead are expected to be back in the low "teens" so... We're not quite out of the "night chills" but we're surely not into the "late Autumn COLD". And that's promising.
Most of this morning's "busy" was with the water change. The pump for the fountain stopped working again and since I'd discovered the "workings" of these pumps a little while ago, I decided to open this one to see what was going on in there. It wasn't even "vibrating", so the mechanism wasn't doing anything at all. WELL! I took the pump, opened it up and TO MY SURPRISE, NOT ONLY HAD A SEED GOTTEN IN THERE BUT IT HAD STARTED TO SPROUT! NO THAT WAS A SIGHT! IN THE DARK CONFINEMENT OF THE PUMP, THE SEED HAD SPROUTED AND WRAPPED ROUND THE MOVING BIT! SO, I TOOK IT APART, CLEANED THE LITTLE "PLANT" OUT, GAVE IT A GOOD "FLUSH" AND... IT'S WORKING AGAIN! INSPIRED, I WENT TO THE OTHER 2 PUMPS THAT I'D PUT ASIDE BECAUSE THEY STOPPED WORKING TOO, AND TOOK THEM APART, CLEANED THEM OUT AND... GOT THEM RUNNING AGAIN! Gave them a proper flushing in a bowl of water and vinegar for an hour, then a rinse with clear water for about half an hour and... WE JUST SAVED ON BUYING A NEW PUMP! To think of the years that I've simply been tossing the pumps into the trash and buying new all the while. Another case of "we live, we learn"... and this, again, because of my Little Genius Professor. He's taught me how to replace lap-top computer screens, how to take apart the "new" lap-top to get that working properly, and then, SO MUCH about "birds", medical, nutritional, and all the rest. Honestly, not only has he put me in a place where I'm watching and minding my own health, generally, he's keeping this old brain functioning and daily, there's been something "new".
Not that I believe in a particular "reason for existence", but, when I think of the years of my apathy toward every single moment of every single day, not caring, just "going with the flow", as it were, "waiting for God" and then... into it all, THIS LITTLE LIFE comes in. I'm NOT, even in the most remote bit pleased with the "how" he came to me, that aspect still angers me to my core, but I doubt I'll ever know the "why". But at that moment, WE NEEDED ONE-ANOTHER, and there we were... and today... here we are. I don't know, and never will know, if I inspire him to continue on, but HE MOST SURELY AND CERTAINLY inspires me to keep moving along.
"What'll I do with just a photograph to give my LOVIN'S to? I won't be alone with only dreams of you, for when you leave, I'll go with you." With-out Yonah... there's no reason or cause to continue... and I am at peace with that. We'll head off to what-ever, if anything, there is after this... together. I don't want to and I won't bother trying... with-out him.
That all said and done, I've got an errand to run this morning. I was considering taking his curtains down to wash today. We shall see. It's rather late already, and I can't imagine where this morning's gone to. It's been non-stop. The bird-songs have been on but no music or radio. Just "motion, motion, motion". And it's been BOTH of us! So, we'll see what's to come after errands. If nothing else, I've got "MOTIVATION"!
18.19 and my Little LOVE has just come over from his door perch to his lap-top beside me as the day-light out-side our windows dims. It was an "odd" sort of day. Sadly, SO SUNNY again, but we don't get sun-shine in the yard any more and I won't set us up in the drive, out-side the fenced area, more-so now than before because this morning, when I went out to "serve breakfast" for the Yardies, that cat was "hiding" under the truck, peering round the front tyre! I'll NEVER forget the after-noon we were in the yard, before I fenced it in, I was sitting in the chair and had some-what dozed when the sound of "panicked wings" woke me. THE CAT WAS RIGHT BESIDE ME, AND LOOKING UP AT YONAH IN HIS YARD HOUSE! Unfortunately the cat managed to bolt before I managed to grab but it prompted the fencing and now, I won't DARE to set us out-side the fencing. With-out the sun-shine there, it's really chilly. We just have to see about getting into the truck and down to Deborah's yard.
But this morning, I got to chat with her when I made the morning errand and she was telling me that she too, has so few birds in her yard... at "the farm" these days. There have been times when she's had to go out and "shoo-away" a hawk. So I just don't want to subject Yonah to that stress.
BUT the sun POURED in through the windows all day and though he didn't take time on his beach, his window was open for the out-side air, it did lend warmth to the room and we enjoyed our time together as I put the house in order for the week-end and got our "book-keeping" to-date.
At noon, our regular routine: lunch together and after, I managed a 30-minute snooze, but alone today. I snoozed on the futon, the Little Guy lounged in his loft until the alarm and then, he was off to the living-room and I was up and back at the desk, finishing the "people nonsense".
THEN... today was "hoover day" so I took out the Hoover and hit the house "under supervision" from the roof-top of Yonah's house. I still marvel at how he just watches. It got boring in his room so he headed out to the living-room where the sun-shine was BRILLIANT, the front door was open and when I got out there, he had a few things to say: "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo! woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo!" (I wonder: "I left my room to get away from this noise and are you following me?") But when it was all done, he headed home, I headed to the kitchen and put my dinner on and... we sat together, well, I at the desk and he in his house, to have our evening meals.
Yup, that's our day today. Not much in the way of play. But CERTAINLY breaks for KISSES AND CUDDLES ON THE FUTON! There's ALWAYS time for those!
Now? He's settled. I'm settled and soon... water run and getting settled for the night ahead and hopefully, another restful night's sleep ahead.
19.48 I'm out of a "silent" shower - no coo'ing as I bathed, which is unusual. And the Little LOVE is up on the desk shelf beside the radio. The news is still on. But the house is settled, there's fresh and clean water in the pool, his house is set for the night ahead. And one window is closed already. The other one is still running the fan for fresh air, especially after my shower, to clear the humidity and the "TVOCs" from the shampoos and such. It's not "bad", but "elevated, so the fan will help circulate, along with the fact that the house furnace is on... and the temperature in the room is 22°.
How the "ride home" will go is to be seen, but it's comforting to see the Little Guy preening and comfy. THIS is "LIFE"... as it ought to be.
20.17 He's just gone to the night roost. The news is still on. I'm wrapping-up here with the Journalling and... I've put the night music on, the news will go off and lap-tops to the kitchen... I'm off to "ablutions". He settling-in!
20.19 HAHAHAHA I moved the lap-tops to the kitchen and he's on the wall shelf looking out the door at me... as if "EXCUSE ME? HELLO?" What a CHARACTER!
20.36 and now he's on the desk shelf, calling with the "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"s! I'm "closing shoppe". All done with the house and ablutions. (I still have to close the windows... horrid person, me.)
Saturday 04 October:
9.40 and we've been up and about from since 6.47. I woke at about 5.45, but decided to stay on the futon and see how much longer it would be before "morning call". Well, at 6.00, I got up for a brief morning "loo" and as I stepped out of the room, there was the softest "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" from "the house". I attended the "loo" and when I came back into the room, all was silence so I laid back down on the futon for a few more moments until I realised that I wasn't going to fall asleep and that there little "tasks" I could attend. Mean-while, there'd been no further "comments from the gallery" so, thinking the Little Guy was still sleeping, I got up again, and with-out closing the door to his room, went about putting the kettle on for morning coffee.
Time passed, in silence and when I looked at the clock and saw "6.45" I wondered if he wasn't awake and just being silent. Memories of Winter mornings, sleeping-in until 7.15 came to mind so, trying not to make any sound, I went back into his room and sat on the futon, arranging the pillows and such for the day when...
"woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"... so soft, almost a whisper. 6.47 on the clock. I whispered "You're awake?"
Immediately "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo", slightly louder and clearer. I got up, opened the door to his house.
He was still "cosy" on the night roost. Another "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" and when I asked "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo?" it started quite the conversation this morning!
He coo'ed.
I replied "Did you get a good sleep last night?"
"woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo".
"So you're ready to open windows and get on with the day?"
"woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo".
"Well then, woo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo to you."
"woo-HOO!"
I opened the curtains and blinds at the window with the fan in and as soon as there was day-light, the Little LOVE hopped over to the "food shelf" and looked out toward the open window.
"woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo".
All the while I put the room together, we continued our conversation, back and I got the notion to try something a little different this morning: I brought the platform over to him in his house, brought it level with the food shelf and, after a moment's pause to look at it, he stepped on. I brought him out of his house and up to this roof-top and OH! It was obvious that he wasn't expecting that! Considering that's his usual "ride home" to the night roost, this morning, it was his ride OUT. He gave me a bit of a stare and it was off to the futon to visit with Burdie-Bird and the Futon Flock who were already gathered. Morning was in session.
So, with that, we got to the morning water run, I opened the rest of the blinds and curtains to the some-what over-cast day out-side the windows. Temperature in the room was a comfy 23°, out-side was already 13! The house furnace had been on through the night last and all was well with us on this Saturday morn.
POOPS: Every one on them was directly under the night roost so last night was CALM, peaceful. Only 8 in total but each and every one just as PERFECT as could he hoped-for. Slightly larger than "usual", but only very slightly. Still, I wonder why only 8. I HOPE the Little Guy had had enough to eat last night before settling-down. But I'm pretty sure that he eats when he's hungry. 8 isn't a "bad" number, and that they're really quite "perfect" in colour, moisture, size, content is re-assuring. (And there's been several since, and they too, are perfect so... it's a good start to the day after what appears to have been a good night.)
As for last night then... In the time it took me to close things in the kitchen, the Little Character just suddenly got a little case of the "Impatience"! I mean, at 20.17 he was already on the night roost, I went to attend my ablutions and to close the house and the next thing I saw was him on the wall shelves, looking out to the kitchen. About a minute later, he was on the desk! And THEN, he made his way up to the top of the book-case! I just figured we'd "fly home" from there but no...
When I got back into the room, house settled and ready to tuck-in for the night, there he was, on his roof-top, patiently (?) awaiting the arrival of his "Uber", as it were.
I still had to close windows and set the futon so I got right to that, and started evening lullabies as I went along and when all was done, went over to the front of his house where he was. He precious little interest in the closing of the windows last night. A brief hop over to check the placement of the back-board and that was all. So, I moved the platform a bit and he hopped on and... we were off... to the night roost where, of course, the "transfer" was immediate. All was as it should have been and we were settled for the evening.
I made my way to the futon and continued with the lullabies... softly, calmly, quietly. No particular rushing... and made it all through. I could see that my Little LOVE was tired and all settled... and, at 21.05, the last light was turned off. Not as early as I'd hoped for, but not as late as it could have been.
And... this morning... already covered.
10.20 now and the sun is JUST managing to make way in through the windows (which are in need of a proper cleaning I see). No "brilliant" this morning. There's a bit of a "haze" in the sky. And the forecast is for quite warm for a couple of days. "October" in the North Country. But we're comfy and cosy. The local "road-side clean-up" is this morning so there's a bit of traffic and people out there this morning. "Activity" out-side the window. But the Little Guy is in his loft, the radio is on... and we have nothing on the agenda except more web-site work.
Two little items:
WE HAD BANANA THIS MORNING! Not a lot, but when I had this morning's, I held it out for him, in his house, and he had about 10 "pecks" at it! (I just wish I could get him to eat berries! But, we do what we can, offer and hope. He'll eat what he wants, and I don't "force". He's getting good seed mixes. Some might say better than most. So...)
AND... oddly, for a moment, he headed down to the floor to stand in the out-put of the house furnace. He does that, from time-to-time. The room was at 24° so it wasn't chilly. I still wonder if it isn't the moving air in addition to the warmth. I wish I could figure some way to get the air moving in this place. One would think that, with the 2 box fans running (as "air cleaners") there's be drafts and breezes but no. Still air. Oh, one of these days, I'll learn... one of these days.
So for now, we're on with the day before it runs completely away from us. Sun-shine will warm the room and give us nice light. When it warms a bit more out-side, we'll open the window and enjoy each-other's "ambient companionship"... as it were. Saturday... Shabbat... Shalom.
15.49 The sun is still shining out-side, the room is an almost un-believable 26°. My PRECIOUS LITTLE LOVE was out in the living-room for several hours as I'm working, at the desk, on his Journal here, the doors and windows are open (what a delight that is) and a moment ago he came back into the room, headed for his loft and Stjepan Hauser has been playing for a while. He's snuggled in he loft and nest-coo'ing SO BEAUTIFULLY! LOOKS LIKE WE'VE FOUND MORE MUSIC HE ENJOYS. I'd been playing a random collection of all the music on the iPod, and it would seem he wasn't enjoying it, but now, with the cello music, he's settled, quite comfortably. I'll have to keep this in mind. (I want to get him another music player, something easier to arrange, so we can have "music" and "bird-songs" on it so that if I have to be away from the house for any length of time, he won't have to be subjected to the sometimes-horrid-noise that radio stations will play. Hauser will have a "play-list"... along with Antonín Leopold Dvořák, "Song to the Moon" which is, and I will forever remember, the very first piece of music that he coo'ed to, the first time he heard it. SWEET LITTLE LOVE... "Classical" music. Such a "high-brow", this one.
19.11 and WOW... looks like it's time for us to get settled here for the night. The Little Guy has been beside me from since dinner, I've been working on a Journal page and all of a sudden, he got up, flew to his roof-top and made with the "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"! Out-side, the sky is black, the sun, long gone. But the time? I wonder. Of course, we don't do "clocks", we do day-light and that's gone so it's time to stop with all the craziness of "people stuff".
Well, what-ever it is I might THINK I have to do, water run is what I'm doing now.
19.40 The water is changed. The window behind Yonah's house is closed for the night. The other window is still "open" because we have the fan drawing in fresher air. (The TVOC's on the monitor were "0,086" which is high, considering it's usually only "0,024" normally. There's a "scent" of "fabric softener" in the air and I can't understand how or why because nobody's been at home all day, next door so there's been no laundry done. She does tend to saturate her washing with "Gain", which is notorious for releasing toxins, and though she's not used the dryer for a while, when she hangs her washing on the rack in her kitchen, it's so strong that it permeates, through the wall into the loo. That room always smells "freshly cleaned" but it's the toxins that concern me. And even now, with the fan running, the reading is still at "0,081". I'm not looking forward to the night. Thankfully it's not supposed to be "cold"... 14° for the low, but not high enough to keep the windows open and not quite cool enough to get the house furnace running - because that actually clears the air of so much with all the filters. I SO worry about the Little Guy inhaling all of these chemicals, and it appears nobody else seems to care, no matter who I address it with.)
Let me move on, because he'll sense my anxieties and we don't need that for the night.
OH! BUT WE PLAYED WITH THE "CURTAIN CRITTER" THIS EVENING WHEN I CLOSED THAT WINDOW! AND I BROUGHT THE "NEW DOVE" (I'm going to have to come up with a new name for that one because today, we ordered another "Beanie" dove which will come white, but we're going to change it to a "mourning dove" too... something closer to Yonah's size since... well...) TO COME UP OVER THE BACK-BOARD! THOUGH WE PLAYED A LITTLE WHILE WITH THAT, BEFORE TOO LONG, THE LITTLE LOVE WAS UP AND AWAY AND OFF TO THE DESK SHELF. THERE WERE WING-SNAPS AND THAT "LOOK" OF "WHERE DID IT GO?" FOR THE "CURTAIN CRITTER" BUT THAT DOVE? NOT SO MUCH. HE'S NOT TERRIBLE FOND OF IT. (It's going to be interesting to see what he thinks of the "Beanie Mourning Dove".) And now, he's having his "night snack". So it looks like we're tucking-in very soon now and that's perfectly fine... but we'll see how it goes mean-while because there's NEVER really "knowing" what to expect from this little bundle of "SURPRISE"! (I still have my evening ablutions and as soon as I step out of the room, there's still time for "woo-HOOs!" and flights all over the house, even to come and check on me in the kitchen. It's all a part of LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!)
20.04 ON CUE... I turned the night music on, lap-top off and WOOSH... OFF HE FLEW... TO THE TOP OF THE BOOK-CASE... MAKING WITH THE "NEST COO'S". And I'm off to ablutions so we shall see where this goes this evening... SILLY LITTLE CHARACTER! AND.... HE'S UP ON THE ROD ACROSS THE ALCOVE, LOOKING DOWN AT ME! SEE? NEVER ASSUME! THIS ONE'S A PERFECT REASON WHY. I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!
20.26 and he's on the door to his house, coo'ing a "woo-HOO!" at me so... I'm done and so is Saturday.
Sunday 05 October:
8.31 and the morning waters have been changed and the house, settled, for a while (web-work and cooking today... and I'm considering a trip - to Deborah's - at some point in time during the day, but can't decide if I should go "solo" or bring the Little Guy with), and the sun is making its way up over the tree-line, and the house is comfortable at 23° but the furnace is running. 12° out there this morning with "threats" of 26° at some point. So, we're going to move along with the morning and play the time as it comes (and goes).
MEANWHILE...
We haven't had the radio or bird-songs on this morning so the place has been really quite calm and silent, and as I type, the Little One is in his loft, by his window, peaceful. Considering the past few days, when I turn the bird-songs on, he's gone to the living-room, I'm not sure that "sound" is a good idea. I don't mind the silence, but I wonder what Yonah would prefer. OH! If I could only ask and KNOW. I've read that birds, generally, aren't very comfortable in complete silence because it's usually an indication of predators or some other danger. But then, too, "birds live in a world of sounds", say the "experts", and it's true. From other birds to the wind through the trees, a brook, traffic, something, there's usually some kind of "sound" in the world. In this house, when it's silent (and that's not all-too-often), there really isn't any sound. Add to that, the stillness and if he's aware of it, I'm pretty sure the whole environment becomes tedious. I don't DARE to let him be bored. I've seen how detrimental that can be to birds. I've been trying to figure out things that would move, prompted by sound or other movement in the room. I made the paper "mobile" of cut-out doves to hang from the ceiling in the hopes that they'd move a bit, but when there's no air moving, they're static too. So here we are, my LOVE in his loft and me at the desk and silence. In a moment or so, I'll put on some music and see what happens. OH, again, to have a moment of "communication" with this Little Life here. (Daily reminders of just how truly inferior the human species actually is.)
Now then... last night? At the last minute, the Little Character decided to make his way to the wall shelf in the corner where I have some jars of pens and markers and other items for "art works". He's been there before and often "hides" in the spaces between things. Last night, he took a place right in front, nestled-down and started with the "nest coo's". He's done that plenty of times before so it's really nothing "new". It was just that moments before, he seemed so ready to simply tuck-in for the night. So I went about turning off the "night music", started the lullabies, thinking he might head "home", and I got to putting the futon together for me. Ah HAH! Nope. All the while, the nest-coo'ing continued and he was making NO movement toward going ANY-WHERE.
So I finished with the futon and continuing the lullabies, I got his platform and brought it over to him. AS SOON AS HE SAW IT BESIDE HIM, HE STOOD UP, AS CASUALLY AS COULD BE, STEPPED ON AND GAVE ME A LOOK AS IF TO SAY "HOME, JAMES." I SO HAD to laugh!
And on the journey to the night roost, I managed to sneak in ONE quick kiss (he wasn't having any of that on the trip.)
Again, as usual, the very moment the platform made contact with the perch, again, so casually, he merely stepped from platform to perch and... for a minute, I thought he was going to get settled but... oh no... he was up and over to the food-shelf and started to nestle again for more nest coo's. So I brought the platform back, set it level with him and, yes, indeedie, he got up, looked at the platform and because I'd positioned it to create a little "ramp" back to his night roost, he took the most delightful stroll across and back to the night roost where, at last, he settled-down.
Every evening I wonder what "new" tactic he'll come up with at the close of a day. Last night was something I wonder if he'll remember and use again. Always a little "surprise" (which makes him all the MORE LOVABLE!)
When he settled, I dimmed the lights, continuing the lullabies. And the room was SO WARM! If not for the drop in temperature round mid-night, we could have left windows open! But I didn't. I got me to the futon, under the covers, and lullabies were in no particular rush; nice and mellow for end of day. By 21.01... the last light was off and so were we.
I had a bit of an un-restful night, last night. The air monitor was reading "TVOCs" in the "0,185 - 0,225" ranges for no apparent reason. Over-all, it was "green"... and considering the "yellow" indicator is "normal", it was still "safe". But when I think of how those numbers are usually around "0,025" or so, it disturbed and worried me so I was half-dozing for much of the night. Finally, at about 2.00 this morning, all the numbers were back down and that's when I finally managed to actually fall asleep. I'm wondering if this isn't going to be the "normal" for Winter nights when the house really is closed against the cold. The windows in the room stay open slightly, at the top, and the blinds re-direct the air up to the ceiling so, in Winter, when the furnace is running, the warm air carries the cold air about the room. And the windows have been that way already, for some time. This Winter will be a learning experience for me and I've got the feeling I'll just have to "adjust" to "triple digits". AS LONG AS THE READINGS REMAIN "GREEN"... WE'RE OK. It's just me: over-thinking and worrying... as I do.
That said, this morning, I woke at 6.30, looked at the clock and thought of what I want to accomplish with the day and so, I got up and headed to the kitchen. Didn't close the door behind me though. I just went about business ever-so quietly. Got morning coffee done, served breakfast to the Yardies (few that were there) and then...
6.51, from the darkness of the little room came a morning "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo". NOT a "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo", but a "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo".
Odd... so short. And when I replied "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo" he repeated the same. We exchanged a couple of these, back and forth as I made my way from the kitchen into this room to open house, as it were. And when I got to my PRECIOUS LITTLE LOVE, there was the silhouette, on the night roost... and with a wing stretch, as I popped my head in for "Good morning" kisses... a clear "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo". Well then! "Woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo to you too!" I said... AND I GOT A FACE FULL OF KISSES this morning!
And more chatting as I went about opening the windows and letting in the dim, early morning light! Kisses, chatting, WHAT A START TO THE DAY!
It didn't take but a moment and the Little LOVE was up and over to the food-shelf and apparently ready to GO! So we got to the water run, right away. (I had to "repair" the fountain pump this morning. But OH!, what a relief it is to know how to do that! When I opened it, this morning, sure enough, 2 little seeds had gotten stuck in the mechanics. I can't imagine how or when because last light, all was working well when we "closed shoppe", as it were. But, there's a little "something else" I'm going to have to work on: a "food-safe" filter of some sort, to keep those seeds out of the pump. The way this Little Character tosses his food about the place makes it impossible to keep it all out of the pool. But HEY! THAT'S A MOURNING DOVE FOR YOU!)
Waters done and POOP CHECK: 11 ABSOLUTELY PERFECT POOPS, all of them on the "rug" under the night roost. So... we had a GOOD night of rest... well, one of us did. But the "IMPORTANT" one did and that's all I need to know on ANY given day of the week!
And now... 9.38 already, and "things" are getting done and the Little Guy has been over to the desk, woo-hoo'ing at the reflection in the little mirror beside me. We had kisses, and I'm still not sure about putting music on yet. He's having breakfast and the sun is finally making its way into the room. Sunday is officially... "commenced". But hey... my Heart-and-Soul is healthy and eating... all is well with the world. Where we go from here is... a "myst'ry".
19.12 And where we've come from this morning is... My little Heart-and-Soul is beside me, on his lap-top, after a day that was likely "disappointing" and "nerve-wracking".
The morning went along and I worked on all sorts of "mistakes" in the Journal pages that a new "web browser" caught that the "old" ones managed to skip over. Oh! Thanks to my Mentor and Inspiration, I'm still learning all sorts of "new stuff"! He keeps my brain functioning as the years try their best to shut it down. New codes. New formats. New "stuff"! If Yonah hadn't come along, I'd have given up LONG ago, but here he is and here we are.
It was a sunny day and WOW, was it ever WARM! 28° at one point this after-noon! AND, we were supposed to go down to Deborah's this after-noon so that I could get used to her Jeep (she's letting me use it for my medical journey on the 15th - an appointment that I'm NOT looking forward to because it's looking like a "5-hour absence" here and, especially after a day like today, I'm in "TERROR"!) BUT, our next-door neighbour decided to run her clothes dryer again at about 14.30 (which is when we were supposed to go visit Deborah) and the "TVOCs" on the air monitor rose from "24" to 0,285"! The fumes were THICK! And I wasn't sure if it would be for us to get into the truck, drive down and, as I used the Jeep, I'd be away from my Little LOVE and I don't know how he'd respond to that. So we postponed until tomorrow. Still, the day? It was, as I say, a "TERROR".
I looked-it up using "AI", asking if a reading of "0,104" (at the time) was a threat to birds and indeed, confirmed. Although the monitor reads it as ""normal", the gasses present ARE a threat to birds! So, I stayed here, with my LOVE, closed the side of the house, put the window fan on and watched the monitor as he lounged in his loft, close to the open window beside him. I couldn't really focus on much more than that through the day. One day... this will get us a much nicer place to reside because we WILL be taking it through litigation and the courts. And, depending on the results from the "tests" on the 15th, it might just prove to be quite good for both of us. All we need do is hold on... and as long as Yonah is here, we shall, indeed.
I don't like putting such things on his Journal, but it does serve as a WARNING to those who might take the time to read through all of this information on this Journal. Birds can be so resilient, but, they're still quite susceptible to SO MUCH, ESPECIALLY where their respiratory systems are concerned. Those little bodies are mostly "respiratory", they SO NEED to breathe freely, especially when flying. And this ignorance from next door and those who are responsible for the remedy of such things... it's unforgivable. I look at the world today, I see so much violence that goes un-addressed and here, we have a microcosm of the very thing. But I have "faith"... in "Karma" - if you will. THIS WILL be addressed and remedied. AND, if ANYTHING UNTOWARD HAPPENS TO YONAH BECAUSE OF IT... there will be repercussions FAR BEYOND expectations. As I sing at night, our last lullaby of the day:
"What'll I do with just a photograph to give my LUVIN's to?
I won't be alone with only dreams of you
for when you go
I go with you.
This after-noon, we had lunch together and I managed to grab a 30-minute snooze... and only the 30 minutes because of the plans to go to Deborah's. When I laid down, my Little Companion came over to my legs to rest for a bit and then took off and headed up to his loft. It was so sad: I woke and started to get things together for us to go for a ride when the toxins started filling the place. So everything came to a halt. The rest of the day for me was "anxieties" that I FOUGHT to dispel because I KNOW Yonah senses them and I do NOT want him knowing that ANYTHING gets to me. He's my LOVE, LIFE, HEART-AND-SOUL and I will NOT have him sensing anything other than "peace and serenity"! One way or another.
And so, this evening, at 17.00, I put some-thing together for dinner and as I ate at the desk, the Little LOVE took to his tree in the living-room for a couple of hours. The front door was open so, no doubt, the air out there was "cleaner". (Imagine... FOUR air cleaners running in the house and they can't fight the toxins.) He didn't come back into his room until almost 18.30! And me? I was so involved with all sorts of paper-work at the time (mostly housing-related) that I was BORING! all the while.
And then... before I knew it... well... Evening water changes. The Little Guy was in his house, in his loft and as I got up, he got animated. MOTION in the house! I put fresh food up for him, he had some fresh grit, some fresh food and fresh water to drink!
And now... he's gone up to his night roost... the sky out-side is dark. The house is settled. The "TVOCs" are reading at "0,053" and doors and windows are still open, the window fan still running, the room is at 25°! Humidity at 48%. There's still a "trace scent" of the fabric softener lingering but at least the air is cleaning for tonight. So now, I'm about to close the day, get to my evening ablutions and get us settled for a night's rest (hopefully). If I've come to learn anything from this Little Bundle of LOVE and LIFE it's:
We live for the moment, for now. We remain aware of what might come, but NOW is when we're alive AND...
WE'RE TOGETHER!
20.18 I'm a bit earlier than lately, but the Little Guy is on his roof-top now, making with the "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo"s! He's BEEN calling with those "woo-HOO!"s, the coo's that sound "demanding"! How-ever, earlier, when I went into the room to start putting "things" in order, he was back up on the curtain rod over the alcove, staring down at me. There's just NEVER any telling what's to happen at "closing time". But for now, we're off and closing the place for the night.
The air monitor readings are still a touch on the "high" end of the "green". The fan is off, the windows to be closed. Maybe this is what it's going to be like through Winter? New readings to "adjust" to. I don't like high-double digits, and surely am not at peace with triple-digits, but the monitor says we're "safe". OH! To have a place where the air quality will be safe for the Little One. Oh... to have...
No furnace on tonight. Forecast says we'll drop to 15° at 5.00 tomorrow and tonight, the room is quite warm. If we need the furnace during the night... we'll put it on. But for now... we're off to see what surprises come next. To be continued...
Monday 06 October:
WE WENT TO DEBORAH'S TODAY... FROM 15.00 TO 16.30 !!!
13.24 already on another day of open windows and WARM breezes flowing through this old house. And 28° in the room! AND... we're HOPING to get into the truck at about 15.00 and take a little ride down the road to Deborah's today! HOPING! And I'm HOPING that the Little Guy will enjoy the change of scenery. But there's only one way to find out and going to Deborah's is only 2km away so...
Right now, I'm up from a 30-minute snooze, alone, and he's up in his loft, by his open window, with the sun POURING in through the window. It would be one of those days that would have been delightful in the yard, but there's no sun on the walk nor in the yard so maybe we'll get that at Deborah's.
He's been "solo" for most of this morning because I was up at at the day with cooking and cleaning and such. Poor Little LOVE. What he puts up with from me.
But there WAS a few moments when, this morning, he'd gone out to the living-room and as I passed through, I stopped by to give kisses and he hopped right up onto my shoulder and actually nestled-down and came round and about the house as I went on with the morning's tasks! It was really amazing! From living-room to kitchen to his room and back. And as I put things in order in the kitchen, he appeared to be "interested" in what was going on! I just can't put my thoughts on that into words because it just takes me away from the rest of the world and all in it. That he trusts me, wants to be with and ON me, and watching him watching me is just something that in inexplicably SUPER-FANTASTIC! Hopefully this after-noon he'll have a good time, even though I won't be right beside him for a few moments. (I'm going to "try" Deborah's Jeep today... so I'll be "away" from him briefly. Then, I'm thinking of our moving to a new place and there will be a moment or two when we'll be travelling and such. So this might be a good start to get into that. And if today goes well, we'll be able to go to Deborah's more often... while weather allows us.)
I would go alone and leave him here, and I might have to, depending on how things go for the next hour or so, but I just don't trust this house. There's SO much that can go "bad" here, with it being so old and not knowing if the neighbour will come back and start up that dryer and fill the house with toxins. Yes, we NEED to find another place.
And all the while, I'm thinking of the 15th when I have to be away for what looks to be 5 hours! To be frank, even just thinking about it is making me physically sick - and today, it's obvious... even in my face. But, as my LOVE has taught me: live for now... and now is our trip down the road.
To get to the facts at hand here...
Last night's ride home was rather to the point. I finished my ablutions and went back into the room to find the Little Character on his roof-top waiting for me. I had to close the window with the fan in it and he had precious little interest in my activities. He watched, but it was obvious that he was tired and ready to tuck-in. So, as I started lullabies, I got the windows done, the room settled, the futon settled and when I went over to him, he was at the front of his house - on the roof, as it were. So I moved the platform closer to him, he casually stepped on and... we were up and off and into his house. And, as he does, as soon as the platform arrived at the night roost, he hopped off. He truly was ready to close the day.
Last night's lullabies were soft and slow and calm, and as I sung, I watched my Little LOVE "arrange his feathers" and settle for the night, calmly.
Last light was turned off at... 20.45 AND, I watched the air monitor as the readings lowered. (I was up at 22.30 and looked... and readings were back down to double digits that comforted me... so I finally got comfortable and went to sleep.)
This morning, I woke, looked at the clock... 5.45. Missie Next-door was rolling away to work. A relief! But at 6.00, I decided to get up and on with the day. I didn't think the Little Guy would be waking for a while yet, since we're getting into the "Winter hours", so I silently stepped out of the room, closed his door behind me.
The house was surprisingly comfortably warm this morning and we didn't have the house furnace on last night! So I didn't worry about the room getting too cold.
I went about the "business" of the early morning (kettle on, coffee, checking e-mails and the likes) and I was in the loos when I thought I'd heard the softest "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"s. Looked at the clock:
6.45... and as I headed to his door, yes, indeed, I DID hear soft coo's! So, I silently opened the door, just in case I was "hearing things" AND...
WHEN I OPENED THE DOOR, IN THE DARKNESS, FROM ACROSS THE ROOM...
"WOO-HOO!" IT SOUNDED AS THOUGH HE WAS CHASTISING ME WITH A CURT "AT LAST!"
BUT, when I got to him, as I was opening the door to his house, with my own little "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo"s, he gave me a calmer "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo". OK. Looked like I was forgiven for my tardiness and for making him wait. And popping my head in, I actually did get a few soft kisses on the face which comforted me, to be sure.
Since he was obviously up, awake and ready to "roll", I got right to opening the windows to a hazy light fog in the morning air. It looked like a "typical Autumn" morning out there. Out-side was "cool" but sure NOT "cold". And the house was cosy too!
As I went about getting the windows open and his house in position for the morning water run, he hopped over to his "food shelf perch" to "su-bird-vise the works.
Poop-check: 8 poops, perfectly healthy in ever aspect and all of them under the night roost! Good tummy. Good mood. Good poops. Good morning!
When the water run was done, he was OUT and bout the room and as I set the kitchen to get on with my cooking for the morning, he made quite the flight out to the living-room for a bit of "surveillance" and headed back to his house.
When toddling was done and the house passed the "walk-through inspection", the Little Guy headed back to his house... I opened his window to let the warmth of the sun in and to get air flowing through the place and he settled... with nest-coo's...
Sadly (to me) cooking threw the morning into the after-noon and almost to lunch time. So, I set an earlier lunch than usual and when done, grabbed that 30-minute lie-down and... here we are, news still on his lap-top, the cooking done, the kitchen settled and his "yard house" is actually ready, if we DO manage to get out of here today and... on the road.
18.00 WE MADE IT! WE WENT TO DEBORAH'S TODAY! A RIDE IN THE TRUCK! SUN-SHINE IN A WIDE, NEW, OPEN SPACE, QUIET, SAFE, BUCOLIC! We weren't too thrilled, at first, but we managed to settle nicely once we arrived.
At 14.50, I had the truck open and running, doors open to air it out properly, and the "yard house" was set and ready to go. I'd packed fresh food and a jar of fresh water, and brought the "cover towel" to the truck to prepare. When I got back into the house, the little guy was in his house and I reached in to get him. He wasn't really anxious to be carried, but when we got to the yard house, he hopped in as he usually does and out we went, through the back door, as we do to go to the yard.
BUT....
As soon as we left the fenced yard, the truck being parked right there, the flying about! It was as though he KNEW we were going into "new territory" and he wasn't too pleased. We made it to the truck, I put him on the front seat, passenger side, and figured a way to bring the seat-belt round to "secure" him there. He did calm a bit and I closed the door quietly and went round to the driver's side and hopped in. The Little Guy calmed a bit when it was obvious that I was there, thankfully. And, away we went.
When we got to the open road, there was a bit more "flying about" as we rolled along, but when I put one hand on his house, he got onto the little "loft" he has there and so, he could actually see the world passing by! He seemed "interested", and no wonder. The world was moving and he wasn't! I can't imagine what he must have thought. But as long as my hand was on his house where he could see that, and I kept talking, "excited" about our trip together, he was quite calm.
We got to Deborah's and I parked where there was some shade, but the back of the truck was in the sun-shine. I brought the Little LOVE to the tail-gate so that part of his house was under the "Tonneau" but much was in the sun. I covered the "shady" part with the towel so that there was something "familiar" about it all, and set his food and water dishes, as we always do...
He wasn't really "settled", so I sang a little "What'll I Do?" and he calmed. (Thankfully.)
We were parked a bit away from the house, so I had to go away from him to meet Deborah, but I kept watching. HE kept watching me too!
Deborah came back to the truck with me to say "Hello" and, well, not really surprisingly, the ride, the "different" environment, a "new people" and a voice he hasn't hear often, he was obviously a little "fidgety". But I had to go try driving the Jeep so we went back to the house where I got the key and took the shortest drive and was soon back. (Amazingly, it was merely a matter of getting the "feel" of the clutch and acceleration for shifting and it was as thought I'd never not driven "standard"! I'm confident now for my medical on the 15th and SO relieved!)
Drive done, Deborah brought me to where the trees were for perches and pine cones, we chatted a bit and I was off into the woods.
WELL, I DID manage to get a little maple tree and some pine cones. The tree might be a bit too wide around, so I might have to go back for another, but I did cut the one that looked OK and we'll see what comes of it. We can work with it if necessary.
I thought we'd gone along quickly, but... when I'd done cutting and such, I came back to the truck, put the branches in and brought Yonah back into the truck...
"Are you ready to go home and see Burdie-Birdie?" I asked, and I could SEE that he certainly WAS. He gets "excited" about getting back to Burdie and today was no different. So, that part was "normal". When it's time to come back in, I always ask if he wants to see Burdie. I tried to keep "familiar" in this new experience.
The ride back was smooth and again, I talked and sang all the way to make it "happy", hand on his house. This time, he stayed on the floor of his yard house.
When we got back, I hopped out of the truck, opened the back door and got the Little LOVE, still in his house, and brought him into his room and placed the house on the futon with Burdie at the door. When I opened the door, he looked out, saw Burdie and he was out! "Woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo"! (I can ONLY imagine WHAT he had to say and I WISH I KNEW! But he was obviously happy to be back in HIS room with HIS Burdie-Birdie.)
BUT WE MADE IT! NOW WE KNOW WHERE WE CAN PARK AND HOW TO SET-UP! AND DEBORAH INSISTED THAT WE SHOULD COME WHEN-EVER WE WANT, STAY AS LONG AS WE WANT, WHETHER THEY'RE THERE OR NOT! (And, she said, that when the dryer from next door gets bad, we should just go down there. She even said that, if the weather isn't perfect, we can stay in the "new" barn! Plenty of light and air circulation and if I feel safe, Yonah can have "free flight" in the entire barn!)
SO... WE DID IT AND WE'LL SURELY MAKE THE TRIP AGAIN! THE LITTLE LOVE GOT A GOOD HOUR OF SUN-SHINE AND CLEAN AIR, A CHANCE OF SCENERY AND A NEW EXPERIENCE!
Now, to see how he sleeps tonight... It's 18.47 and he's on his roof-top as usual now and I'm off to get the water change.
WHAT A DAY! (Sadly, Missie Nextdoor is running her dryer again to the window fan is on, the house is closed-up, and it's a perfect evening to have everything open.)
There's more good days ahead, weather-wise and as I say, I should check for a narrower tree for perches, but... come Wednesday and Thursday... single-digit nights! Well? We have the heaters and oil. And it's the days... the days... And Deborah has medical appointments in The City next week and said she might have to have surgery. If she does, they won't be back up for the Winter... but we're to feel free to be there if/when we need. We're safe.
19.41 I managed to sneak away and shower (after romping in the wood-lands today... no "boogz" on the body for the night and in the house) and am now back at the desk, ablutions await and off we go for a night's rest. When I came back into the room, the Little Guy was on the lap-top, and now, he's having his nightly snack. None the worse for the "strange day".
Before I went into the shower, he was on his roof-top and when I walked over to him, he came forward , raised his right wing and stepped forward... He wanted KISSES! AND OH! SO MANY KISSES! I hope today's sun-shine helped him with his health. There's really no way to know about his "mood' because of the oddity of the situation after the sun-bathing. But, it really appears that he honestly is none-the-worse for it all. MAYBE we've found our "escape". (I'm SO sorry we didn't do this all through the Summer. But we MIGHT have some more NICE days ahead and though it won't be every day, it's comforting to know we have that place, off the road, away from the noise and traffic and no worries about "strangers" roaming about.
As it is my constant "prayer" (with my heart-beats): May we get out of and away from here soon.
But no matter what... we're together... 5 years... soon. I couldn't help but think of what he's been through, what I've been through, what WE'VE been through and yet, WE are still here... together. Were Yonah not here... I'd simply give up, give in. As I thought today, at Deborah's: the appointment on the 15th is ONLY because of Yonah. Only... With-out him... I won't be bothered with any and all of this. "I won't be alone with only dreams of you, for, when you go, I go with you."
But tonight, we're here and it looks like we'll be tucking-in at a "civil" hour... one way or another.
20.08 He's on his night roost... window fan on. Toasty 25° in the room tonight. But... I'm off to ablutions and hopefully a peaceful tuck-in and a restful, healthy night ahead.
20.31 When I went into the room to close the windows, he bolted for the futon and when I said:
"Kisses for seepie-nigh-night for Burdie-Bird?" he gave SO MANY kisses to Burdie! (Yeah, tell me he doesn't understand words...)
Then as I closed his windows, he FLEW to the top of his favourite book-case and gave me the little "nest coo"... Slick! But at the moment, he's back over to the desk shelf, making with more nest-coo's, our "night music" is on, the place is almost settled and ready for us to tuck in for the night so I'm off to closing the window with the fan running to keep the air clear and... We are closing the day! More tomorrow... "wenn Gott will"...
Tuesday 07 October:
What a day this turns out to be, as the rain falls softly out-side the open window (and a forecast of another fairly warm night tonight, followed by... 0° on Thursday night!). And as I type, yesterday's maple is now cut and clipped, and there's a stack of "TWIGS!" in the oven to dry after a proper soaking in vinegar-water and rinsed in fresh, running hot water. Quite an impressive collection there! MUCH to play with and carry up to the loft! The only "regret" is that I fear the "sapling" is really too wide-round for perches. The Little Guy will NEVER get his little feet wrapped round these. But, MAYBE we can get at least one out of the 10ft (that are now cut into thirds and drying too... though, not in the oven). I DID manage to get the cut'n'clip done today. And, sadly, the humming-bird feeder is in for the year. It's been scrubbed and will get another thorough washing and then, when dry, "repaired". A squirrel had pulled it down this year and the hanging wire snapped and there's a bit of a crack in the base. Nothing that makes it "waste" so... we have a "crafts project" in future.
This morning was quite warm and sunny, and it probably would have been a great day to go back to Deborah's for another tree, but, above all, I didn't want to put Yonah through the trauma of all that being carried about and rolling in the truck again, so soon. We'll have days when we can get back there. Autumn is the strangest season and we still have that "Indian Summer" to come (I hope).
Mean-while, he's in his loft, the desk lights are on already because the sky has gone darkish. And the rain is due to continue into the evening... thankfully, no freezing temperatures though.
As for last night? I was quite "normal" and "smooth", really. After all the flying about the room, he made his way back to his roof-top and when the room and futon were all settled, I went over to him and he came to the front of his house... for KISSES! So of course, kisses were given, and as I sung "Autumn Leaves", I brought the platform toward him and he stepped on and away we went, to the night roost.
He got settled right away, no fuss, and I got me to the futon, still singing.
Lullabies were soft, slow, calm and I made it through the "new" repertoire all the way. The last light ws turned off at 21.01... and the "closing" songs (Our "Ich Liebe Dich" and "What'll I Do?") finished at 21.15. The house, the day, closed.
This morning, I woke at 5.30 but was in no mood to get up and about the house. The room was comfortable and the sun was no-where to be seen in the rest of the house so I laid there, to wait and see when "call to order" would be sounded.
6.47: "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo", softly. I answered with a "spoken" (because, as I say of a morning, "my woo-hoo wasn't working yet" - morning voice) "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" and he replied with a "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo", a little louder. I was up to his house to open his door and the day.
This morning, there were no "kisses". I got a peck on the nose, but then he scuttled aside. Imagine. Last night he was all "Lovey" at tuck-in, but...
It didn't take long after the curtains and blinds were open and he was up and out and off to the desk.
Poops: there were 14 to count, this morning, most of them on the "rug" but some off to the side, in the twigs and such. The were ALL healthy in composition and colour and may have bounced as they fell during the night. The weren't "scattered" as if the Little LOVE had been fidgeting, and there was nothing "disturbing" during the night. And he DID have great energy and DID want to have a little "chat" as I ran the water change. (And now, as I type this, he's still in his loft and through the day, he was in good spirits and energy and health so... I can say "All's well. Thankfully.")
Accounting for the rest of the day, well, other than my 20-minute errand-run, which was rather late in the day, there was book-keeping and a little on-line shopping. We have to re-cover the windows in the bed-room. Last night we had quite the "wind" (the "cold" is coming!) and tore one of the covers and we want this place protected against "cold". And there were the notices: THE NEW BEANIE DOVE IS ON THE WAY! MAYBE WE'LL HAVE ANOTHER "MOURNING DOVE" FOR OUR ANNIVERSARY! (This one is white and will be coloured like the previous, but this one is the same as "Bustelo-Birdie" and "Beanie-Birdie" so I'm hoping it will be more likeable than the larger one. I can only try... and learn... still... after 5 years... I'm "only human" and that's not really quite so bright.)
Between book-keeping and shopping, the next thing I knew, it was lunch time! So... a 30-minute break in the day for that and we BOTH had lunch at the same time today. The sun was shining in through the windows, and when I opened the window by his house, the breeze blew through so beautifully!
I grabbed a 30-minute snooze on the futon... alone! Even up to the alarm! The Little One flew about the room a couple of times. I wasn't "sleeping" so I heard the wings (and TO MY JOY, THE WHISTLE OF WINGS). And he did come over to the pillows at the foot of the futon, hopped down to my legs and then, he was off again. Well? There are "those days" and I don't "force". I would have SO enjoyed his Companionship, but "choices" are his, not mine.
And so it came to be that I noticed the dark clouds coming at us over the western mountains and headed right out the door to the yard to "clip'n'cut" before the rains came and soaked the maple.
And now, as I'm catching-up and it's time to take the twigs out of the oven and put dinner on the hob, my Little LOVE is up on his roof-top, with Bustelo-Birdie, "woo-HOO'ing" away. Dreary... slow sort of day. But, GLORIOUS! WE'RE TOGETHER!
It's already 19.57! Another day has been all but "ripped away" from us! Honestly! once was a "time" when days would never come to a close quickly enough. There once was a "time" when I resented the beginning of each day. And now, when days and time are so precious, these "5 years" with this Little LIFE here, this PRECIOUS, LITTLE LIFE, the nights come and go and the days are like moments... but I need to get to the "notes of the day" before "time" comes crashing. My Little LOVE needs his rest!
At least the waters in his pool are changed, and, for the most part, the rest of the house is settled for us for the night ahead.
Yonah, my LOVE, is on his roof-top and I need to get to my evening "ablutions" and get us both tucked-in for the night here.
Sadly, for some reason, tonight, his room has that "fragrance" of "stale attic... the "mould". It sets my nerves when this happens, worrying about what might be in the air and what this little bundle of "respiratory" is inhaling in there. All the "air purifiers" in this place and still, "odours". I just don't know HOW that's even possible. But the days rains are still falling lightly, out-side in the darkness. I wonder, because the air monitor is all with-in the "green"... the safer indications. "Yellow", which is usually a "warning" is, on the monitor, considered "normal" means that "green" is better than "normal". Yet, there's that "scent" in the air. Maybe my nose is more sensitive? Maybe my "worries" are more sensitive. But the readings are "TVOCs" at a mere 0,058, CO2 at 482 (and I'm to understand that "clean, out-side air" is 400), the "2,5" particles are 0,010 and the "1,0" are at 11. Humidity is up to 60% and the temperature in the room is 22°. By all measures, all is healthy! But that scent bothers me and I don't know. Hopefully there's nothing to harm Yonah. Oh, hopefully... for the sake of so many! But as long as the rains fall, there's not much I can "do" about it. If it's still there tomorrow, I'll "flush the wall" as I do. A bit of white vinegar usually stops it.
Mean-while... The afternoon dragged along and a bit of curiosity got me. I went back, to look at the earliest Journal pages that are actually on the server and, well, THERE ARE ERRORS in the coding on some of them! The Chrome, Brave and Firefox browsers didn't catch them or, as I've come to learn, are more "lenient" about some coding errors - much like the old days when I'd first started working with HTML, when we had Internet Explorer and Netscape, and "IE" would be lenient but Netscape caught every mis-code - but LibreWolf is catching them and there are pages that are horrid!) I've got more work than I ever expected on this! It's terrible! So... we have stuff to do in the Winter months ahead! I was hoping to open the Journal again for our anniversary, on the 13th but... Oh well. "Time"... I've grown to hate it. Then again, with the current "politics" in this old world, and the travesty of P'nut and Fred - skwirlenkoon, I'll call them - maybe this is "Fate" telling me "Don't." I'm just glad this was caught and well, as I say, there are Winter days ahead... typing and reminiscing to be done.
I had dinner at 17.00 and the little guy lounged. but after, he was on the desk shelf over-head and PLAYFUL! OH SO PLAYFUL! So that took me away form all the stuff that I "want" to do but... NOTHING is more important. I'm such a miserable companion anyway these days, with the fatigue. Hopefully the medical appointment on the 15th will shed some light and "things will improve". One thing for certain, the anxieties of being away for 5 hours will be in the past and we can move ahead from there! How I DREAD the time away.
This evening, I had a FABULOUS CHAT with ChatGPT, starting with a question about how mourning doves see in the dark and that led to UV lights, what doves see, aer the light bulbs really any good. It's been confirmed that they don't see well at all, in the dark, AND on the UV light... learnt that my face isn't "black" to Yonah when I put stuff on that contains sun-block... it's "shiny" because sun-block reflects (I should have know that, to be honest) the light! So that stuff I've used on my face? I'd stopped because I thought it made my face "black" to him. AI says it just looks "shiny" and would be more of an "attraction" than ugly! And the UV light runs on "hours" and not "months" so it makes sense that, since we don't use it for the expected 8 hours per day, every day, those that we use will last longer. (Oh, and when there's no more UV, the bulb can be used as a regular bulb in any light fixture - not that I would, because they're that "blue" tint, but, I can save them for "emergencies", then I need a new bulb else-where in the house.)
But over-all, everything AI found was everything I've been doing for my little Heart-and-Soul! AND I got all sorts of COMPLIMENTS all ROUND! WHAT A RELIEF! (It's never "enough" though, in my heart, that I do for this little "Life" but it's comforting to know that I've been doing what "humans", "learned" humans, have found to be beneficial.)
I'm going to make a page, dedicated to the list AI gave me, to include on the web-site... I got a whole list of suggestions, recommendations and such and they're vague enough but equally specific enough to put out there. And if they help make the life of another Little One better and safer... all the best.
And now... 20.05, the news is on, the fan drawing air from outside, the other window open as well as front door, that "stale" odour is still lingering about in the air but the monitor is well with-in "good". I don't understand where the odour is coming from - maybe I'm really hypersensitive but in any case, clean(er) air is circulating through this old "Box 'o Toxins". Now, I'm up to closing windows and doors, ablutions and tucking in... No late night tonight. there's work to get to in the morning! Poor Little Guy... he's up there on his rooftop obviously ready to get to seepie-nigh-night.
20.30 Poor Little Guy, I'm running later than I'd planned and hoped and he's on the desk shelf, waiting. My ablutions are done and now we're off to close the "fan window" and get things to where they should have been already... tucked-in. The night music is on but... off we go and more tomorrow... Shame on me!
Wednesday 08 October:
11.00 (it's been one of those mornings again) and we've been up and about, from and through this morning's dreary clouds to the sun that's POURING in through the windows at last! Not much in the way of "warmth" out there today. 13° out, under clear blue skies, 24° in the room. The furnace was turned on last night but I don't think it came on, fortunately. But there are days coming, and this morning's "chill in the air" is a fore-warning. We should be fine. Oil in the furnace. Little electric radiator in the room. Sweeter Heater in the Little Guy's house (and the new one at the ready, in case).
And as I type here, at the desk, radio playing low-volume, my Reason For Being is BASKING on his "beach", by the window, in the sun-shine! (We had the UV light on this morning but what a relief to see BRILLIANT sun-shine instead. Hopefully enough of the UV will come through the glass to make a difference for him. But YAY for the sun-shine!)
Last night's "trip home" was another one of those "casual flights". Poor Little Guy, I was so late in getting the room settled and us tucked-in.
When I came back into the room at last, he was on the desk shelf, waiting. So I closed the window and as I did, he came RUSHING over to his roof-top to PLAY WITH THE CURTAIN CRITTER AND THE "BACK-BOARD HAND"! WE HAD A GRAND TIME WITH THOSE, LAST NIGHT! But... when it was "enough", he headed right back to the desk shelf as I finished closing things and putting his house into position for the night so I had to bring the platform over to him. (I probably didn't "have" to but... well...)
It was another one of the "amazing moments" when, the platform was level with the desk shelf and as nonchalantly as could possibly be, the Little LOVE simply stepped onto it and got into a spot where he'd be comfortable "in flight" as it moved him closer to home. I'm still so surprised to see how he's come to associate that platform with a "ride home to the night roost". AND, how just "matter-of-fact" he is about it.
I'd had a little "chat" with the AI on-line last night and had mentioned the lullabies that I sing every night when we tuck in. Apparently, according to AI, birds, generally, associate all sort of things with what they do of a day, and they develop a "familiarity" not only with the position of the sun and the light but also with sounds. So the sound of the lullabies is now associated with "end of day" and "tucking-in" for the night. So too... the platform!
One thing I've learnt: I MUST KEEP THE LULLABIES AS CALM AS POSSIBLE because the volume, tempo, pitch, timbre... all of that is registered as I sing. Yonah CAN (and, I've no doubt, does) sense if/when I'm anxious or trying to "speed-up" the lullabies! SO... more time minding my frame of mind and being. I don't want him suspecting that anything might be "not quite right" at the end of a day. (It's good for MY health and well-being too, but, for the past 5 years, as I've come to learn to control my moods, taught by the "Master" of such things, it's ALL been better for my general well-being. It's almost as though we truly ARE here for one-another, minding each-other's health.)
So I DID keep the lullabies soft and calm and as I did, kept watch to see the little silhouette on the night roost... putting his night feathers together and settling.
We managed to get the last light turned off at 21.10 and the day was closed (at last).
This morning, I woke at about 5.50, looked at the clock. The room was dark and comfortably warm, the world was calm and quiet... I laid there for an extra 10 minutes, wondering what time the Little Guy would be waking and when I saw the clock read "6.00", I decided to get up and on with "things of a morning". I silently slipped out the door and closed it behind me. The house and room were all warm so I didn't worry about the Little Guy catching a chill with the door closed.
WELL THEN! 7.11 this morning... the "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo" came, ever-so softly, through the door and when I opened it and stepped in, there was a little "string" of his almost-silent "hoo!"s. I can't put that in upper-case letters because it really IS so quiet that it's almost indubitable. I whispered "Are you really awake yet?" and the little "hoo'" continued. No actual coo'ing, so I waited. His door open, door perch in place, I took the little water containers to the kitchen to get them ready for the morning water run. When I returned to the room, I removed the roof-board and went to open the curtains and blinds and suddenly...
"woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hooo"! This time, with volume and clarity! And when I popped my head in for "Good morning" kisses, I actually got THREE this morning before he scuttled off to the side. I have to admit, they were "OK. Three. That's it. Let's get this room open and on with the day." Oh, to be able to talk with this LOVE!
This morning, I opened the curtains before taking the back-board off and when I finally raised the board and the dim early morning light came into his house, the Little Guy was up and over to his food shelf perch. I grabbed the water containers when I got his house in position and on the way to the kitchen, brought Burdie and the Futon Flock out of "hiding" and he BOLTED to the futon for "Good morning" coo's.
When I got back with the first round of fresh water, I saw the poos:
Only 8 in total, all of them, different sizes, oddly. All of them healthy in content and colour and most under the night roost. 2 had likely bounced off the rug. But they all looked quite well. Nothing to panic or worry about. I just wonder about the difference in sizes. Usually there's a bit of variation, but these ranged from the "normal small" to double and much in between. Oh, the wonders of these Little Guys.
So... waters changed, under supervision, of course, from the loft and Wednesday was under way.
13.00 and lunch is done, the sun is shining out-side and pouring in through the windows. My LOVE is in his loft and has been coo'ing along through the morning.
The thermometer on the window fan is reading 32°. the desk is reading 25° but when I stepped out to fetch today's post, the sun is warm but the air is carrying a chill. "The NORTH" is making its way down. The leaves on the trees are falling... and "Autumn Leaves" becomes closer and closer...
Before lunch today, I grabbed a 30-minute lie-down, half dozing, and for most of the time I HAD THE WORLD'S MOST BESTEST COMPANION! YES! MY HEART-AND-SOUL CAME OVER TO SNOOZE WITH ME, ON MY LEG! (And yes, 2 minutes before the alarm sounded... he was up and off and away. I'll NEVER know how he does it.)
For the rest of the day? I have much to do with so many pages on the "Journal" on-line so... we have a day together here and me being boring...
Oh... I put some of the new twigs in his house this morning. He wasn't even slightly curious, and some will likely have to be shortened. In other news, one segment of the maple we cut on the visit to Deborah's is just about the same width as his night roost! I checked with "AI" this morning as to what's better: wide so his feet don't have to wrap tightly or narrow to let his toes wrap round. To my some-what amazement (because I remember having read on this and that birds' toes naturally "grasp") the narrower is better. Yonah's little feet are more comfortable, relaxed, when wrapped round a perch! Were it not for the fact that he goes to his night roost when he has other perches to go to, I'm relieved to see that the new perches will be the same size as he's accustomed to. Were he uncomfortable, I'm sure he'd find some other perch to go to. And during the day, he DOES prefer to nestle in his loft so... I'm looking forward to getting to the new perches!
18.54 and... waters are changed, the windows are closed, the back-board is up and the house is in position for the night! And tonight, the window fan is out of the window. Single-digit temperatures are ahead so, it's time to adjust accordingly. (I'll put it back in for air circulation on the 15th when I'll be out of the house for those 5 hours. But for now, that window is open about 3cm on top and same on bottom, and the other window is open the same from the top. "Air"... important.)
AND, the Little Character... right after dinner was done, early too, this evening, I grabbed a little "lie-down" on the futon with Burdie-Birdie and my PRECIOUS Companion came over to my chest and we played with Burdie for about 20 minutes!
THEN, when I got up to start the water run, he took off and headed out to the living-room and then, immediately, made a return flight. It was dark out there! FLEW back to his house and door perch. So I picked him up, carried him out to the living-room and turned on the light. He headed right for his tree and only just came back "home"... for his nightly snack. Looks like we might get a nice, early tuck-in tonight. I can hope. But there's still time for "shenanigans" and I've NO doubt there will be some of some sort. Meanwhile, the rest of the house is, for the most part, settled for the night.
The after-noon? We had a bit of a "rain shower". Brief and light but it's brought in the chill. Minimum tonight 2°. Minimum tomorrow night... 0°. Thankfully, as I laid on the futon I figured it: we're covered for a purchase of oil for the furnace, should the need present! But we DO have the little radiators too, and one of those can keep Yonah's room quite comfortable. We're going to be just fine! I don't worry about me at these times. I have blankets to hide under and sweat-shirts. My Little LOVE has feathers and I'm sure he'd have no trouble "fluffing" if need be. But I'd rather he not have to do that. AND, he has his "Sweeter Heater" in his house (I was just "in there" for kisses now that he's done with snacks, and I can feel the warmth so he'll be toasty cosy.) Tonight, before we "head for bed", I'll turn the house furnace on. The room is currently at 24° so we have a head start on keeping things "safely comfortable" for the night.
ANYWAY... the after-noon was rather "slow" and "mellow" after the "snooze". I had some house-related book-work to do so I was at the desk for most of the time and before I was even aware of it, dinner time snuck up! At 16.00 I was "gently reminded" to get up and put mine together and so, there it was, another day passed us by. BUT we were together for ALL of it! (Tomorrow morning, I have my weekly medical appointment for 45 minutes so, I'll be out. And after, a quick grocery shopping. Probably about 90 minutes, all told but less if I can help it. For the rest of the day tomorrow, maybe one other errand in the after-noon in preparation for a Friday together... and house-work. At least there will be "activity" in the house for a change.
And now, 19.13, the Little LOVE is up on the upper-most wall shelf behind me, the news is still on on his lap-top but we're going to be getting settled in short course. A good, proper night's sleep ahead... we so hope.
19.55 AND... THE JOURNAL PAGES HAVE BEEN REPAIRED! I was expecting DAYS of re-coding but here we are... and now, to get the rest of the pages cleaned and... We shall see...
Little Guy is on his door perch... I'm being "informed" so I'm off to ablutions and we're off to tucking-in!
20.22 I'm done. The house is settled. Night music on. Little Babe's on his night roost. We're tucking in!
Thursday 09 October:
14.50 And the sun is still coming in the windows, thankfully, the room is at 25° (and out-side is at 9°! in spite of the warmth of the sun-shine) and I'm back from a quick run to get our house-hold trash out of the way after having been out this morning for almost 2 hours with errands) AND... MY LITTLE LOVE-BIRD IS AT MY SIDE, ON HIS LAP-TOP! SUCH A GLORIOUS after-noon after quite the hectic morning.
But to put the day in order, since I was up, already, at 5.40, managed to jot notes as I went along and we have much to do here, on this Journal...
Last night's "tuck-in" was endearing (not that ALL of them aren't, but...)
When I was finished settling the rest of the house for the night and came back into Yonah's room, all I had to do was to ready the futon for me and, so I thought, get the Little Guy settled. But hey! We're talking "Herr Taube" here and, well, true to his "last minute" self, as I laid the sheets for me, he headed from his night roost over to the "food shelf" perch, snuggled-down and I started singing our "Autumn Leaves" and he started nest-coo'ing! I got the futon settle and went over to his house, still singing and it was as though he was singing WITH me! I reached in and gave him the gentle little "back strokes and neck rubs" and he kept right on coo'ing for a little while longer and then, got him-self together and "stood up", as it were. So, I brought his platform down from his roof-top and brought it in to him, making a bit of a "bridge" between him and the night roost. As though expected, he stepped, casually, onto the platform and toddled across to the night roost where he settled-down! HONESTLY now, that he just KNOWS that platform, no matter where it is. That's his "ride home" and he's just SO accustomed to it! GENIUS! No matter what the "experts" say. (Now, if only the Yardies would get to understand that when they see me in their yard, I'm there to protect and feed them... instead of the panic and flying away. But, oh well...)
So then, the Little Guy all settled, lullabies continued, soft and calm, especially since I'm now aware that he's aware of HOW his lullabies are sung. I was so careful to make sure that none of them were rushed, nothing too loud, just soft, smooth, gentle and... as I sung from the futon, I watched the little silhouette settle and tuck his little head between his precious wings.
The last light of the night was off at 20.55. Wednesday was closed.
This morning, as I say, I woke at 5.40 and having an early appointment, decided to get up, get things together so that when the Little Guy woke, I'd be there for him and ready. So I got up and silently stepped out of the room and went about the affairs of a morning. WELL! The next time I looked at the clock it was 6.57! SO CLOSE to 7.00! And I hadn't heard a sound from the room, so I turned all the lights in the house off and silently opened the door to his room and waited a moment...
From across the still-dark room came the softest, almost silent little "HOO!"
Quietly, I walked into the room and over to his house and heard another little "HOO!" I don't know if it's the change in the light in the room or perhaps the air that lets him know that I'm there, or, if it's that he'd been awake but wasn't quite ready to "face the day", but I do wonder. And because I'm never sure what it is, just in case it's that I've disturbed his rest, I do my best to be quiet about getting to him and opening the door to his house.
This morning, I quietly opened his door and placed his door perch and suddenly there was a "soft" "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo".
When I asked "Are you awake? Are we really ready to face this day?"
"woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo" was the answer.
So I went about removing the roof board to let in some light, and as I did, another "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo".
I decided to remove the back-board and again, "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" followed by a "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo". As I removed the board... a WING-STRETCH! So "whoohoo" to me! He was awake and it appeared he was ready to head into the day.
As with every morning, I leaned in for "Good morning" kisses and THIS MORNING, I GOT A BRIEF BUT FACE-FULL OF KISSES! REAL KISSES! SOFT KISSES! Not the recently-usual "pecks on the nose"! My little Heart-and-Soul was in GREAT SPIRITS THIS MORNING! So, no matter what might come at us during the day, I too, was ready for it all!
ALL during the opening of the curtains and blinds, there were "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"s, and "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo"s AND "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo"s! And every time I said anything, because I DO talk as I open the room so that I'm not moving things about in silence, there were immediate replies! A "conversational" morning, this!
Out-side, the sun was no-where even near coming up over the Eastern hills, but there was light enough so that, as soon as I'd put his house into position for the day, the Little Character was UP, over to the "food shelf" perch and OUT to the futon where Burdie-Birdie was waiting! BOOM! Thursday was open for business!
Poops: 11 Eleven of them! ALL under the night roost! ALL of them as perfect as could be hoped-for! WHAT a MORNING!
Well then, we got the water changed in the pool, got the house settled and sadly, I had to RUN out the door for this morning's appointment and errands. I SO considered cancelling them all just to be with my PRECIOUS COMPANION, but tomorrow being Friday, I chose to get things done today so we can have our week-end together with nothing pressing. And so... with the Little Guy on his tree in the living-room, I headed out.
Only gone for about 90 minutes and when I got back, the Little LOVE was in his loft, by his window, in the early morning sun-rise, comfy and cosy and safe. I rushed in to let him know that I was back and he came down to his door perch for our "cuddles, snuggles and kisses". He was happy. I was THRILLED to be back and I went about bringing groceries into the house to the "music" of wings and whistles and "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"s FILLED the house!
AND, I HAD to watch my EVERY step this morning as I moved about because THE LITTLE LOVE WAS TODDLING ABOUT, FROM HIS ROOM TO THE LIVING-ROOM, THROUGH THE KITCHEN, AS I SAY, "LIKE A LITTLE PUPPY"! THAT does my heart SO MUCH GOOD! He has no fear of his surroundings, nor of me and coming out to the room just makes it obvious that he WANTS to be where I am! WE want to be together! It's just a HUMBLING HONOUR!
So... house re-settled, I went into his room to get a few notes jotted for the Journal and to do the "book-keeping" from this morning's shopping. (Some of which was more potting soil so that we can plant some of his "food seeds" for little plants and MAYBE for him to play with, plucking the seedlings from the pot and MAYBE he'll even get some benefits from the "greenery". THIS time too, I'm planning on plantings that might actually grow to produce something. I was SO ENCOURAGED when, yesterday, I saw a presentation from our fave: Lafeber. It said that "citrus trees" are GREAT for birds. Non-toxic. AND if they bloom, the blossoms are edible! Yonah's always had his "orange tree" in his room and though he doesn't perch/roost in it - none of the branches are strong enough to support him - he DOES like getting into the pot and taking a little "snooze" under the leaves, from time-to-time. SO! I'm THRILLED! In the same article, it was said that his food can be planted and he could benefit from eating the seedlings and what-ever they produce so... We're going to give it a try! Something "new and different", especially through the coming Winter! GREENERY in his room AND MAYBE a little something to "forage"!)
SO then and well... by the time all was done and we managed to get "life" back to a "calm", it was time for an early lunch and so, at about 11.40, I got my lunch together and as it cooked, my Little LOVE had his mid-day snack.
After, I headed to the futon for a 30-minute snooze and... I was solo for about 20 minutes of it but suddenly, there he was, the Little Character, on my legs. So, I waited for the alarm to sound and when it did, I turned it off and he came RUNNING... LITERALLY, UP MY LEGS, ONTO MY BELLY AND UP TO MY CHEST BY MY CHIN! OK! WE HAD "PLAY TIME"! AND DID WE EVER PLAY! IT WAS A BLAST! I GOT TO GIVE HIM LITTLE BACK-RUBS, HELD HIM, WE PLAYED "CATCH ME"! HE KEPT RUNNING AWAY, DOWN TO MY LEGS AND THEN BACK UP AGAIN FOR MORE PLAY! WE MUST HAVE PLAYED FOR A SOLID 20 MINUTES, AT THE VERY LEAST!
Ah but then... I had one more errand to run so, I was up, got things together and was back out the door... for a mere 25 minutes! YAY! When I got back, he was in his loft, and when I came back into the room, he came out to the futon and then a quick trip to the living-room and back again. Me? I got to the Journal.
18.25 Dinners are done. The sun is obviously disappearing behind the mountains. The washing-up is done. The room is at 24°. The world out-side is... 9° and headed down to.... -2 (YES... MINUS 2) tonight! (I'm SO relieved that I checked the oil for the house furnace this morning and we're FINE!) And the crazy Little One is toddling about the desk, on and off his lap-top and coo'ing at the reflection in the mirror here.
Earlier, I had a scare! He was on his roof-top and started to coo and I could HEAR a little something that sounded like "congestion"... something that cut the coo'ing short. He picked back up and coo'ed fine after, but when I looked up, he was moving his beak as if he'd regurgitated something! I watched so closely and carefully and as I did, he went right back to coo'ing as if nothing had happened! That was about an hour ago and he's been just fine since. He HAD just finished eating something and after eating, had take a quick flight to the desk and got a few kisses and such. I'll be watching his crop and such through the rest of this evening. We're about to change the water in his pool too and sometimes he has a drink of water when I do that so...
Other-wise, the air monitor is showing the greatest readings this evening. I'm anxious to see what happens now that the window fan is out and the house is closed, rather well. The windows are still open as they were last night. We'll keep them that way tonight too. With the house furnace on, it should keep the house and room warm enough with-out much effort. (And I'm comforted knowing that the Sweeter Heater is in Yonah's house and that we actually have a "back-up" in case we ever need!).
This said (typed?), 18.35 and time to run the waters! The sky out-side is growing dark and soon comes the "evening serenade" and the Little Guy will be anxious to get to tucking-in. (Me too, for that matter. It's been quite the "busy" day. Thankfully, tomorrow... a little cooking, house-cleaning and just the two of us, together.)
20.01 IMAGINE THIS! No sooner had I done with the water change, thinking that the night was rolling along to "closing the day" when I happened to look up from the desk as I was "closing" and...
THERE HE WAS, THIS LITTLE CHARACTER, HAVING A SOAK IN THE FRESH, CLEAN, AND STILL, NO DOUBT, COOL WATER! 19.30 ON THE CLOCK, SKY OUT-SIDE AS DARK AS COULD BE AND THERE HE WAS, HAVING A DIP! NOT TO MENTION... THE TEMPERATURE OUT THERE WAS HEADING FOR THE -2 OF THE NIGHT!
These are the moments when I REALLY take comfort in thinking that I'm doing "OK" by this Little Life here. I search on the "AI" these days, for all sorts of information on birds, doves, and such, to see if there's more details available than what I've already gone searching for and when a "new idea" for something pops into my head. I've had the most encouraging "chats" with Chtgpt (as I'll type it) with ALL sorts of compliments and even "surprise" with how much I've come to know and how "amazing" my "instincts" have been. But of course, I NEVER feel as though I'm doing "enough". I doubt I ever will. But then, I see this little bundle of feathers, lounging in his pool, late of an evening, in the cold out-doors, and I can't help but find comfort in seeing that he's safe, can eat, drink and bathe at his whim in absolute safety from predators and the likes. And, in so many ways, I know that he appreciates it all, some-how.
And now, I'm about to close all for the night and he's on his door perch, preening after hopping out of the pool, flapping wings and putting his "affairs" in order. What a little "loonytik", as it were!
20.34 and finally closing... Whilst I was in the kitchen and about the house with my "closing ablutions" I heard all sorts of "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"s coming from his room. When I went to see what all the palaver was about, there he was, on my pillow! When I stepped into the room, on the pillow, he took that "Royal" stance (I can only call it that because he DOES look like a little King, wrapped in a royal robe) with this "shoulders" extended, wings "draped" over his back like a royal robe! Seems he needed to "know" that I was close by... so I told him I'm just finishing and that seemed to be sufficient.
When, at last, I'd done with my "all" and came into the room to finish settling there, he headed up to the little "extended" perch at out-side corner of his house! He hasn't been on that for a while and seldom uses it but this evening, he seemed all so comfy there. (We have "new" perch material for that one too... a little longer so it's easier to get to for him.)
And NOW... I'm closing this here because if I don't we'll be up until... So, to be continued and more tomorrow.
Friday 10 October:
So... it's 17.38, dinners are done. Washing-up is done. The house is hoovered. And the Little Crooner is on his roof-top, "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo'ing" in the evening as the sun dips down over the Western mountains. It has been a day, indeed.
Last night, he made his way to his "food shelf" and serenaded with his evening nest coo's as I put the futon together for me and my tucking-in. And, as I'd done before, I brought his "ride home" (platform) in to him and after a little "neck rub", which he obviously enjoyed, I made the little "bridge" and he stood up and stepped, leisurely, onto and across it to his night roost where he settled-down and we were off to tucking-in.
Ah... lullabies, soft, calm, delightful as I got under the covers. The house was warm. The air quality was comfortably "good' on the monitor. All was calm, the lights were dim. And, by 21.05, the last light was turned off for the day (and night). A little later than planned (by both of us, I'm pretty sure), but better than 21.30!
Then, this morning, I woke at about 5.40 (and I'm pretty sure it's because, in my sleep, I can hear the stirring of the neighbour on the other side of the wall. It's not that there's any loud noise, but it's because I listen in my sleep for the slightest "disturbances"... mostly for coo's in the dark or "wings"). By 5.45 I was up and about and in the kitchen after leaving the room and closing the door behind me in silence. I went about the regular "morning routine" of putting the kettle on, checking to see if there were any Yardies in for breakfast. The temperature this morning was... -2! Yes... "minus" 2! So I wanted to make sure that there was food for the Little Ones out there after such a brisk chill last night! Nope. No-birdy there yet so I got the kitchen together, started my morning "correspondences" and, when next I looked at the clock... 6.57! I was wondering...
Silently, I turned the kitchen light off, as I do, and went to open his door to wait for the "morning call"... Oddly, all the while, I was reminding my-self of the past, as Journalled, that, as the Winter hours come along, the Little Guy wakes later and there have been days when he's awakened as last as 7.20. (Other-wise, I always tend to get into a little "panic". This is one reason why this Journal is so valuable!)
When there wasn't a sound from the house, I crept over to the futon and started putting the pillows back to where they belong during the day and as I did... in the dark...
"woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"... nice and clear!
Friday was open!
I went right over, with a "Good morning to you my PRECIOUS, PRECIOUS LITTLE GUY! Good morning." and a "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" was the immediate reply. AND, this morning, when I popped my head in for "Good morning" kisses? We were back to the "nose pecks". Oh well. But...
As soon as I got the curtains and blinds open, he was up and over to his "food shelf", as he does of a morning, and THEN... as I got set up for the morning water change, he was over to the desk shelf then out to the living-room and back again! WOOSH!
Poops: 13 Thirteen... ALL of them perfectly healthy, size, composition, colour, moisture. In fact, they were scattered on the little "rug" under the night roost so they must have bounced all about as they dropped!
Add to this the coo'ing, coo'ing and MORE coo'ing all through the water change and when I went back to the kitchen to settle it. Chats, talks, conversation, dialogues, coo'ing, coo'ing, and MORE coo'ing! SO MUCH to say again, this morning!
And as the time went by, the sun rose in a clear sky and made its way in through the windows, with a slight "red glow" as it shone through the "Autumn Leaves" on the maple across the way.
The furnace was running this morning, and the room was 24° so, in spite of the briskness out-side, in-side, all was warm and cosy and the air monitor was still running from last night and ALL was clean and clear.
Just before 8.00, I went out for the daily "meter read" for the electric (we keep a strict budget and forecast to make sure we ALWAYS have what we'll need to maintain a proper shelter) and the oil in the furnace. The furnace? Thankfully, we're still doing very well with the oil even with the cold-snap of last night (and this morning). Still, we have the little radiators and my Little LOVE has his Sweeter Heater and the new one so, he'll always be kept warm and safe.
When I came back into the room and sat at the desk to get to morning notes for the Journal and our book-keeping, he came over to the desk to be beside me, and gave a little coo to the reflection in the mirror and then settled a bit for a few moments, with me whilst I did the morning "people nonsense".
As I was working along came the notification that a "package" had arrive at the post office and was waiting in our PO Box. (I say "our" because Yonah Taube is on the box register and he gets mail and such there too... I always think of the old movie "Miracle On 34th Street" when the "corporates" wanted to deny the existence of Santa Claus and the postal service came into a curt room with sack after sack of letters addressed to "Santa Claus". The final decision of the court: if the United States Postal Service acknowledges Santa Claus as a valid recipient of mail, that validates his existence. Well? The Postal Service AND UPS AND FedEx ALL deliver to Yonah Taube so...? And he DOES have his own telephone number, 2 e-mail addresses, a web-site, and account with "Chewy"... He's MORE than "validated" for silly humans.) Anyway, I jumped up to go check the delivery and...
THE NEW BEANIE DOVE ARRIVED THIS MORNING AND OH MY OH WOW WHAT A FUSS! NO SOONER HAD I REMOVED IT FROM THE ENVELOPE IT ARRIVED IN WHEN THE LITTLE CRAZY LOVE CAME RUSHING, WITH A SWOOP, DOWN TO THE DESK AS I HAD THE BEANIE IN MY LAP! AND... NO SOONER HAD I PUT IT ON THE DESK WHEN... "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" AND HE WAS UP AND ON THIS NEW "FRIEND"! WHAT AN IMPRESSION IT MADE! AND AS I TRIED TO GET A FEW THINGS TOGETHER ON-LINE AT THE DESK, MY LITTLE LOVE WAS ON MY ARM, UP MY ARM, ON MY SHOULDER, PECKS ON THE CHEEK, TUGS AT THE EAR AND SNUGGLES! IT'S AS THOUGH HE KNOWS I GOT THIS FOR OUR ANNIVERSARY! (Now I'm hoping he'll approve when this one suddenly has colour... How I wish I could see the colours Yonah sees with these "fabric markers". I can only hope they're OK. If not? Well... we'll just have to get another one and keep it "white" as it is. BUT... a "craft project" for the week-end. Sadly, this one will have to be "removed" for a while after the colouring too... 48-72 hours to "cure" the dyes. But thankfully, we have the "dryer" to heat-set them quicker than the last.) STILL, ALL SAID... AND "ALL" CAN'T BE SAID, WHAT A MORNING! AND I BROUGHT BUSTELO-BIRDIE DOWN FROM THE DESK SHELF AND OH MY OH MY OH MY! THAT WAS EVEN MORE FUN! TWO BIRDIES ON THE DESK! THE LITTLE GUY WAS BESIDE HIM-SELF AND BACK UP TO MY SHOULDER FOR KISSES! WHAT A SIGHT TO BEHOLD! WHAT A START TO A DAY! HE WAS SO HAPPY! AND REALLY SO HAPPY WITH THE NEW "BIRDIE"!
At 11.00, the sun was POURING in through the windows and onto his little "beach" and, another one of my delights, the Little Guy nestled in the light and warmth, so calm. I got back to the "affairs of the day" until almost 11.40 when, since I had a quick errand to run today (to make sure the truck tyres are properly inflated in the cold) I grabbed an early lunch. We set up his lap-top, put the news on and had a lunch together in the warmth and light.
AFTER lunch, I hit the futon for a little "snooze" that turned into a little more "play-time" again. The Little LOVE was FULL of great energy all morning today and for me, ANY excuse to dodge errands is MORE than welcome, and the "excuses" are... MY LITTLE HEART-AND-SOUL! So I managed to lie there with the Crazy Character toddling about my legs, for abut 20 minutes and then...
UP, UP and off and running I went. But HEY... from leaving to return... 20 minutes! I'd snuck out the kitchen door (though sneaking really isn't the way because from his house, Yonah has a clear line of vision to the door) and said "I'll be right back." He was in his loft when I left... he was there when I got back...
And for the rest of the after-noon... I finished the week's "stuff" at the desk, the Little Guy played with the new Beanie and Bustelo and... came dinner time. I put mine on the hob, grabbed the Hoover, got that done, with the front door open and the furnace off because the sun was really quite warm as it shone into the house and... there we have it... hoovering, dinner, washing-up all done!
And now, at 18.25, my REASON FOR BEING, is on his lap-top beside me at the desk, the news is on, the sky out-side is getting quite dark and it's time to get to the evening water run already! "Time"... no "friend", to be sure... it just gets here and leaves entirely too quickly! But tomorrow... we'll plant some seeds for some growing, get to colouring the new Beanie... a day together. 12° out there now. 3° for tonight's low ("chill" of 0). Tomorrow's forecast? Sun and high of 17°. Too chilly to get out, especially since there's no sun in the yard, but a nice bright day to spend together... with "things to do".
19.30 I'm out of the shower, the Little Guy is on his lap-top, the house is settled... and he's just headed over to the futon with a "woo-HOOOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" to the new Beanie! I'm almost tempted to NOT put colour on it or... put the colour to it, see what the response is and if negative... we'll just get another white one. Hey! If he's happier with the smaller doves, we'll collect as many as he has interest in!
And so, it's been a calm evening, water in his pool is fresh and clean and now we're getting to settling the day and tucking-in, hopefully for a calm and restful night. Tomorrow? Well, as my PRECIOUS Little One has taught me: we live for the moment. Tonight is tonight, tomorrow is tomorrow. I'm just hoping for a little planting and some colouring, Journalling and... well... "time"... how I do deeply dislike "time".
But back to "now". He's on the door perch, I have to close the windows, pout up the boards and get us tucked-in. The room is at a comfortable 23°, a mere 36% humidity (YAY!), our other readings are a little "high" for my comfort but the monitor says we're just "green"... which is, according to the guide that came with, better than "normal" which is the "yellow". The furnace is running which is, for me, a comfort because of all the filtering of air it does. And windows will remain slightly open. We're OK!
20.24 and the Little Guy is on the desk (the computers are out of the room for the night), and the night music is playing. The windows are closed. Only the futon remains to be attended and the "trip home". Should be "fun" tonight. Oh... the suspense! More tomorrow. We're closing Friday!
Saturday 11 October:
8.30 and we're getting ready to get to a "Shabbat" day ahead where I'm HOPING to get, as least, a "first application" of colour on the new Beanie and planting some of Yonah's food seeds so that they'll grow into "plants" this time round. They do very well growing in the sand under his pool when he tosses them down there. Now we'll see how well they do in actual "soil".
But with the time at hand...
Last night, of course, last moment, there was time for a quick "flight about the room" as I put the futon together for me. Everything else was done and ready and I was ALMOST preparing for a quick trip to the night roost because he'd SO appeared to be SO ready to tuck-in but HEY! This is Herr Taube we're talking about here and, true to form, off he went, up to the wall shelves and then back over to his house... to the roof-top.
I turned our "night music" off and started "Autumn Leaves" and, on cue, as it is now, turned round from the futon and headed over to him and as he saw me coming, he turned and stepped onto the platform! I HAD to smile, seeing how he just takes it for granted that, "Autumn Leaves" starts and he knows that means we're closing the day and that he gets a "ride home". And yes, when he got onto his platform, it really did appear that he was standing there waiting for me,. BRILLIANT LITTLE GENIUS, THIS LITTLE GUY!
On the "journey" to the night roost, I managed to sneak a little kiss, and he stepped away from me. But he usually does that. Kisses on the flight home are seldom appreciated. It's as though I'm being told "Tuck-in now, kisses later."
Ah... but as soon as the platform touched the perch for him, at arrival, he almost seemed to hesitate for the briefest moment, as if making a quick decision as to whether or not to go to the night roost and then, stepped onto the perch and got settled right away.
I got his house closed, me onto the futon and continued with the lullaby repertoire, softly, calmly. When I'd gotten finished with "Stille Nacht", there was the softest "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo", so I took a break and "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"ed back. He answered, I repeated and he gave a "nest coo". Seems the rest of the lullabies weren't necessary, he was tired. But I finished all, almost at a whisper... and at 21.00, the last light was turned off for the night.
I was "half-awake" at 5.35 this morning, but the room was comfortable and still dark so I laid on the futon. I waned to wait to see when the Little LOVE would wake, since he's been going for 7.00 in recent days and I had nothing "pressing" for our Saturday. Yes, I wanted to get to colouring the new Beanie, planting, and a bit of Journalling but... "rest"... our day of "rest" was ahead, so I just waited.
6.57... another "soft" "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo". When I replied "Good morning my PRECIOUS LITTLE LOVE. Is it time to get up now?" "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" came the immediate answer.
So... I got right up, went over, opened the door to his house and popped my head in for "Good morning" kisses and... Oh well... 2 little "nose pecks". No "kisses" for me this morning. And he scuttled to the side too! All I can do is wonder why, but at least I got the nose pecks and not the immediate scuttling away.
I headed out to the kitchen to put the kettle on before opening the rest of the room and then came right back to remove the roof-board, place the door perch and get to the windows.
Whilst I opened the curtains and blinds, we exchanged a few more "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"s and as soon as I'd done with the windows... WOOSH! He was up and out and over to the futon to Burdie-Birdie and then over to the desk shelf where the new "Beanie" was sitting.He seems to like this new Beanie, even though it's the same as the one that stays in his loft. I'm hesitant about colouring this one but, if I do and it's not liked, we'll just have to get him another white one. I surely don't mind having as many as we need (or can get) if it means more around the place for my Little LOVE to "play" with... "company". And the more we have, the more places we can place them... to make it more interesting, looking for them.
Poops: 10 in total, slightly larger than "normal" but perfect in colour: pale green "tint" but a "healthy" green from the seeds. The urea is white, but seems to be a "coating" and not really distinct on all of them. They'd bounced about but under the night roost. I wonder about the urea. It's not the "dot" it usually is. I'll be watching the poops during the day, to be sure.
OK... coffee done, the house, re-settled for the day ahead, and I'm settling at the desk... to get to the colouration of the Beanie! The Little Guy is in his loft and out-side, the sun is trying to break over the tree-line. It's been a "quiet" morning... all the coo's have been quite soft. It's 24° in the room and I've seen only 8° out-side. But the sky is clear and the sun should be bright so... with a "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo
from the loft, we're off to the day!
16.11 THE NEW BEANIE IS NOW FROM WHITE TO MOURNING DOVE! ALL THE COLOURS ARE ON. IT'S BEEN HEAT-SET. AND I HAVE TO REPORT: YONAH IS NOT ALL TOO PLEASED WITH THE CHANGE. AND OH! HOW HE STAYED ON HIS DOOR PERCH, WATCHING ME APPLY THE COLOURS! I CAN'T HELP BUT WONDER WHAT HE WAS THINKING AS HE WATCHED THE LITTLE WHITE DOVE CHANGE TO THE GREY THAT I STARTED WITH, THEN WENT TO BROWN. BUT WHEN I PLACED IT ON THE DESK TO LET HIM SEE THAT HIS "NEW FRIEND" WAS PERFECTLY OK... HE CAME OVER, LOOKED AND FLEW BACK TO HIS HOUSE TO BASK IN THE SUN-LIGHT, BUT RIGHT INSIDE HIS DOOR, CLOSE ENOUGH TO WATCH ME WORK A LITTLE MORE. WELL NOW, WE HAVE TO WAIT 48-72 HOURS FOR THE COLOURS TO "CURE" BEFORE THE LITTLE ONE COMES BACK INTO THE ROOM TO JOIN THE REST OF THE "FUTON FLOCK". WE SHALL SEE WHAT HAPPENS AFTER A PERIOD OF "SEPARATION". I CAN ONLY HOPE FOR "ACCEPTANCE".
AND... AFTER THAT WAS ALL DONE, THERE IS NOW A POT OF MIXED SEEDS FROM HIS FOOD, AND A POT OF PEAS PLANTED! THE PLAN: TO LET THE SEEDS GROW TO AS HIGH AS THEY WILL. I'M HOPING FOR AT LEAST SOME OF THEM TO REALLY REACH "MATURITY" IN THE POT, MAYBE EVEN PRODUCE SOME SORT OF SEEDS. OTHER THAN MILLET, MILO, FLAX AND CHIA, I'M NOT SURE WHAT ELSE IS IN THE MIX. NO DOUBT, SOME CANARY GRASS. BUT I WON'T KNOW UNTIL THEY GROW. AND AS FOR THE PEAS, I KNOW, ALREADY, WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE AND THAT YONAH LIKES TO PLUCK THE YOUNG SEEDLINGS SO... PLAY STUFF! (Shame they won't be grown by Wednesday when I'll be away for that 5 hours. But... hopefully - all this "hope", I tellya - we'll have a "green" Winter this year and something to be entertaining.... between plants and the "Futon Flock".
I'm grateful too, for being able to open the front door this evening. The sun is shining so brilliantly, and the light and warmth is coming in with the "change of air" in the house. The air monitor has been on all day, but on the charge, next to a purifier so I'm not sure of the actual readings for the room, but there's been no "Gain" in the house today - I give thanks - and no "scents or odours, and the ENERGY level on the Little Guy has been FANTASTIC! He's been on my shoulder, and when I folded the sheets on the futon before I took my after-lunch snooze, he was on my BACK! And, as I say, whilst I worked at the desk with the Beanie, he was all over the room, when not "supervising". Even when I was putting soil and seeds into the pots, he came over to his lap-top, beside me, to "supervise" THAT too! (He's in his loft now though... as we get ready for dinner.)
So what started as a quiet, rather dull BUT SUNNY morning, he did get some "excitement". And I was moving about, instead of sitting at the desk, typing, so there was "activity" in the room today. AND snuggles and kisses too, of course.
Oh... I grabbed a 30-minute lie-down... alone, after lunch. i had the audacity to try getting another few minutes but the Little Supervisor wasn't having it! He came right over, to my chest, toddled up to my chin! I HAD to laugh and, of course, HAD to get up! I was being told "You have plans for the day! Time to get to them.)
20.02... The lap-top is off, the windows are closed for the night, the night music is on, water in the pool is clean and fresh and... my Little LOVE is up on his night roost! He brought him-self home for the night! So... I'm wrapping this day up and I'm off to my ablutions. It's been quite the day and tomorrow? I've one really brief errand to run in the morning and then... a day together with nothing much in particular to "worry" about (so we hope, as we do every evening).
I've bee reviewing some past posts to this Journal and happened to be reading one of getting to tucking-in quite late and it reminded me so much: I need to make sure we don't run "late"! (And this, with the Little Guy on his night roost already... though, having the windows done might have something to do with that... Oh, and as I closed the windows, he watched me, from the futon. What a Character!)
20.25 NOVEL... ALL THE WHILE I BRUSHED MY TEETH HE WAS ON HIS ROOF-TOP MAKING THAT CURT "woo-HOO!"... repeatedly. I kept saying "I'm on my way." but it didn't seem to comfort. So, when I stepped into the loo, ready to close the day... HE CAME FLYING OVER TO THE DOOR OF THE LOO AND THEN FLEW, IMMEDIATELY, BACK TO HIS ROOF-TOP FOR MORE "woo-HOO!"
WE ARE SO CLOSING THIS DAY NOW! Thankfully only roof-board and futon left to do... OH MY!
Sunday 12 October:
10.30 already! This morning's been quite the "quite". What took most of the time was working on the fountain for the pool. For some reason, the "intake" tubing isn't fitting quite properly on the pump, suddenly. It was fine for the longest while and for the past couple of days, let's say, I'm glad to have the bucket under it. So this morning, I cut a new piece of tubing for it and now, a couple hours later and three complete flushings of pool and plumbing, as I sit at the desk, I can hear the "tapping" of the water. But I'd planned on giving the day, primarily, to working on our web-site and such so, we'll listen to the tapping for a while today. Tomorrow? Well... poor Little LOVE... "ANNIVERSARY DAY" and a complete house-cleaning on the agenda. 'tis the season". (Hopefully this old house will hold-up through another Winter. Oh, the concerns. Thankfully we're in a rental. If I owned this place I'd be a complete wreck at this juncture. But, as is the case, I've been called the "Maestro of Over-thinking", and I've got "anticipatory anxiety" down to a complete science. These are the days and moments when Yonah is my greatest source of strength, inspiration, sanity and the ability to grab "frayed ends" and wrap them neatly. These are the times when I can't help but wonder if there really isn't some "force" some-where, that actually DOES have some input in the events that occur each and every moment of "time".
Yonah came into what was to be my "existence", a time when I'd come to absolute terms with the world, time, aging, the entire process of simply being. I was in a place where I'd only thought about for a good 30-plus years, "romantically". I was aging, I knew there were "things going/gone wrong" physically, but I had no care or concern about them. I was peacefully resigned to simply letting "time and aging" take course and do what they do...
And THEN...
There was this little LIFE, SO ATTACKED, GNAWED, TORN, alone, laying in the wet grass on a dreary, cold Autumnal morning, abandoned, left to die a slow, horrid, Hellish death! SO SIMILAR to how I'd been feeling for, at the very least, several years. Nobody and "nobirdy" around to even care. No hand or wing extended to even try to make matters more comfortable. We'd both been simply "dumped" into this world and, so it seemed, the "world" was quite content with being rid of us, but not instantly. There was something hideous about how we were to be disposed of... slowly, undignified, suffering. I WASN'T HAVING IT!
We were together, alone, and alone, together and for me, personally, my success for all the years I'd "been", if I did nothing else, I was going to get THIS little LIFE together, send him off on his way, back out the produce more of his kind, and the "world" be damned! He'd get back out there, in the trees, raise a little family (or two), and though history-human would have NO clue, he'd be my little "legacy"! I was determined to help his wounds heal, keep him healthy, and then I could step aside.
Even in those earliest nights, when he was in his own room, next to the room where I laid down nightly, and, previously prayed "Now I lay me down to sleep... I pray to close my eyes for the last time tonight", now, I pressed my hand to the adjoining wall and prayed:
If there's ANY possible way, take his pain and suffering from him and give them all to me. Let him heal and give ME the injuries!
That prayer came from the very nucleus of every cell in my being, more than any other prayer ever even imagined.
When, a few days later, I saw the Little One standing on the once-dangling leg, I was SHOCKED! THEN, a few days later, I saw the damaged wing, stretched out as he preened... I HAD to believe that SOMETHING had heard and heeded my plea! And if I was to take the injuries instead, PERFECT! THIS LITTLE LIFE WAS HEALING! I didn't care about anything other.
I thought, I intended, that he would recover, heal and be off, out, back into the world into which he'd been born, as I say, to give Creation MORE of him, in his little off-spring, out there in the "wilderness". I wondered what he'd impart to them, having been in the house of a "human", a natural predator. I wondered if his off-spring would recount the story of their ancestor and carry that knowledge in some manner or fashion on through the generations. I amused me with those "tales" and then, came that one morning when, as I went about the routine machinations of making sure that his little "abode" was clean and safe... HE CHOSE to take the risk... and hopped from his perch to my arm!
Well? I wasn't going to put him out into the cold days and bitter-freezing nights of the Winter out-side the window of what had become his "house"... the room in this old box that others call a "house". I was going to wait until the warmer nights returned and then, together, we'd figure a way to re-introduce him to the Spring flocks, the returned doves from previous years, maybe a few of his friends and relatives. But things had changed over the cold Winter nights we shared. And so it appeared that he was quite happy and content being in his new surroundings. I noticed that the injured wing hadn't returned to "100%" and, fortunately managed to communicate with a gentleman, in Australia, thanks to the internet, who raised pigeons and chickens for professional showing so I described the situation and he advised:
If this Little One wasn't able to fly properly, distance for migration would present a problem for him. He might not be able to make the distance. And with wing trouble, reaching and maintaining speed to escape predators was questionable at best. There was a chance that, between migration from the cold AND the presence of predators, sending him back out might be detrimental. As this gentleman put it "If it's something you might be interested in or willing to do, it looks like you two are together now."
Oh! There was NO question about my "interest" or "willingness". I certainly hadn't "rescued" this Little LIFE only to put him back into a situation where, at this juncture, he'd be even MORE threatened! The thought of him having survived the initial torture, and THEN, bringing him "back" only to return him to a situation where he might be RE-TORTURED... NO! My health wasn't all that great and I didn't know how much "time" I had but what-ever time I had would be his now. I'd dedicated my every breathing moment to making sure that he was attended to, to the very best of my abilities and capabilities. (When I'd gone to a local neighbour who'd worked with the local chapter of the "Audubon Society" and was known, locally as "the birdman", the only response I received was:
"It's not endangered. It's not a raptor. Nobody's going to want to do anything so, put it in a box with some paper, in a dark area and make it as comfortable as possible for... what-ever."
Yeah? Well, now I HAD to do more than that, but for ME! Now I HAD to get ME in shape, in better health, to make sure that I could KEEP this Little One as safe and comfortable and healthy as possible... for "whatever" time I had! And so, my daily existence was swiftly turned round, completely.
The "negativity" of my thoughts, the "waiting for God" attitude, the simply taking nourishment solely to ward off hunger and thirst as I sat, waiting for that one time I'd "lay me down to sleep" for the last time all vanished! My medical had to be attended-to! My "grocery list" had to change to "healthy", issues had to be addressed, and this hideous little house that I took to rent simply to have a shelter against the elements, a place to "die" in, had to be re-arranged. AND, I needed to furnish what was a "catch-all" room... appropriately, to make it a "home"... for this new, AMAZING, ASTONISHING little LIFE! It wasn't then, and still isn't, about me and my "comforts"... I "saved" this Little One and now, this Little One has come to understand that I'm not an "enemy", I'm not a "predator", that my entire heart, spirit, my reason for "being" was (and still is) ALL about his safety, health, well-being. HE KNEW! AND HE TRUSTED ME!
I headed for a doctor, opened up with all of my concerns, honestly. I told him that I NEEDED, INSISTED UPON treating what needed treating. I HAD TO HAVE, AT THE VERY LEAST, ANOTHER 5 YEARS of good health and strength and WE had to ensure that that happened... AT LEAST 5 YEARS... AT LEAST!
And so, 5 years ago, my diet changed, the house-keeping changed, my attitude toward "Creation" changed... vitamins, proteins, carbs, my menu changed. I needed to keep ME in best-possible condition so that I could provide and maintain an environment where this Little One would always be in "best-possible condition".
I knew NOTHING, other than the basics, on WHAT to provide for this Little Guy. My time was dedicated to searching for every bit of information I could find. Thanks to the internet, I located several "avian veterinarians". NONE of them close. I made telephone calls to each one. As the neighbour stated, none had any interest. Some said, out-right, "We don't handle that type of bird." Others said "We don't handle birds any more." None would even offer the slightest advice! SO? With the help of the internet, I headed out, GLOBALLY! There was a veritable plethora of information out there, and SO MUCH of it contradicted information from one source to the next. AND, what made it more difficult, I wasn't facing a "store-bought", common human-raised little LIFE... THIS was "wild" and there was even LESS information available! Canary, budgie, finch, parakeet, doves of other sorts... and all of the information was based on birds raised, generation after generation by humans. I had to spin away from "pets" and into "scientific". "Ornithology"!
So, I was thrown into a world of "scientific" studies, charts and graphs, the muscles and skeletons of birds of all sorts (mostly LARGE), and the claims of the "experts". There were "tests" and "licenses" and "certifications"... I decided that the best and quickest way to learn what I NEEDED to know was to study for the tests, take them, see if I passed. I didn't care about the "papers", those "licenses" or "certifications". Papers in frames were useless. What I needed was the information. So I was off, on a tangent, a binge, a maniacal (in the clinical sense) endeavour! As this Little Guy improved, I kept finding new questions... and, with tenacity, found answers... so many answers!
Binders filled with print-outs of screen-shots, "documents", claims, "white papers", charts, graphs, illustrations.
I went into "dietary" requirements, "housing" and "entertainment" habits and requirements. Information contradicted, supported, presented "new" and "fresh". This Little Guy needed all sorts of nutrition that would be different from and some-what limited in comparison to what he'd have in his natural habitat. I needed to find seeds (primarily) that he'd enjoy eating that would provide the nutritional needs. The variety would be limited and very different from the wild flowers and such of the wood-lands and meadows. I needed to find "things" that would provide the visual and audio stimulation that he'd have in the wild. I was back to the internet... Food sources (which, today, include mixes from across the Atlantic), "toys", most of them made from elements in the local wood-lands. Perches, branches of trees in flower pots to mimic the trees in the wild. And space to fly! Space to spread and use those wings to the best of his ability!
Today? Five years later, this old house is now HIS old house. The old "catch-all" room has become the space in which I reside, "be". The rest of the house is sparsely furnished with only the basis necessities. But what's become "Yonah's room" is furnished... like a complete "studio flat" (save the kitchen area).
I built a "futon-of-sorts" to fit in his room between and under book-cases and shelves. There's a new desk where I spend most of my waking hours. I sleep on the futon. I work (mostly on this Journal and searching for even more information - medical and all other - on mourning doves and other birds) at the desk. We have music. We watch videos on what's become "Yonah's lap-top", because he enjoys resting on the key-board next to the screen on that one. It's the room that receives the best sun-light during the day and is farthest from the on-coming head-lights of what little traffic we have out-side. The windows are "dressed" to make the most of the day-light and block the most intruding light at night. I painted over the "off-blue" that was on the walls when I moved in. A coat of white gives them a brighter colour with just the slightest trace of "blue"... mimicking the sky. His "house" is a "large dog crate" with a door that opens wide, holds proper perches cut from local maples, with a "pool" (a large glass baking dish) and two little "trees".
Yonah, as I've given him a name instead of referring to him as "it", has completely changed this room, this old house, my existence, my life, my being.
What we have today, 5 years later, bears no resemblance to any time prior. And me? I STILL hold myself HUMBLED, PRIVILEGED, HONOURED. BLESSED, GIFTED in more ways that I could possibly ever enumerate.
And now... 12.05 with the sun POURING in through the windows... another morning has slipped by and the Little LOVE has been basking in that sun-shine and warmth on the little section of his house that is his "beach" and it's time for me to get to our lunch! We have a routine, schedule... and, well... we're off. I'll catch-up after we eat. (Eating lunch is another facet of my life that is completely due to Yonah... I need nourishment to keep healthy to be able to keep house and shelter for him.)
OK SO NOW... it's already 15.13 (that "13") and we've had our morning, our lunch AND our snooze, which I too alone this after-noon again. And this morning's sun-shine is being hidden behind a sky covered in clouds. Thankfully, the room is at 24° so we're comfy. And the Little Guy is making with the nest-coo's in his loft after quite the after-noon of flying about the room. So let me get to the "Last night" and this morning:
After the "reconnaissance flight" to check on me, I managed to get back into the room to settle both of us for the night. My "sleeper Companion" was on his roof-top, on his platform, when I arrived, waiting for me. So I got right to the business of settling the futon for me as I started our evening lullabies, intentionally trying to keep them calm and soft and soothing. Needless to say, I "rushed" to get the futon together because I still expected some kind of shenanigans but there were none! He was tired. He was ready to tuck-in and waited until I got to him. And as I picked up the platform for the ride home, he "arranged" his feathers all the while, as if nothing "unusual" was happening as he "floated along", through the air. I even sneaked in a little kiss and it didn't phase him in the least. He just kept right on with his "task-at-wing", as it were.
As is "protocol", the platform touched at the perch and he simply stepped from one to the other and was quite obviously, content to be where he was supposed to be. He actually settled right away! So I kept on with the lullabies and got the room settled and me to the futon.
I made it almost through "Turtle Dove" but as I started the last verse... "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo". So I stopped singing to "chat" for a moment. A couple exchanges of "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"s and... I went on to the German lullabies which, I'd almost swear, he prefers because as I sang those, I could SEE him, snuggling and tucking his little head between his wings for the night.
The last light? Off at 21.00... a bit later than I'd intended but fairly close. I have to try better to gt us tucked-in and lights off closer to 20.45. Winter hours are approaching quickly and we'll be "ready to sleep" earlier.
This morning, I was still very much asleep when the BEAUTIFUL "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo", soft and sweet and clear, woke me. And when I answered "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo?" he answered, right away with another clear "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" and then another. As I got up from the futon, he changed to "woo-HOO"... not quite the "demanding" sort (like last night) and not quite a calm nest-coo, but he repeated them several times as I got up. It was more as though he was letting me know that he was quite awake and ready to go!
I got up, opened the door to his house, "went in" for "Good morning" kisses and this morning, i actually got a face FULL of KISSES! SO! Some-birdy was in GOOD spirits on this Sunday morning! (And so was I!)
I was off to put the kettle on, serve breakfast to the Yardie. It was "brisk" this morning but it was a chilly 8° out-side, but the sky was clear and held hope for a good day ahead. I got things set-up for my morning coffee and went back into the room to remove boards and open curtains and blinds and gave another try for more kisses... I got a few pecks but the Little LOVE made it obvious: morning was here and it was time to get to it! I did... and as quickly as I could get the curtains and blinds open, he was over to his food shelf perch and ready to GO!
When I looked to check, as I do every morning, there were 14 poops this morning and I, being so irresponsible, forgot to put down the "poopie rug" so they were quite scattered about under the night roost. The paper on that tray for that "quarter" of his house, got changed, not that it truly "needed" because the poops were healthy and not moist so there were no "halos", so I got a good look at all of them and, happily, all of them were quite healthy! Nothing "out of the ordinary", I'm comforted to say. And now, we're looking to tomorrow for a bit of "major over-haul house-keeping".
This morning was a bit "hectic" though. The intake for the fountain has been "dripping" and I can't figure out why. It just started and the tubing was still "fresh" but... I decided to work with and on it to try to stop the dripping. I even cut a new piece of tubing but (even as I type now), it's still "tapping" in the catch-bucket. But it meant we went through all of the regular "water run" THRICE this morning. And I could see, when I drained the pool for the third time, the "change" was noticed. The Little Supervisor took to the perch directly over the pool and stared down as I drained and filled. It makes me wonder just how much "detail" of a day's routine he actually does notice... I wouldn't doubt he "notes even the most minute" variations. I've read that birds, especially "wild", prefer familiarity in their surroundings, and I've noticed a change in the Yardies when I change anything in their yard. So... three times of emptying and filling the pool? Well then.
But at least we know the water was clean.
After all that was done, I got me to the desk and started to get on with "things house-hold" and as is obvious, got quite carried into "reminiscing" and making for quite the "intro" on today's entry. Between that and the other matters of things, the whole of the morning went "wooshing" by, as "time" tends to do any more, disrespectful as it can be. And all the while, the Little Guy entertained and amused himself, coming over to me to my shoulder, just to be there, no ear tugs or anything of that sort. Just to "hang out" on my shoulder. And a couple quick flights to the living-room. In fact, it was so comfy, temperature-wise, we actually got to open the front door for quite the while so... nice out-door air in the house!
The rest, as they say, is "history"... And now... 15.47, he's still in his loft and I'm up to start putting something together to call "dinner". The sun isn't about to make a return, and, in fact, the "news" (which we've had running from since lunch, as usual) is calling for quite the storms to our South. The forecast for tomorrow is "rain", so ... loos like we've got another day together...
Strangely... 5 years ago tomorrow, it was a cold and rainy, dark day...
Impossible but true: 18.58 already! The world out-side the window is already "black" and the Little Crooner is on his roof-top, singing the "Evening Serenade"... "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo.... woo-HOO!" Water in his pool is fresh and clean, the fountain is pouring along. The rest of the house is settled for the night. Another day has managed to escape... and as always, all too soon. The temperature in the room is down to 23° from the 25° we had during the day when the sun shone in through the windows. But tonight, rain. Tomorrow... "rain". THAT keeps striking me because of the 13th October 2020... when it rained. And that tomorrow is our "5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY", a commemoration that is truly the epitome of "bitter-sweet" is also, in the U.S. "Columbus Day" holiday and in Canada, to the North, *THANKSGIVING* one of us here, will be acknowledging the "Thanksgiving" and I can only hope that BOTH of us will be. It's been 5 years and I'll never know, for certain, that my intervention was for the better, I'll never know with any certainty that I've given this Little LIFE a "better Life". But, if nothing else, I know that he wasn't left alone, on that dreary day, in that little dark space under the stairs, to slowly suffer until he died... alone.
And seeing him now, all snuggled on his own roof-top, safe, knowing that tonight will be chilly out there and raining again, knowing that tomorrow, although 5 years ago he lived through an experience perhaps worse than Hell, he won't be out there, again, in the cold and rain, well... This might not be the world he was intended to be in, but he's been safe for these 5 years. his life expectancy was, on average, 18 months. In a "good scenario" maybe 24. 5 years is considered "very good". And yes, mourning doves have been known to live 20 years, but, after all the damage that he suffered... even if he HAD managed to heal "out there", another month was hardly likely.
And when I remember how nobody cared, not even the "veterinarians" who allegedly studied and made a life of saving these Little Ones, maybe it's best that they didn't get to see him. I studied the texts that are required to have a "state-issued license" to save these Little Lives and according to those, no doubt, those who are supposed to "save" would have, more than likely, simply "put him out of his misery", calling it "euthanasia"... "mercy killing". They would have "snuffed" this Little Life who, this evening, sings, with a clear and strong and wonderful voice, his "Evening Serenade" from his roof-top, of his own little "house", in his own room (well, "shared", as it is), in a house that's questionable but provides protection from the winds, the cold, and the rains... and snows and ice of Winter.
I don't "know" but I venture to suppose that yes, his "life" is a "LIFE" and I've done well for and by him.
That said, hopefully tonight we'll both get a nice, peaceful, restful sleep, in comfort.
As for the rest of the day today, I managed to get a little more caught-up with the editing of this Journal. I'd hoped to have it completely ready to re-launch but, there was much more than I'd expected. I wanted to have a preliminary "5-Year Video" prepared, but tomorrow is the date and I'd want to include that anyway, with photos. Sadly, there won't be sun-shine pouring in through the windows for photos and videos, but, again, oddly, the weather will be the same as it was 5 years ago so...
And now, I'm about to get me prepared to settled down for the night with the Little Guy. And I'm very much aware that there's still time for him to pull a few stunts. I haven't closed the windows up for the night yet and when I do (when I finish typing this)... we shall see.
19.53 The house is settled. The windows are closed. I'm in sleep-wear. Evening ablutions are complete. The Little Guy has had his night snack and... the joke on me... as I sat at the desk to type, he headed up to the curtain rod over his alcove! And making with the nest coo's! (I managed to get a little video tonight too!) But I'm impressed, being this far ahead. (Now I HOPE for a peaceful night and rest!)
The memories of 5 years ago, tonight... at this hour, I was sitting at the kitchen table with a tall glass of vodka-tonic, munching on a bag of crisps, closing some social media nonsense and turning to re-re-re-runs of viewing old British comedies, waiting for the vodka to kick in so that I could thrown myself on the bed and hopefully fall asleep for the night... for the "duration". I had no purpose. My existence served no purpose. I dreaded every night, praying each one would be the last. I'd cursed every morning when I'd realised that I was awake and had to suffer another day. It was always miserable, every moment of it. My number 1 item on a shopping list was another large bottle of vodka. My "market" list was a bottle of tonic and a bag of crisps. 5 years ago, tonight, I had NO idea... the next morning would bring me crashing into an entirely different reality, a purpose.
And tonight, 5 years later, my Purpose is watching me from the end of a curtain rod, at my right side, waiting... either to be brought "home" to his night roost or... well... there's no telling what to expect. I would have never guessed, never imagined.
I don't know who saved which life, but then again, he didn't "save" my life... he's GIVEN me a "LIFE"... something I'd honestly never had before. All of my time here had been an "existence". I didn't care. I took risks, almost hoping each one would be my last. Drugs. Drinking. Being in The City, riding subways at all hours, often drunk, sleeping on the rails. What-ever happened, I'd take it more as a curiosity, a challenge, to see if I'd make it through. From the bars to homelessness. Walking about. Hitch-hiking from The City to the Hudson Valley. I just never really cared.
But in these 5 years, I've cared... not for me, directly, but for another LIFE, and my Life and health because I need to be healthy and ready and able to provide for this... my HEART-AND-SOUL!
What a time... what a time... And now that it makes a difference and has a purpose, I'm aging, things are going crazy. From the wear on the old lungs to the "growth on the gall bladder, the damage to the "rotator cuff" and now... this "MRI of the prostate" because of elevated "PSA" and the "BPH". NOW, when there's meaning, purpose and "LIFE"... I'm a rather bit of a mess tonight, worrying about getting to the MRI, what they're going to find, what they're going to say need be done about it. I'm HOPING (as I do now), that if "intervention" is needed, it will be a matter of "pills at home". The notion of being away from my Heart-and-Soul for 5 hours on Wednesday is tearing me apart. The notion of a possible "over-night stay" in hospital makes me physically ill. Thinking of him, alone, in this house, no "night music", no lullabies, alone in the night... I can't think about it now... Now, I have to do what I believe he does: take the time at hand, live in this moment... We're together, the house is settled and calm... and we're going to tuck-in before 21.00! Tomorrow? Well, we can't change yesterday and we have only limited control over tomorrow, and even then, we can't control it until it becomes "today"... so on that, I'm going to (try to) close today's entry and look forward to tomorrow... Maybe we'll get to clean his house up properly and get on with all the other "people nonsense" of the day. I should make a quick-run errand in the morning... on a rainy 13 October... we shall see... we shall see.
20.15 and... he's on his door perch... Maybe a tuck-in?
20.25 Silly me... "Maybe tuck-in". Oh no... we're having that "Last minute play time"... HE SO reminds me of the little child who, when it's time to get to bed at the end of the day, suddenly has to use the bath-room, get a drink of water, finds something that needs to be attended. So WE had to have a little "Play-time" with the "Futon Flock"... with "Kisses, good night" for the big white dove! MANY kisses "good night" for the big white dove... but I see that's finished and so, we'll give it another try. The saga continues... tomorrow?
("Tomorrow"... )
💛MONDAY 13 OCTOBER * THANKSGIVING * PEACE AGREEMENT IN THE MIDDLE EAST *💛
💛5 YEARS TOGETHER💛
16.00 and I'm only just getting to sit and recount the day we've had... TOGETHER... FIVE YEARS AFTER THIS LITTLE LOVE, THIS LITTLE LIFE WAS ABANDONED BY SO VERY MANY, SO VERY MANY, EVEN THOSE WHO ALLEGEDLY CLAIM TO CARE FOR AND ABOUT THESE LITTLE LIVES! And SO against SO MANY ODDS AGAINST HIM, FROM BEING SO VICIOUSLY, BRUTALLY ATTACKED MY A CAT THAT DIDN'T BELONG IN THE YARD WHERE HE WAS LOOKING FOR FOOD TO THE DOCUMENTATION OF "EXPERTS" WHO TELL THAT, IN THE WILD, THE "AVERAGE" LIFE-SPAN OF A MOURNING DOVE IS A MERE 18 MONTHS, MAYBE 2 YEARS, AND IN RARE CIRCUMSTANCES, 5 YEARS. I had NO idea WHAT I should have done for this PRECIOUS LITTLE LIFE, to dress his wounds, to assure him that I wanted NOTHING but to make him whole again, with-out pain or suffering. I had NO notion what I could have done, should have done, had to do. I was ALONE with him. He was ALONE with me. Those days were dark. Those nights were heavy. I couldn't imagine what this LITTLE LIFE was thinking, in that miserable little wire-mesh box, in the house of a HUMAN, a "predator", a "threat" to his life! I wanted, with my ALL, to be able to tell him how much LOVE I had for him then, how so VERY much I wanted to help him heal, to be strong and healthy again, to assure him that I would NEVER allow ANY harm to come to him EVER again. I can STILL feel the 'weight" of those nights, how "deaf" I was to the world, removed. I was SO saddened, looking at the little feathered body, the limp leg, the injured wing. I was SO angry with those who let that other animal lose to come to where it wasn't wanted or welcome, where it didn't belong, leave their house, their property, to come HERE, to THIS house, to inflict such suffering on a little LIFE that was here only to take nourishment on a cold, wet October morning! And I was SO AFRAID for him, for his life. And today, I STILL recall, as if it happened moments ago, laying in my bed at night, hand pressed against our adjoining wall, and PRAYING to something I don't know, a "being", a "force", to give ME the suffering, pain, fears, injuries so that this Little One could LIVE, happily and healthy again! It's ALL still so clear, so close.
But now? Today? HERE HE IS... NOW RESTING IN HIS LOFT IN HIS HOUSE IN HIS ROOM IN A HOUSE THAT IS NOW, ESSENTIALLY HIS, HIS REFUGE, HIS PROTECTION WHERE HE HAS FOOD, CLEAN WATER, A LITTLE POOL TO DRINK FROM OR BATHE IN AS HE CHOOSES. Out-side, a light rain has been falling, now and then, all through the day. It's been over-cast, dreary, grey, cool but not cold, but "Autumnal". The Little Ones of the wild have come and gone to eat the food I now put on trays for them, in a fenced yard so they're protected as they eat, from predators of all sorts... avian and mammalian. Yes, I still wish THIS Little One could have gone back to his flock, find a mate, raised a few families. It's the one regret that I hold, over the years. I regret that there aren't more "Yonahs" out there. He's strong, stoic and OH, SO BRILLIANT! But, the point of fact is: HE'S ALIVE AND WELL. And he's safe. And those who have seen his "residence" all say the same thing: he couldn't possibly have it better. (Oh yes he could. He COULD have the WORLD to travel, and other mourning doves to communicate with. But I do suppose, considering what "could" have happened to him out there, 5 years ago, in the rain, alone, yes, he does have it quite good... Nothing close to what I wish I could provide but, with what we have, we're "OK". And he certainly doesn't appear to be regretful or resentful. I have to accept what we have... TOGETHER!) AND FIVE YEARS... AND COUNTING!
I know the moment will come when we no longer have the "TOGETHER". Each and every day I'm aware of that fact. Neither of us is "eternal". And with my current health being so questionable as I age, into my 70th year... imagine... 70 years... a time span that no known mourning dove has ever known. As I age and "parts" go "wrong", it weighs on my mind and spirit, because I HAVE A REASON AND EXCUSE to LIVE, and in my 70 years, I've come to see how "life" is taken from those who want it most, I HAVE to be here, to make sure that Yonah has ALL that he's come to know and grown comfortable in and with. I don't KNOW that there is anybody else who has the time, who would dedicate the time to him. So I MUST be "here" for him... one way or another. But at that moment when he's not "here"... it won't be long before I join him. I won't bother with a world with-out him.
BUT... right now, for now... for the sake of this Journal, I add here, today, on this, OUR 5TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY, "THANKSGIVING" (in Canada) and what the rest of the world will remember as the day a "PEACE AGREEMENT" HAS BEEN SIGNED IN THE MIDDLE EAST, ISRAELI HOSTAGES HAVE COME HOME AFTER BEING CAPTIVE FOR MORE THAN 2 YEARS IN THEIR OWN HELL...
Our last night was a "fun trip home". When I got back into the room to settle, as we do of an evening, I had to take the computers out of the room and the Little Guy was on the desk, oh, just "hanging out" there, waiting for his silly human to do what silly humans do at the close of a day. And he wasn't making ANY indication of having ANY intention of heading to the roost for the night. So I brought the platform down, from his roof-top and placed it on the desk beside him, and I watched, wondering if he'd hop on, Oh but no. he looked at it, looked at me and then went on with his little "preenings". So I brought the platform to the edge of the desk thinking maybe the position would make it easier for him. Well? It took a little while, and a couple of "looks" and then, indeed and sure enough, he stepped onto it and... we were up, up and off to home. All the while, I was singing "Autumn Leaves". I'd even turned the "night music" off thinking THAT might make a "hint".
En route, I tried to sneak in a kiss but, the Little Character wasn't having kisses. He was on his "chariot", the time was passing and sleep was next on the agenda.
No sooner had I gotten him into his house, he HOPPED from the platform to the perch! Oh yeah, he wanted to get to sleep!
So, with no further delays, I managed to get in a few kisses as he settled on his perch and... the room, the place, the space, the world was settled for the night. I took to the futon, still singing our lullabies for the night.
From the pillow, I could see the Little LOVE snuggle-down, his little head resting between his wings. By the time I got finished, he was quite settled, and so was I. The last light was turned off at 21.00... even in spite of me being ready earlier.
This morning? Oh, I woke at about 5.20 and was tempted to get up and get to the day but, it being a holiday, AND OUR ANNIVERSARY, I decided to stay on the futon and wait a while longer. But when I looked at the clock and saw 6.00, I got up and headed to the kitchen to put the kettle on, thinking I might get some of the day's "tasks" started. I didn't close the door, but didn't turn any lights on in the kitchen. I made my way around in such silence until...
7.07 I was in the kitchen when the house was FILLED with the "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" of the "morning call to order"! WE WERE BOTH AWAKE AND HERE... TOGETHER... FIVE YEARS AFTER I'D GIVEN ME UP FOR "GONE" AND THE WORLD HAD FORSAKEN THIS LITTLE LIFE!
I had no time to get back into his room... the coo's kept coming! Even when I called to say that I was on my way in, the Little LOVE had SO MUCH to say this morning! My heart and my soul were DANCING! Of all the days... I just couldn't help but marvel. We were FINE, TOGETHER, it was just another day! The grey and drear out-side weighed on my soul though. The fact that today, as 5 years ago today, was the same weather was just too "close to heart".
When I finally got back into the room, I opened his house slowly again, this morning. If there had been a way to remove the night boards and open the curtains and blinds with-out moving his house, I would have done that. But, unfortunately, the way things are here, I had to do our "rollie-rollings", as I call moving his house. In fact, I make sure that I say "rollie-rollings" before moving his house. He recognises the expression so it gives him the chance to "adjust" accordingly, on his perch. (I don't know where the expression came from. I just said it once and it stuck.)
When I popped my head in for a "Good morning" kiss, there was a GRAND WING-STRETCH AND THEN KISSES! MULTIPLE KISSES! AND ALL ACCOMPANIED BY EVEN MORE "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo"s! The regular morning "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" had changed to the longer coo's and we exchanged those, back and forth, all the while I opened the windows to the dim morning light. And as soon as both windows were open, the Little Guy hopped over to his food-shelf perch over his pool and continued with his morning serenade! It was QUITE the chatty morning!
And, for THIS morning's "POOP-CHECK"... 14 FOURTEEN of them! Slightly scattered on the "rug" beneath the night roost, but NO stains, no "greens", no "halos"... and the more recent poops were "moist", not wet! The "dark" was a healthy slightly-greenish brown. The urea was white and "formed", as it should be. So, last night was a good, restful night and the tummy was in perfect shape!
I couldn't help but think of the poops on the night of the 13th 2020... SO WET! SO GREEN! SO... well... after all the HELL that the Little Guy had gone through, it was no wonder. I did know that they weren't "proper" or "healthy", but then, I had NO idea HOW MUCH those poops were telling me. And I do remember that they were "wet" and watery for a couple of days after. BUT... here we are, 5 years later... THIS LITTLE GUY IS STRONGER THAN MIGHT BE IMAGINED! (As if I need say so.)
It didn't take but another moment's time and he was UP AND OUT and off to the futon... Good morning to
Burdie-Birdie and the Futonflock (or, Burdie-Birdie and the Futonettes?)
Whilst the "chatting" continued on the futon, I got to the morning water change and this morning, ran it thrice as I checked for any "leaks" at the pump. Gladly, none this morning. Not sure how or why but I'm not questioning. Just so happy that the leak was gone.
When done, we had a little bit of play-time with Burdie, on the futon before I headed out to the kitchen. I had a bit of cooking to get done this morning so...
18.30 already... SO much happens during the course of a day and I have to say that I regret that today went along as a "usual" day. We had the UV light on too. The clouds stayed. The drizzle came and went. The temperature managed to get up to 11° but that was the "high" for the day. We couldn't have gone out anyway, between the drizzle and the chill. (And I SURELY WOULD NOT HAVE THIS LITTLE ONE OUT IN A DRIZZLE... MORE-SO ON THIS DATE!)
Cooking this morning ran us into lunch time and I was "reminded" with a "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" and a hop up to food. Honestly! This Little One has OUR routine and OUR schedule down! So his lap-top came into his room, set for the day's news which was, well... considering OUR anniversary, AMAZING!
As we watched, it struck me:
WITH THIS "PEACE ACCORD" IN THE MIDDLE EAST, THE 13TH OF OCTOBER TAKES ON SUCH A NEW IMPORTANCE.
IMAGINE: 5 YEARS WITH THIS LITTLE DOVE, 5 YEARS AFTER HE WAS ABANDONED BY SO MANY, HE'S STILL HERE, ALIVE AND WELL, SAFE AND SOUND AND IN THE MIDDLE EAST, A "PEACE AGREEMENT" WITH SO MANY NATIONS PARTICIPATING. AND THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES SAYING "IT TOOK 3000 YEARS TO GET TO THIS POINT"... AND IT HAPPENED ON YONAH'S ANNIVERSARY! "PEACE"... A "DOVE"... A "MOURNING DOVE". "PEACE". (I wonder what message there is in this... if any.)
I still had the errand to run but wanted to take our daily snooze and, as I wrapped up our lunch, my "Social Director/Su-bird-visor" headed right to the futon! Oh yes, it was time to snooze. BUT, strangely, no sooner had I gotten onto the futon, alarm set for 30-minutes, he was up and away and off to his loft! He didn't stay with me for the snooze this after-noon. BUT, BUT, BUT... the alarm sounded, 30 minutes later AND THEN HE CAME RUSHING OVER, LANDED ON MY LEG AND SNUGGLED RIGHT DOWN, ALL COSY! I got an extra 15 minutes... and I wasn't at all in the least bit concerned. Sure, there was an errand to run but hey, there's tomorrow for that. Today was OUR day.
Still, as I say, 15 minutes later, the Little LOVE was up again, hopped off my leg, toddled about the futon, hopped onto my chest as if telling me "You're time is up. Gotta go." and so... I was up, threw my-self together and BOLTED for the door to RUN!
The errand took all of about 20 minutes and I was back... it was still only 14.10! MADE IT!
We were back together, where we were meant to be today.
So, with the rest of the time, I caught-up with the "tasks" that I postponed this morning... and the Little LOVE took to his loft, by his window, to look out on the still-dreary day out there. Me? I was comforted and consoled in seeing him so calm, dry, warm, in his own territory, familiar, safe surroundings.
At 17.00 we had our dinners together. Yes, as I ate mine at the desk, he ate his at his shelf... but THEN...
THEN... AS I STARTED THE WASHING-UP IN THE KITCHEN, THERE WERE CALLS OF "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo". THE EVENING SERENADE HAD BEGUN. BUT THIS EVENING, I WENT BACK INTO HIS ROOM AND REACHED OUT TO THE LITTLE LOVE WHO WAS ON THE FLOOR OF HIS HOUSE AND HE GAVE ME A COUPLE OF "SNAPPY" WING-SNAPS SO I PICKED HIM UP AND PLACED HIM ON MY SHOULDER. I WAS WEARING THE SHERPA THAT HE SEEMS TO LIKE SO VERY MUCH, AND I HEADED BACK OUT TO THE BASIN AND... HE STAYED WITH ME ALMOST TO THE VERY END OF WHAT I HAD TO DO! I EVEN WENT OUT TO THE LIVING-ROOM TO TURN THE LIGHT ON OUT THERE, IN CASE HE MIGHT WANT TO GO TO HIS TREE BUT HE STAYED WITH ME AND CAME BACK INTO THE KITCHEN, IN THE HOOD OF MY SWEAT-SHIRT! WE WERE SO VERY REALLY MUCH "TOGETHER" THIS EVENING AND FOR ME... I EVEN COMMENTED TO HIM:
I NEVER WOULD HAVE THOUGHT WE'D HAVE THIS TIME, THIS EVENING, BACK THEN.
I AM TRULY SO VERY BLESSED, HONOURED, PRIVILEGED, HUMBLED! AND... AS ALWAYS, STILL IN ABSOLUTE...
***** AWE *****
Now? 18.57 and I have to get the evening water run done. My HEART-AND-SOUL is beside me, on his lap-top, on the desk, having a little preen and snooze! Out-side the sky is already dark. Our day is closing and we're in the same room that I'd given to this Little LIFE, 5 years ago tonight but WHAT a difference in it! Then, it was a make-shift "office/catch-all". The furnishings, as they were, were thrown together. It was sparse and empty. Tonight, it's a "home"... for BOTH of us. I spend most of my waking hours in here, I take my meals and sleep here. This is Yonah's room, his house... and OUR space in the world where we're together... awake and sleeping. SO MUCH has transpired and changed over these 5 years... I'm looking forward to the years ahead... how-ever many they might be... WITH my HEART-AND-SOUL...
19.31 Waters are changed, the house is settled and the Little Guy has had his nightly snack... AS I RAN THE WATER CHANGE! It's all become common to him now that he simply goes on about his business and I go on about mine. WHAT A DIFFERENCE... It's all I keep thinking about this evening... comparing our dark, heavy, stark world together then and tonight, the house furnace running, the room comfortably warm. And the UV light off. This is HIS world... and he's very much a part of it.
I'm about to head to the kitchen for my evening ablutions and closing our Anniversary Day!
Tomorrow night will be "heavy" for me again. The anxieties of Wednesday. And I saw, earlier, that the whole ordeal of the MRI could be and hour or even TWO! I'll be away by 10.00... the appointment is for 12.30. The drive will be at least 2 hours each way... I might bot be back until... 15.30 or even make it back just in time for dinner! THE ENTIRE DAY! Even now, I'm physically sick, thinking about it. We'll miss lunch. We'll miss "snooze". But, on the better side, at least this is only during the day and not an "over-night". I'll be here to tuck in and sing lullabies when we get to settle back down. And the follow-up appointment is 10.30 on Monday so I'll be out at about 9.00 and likely back for lunch. Better to go through this now and avoid having to be away over-night or for "days". (I'm not sure which one of us will handle it worse... but I know my own anxieties are, already, WAY up and getting out of hand.)
Once again, I'm reminded of the lessons of my Little Professor, Mentor and Heart-and-Soul:
Live for the moment at hand... the rest will handle itself and... this too, shall pass.
I have to be in best-possible health for Yonah for as long as... (as they said 5years ago). This is all part of that. And it could be a lot worse. I'm driving me to and from. No waiting for some "service". And not being dragged out... This too shall pass, and all will be "normal" again.
20.29 and I'm closing computers and heading in for a night's rest. I can't believe this day has passed all so too quickly... So too... these FIVE YEARS! But my HEART-AND-SOUL is on his night roost already and it's later than I'd hoped we'd get tucked-in so...
HERE'S TO OUR FIVE YEARS TOGETHER, AGAINST THE ODDS, CONTRARY TO THE "EXPERTS", TWO DETERMINED LITTLE LIVES, WE'VE DONE IT! I NEVER WOULD HAVE... WITH-OUT YONAH. I DON'T KNOW IF HE'D HAVE WITH-OUT ME, BUT THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS... HERE WE ARE... TOGETHER... AND WE HAVE MADE IT! MY ONE DEEPEST REGRET:
TODAY WE HAVE FIVE YEARS OF "YESTERDAYS"... I DON'T KNOW IF WE'LL HAVE FIVE YEARS OF "TOMORROWS", BECAUSE EVERY "YESTERDAY" IS A TRADE-OFF FOR ANOTHER "TOMORROW".
💛💛💛💛💛IT'S BEEN AN AMAZING FIVE YEARS...💛💛💛💛💛
Tuesday 14 October:
6.15 and here I am, at the kitchen table and can't say why. The Little Guy is asleep, in his house, the world out-side is still quite dark but another day, "ein anderer Tag", as we say at night.
But last night was "one of those" where, Yonah had taken himself home for the night. BUT...
HOW WE PLAYED, SO MUCH, WHEN I'D DONE CLOSING THE BLINDS AND CURTAINS AND WENT TO PUT UP THE BACK-BOARD! HE'D BEEN ON HIS ROOF-TOP, ON HIS PLATFORM AND CAME RUSHING BACK AS THE BOARD GOT HOOKED-ON! AND OH! THE "CHASING" OF MY HAND AS I TRIED TO GET THE BOARD "JUST SO"! THE ATTACKS! THE WING-SNAPS! THAT LITTLE "LOOK" WHEN MY HAND DISAPPEARED DOWN, BEHIND THE BOARD! AND THEN, WHEN I RAISED MY OTHER HAND TO MY FACE, HE CAME RUSHING TOWARD ME AS IF TO SAY
"DON'T MOVE! THERE'S ANOTHER ONE THERE! I'VE GOT IT!"
I WENT BACK TO PLAYING BEHIND THE BACK-BOARD AND HE WENT RUSHING BACK TO GET THAT WHAT-EVER-IT-IS THAT KEPT POPPING UP TO TICKLE HIM! AND WHEN HE'D HAD ENOUGH, WELL, HE TURNED AWAY, AS HE DOES AND... WE "ROLLIE-ROLLED" HIS HOUSE INTO POSITION FOR THE NIGHT AND I STEPPED OUT TO "SECURE" THE REST OF THE HOUSE THINKING OF HOW SO VERY DIFFERENT HIS ROOM IS FROM 5 YEARS AGO. FROM A DREARY, ALMOST EMPTY, SHODDILY-FURNISHED CATCH-ALL TO A VERITABLE LITTLE HOUSE OF ITS OWN...
RATHER QUITE LIKE MY EXISTENCE... CHANGED TO A "LIFE"... HOW VERY DIFFERENT... HOW SO EVER-SO VERY DIFFERENT... MY HEART-AND-SOUL...
When I went back into his room, after closing the house, he was on his night roost and as I went about preparing the futon for me and settling the room for the night, he stayed there. No "ride home". A part of me was glad for it; he was tired and that was that. Another part of me was saddened; it wasn't our "normal" evening tuck-in. But, it's as I've said, all along: others can claim that mourning doves aren't "considered" (by those who claim) to be amongst the "intelligent" but those who claim, obviously haven't lived, "24/7" over a course of years with one. THIS one is a little GENIUS. He can make his moods, wishes and wants known. The "not-so-intelligent" one is the "human". Yonah has come to understand words and phrases. I've come to hear "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo". So there we have it.
Well, I started "Autumn Leaves" as I went along, as I do of an evening, and as soon as I did, I could see that he was tucking-in. I made my way through setting the futon, dimming the lights, and I popped in, as it were, for a kiss "Good night". Yes, I got three gentle kisses on the face and... it was time. I was on the futon, the room lights were the moon lights and...
As I sang, softly and slowly again, last night, still in such AWE... FIVE YEARS, I watched the little silhouette over my head, tucking HIS little head into his wings for a night's sleep.
When, after "Stille Nacht" I gave the little "Seepie-nigh-night, I LOVE YOOooo", that little "chirp" from years ago that I "brought back" to our nightly routine, he raised his head, looked about a moment and then tucked his head back down for the "closing lullabies"...
AT 21.00, we were both quite settled, tucked-in for the night... the last moon light was turned off.
8.48 and we're in fresh water, which took a little while longer, again this morning, trying to correct the little leak in the fountain plumbing. And so strangely, but, as soon as I started flushing the pool, the Little Character decided that was the perfect time to have breakfast. So, as I flushed the little seeds that had fallen into the pool last night, he added more. We don't have, what they call "poop soup" in the pool... we have "Grain Broth". Silly little LOVE!
Anyway... When I noticed that the time has passed the "7.00" mark, I turned the house lights off and silently opened the door to his room. Yesterday's "call" came at 7.07 so, at 7.06 I thought it OK to open the door and listen.
I managed to make my way to the futon when... at "7.11" (bringing back the lyrics to a 1970's tune by Dianna Ross: "I'm A Winner" that opens with the line "I roll the dice. 7-11. You'll either take me down or you'll take me to Heaven. And I'm SO glad, I took a chance on you, Baby.") came the little "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"! Day 1 of year 6!
When I said "You're awake?" he replied with that soft-but-startled "HOO!" And when I replied with a little "HOO!" he repeated his. Oh, but those went back and forth for what seemed, the longest little while. "HOO!" "HOO!" one to the other. I hesitated, briefly, as I opened the door to his house, before popping in for a "Good morning" kiss and when I did make it "in", he continued the "HOO!" I was SO wondering what that was all about. Everything around us was as normal as is "normal" for our morning. The room was still rather dark. Out-side was over-cast (thankfully, not cold though). But nothing out of the ordinary.
I managed to get in a little kiss of my own as he stayed on the night roost, but the "HOO!" kept coming until...
I started singing... "Let's Face The Music and Dance"... and then changed to "Autumn Leaves". And as soon as I started "Autumn Leaves"... "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo". And when I replied with a "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo" the "HOO!"s changed to "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo". So, I still have NO idea what those "startled" coo's were about but... we were back to a "regular" conversation and so, with that, I got 3 little kisses on the face and we opened house and windows to a new day.
Water changes and the "regular morning routine" done now, the Little Guy is FULL of all sorts of energy! Coo'ing and flying about the room! He's on the top of his door as I type. There's been a house FULL of "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"s, and WING-WHISTLES! THEY'RE BACK IN FULL SOUND!
And poops report this morning: 11 just perfectly wonderful little poops, on the "rug", not a trace of "green", water or other-wise. All of them perfectly formed and shaped. Content just as great as could be hoped for. So from the looks of things, last night and this morning were "restful" and healthy!
Day 1 of year 6 and... HERE WE GO! (Now, if we could get some sun-shine, that would be nice.)
AND, this morning, I put in an order for a heating oil delivery! Tomorrow's "high" is expected to be a mere 9°! So, whilst I'm "away" (a thought that's really taking quite a toll on me, over-all... I don't mind saying, because of the HOURS I'll be away and this house will be still and, well, I don't like being away for so long...) the house furnace will be on. We might just use the little electric radiator tonight instead of the furnace, to keep the night's chill out. "Conserve". THIS Little LOVE will NOT have to "fluff his feathers" against a chill! (And thankfully, he'll have his Sweeter Heater at his night roost... in case.)
And now... 9.08, Little Mr. Krazy is on the desk shelf in front of and over-head, preening his little self and we're off to the day ahead!
18.16 already! The last time I looked at the clock, it was 16.00! "Time"... And as i type, my HEART-AND-SOUL is just getting up from his lap-top, beside me, where he'd been snoozing as I had my dinner, little eyes closed and so snuggled there. And a "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" to the little reflection in the mirror behind the lap-top and... UP to his roof-top! Out-side, the sky is darkening. It was such an over-cast day all day, damp, and chilly. The room is at 22° now and it's time to turn the house furnace on. It'll run through tomorrow whilst I'm away.
We didn't get our snooze after lunch today. I was on the phone, discussing this "MRI" with a neighbour who's gone through several and he helped calm my anxieties a touch. But it took our "snooze together" time! So today, our "routine" was disturbed. And tomorrow... tomorrow will be a complete mess.
I'll be on the road by10.00 and if calculations go accordingly, won't be back until.. 16.00! Just in time to put some kind of dinner on the hob! My heart is being pounded by the thoughts of my Little Heart-and-Soul being to him-self for so long. He'll have his bird-songs and the radio for "sounds". But this house will be still and other-wise silent. I'm HOPING he'll eat breakfast and lunch no matter what. I KNOW he's going to miss the "snooze time", the news at noon. But, the fact is: I HAVE to know what's going on with my old body so that I can assure Yonah the time and life I insist he MUST have! He managed to get through his injuries and these 5 years... I owe him ALL the time HE has and I MUST provide ALL that he could possibly need for what-ever years we have together. And going for this now might avoid the need for me to be away, not just for a few hours of one day, but a possible 2 days! So... WE WILL get through this... together, even though apart.
"If I go away, I'll come back again, though I roam 10 thousand miles, my dear...
Though I roam 10 thousand miles."
Now.. water changes and prepare for the night ahead. The sky is grown so dark so quickly. Another day... into our 6th year... May there be at least, another 6 years... for US, BOTH, TOGETHER!
This is difficult but... this too, shall pass.
19.09 Waters changed, the house is settled... AND WE PLAYED WITH THE CURTAIN CRITTER AND THE "BOARD HAND" THIS EVENING! AND JUST AS I TYPE, THERE WAS A QUICK FLIGHT... OUT TO THE KITCHEN AND BACK! The living-room is dark so there was no "visiting at the tree". He SO tickles me when he takes these "Oops" flights! And now I'm being "told". But the PLAY-TIME at closing the windows... the WING-SNAPS AND THE PRANCING! And I brought the "new Beanie" in to see his response to that and when I popped it up from the board, at first he went for it and then... no. But when I put it on his roof-top! WELL! We weren't having ANY of that! He jumped right over, a few pecks on the "beak" and then he turned to look at me as if saying "What's THAT doing on MY roof?" What a FANTASTIC wrap to the day! And SO needed. I swear he KNOWS my anxieties about tomorrow. I only HOPE he doesn't and that his tomorrow will be just like any other. I wish I knew how he perceives time... especially when he's alone in the house. I haven't been away for this long in such a long while. And even when I DID travel to shop or something, 3-4 hours was maximum. Tomorrow? 6 hours! I'm in living Hell tonight. But... hopefully by dinner, all will be as though nothing strange transpired. And at least I'll have time in the morning to do water changes and such.
The shame is that I don't trust this house. It's old. There have been troubles. We have a neighbour who proves to be so selfish, inconsiderate. Even now, at this hour, she's just returned and is "tapping" something against the wall. I'll NEVER understand that... tapping on walls.
This evening too, the Hoover I'd bought for this place, and used only here, so it's only about 6 years old, has broken-down. I've ordered a replacement already, but... maybe the end of the old Hoover means a new place soon. I PRAY! OH! I PRAY!
Right now, off to a quick shower for the night. And then... tucking-in! I hope. And a goon night's rest... I hope, for BOTH of us.
The house furnace is on. It's run briefly to bring the house up from 22 to 24° so we're warm. And Yonah has his Sweeter Heater in case. Fresh water, fresh food today too. We're OK... We're OK.
20.19 I'm showered and the Little LOVE is on the floor of his house, pecking and preening. Night music is on. The house furnace is running. I'm off to ablutions and tucking-in (I think... there's never any assurance... and THAT'S JUST MORE OF WHY I'M SO IN LOVE WITH THIS LITTLE ONE! MY HEART-AND-SOUL!)
20.33 Done with the day and ready to "close shoppe". But... a moment ago, as I was putting things together in the house, I heard, from Yonah's room, repeated "woo-HOO!". Not nest coo's but more of those "HEY YOU!" coo's. When I went into his room to see where he was and what was going on, I looked around... Not in his house, nor on the desk shelf. Not on the wall shelf. No-where to be seen until... I looked behind me and sure enough, there he was, back up on the curtain rod! He's come to like it up there for some reason. And, as he does, he was staring down at me with that "expression" of "Watcha lookin' for?" WHAT a complete LOVE! I managed to reach up and give a little breast-rub and he didn't budge. He almost seemed surprised that I could reach him, all the way up there. And then... WOOSH... he was off to his house, to the roof-top and I've done with our "end of day" stuff... SO... it's back to "our" room to tuck US in for the night... Maybe... The saga continues and more tomorrow. The "woo-HOO!" is now a nest coo...
Wednesday 15 October:
6.57 and here I sit, at the kitchen table, amazed... I've been up for almost an hour on the day I've been dreading for weeks. THIS "MRI" frightens me in OH! so many ways. But as I keep telling me: I NEED to know what's going on... Yonah and I have had 5 years, and if we're to have another, if HE'S to have another 5 years, I NEED to have them too!
The GREAT NEWS of the morning, already: Our AMY will be around during the day and she'll have the keys to this "box o'toxins" and already, this morning, she's agreed to making a "stop by/walk through" on her route! So SOMEBODY Yonah recognises will be here to see him during the day. A friendly voice and a presence in the house, a little "motion". I'm relieved.
Now, to calm me for driving this Jeep and getting me back here this evening. There we have it.
Last night I had pause to wonder:
When I went back into the room for the night, the Little LOVE was on the desk shelf, so I brought the platform over to him and as I did, I could see him, shifting one foot to the other, preparing for the "arrival" of his "chariot". But when I got it to him, instead of hopping on, he just looked at me. It took a moment before he got on and then, as we were heading to the night roost, he took off to his roof-top! So odd.
So I brought the platform up to him and he got on, but when we got to his house, he hesitated for the longest, as though he didn't want to tuck in! When he did get to the night roost, he headed to the other perch closer to the wall with his back to me. No kisses. Well... I managed to get in there, give him a kiss and since I'd already started lullabies, I continued, but with much more feeling and softer.
Seemed to have worked. As he saw me get to the futon, he settled-down and... I made it all through the repertoire and by 21.05... last light was turned off.
I'm hoping he had a restful night because I was up thrice during. So now, I wait for the "call". It's already 7.06. I have time... and so too, does he.
But it's a relief knowing our Amy will be here during the day... SUCH a relief!
7.44 and...
A 7.13 I got up from the table, opened the door to his room, silently, and stepped in to take the bed-linens out to the kitchen to fold them, on the off chance he was still snoozing.
Ever-so softly... that little "HOO!". I took the linens out to the kitchen and... from the room...
The "morning call": "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo".
I went right back in to MORE "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"s! And as I opened the door to his house, SO MUCH CONVERSATION... DIALOGUE this morning! And WING-STRETCHES... AND KISSES... 4 OF THE SOFTEST LITTLE KISSES! AND MORE CONVERSATION!
We chatted a bit whilst I put the room ready for water run and such, and when the windows were open to the drear out-side, he hopped over to his "food shelf" perch and I went into the "running" back and forth under su-bird-vision.
POOPS were 12 PERFECT LITTLE POOPS AND ALL OF THEM UNDER THE NIGHT ROOST! HIS TUMMY IS GOOD, HIS MOOD IS GOOD AND HE HAD A RESTFUL NIGHT! I NEEDED TO KNOW THAT THIS MORNING!
As I say, SO DREARY this morning. And though it's only 9°, it doesn't feel "cold", thankfully.
When I'd done with the water run... HE CAME FLYING OUT TO THE KITCHEN AND HEADED TOWARD THE LIVING-ROOM, BUT IT WAS SO DARK OUT THERE, HE HEADED RIGHT BACK TO HIS HOUSE. OH... IF MY HEART ISN'T HEAVY ENOUGH... HE'S LOOKING ROUND THE HOUSE. I wonder what he'll be doing during the day. I thought, last night, of how he might take a flight round to see if I'm some-where in the house and I won't be! It was SO painful!
And last night, when I sang "Sheiden tut so weh"... it was all the worse. This is one of "those" days and I'm pretty sure nothing will go quickly enough. The trip "to" the med centre will be slow, I'm sure. But the return, I'll be more familiar with the Jeep and hopefully, all will simply roll along smoothly.
I can "hope"... it's all I can do.
8.13 and he's up, out and in the living-room. The house is so dark this morning with the clouds in the sky. And OH! The leaves on the maple across the way are falling! THE AUTUMN LEAVES, DRIFTING BY THE WINDOW! "OCTOBER"... and of all the days... it lends an air of... I don't know what. "Solemnity"? Perhaps. "Trepidation"? Oh yeah. But then, in my current state of mind... I SO DO NOT WANT TO LEAVE HIM ALONE TODAY! I OH! SO DO NOT WANT TO LEAVE HIM TODAY... Were it not for the importance of this "scan" and all the help from Deborah and Amy... I'd just as soon call the whole thing off. But, if I do that today, I'll have to face this on another day. Best get it done, out of the way. (I'm trying to convince me.)
The water run is done. I have the UV light on and the LED desk lamp on. The radio and bird-songs too. A bit of "sound"... and the house furnace is running. He'll be warm and protected from what-ever the day brings. As I think about this, "rain" has always been a harbinger of "good" in my past. May it be so today.
8.23 and my little Heart-and-Soul is still in the living-room. I wonder if the radio bothers him. I just don't know... I just don't KNOW TOO MUCH! But, better a little "sound" than total silence all day. And the radio is on "low volume". And knowing that Amy will be dropping by is a comfort. My Little Guy won't be completely alone ALL through the day... I SO want to cancel this all and just stay with him today.
9.06 The "count-down"... I'm showered. The Little LOVE is in his loft... the sky is still grey but it's not "cold", even with the front door open. And I'm a wreck... but hopefully I'm the only "wreck" of the day.
I DO NOT WANT TO GO! But when I think about it, seriously, every time I go, even for groceries, I DO NOT WANT TO GO! I just wish I could trust this place, the people... it's always about the "people". People, generally, are not a "kind" species. Which is why I'm so BLESSED to be in the Companionship of Yonah.
Now, to look forward to getting back, putting dinner and the news on and laughing about how silly and ridiculous I'm being this morning.
19.15 And we're FINALLY back to a "normal" day! At last... at LONG, LONG LAST! My Love, my Live, my Heart-and-Soul is on his lap-top beside me as I sit to type this. The house is settled as it would be on any evening at this hour. It's been a hectic last 3 hours, to say the least, trying to get HIS house to where it's supposed to be after a day... SIX HOURS, of being ALONE! Save, for the time when Amy came by at 13.00 to check on him. AND, she met me at Deborah's when I returned and she drove me back! She said "Yonah's at home waiting for you. We have to get you back there." She did her mail route, checked on him and then went down to Deborah's and waited for me! I don't know WHAT I've EVER done in my life-time to be so BLESSED and I could NEVER express my thanks to these magnificent people. Deborah loaned me their 2nd car so that I could make my medical appointment to day. Amy came by and checked the house and Yonah. (And I was BLESSED that she did because, apparently, the front door of the house didn't quite close properly and in today's wind, IT OPENED! Thankfully, the screen door was there and shut. And when Amy came by and noticed the door, she came in and Yonah was in his tree, in the living-room. AND, thankfully, the truck was here so it didn't look like nobody was home... just another day with me with the door open for fresh air.) WHAT a day!
This morning, after putting the house (and me) in order, Deborah arrived at about 9.30 and Julio drove up after her with the car they were letting me use. In moments, I was in the car and on the road. Poor Yonah was alone for the day ahead and this morning, the sky was HEAVY-GREY! this morning, at "home" and all through the drive for me.
On the road, I actually sang our evening lullabies, thinking of the Little LOVE in his house, with the bird-songs and radio playing. (The UV light was on too.)
Well... I actually arrived EARLY for my appointment but got called late. The procedure was a mere 20 minutes and I was back on the road and heading BACK TO MY LOVE... and the sun shone all the way.
Coming back into the Adirondacks, I SO wanted Yonah to be with me, to see the sky, the sun, the trees. It gave me all the more determination to get us out of here and to some-where where he CAN have MORE time out of the house and in HIS world!
When I arrived at Deborah's to return the car, AMY was there, waiting for me. I was going to walk the 2km back but she was there! AND, she'd come by to check on Yonah and sent me a little photo of him, in his loft, to let me know he was OK. So I DID get back just before 16.00. BUT...
When I came into his room, he was on his food shelf and when I leaned in to give him kisses, there was no response! It was as though he was TRULY ANGRY with me! It was heart-crushing, really, but I stepped out with Amy to chat with her a while and when I came back, he was in his loft. When I spoke to him, he just looked at me for a long moment and THEN...
HE HOPPED RIGHT UP, ONTO THE PERCH, SCUTTLED OVER TO ME, GAVE A WING-SNAP AND I PICKED HIM UP AND HELD HIM SO CLOSE TO MY FACE AND GAVE HIM SO MANY KISSES! AND ALL THE WHILE, HE NESTLED HIS HEAD AGAINST MY CHIN! WE WERE BACK TOGETHER! BOTH OF US WERE HAPPY... AND TOGETHER AGAIN!
It was time for supper... I hadn't been here for breakfast, lunch, snooze, but we were going to have supper together this evening so I set the lap-top for our "news", got dinner on the hob, settled things in the house, changed into my "regular" clothes and... we were BACK... TOGETHER AND NORMAL AGAIN.
We had our dinners together and after, I went to check the oil for the furnace since it had been on all day (and the door open). We're still "safe" for the coming cold-snap! The Little LOVE was on his tree, in the living-room when I stepped out and I made sure to come back QUICKLY so he knew I wasn't leaving him again. When I got back, he was still there. I got to the washing-up and setting-up for the evening run. As I did... WOOSH... the Little LOVE headed to his house, to his food, his evening snack. I got to the tasks at hand.
AND... that brings us to now, 19.39, and he's still on his lap-top and I'm about to get to the windows and getting us REALLY settled for the night ahead.
To MY chagrin... I have ANOTHER appointment tomorrow morning... at 8.45. But this one is just in town. And I had to go to market anyway, so I'll get that out of the way and I'll leave at 8.30 and likely be back by 10.00... well in time for lunch. AND... then... NO MORE LEAVING until Monday, when we'll have another 9.30 me out the door for about 3 hours. Well? I HATE this, but... we've made it through 5 years... and if we're to have another 5 years, these things need to be attended and addressed. I HAVE to be in my BEST health so that I can provide for my little Heart-and-Soul! There's SO MUCH MORE to give to him... and I will be giving...
Time to get us settled. (The house furnace just started... Chilly biniss tonight! But we'll be warm and safe!
WELL THEN! 20.11, I was JUST about to close house when I looked up, no Yonah on the lap-top, no Yonah on the night roost, no Yonah at the food... HE'S IN THE POOL... AND HE GETS UP, WINGS FLAPPING AND NOW FOR A PREEN! AT THIS HOUR... AND THE WORLD OUT-SIDE... DARK! WHAT A MAGNIFICENT LITTLE BIT OF DIVINITY!
20.40 and my LOVE is on his door perch, preening, after a bit of PLAY-TIME WITH BURDIE whom, I believe, was "abandoned" all day today. I'm such a terrible "companion". But better to have gone through this affair today. Now to wait for the "results"... but now... TIME FOR SEEPIE-NIGH-NIGHT!
Thursday 16 October:
One again... 19.29 and I've managed to get some notes from this morning jotted and it's time to try to put them together to make any sense to me or anybody else AND get us tucked-in for the night before it's LATE again... My Little Heart-and Soul is on his lap-top beside me at the desk. The house is, pretty much, settled for the night. I have ablutions to get to but the water in his pool is fresh and clean, the "poopie rug" is placed and the house furnace is on... and the room is at 24° while out-side, the sky is already black and the temperature is 8°. There's a half tank of oil for the furnace. We got the delivery this morning... SO EARLY it was still quite dark when they arrived. But HEY! We're GREAT! And if we need? We've got the radiators to back us up. (Thankfully, the day was clear, the sun was bright so the room stayed warm enough to be able to turn the furnace off for the day. We'll be warm and toasty.)
But to get to the actual stuff of the day here...
Starting with last night's catch-up, as we do... right after I'd done with the closing note for the day, yesterday, this Little Guy took himself from the door perch to his night roost and that's where he stayed as I put his roof board on and did the futon for me for the night! I tried for a couple of kisses but... he was tired and, well... to be honest, I was too so I understood. I did manage to sneak in a smooch and then, finished settling the room and getting me tucked-in.
I'd started the lullabies as I put the roof-board on so I was at "The Turtle Dove" when I get me under the covers and as soon as I started... "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo". He wasn't having that song last night. I stopped, we had a little exchange of "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" and then he changed it to "nest coo"... I skipped the rest of "Turtle Dove" and tried for "Weißt du wieviel" and... AND...
IT WAS AS THOUGH HE WAS SINGING WITH ME! I'd sing a line, he'd "woo-HOOooo", I sang the next line, and again, the nest coo. I got through the whole first stanza that way and when I started the second... about the birds, he was silent and... tucked his head into his wings and settled for the night! It was AMAZING!
All lullabies were done and the lights were off at 21.10... late, but thankfully not 21.30.
This morning, I was up at 5.45 and figured I'd get up, there was book-keeping to be done and I didn't want to waste OUR morning on that so, I crept, silently, out of the room, closing the door behind me. The world was still quite dark, needless to say.
I was amazed when, at 7.00, our oil delivery came and since the "fill" is almost out-side his window, I though that would wake the Little Guy but...
At 7.13 came a QUITE AUDIBLE "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" through the door! I got up from the table and called back with a "spoken" (not "coo'ed") "woo-hoo-hoo-hoo?" He answered immediately AND continued with MORE! In fact, the "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"s were almost non-stop! I wondered when he was taking a breath for the next one!
Oh! There was SO MUCH to be said this morning! And when I popped my head in for "Good morning" kisses, I got a few, in between coo's!
I didn't waste much time getting to the windows to get them open to the early morning dim light in a clear, "crisp" sky, but I didn't rush, just in case. And OH! The wing-stretches! WHAT a GLORIOUS, DIVINE start to ANY day! We were ready to take it on!
THEN, the "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"s changed to repeated "wooHOOooo"s! Little "nest coo's", again and again and again! "Morning Serenade"! I am SO BLESSED! SO PRIVILEGED! SO HONOURED! SO HUMBLED! This Little Guy truly IS my "Herz-und-Seele"... Heart-and-Soul!
And poop-check: 11 perfect poops, all under his night roost. There were others about the floor of his house, and I'm not sure if they were missed when I cleaned-up before putting the "rug" down last night. But 11 sounds "normal". So, indications were: a restful night and a great tummy!
I got right to the water change this morning and we did it thrice because of the "bath" last night. CLEAN! FLUSHED! Pool and fountain! AND... AS I RAN BACK AND FORTH, I TOOK LITTLE "BREAKS" AND GOT MORE KISSES!!!
And as I finished... WOOSH! HE WAS OUT TO THE LIVING-ROOM... MORNING FLIGHT!
Chat and kisses and morning flight! WHAT a start to the day!
Oh, but this morning, I had my "physical therapy" appointment for my left arm, at 8.45 and the time passed SO TOO quickly... It tore me apart to have to leave my LOVE, my LIFE again, especially after being gone so long only yesterday. So I got his room settled and got me together, all in a "swoop" so that it was all just part of the routine, no attention to my departure. I was out the door, he was already back in his loft.
Well, I got my appointment done, managed to throw in a quick run through the market and was back by 10.30 to find my LOVE in his loft... as if everything was just regular.
It was a clear, sunny, BRILLIANT morning and the sun shone in through the windows bringing light and warmth... and the Little Guy took advantage of it... with a GREAT BASK on his "beach"! I went into the rest of the daily "people nonsense" of the house but by then, it was lunch-break time already. As I always say, "time" is not a "friend".
But since we didn't have lunch together yesterday, it was more important to have it on time today and so, we took a break... and WE had our lunches, together! Me at the desk, my LOVE at his shelf.
AND, to get back into our "day", after, I had a lie-down, on the futon, set a 30-minute alarm and Yonah came over to the futon, went to the pillow and the larger white dove there and then headed back to his house. I napped... alone... for 45 minutes! When I got up, he just looked at me and watched me as I got back to the day.
I can't really say much for the rest of the day other than...
I'll put this in here in the hopes that I'm just doing what I do best: over-thinking, but it's weighing on my mind and I can see that Yonah's aware of it...
I received the "preliminary report" from yesterday's MRI: a 0,40 cm "lesion" on the prostate. Fluid around it too. I don't like the "sound" of it, but the size isn't considered "large", and the term "lesion" is, as I recall from the Nursing years, vague. It actually could be a simple cyst or such. The term is used for any "abnormality". One thing I DID discover is that, I've been taking zinc every night for the BPH BUT... come to learn, zinc is good to "prevent" such things with the prostate BUT IT ALMOST FEEDS CANCER! So... needless to say, no more zinc! AND it's been reported that taking 4000IU of vitamin D3... the same that I've been taking 2000iu of ever day, has shown to, at least, slow CA prostate! SO... we double that now.
The recommended approaches are another PSA, another scan in a while, and/or a biopsy. So? Monday morning, I have the follow-up with the Urologist. If I EVER was going to keep an appointment, no matter what, I'll be there for this one!
I can't help but remember telling the "Primary", 5 years ago, that what-ever might be found to be "wrong", I HAD to have, AT THE VERY LEAST, 5 YEARS AND NO LESS... TO BE HERE FOR YONAH! Aside from all the negligence and apathy, even when my PSA was 11 (and the highest it should have been is 4), I'm glad I got a new "Primary" who CARES, and, well... here we are... the "5 years" later. And NOW? It appears Yonah will have another 5 years or so, so... I have to go for another 5 years... again... at the very least.
I don't know what to expect, but "surgeries" and "biopsies" are (or can be), "same day". No over-nights at hospital and the likes. And since the "lesion" is small... I'll go for the biopsy if that's what's needed, and what-ever "surgery" we need to get rid of it... better to have one over-night than to wait too long and have to be away for several days or a week! If my Heart-and-Soul has 5 years.... I WILL TOO!
So that set my mind-set for the rest of the day and when I could see that Yonah noticed, I worked to keep occupied and in a better mind-set.
So I busied about the house and he lounged in his loft at his window... with the sun-shine.
And then... this evening, dinner for me was a bit late because... "time" slipped by! But we ate together at the same time and by the time that was done, it was time to do the washing-up and then... water changes!
Now... at 20.16, we're running late, the news is still playing on the old lap-top and the Little Guy has been up to eat his night snack and is back on the lap-top.
OH... this morning, I told the Physical Therapist Yonah's story. She wears a "mask"... I don't know why but some of the others do as well so... all I could see were her eyes... She teared-up! I told her of the "rules" (I'll call it that) and she said that Yonah is better with me.
THEN, I happened upon a photo of a "Common Ground Dove" on "our" social media today! The similarities are SO CLOSE! The coo's are complete different BUT when I played the recording... Yonah was up and about the room, coo'ing too! So, I grabbed a copy and will add it to his "play-list" tomorrow! But I'm SO glad to see the similarities! And "Common Ground Doves" aren't under any "protections"! We have a "cover"! YAY!
Well... now, time to get to the windows. The Little LOVE is looking tired on the lap-top and I'm keeping him up WAY beyond "reasonable hours" again... I have to work on this.
20.51 "wooHOO!" from the door perch and we're off!
Friday 17 October:
14.50 The Little Guy has been out in the living-room for about an hour now. The front door is open (screen door on the latch, of course) and the sun is POURING in (as it prepares to disappear behind the mountains at what seems any moment now).
THIS DAY HAS BEEN NON-STOP and, as they ALL do, sped by us with such rapidity that it's almost impossible to believe!
Last night though, it was SO obvious that I was settling us "unacceptably" late!
When I got back into the room after closing and securing the house for the night, I went over to the door perch where my Little LOVE was waiting, as he does, and cupped him in my hands to give him kisses, as I asked for forgiveness. At first, he nestled in my hands but as soon as I raised my head, he turned and went directly up to his night roost and got him-self quite settled there, as if "making a point". I was late, he was not "pleased". But I did get a few sincere kisses on the night roost and I'd already started the lullabies as I put the rest of the room together for the night so he knew that we were getting to "seepie-nigh-night" right away.
Lullabies? Well... "Autumn Leaves" went along well, softly and slowly. "I Wish You Love" was a brief "sing-along" with me singing a line and him singing a "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" for a little while. BUT, I "re-arranged" the "Turtle Dove" a touch by dropping the first verse. I could see, as I laid on the futon, that the Little One was getting a touch impatient.
BIT THEN... when I started "Weißt du wieviel", he snuggled right down, as calm as could be, and we went through the German lullabies and he tucked his head between his wings and by the time Id done, he was as settled as he could be.
We managed to get the last night out by 21.15 though. Not when I'd hoped for, but not as late as some of our "late nights" have been.
This morning? Well... I was awake at 5.30 and waited to hear our "neighbour" leave at about 5.45. I laid there, considering whether or not to get up and start the day, but the room was comfortable and the house, so calm, I decided to stay where I was and wait for "morning call".
Suddenly, out of the silence... 7.11 (again)... "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo", soft but so clear. And when I softly said "Good morning my Precious Heart-and-Soul"... "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo".
"I suppose this means we have to get up. Yeah?"
"woo-HOO-hoo-hoo...hoo". came the reply. SO... Up I got and headed right over to his house to open his door and place the door perch. All the while, the "woo-HOO"s continued. It was another "chatty" morning, to be sure. Some-birdy was in quite the good mood. AND I got three little kisses too, accompanied by a gorgeous wing-stretch as I prepared to roll his house away from the windows so I could open curtains and blinds!
All the while I opened the windows and put his house back in place for the day, we had another morning conversation, me talking, him coo'ing. And out-side? Clear skies and a temperature of 1°! Thankfully, the room was at 23° and my Little LOVE had his Sweeter Heater over him through the night so all was well, comfy, cosy.
It didn't take by a moment and he was UP and OUT of his house and over to the futon!
And poops? 14 in total! MOST of them on the little "rug" under his night roost, 3 of them had bounced off. The were ALL just perfect! And it appears we both had quite a calm night last night so... with the clear voice, the bolting out of the house this morning, with the conversation it was exactly what EVERY morning should be... good health and well-rested!
But the time I got to the water run, he'd said "Good morning" to Burdie and was off to the living-room! YAY!
And then... the morning took hold. I had a list of tasks that needed attending this morning and got right into them.
On the top of the list: get the new pine cones and some of those that I'd collected a while ago (and had used strictly as "decorations" around the house) and get them CLEANED! Something "new" to add to my LOVE's house, maybe some places for him to "forage" in. That involved a proper soaking in warm water and dish detergent for about 45 minutes, then rinsing them completely and another soaking in white vinegar and water and another thorough rinsing. We had to get them clean, make sure there were no "critters" in any of them, no "mould or mildew" and no "residues". Then. a baking in a 250°F oven for 30 minutes and let them sit in the hot oven until they cooled. While that went on, I got the "new" recording of "Common Ground Doves" onto the collection of "bird-songs" on Yonah's MP3 player and took off the recordings of the "harsher" "White Wing Dove" coo's. Those are so loud and raspy and just sound more "jolting" than "songs". I'm not sure why, but they really weren't "pleasant". Although I DO have to admit that, with ALL of the bird-songs we've gotten over the course of time, NOTHING can compare to the soul-calming "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" of a Mourning Dove. But I want to have a bit of "variety" in the bird-songs, as close to what might be heard out-side. I know they're not really a great substitute to actually being out in the wild, but what we have beats a day of absolute silence... especially since there isn't much in the way of "movement" or "motion" in the house (save for when I have my manic moments and, as with this morning, I was constantly on the move). As I played the new "Ground Dove" to listen to it, the Little Guy coo'ed along with it! It's really nothing even remotely similar to a Mourning Dove, there's something about it that gets Yonah coo'ing so... When I look at the photos of the "Common Ground Dove" and compare them to Mourning Doves, the colours are so similar, even to the black markings on body and wings. The most noticeable difference is the "tail". Ground Doves' tails are closer to their pigeon relatives, rounder, as it were, but NO-where NEAR as pointed as Mourning Doves. The coo's are completely different too. But, I do dare say, to the general human population, one could easily be mistaken for the other. "White Wing Doves" too... so similar but WOW! The coo's of the White Wing are truly NOTHING like Mourning Doves. (It's so strange to be typing this. As I think of it, it's as I've often told others: In my life-time, I never thought of me as being a "birdman"; those who were, struck me as a particular sort of "eccentric". But here I am, feathers, skeletal, respiratory, circulatory, nourishment... As I said to the Physical Therapist yesterday: I know more about birds than I do about people! But WHAT AN EDUCATION... IN SO MANY WAYS... these 5 years.)
(15.45 MY LOVE IS BACK... ON HIS LAP-TOP, PECKING AT THE NEWS! And I'm sitting here, typing along... to the news and the "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"s.)
Well then so then... I managed to put a meat-loaf together and other "people nonsense" and when I looked up from the kitchen, the sun was POURING into Yonah's room and there he was... on his "beach", soaking-in the warmth and light! He was SO calm and comfortable and it was another one of those moments in my life when I actually felt "good"... This isn't the world into which he was born and intended to be, but he's safe. He can lounge in the sun-shine, protected from harm. He has his pool, so he can have a soak at whim, protected. He never has to worry about searching all over to find food to eat, water to drink. And though they're no actual substitute for an actual "flock", he's got quite the "collection" of a variety of other "birds" (especially since the new "Brown Beanie" is has become part of the "Futonettes"). There will ALWAYS be my wish that I could do MORE for this Little LIFE, but being "human"... I do what I can. And when I remember that most of what I've already done has been by "instinct" - mine - and he's healthy, these 5 years, I can only suppose I'm doing "well"... or, at the very least, "well enough". He's safe, healthy. We've done VERY well... together.
Now? After recent "developments" and "discoveries" in this medical "exam", our toughest times seem to be coming. But, 5 years ago, I would have taken to the bed and "waited". Today? We're off to fight a battle, and as long as my Heart-and-Soul is with me, we WILL WIN!
(16.49 and I've just seen a post on our social media from somebody who's taking the account for our "Teillady" - Della. "Arnie", her starling, reporting. Seems Della has been fighting cancer, took a turn for the worst of late and is in hospital, separated from her flock. My worst night-mare! It's striking me hard these days, thinking of being "taken away" from Yonah, even for an "over-night". But in a case where it would be any longer, I'm wracking my brain trying to think of who would come by, check on him. But no lullabies! No tuck-in! Nobody there when he wakes in the morning. Putting up the night-boards, closing blinds and curtains at night. My heart is exploding in misery and there's nobody to tell this too except here. I don't know that anybody would or could understand. And Deborah's out of town. Amy is in the beginning process of buying a house. And these are the days when, aside from Yonah... I realise just how "alone" I truly am. "But I can't think about that now. Hopefully Monday's meeting with the Urologist will be promising. "But while there's moon-light and music and LOVE and romance... we'll face the music and dance.")
So this morning's mayhem rolled us, SO TOO QUICKLY, into lunch break! I threw lunch together and so so keep the daily routine "normal", put the news on and got to the desk so we lunched together and then... yes... snooze!
This afternoon's snooze... solo. When I laid on the futon with Burdie on my chest, my Companion came FLYING over from his loft, toddled on my chest, pecked at my chin and then went to "woo-HOO'ing" his Burdie and made little "rounds" on my legs. I thought he was going to settle there and snooze with me, but, moments later, he was up and off to his loft until... yep... the 2 minutes before the alarm sounded when he came back over to my legs, gave a hearty "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo", toddled up to Burdie for another "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" and when I was ready to get up, he was no-where to be seen! HE WAS ON THE FLOOR... PECKING AT MY HOUSE-SLIPPERS! I'll NEVER know what he sees in them, but he seems to enjoy pecking at them... even when I'm wearing them! They ARE "Rock Dove" brand, and they ARE brown... Just more of the "oddity" that is this Little Life here...
And so, I was back up and rolling with the rest of the tasks, and settling the house. No hoovering today but the new one is due tomorrow. Not on Shabbat but, I think we're going to make an exception this time around. I want to do some major "house-keeping" in Yonah's house now that there's a new batch of sand ready. His house isn't "dirty" but it is time for a cleaning so... it looks like we'll be "off routine" and tomorrow will begin our "mayhem". (Pool and fountain too.)
Now... 17.00, dinner time. And as I look up, the Little LOVE is having his already! Life... is complete.
19.44 Evening waters changed and the Little One is on his door perch beside me. The house is settled for the night. Windows are closed and his house is steady for the night. The furnace is running and the room is at 23° so we're cosy. We had dinner together and he headed to his roof-top for "Evening Serenade" but he's as quiet now, as he could be. I'm about to get to my ablutions. He looks so tired!
As I did the water run this evening, again, the HORRORS of thinking of not being here at the day's close. To think, once upon a time, not so very long ago, I wouldn't have cared at all but tonight... But it's time for us to get tucked-in and get to seepie-nigh-night.
This little Bundle of LOVE and LIFE... my HEART-AND-SOUL.... HERZ-UND-SEELE IS MY COURAGE, STRENGTH, DETERMINATION THAT WE, TOGETHER, WILL GET THROUGH ALL OF WHAT-EVER COMES AT US. HE'S BEEN THROUGH HELL AND HERE HE IS! My difficulties are NOTHING in comparison! WE ARE HERE... and we are going seepie-nigh-night. Friday's come and gone. A week has come and gone... WE are still here... TOGETHER!
20.14 and WE'RE "HEADIN' FOR BEDDIN'"! My Little Heart-and-Soul has had his late-night snack and he's already on the night roost! SOME-birdy is tired tonight. Seems we're getting tired earlier. "Winter hours" are setting-in. More tomorrow.
Saturday 18 October:
16.23 AND WHAT A DAY WE'VE HAD! For the first time in more years than I can recall, I never bothered to change out of my sleep-wear! Everything started as soon as I got up from the futon this morning and kept rolling!
And as I sit to type, with dinner on the hob, my PRECIOUS LITTLE SU-BIRD-VISOR is on the desk shelf, over-head, wanting to "FIGHT"... or play. WING-SNAPS and ALL!
It's been a day of that, really, and I've been a HORRIBLE companion, I have to say.
Let me say...
Last night, tuck-in was another "straight-forward" one. He'd gone to his night roost on his own, even as "early" (relatively) as it was, and didn't (no he's on my shoulder! SNUGGLES-BREAK! And REALLY, that's what he wants! Not even the slightest move to leave!) as it was (back to last night). Lullabies, closing windows, putting the futon together for me... there he was and there he was staying. But I DID manage to sneak a couple of the SWEETEST KISSES, AND A SNUGGLE-CUDDLE before closing house and getting us to seepie-nigh-night.
Lullabies? Well, again, the "truncated" "Turtle Dove" because as soon as I started it, I got a "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo". BUT... when I switched to "Weißt du wie viel", he settled right down and got cosy! It's truly AMAZING - to me. I HAVE to wonder if it's the melodies or the sound of German, but what-ever it is, his preference for the German is REALLY obvious!
And I sang, softly and slowly and made it all through the rest of the repertoire and... at 20.45... the last light was turned off! I was happy... we were closer to "sun-set" and from now on, I have to "arrange" the day so we get even closer. MAYBE we'll BOTH be tucked-in shortly after the sky out-side goes dark. The "Natural" clock.
This morning? Well, I woke, as I do, at about 4.30 and looked at the clock and said, to my-self, "Nope..." and dozed back off until about 4.55. Looked at the clock and decided I'd wait to be called. No rush. Nothing of much importance that needed attending so early. Oh sure, there were "tasks", but it was Saturday and we had no Hoover (because the new one hadn't arrived) so, off I dozed again until 6.50! Once again, I looked at the clock. The room was still dark, but the morning was trying to get through the morning clouds and the house was cosy-warm. I looked up to the night roost. There was the little silhouette, still all tucked-in. I wondered if he was awake and though that, if he was, he'd coo... He didn't. So I waited...
Sure enough, 7.10... "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" ... soft. sweet and clear. So I "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"ed back and for a moment, we both stayed on our respective "night roosts" and exchanged morning pleasantries. By 7.15, I was up, opened the door to his house.. got a WING-STRETCH AND A FEW KISSES and... we were off to the new day! Curtains and blinds open to the over-cast morning. But the day out there was a "toasty" 5° (considering it's October).
It didn't take but the time of a thought when, as I headed to the kitchen to put the kettle on and prepare for the day when the Little LOVE was UP and OUT of his house and over to the futon! "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"!
POOPS? 11 perfect little poops and EVERY ONE OF THEM, UNDER THE NIGHT ROOST! OH... YAY!
From there... we got the morning water run done and since I've really been remiss with the house-hold chores, and the new Hoover was expected to arrive today, I decided to try "responsibility"... laundry in the basin to soak and... there was still yesterday's cooking to be put up so... I was off and the Little Guy was in the living-room and the house was "moving"!
The whole morning was "active", between me moving about, attending to "people nonsense" and my PRECIOUS LITTLE LOVE, flying about his room, through the house and all sorts of activities. It surely was a change from our usual Saturdays when we tend to just let the day roll along.
WELL! By the time things started to settle, I happened to look out the front door and... OUR NEW HOOVER HAD ARRIVED! I resolved to simply bring it in, open the box and make sure the contents were undamaged... So, since it was almost noon anyway... LUNCH BREAK TIME! We BOTH grabbed out mid-day snacks and, to keep some semblance of "normal", I decided to have a mid-day lie-down. Set an alarm for 30 minutes, as I do, and as I got comfy, the Little Guy came over, gave a "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" and headed up to his loft! I snoozed... solo, again today, but managed to get 45 minutes.
OK... I woke, he was still in his loft and I decided I wanted to "test" the new Hoover. Yes, on Saturday. But my rationale: the house needs to be kept as clean as possible, especially the floors, since this Little Character likes to toddle about and will peck at just about ANY speck he can find. (Sometimes I tend to think that he intentionally throws some of his food to the floor so he can "snack" later - which is why I've cleaned those pine cones, hoping he'll use them when he wants to "forage".) Yes, I got up, put the new Hoover together, plugged it in and... had at the house-cleaning.
As I worked in Yonah's room, he FLEW to the living-room and when I made my way out there, I got such a look! I can SEE "expressions" on his little face and this one was just so "What are you doing? It's Saturday. We don't make this noise on Saturday!" And he made it known he wanted nothing to do with it... off he went, back to his house. I just finished the task at hand and... feeling better, put the Hoover away and... our day started to wind down.
Of course, I have to add here that the "tasks" took a little while longer because ALL through the day today, this CRAZY LITTLE PRECIOUS MOST-ADORED LITTLE LOVE, my TRUE HEART-AND-SOUL was in quite the PLAYFUL MOOD! So, with each moment between getting things done... WE PLAYED, CUDDLED, SNUGGLED... AND HE CAME TO MY SHOULDER FOR SMOOCHES!
Considering this week, with me gone for the day on Wednesday, then away again, Thursday morning, I guess BOTH of us needed TOGETHER time! And tomorrow? All that got done today won't need to get done tomorrow and I've no errands on the agenda (especially since I have another appointment on Monday morning and that will keep me away until lunch - makes me sick just thinking about it this evening). Tomorrow... it's OURS!
Well.. 17.00 and he's on his roof-top and the sun is obviously low in the sky. Time for evening meal. I've put fresh food in his dish.
20.01 My Little LOVE took him-self to the night roost again, just as I started to settle his room! Of course, I'm wondering what, if anything, will come of this but if he's following through with recent evenings... He came up from his lap-top when I closed the windows about 5 minutes ago. I do wonder... but I'm off to ablutions and since I'm still in sleep-wear... we're off for the night.
It was a boring evening for him, I'm afraid. I was putting together our "lullabies book" with "our" lyrics in there now... for the German. Now, I have to make a recording for him. I'm thinking of nights when I might not be able to sing for some reason and... of course... the "future", which I can't think of before tucking=in because it's just too painful.
But, as this Little One has taught me: live for right now... "Before" can't be changed... and "later" will be... so... for tonight, with our night music playing... we "pray"... for a peaceful, restful night's sleep and a grand tomorrow.
OK. 20.16 and all "closing tasks" are complete save the futon for me. The Little One is still on his night roost and, unless he has something else in mind, looks like we're closed for the day. Hopefully last light off before 21.00 tonight!
Sunday 19 October:
8.49 and we're up and about and my Herz-und-Seele is on the futon with the "Futon Flock". The sun is making its way over the tree-line and it's looking like a warm day ahead... well... "warm" for October.
Last night was... as much as I might like it, I don't but I do. He didn't leave the night roost as I set the futon for me and I started evening lullabies. I managed to get a couple of "quick kisses", but seems he was tired already so, I made a "quick business" of getting us both tucked-in for the night.
Lullabies? Well, I cut "Turtle Dove" completely and went along with the rest and when I was almost done with "I Wish You Love", we had a momentary exchange of "commentary"... a couple of soft "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"s, a couple "nest coo's" and on with the rest of the German. Since I now have some extra verses to our usual tunes, each one got 2 verses so it covered the time for "Turtle Dove" and... we actually made last light off by 20.45! All was calm...
This morning? I was up again at 4.30 but had NO intention of getting off the futon at that hour. So I dozed back off and was up again at 5.00 but... nope. I looked up, saw the little silhouette on the might roost and thought I'd simply lay there and wait for the "morning call".
To my surprise (or not), the call came...
7.02! "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"... soft but clear. I'd gone right back to sleep and was dreaming! So I "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"ed back and got an immediate "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo...hoo...hoo" in reply. It took me a while before I was ready to face the world but the relief (as with every morning) of hearing a clear "call" made for a relaxing "lounge". At 7.10, I was up and into the morning!
When I popped in for "Good morning" kisses, I got several, but some-birdy was all too ready to get on with it so, we rolled the house from the windows and I opened the curtains and blinds to the new day. My Little LOVE gave a wing-stretch and was off to the food shelf to su-bird-vise the goings-on. By the time I'd done, he was obviously looking forward to getting out and about. So, I headed to the kitchen with the containers for the morning water change and to put the kettle on.
As I went about the water run, he watched from his perch and when I was done and headed back to the kitchen to make my morning coffee, he was up and out and over to the desk... His room was put in order and WE were rolling into Sunday morning.
Poops, this morning: 10 total. All but one, under the night roost. The one that was off to the side, as it were, is likely the first of this morning because it was where he was when I got my "Good morning" kisses. They all look quite "normal", over-all. But there are little "stains" on the "rug" this morning. "Beige", thankfully, not "green". Not a lot, but noticeable. The first of this morning was a touch on the "green" side and there's more "moisture" in that one. But they're "healthy". No "horrors". So last night was a "calm" night and tummy's good. Relief, on a Sunday morning.
And he's up and about, coo'ing at the Futon Flock, and now, up on his loft. The room is comfy-warm, the sun-light is on the way in. "Sunday". And I've no errands... we'll have a (hopefully) peaceful day ahead.
13.30 WHAT A DAY! The sun is shining in an "Autumnal-hazy" sky because the temperature out there is 20°!!! It would have been such a GRAND day to take Yonah out for a ride to Deborah's! But... it came too late and this morning was un-sure. Still... the doors and windows are open and, after a 30-minute snooze... TOGETHER TOGETHER, the Little LOVE is on his tree in the living-room.
This morning was a "buzz" of activity for me, getting papers together. We have a "current" book of evening lullabies now. Next up... the "recorded music". (I'll have to sing that to match the lyrics of most of what's in there because I've made modifications to the originals to make them personal for Yonah). And, to get paper-work prepared to make my appointment tomorrow morning as quick as possible. The Little One watched, for some of the time, from his loft, when he wasn't flying around and to the desk shelf. He seems to SO enjoy when I get into "paper-work". I set papers on the desk in order, he comes SOARING by and papers fly too! THEN, he gets onto that desk shelf in front of me, stares down at me and gives me wing-snaps! What I wouldn't give to know what he's thinking. But it's heart-warming. I wouldn't exchange it for anything else, even "calm sorting".
Now... after the snooze, we're back to the "tasks at hand" with the warm breeze blowing through the house. Fresh air! (Tomorrow's forecast is for rain... so no open windows and such so we "blow the place out" today... whilst we may.)
16.16 And the Little LOVE is in his loft. The sun is still in the sky out-side but it's obviously low and heading for the mountains. We've been in his room all after-noon, the news on his lap-top, me at the desk, typing away and along with all sorts of "fill-ins" and "catch-up" on this Journal.
SO SADLY, our neighbour decided to open the dryer and we've had to close the back of the house. BUT, the window in the room and the front door have been open and the warmest breeze has been blowing air through the house, and the toxins have been kept out. It would have been quite the day to be in the yard today, but the timing for getting out, warm enough, was a touch too late. And we would have had to come back in anyway, with all the fumes. At least, even as I sit and type this, the breeze coming in the window is fresh. Good air in the room! (And the sky is changing... from that "Autumnal haze" to out-right clouds... Oh well... at least we got some hours of moving air today.) And it's time to put dinner on the hob... "Time" is no friend, to be sure. It comes, it goes, entirely too quickly!
18.41 The windows are closed, back-board is up, water in the pool is flushed and changed... and my Little Crazyguy is on the door to his house... HE WAS OUT IN THE LIVING-ROOM FROM SINCE DINNER! I had to go out there, give him my shoulder, in the dark, to get him "home" for the night!
His room is almost settled already because the sky out-side is grown DARK! There's a "wind" blowing the clouds in from the South ahead of the expected rain. And, I'm hoping to take a shower in about 20 minutes and getting us settled for the night by 20.00 and lights off by about 20.30 tonight. Get us to seepie-nigh-night so that we're up and about tomorrow with more than enough time for me getting ready and out the door so that I'm back by lunch tomorrow. (Hope.)
So it's been a quiet rest of the day, really. As I say, as I sat to dinner at the desk, the Little Guy headed out to the living-room and I finished my dinner, finished the washing-up and getting to his windows and waters right away so... that was our evening. Now, let's see how the rest of the night goes.
Right now, he's "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"ing the "Evening Serenade on the door to his house, his little toes literally wrapped round that "wire". HOW he does it, I'll never understand. HOW he can be comfortable, I'll never understand. How he does MOST of what he does... I'll never understand. So much for "who's the superior species" in Creation. HE understands SO MUCH about me and what I say to him and me? Well... there's so sense in comparing because there really isn't any.
19.49 I'm showered. The house is settled. The Little Guy is on his roof-top AND, when I came back from the shower, he gave me the little "nest-coo flutter"! No coo, but LOTS of flutter! THAT'S MY LOVE! THAT'S MY HEART! THAT'S MY SOUL! THAT'S MY HEART-AND-SOUL! THAT'S MEIN HERZ-UN-SEELE!
And it looks like we'll be tucking-in "timely" tonight! HOPE for a night's restful sleep!
20.19 My LOVE... my LIFE is on his door perch making with the "woo-HOO!". Shoppe is closed for the day!
Monday 20 October:
8.03 and the house is DARK this morning, with light rain falling and the mountains all but "gone" behind mists and clouds. And as I sit at the kitchen table, the Little LOVE is making nest coo's in his house, in his room... with the UV light on and bird-songs. It's a "heavy" sort of morning (for me), because I have this medical appointment and I'm still trying to decide whether or not to go. And the "scent" of the plumbing is "present" in the air, particularly in the loo. I SO worry about that. Once consolation is that the air monitor is very much in the "green" so no "toxic" gasses. And Yonah's windows are open at the top. The house is warm so warm air will rise and draw anything out. One window is open slightly at the bottom as well, so there will be circulation. And the house furnace is on to pull and "clean" the air. Still, I worry... I'll be out for about 4 hours... if I even go. There will be people about for 2 of those hours and our Amy will be on the route so... we shall see.
Last night was "interesting". When I went back into the room to get us tucked-in, Yonah was on his door perch so I started lullabies and brought the platform down from his roof-top and placed it level with the perch. He looked at it, then looked over his shoulder and... UP he went, to his night roost! No "ride home". So I finished settling us and the room, singing lullabies all the while. I tried for a quick kiss and got... "a quick kiss". Apparently he was tired and it was enough of the day. So, I got him tucked in and got me tucked in.
Lullabies last night were with-out "I Think It's Going To Rain" and "Turtle Dove" but the German songs... 2 verses each so it was about the same time for them... And... by 20.45, the last light was turned off.
I was up and about already at 6.00 and attending to morning affairs when I noticed the clock: 7.20! No "morning call"! So I opened the door to Yonah's room, silently folded the futon linens and set the Futon Flock in order and as I did, the most quiet little "hoo"s from his house. VERY quiet!
At 7.22, in the DARK, I went over to check on him and I could see the little silhouette on the night roost, still "snuggled". It didn't appear that he was actually ready to get up so I removed the roof-board, opened his door, placed the door perch and took the containers for water run out. We "spoke" a little... with quiet "hoo"s, back and forth and, at 7.25, as I was setting the kitchen for morning water run...
"woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" from the room! Nice and clear. So... I got right into the morning routine... water run and such.
Poop check this morning: 8 in total. 6 "normal/regular" under the roost but the other 2 were off the "rug" and a bit larger... and "wet". Halos of "greenish". I believe they were this morning's because they were rather "fresh". So I wonder....but not "worry".
As I was finishing this morning's water run, the Little Pilot too a quick flight from his room, out to the living-room, turned, mid-flight, and headed back to his room. IT WAS DARK OUT THERE! The whole house is "dark" this morning, so heavy, the clouds.
My heart is heavy, thinking of leaving today... but then... I so DO HATE leaving my Herz-und-Seele alone for ANY time, for ANY reason. But on "dark" days, it all the worse. Still, these are days when there are things that have to be done in order to make sure that "we" have more time. And I HAVE to be in best-possible health so that I'm here for this Little Guy...
18.00 ALREADY! Lunch done. Snooze taken. And the rest of the day, after a HORRID morning, the sun made one of the briefest appearances for about 20 minutes, just after lunch and the weather returned to "dark".
TO re-cap the day here though... as my MOST PRECIOUS ADORABLE LOVABLE CHERISHED LITTLE HEART-AND-SOUL PERCHES ON HIS ROOF-TOP, UNDER THE UV LIGHT... well, not "under" it... he's at the front of his house and the lamp is toward the back but... HE'S SO CALM AND NESTLED...
This morning? I was supposed to go to hospital for a 10.30 appointment, likely to merely "discuss" the results of the MRI of last Wednesday, or to arrange for further "investigations" into the "lesion" found, but I just didn't DARE!
The "stench" of "Gain" in the house was such that it actually made my eyes burn again! The "TVOCs" on the air monitor were WELL with-in the "green", but the odour was VERY present and I was NOT going to risk being out of the house for 4 hours, doors and windows closed, and Yonah being alone so... at 8.30, I phoned, explained the situation and the appointment is now for... 17 November! I'll hope that if the MD sees any reason for sooner attention, I'll get a call. Mean-while...
At 9.00 I headed out the door, QUICKLY, off to the hardware store where I got a half-gallon of their "professional" formula drain "un-clogger" and headed back to the house to open doors and windows (thankfully, we had another 20+° day, in spite of the darkness of the sky and the rain) and attacked the drains in the loo! Of the 3 treated, ONE actually "sizzled" when the cleaner was poured in so there IS something in the plumbing... well... WAS something in there. I worked at it until 11.00 and poor Yonah, flying from his house to the living-room and back again. When I was done and finally made way back to his room, to settle the day and return to our "normal" routine of a day (me at the desk, of course) it was time for LUNCH!
Out-side, the sky stayed over-cast. In the room, the UV light was on and the temperature was warm! And the TVOCs stayed "green". The odour decreased some-what, but i suspect the cleaner has to make way through the pipes and with time and use, we'll get rid of it. (And then, we put more "un-clogger" into our "house-hold budget" on a regular basis to keep the place safe.)
And so, at noon, we were established in his room, the news on his lap-top. My Little LOVE had a nibble for lunch and when I'd done, I was ready for the daily lie-down. AH-HAH! I came back from putting dishes in the kitchen basin and the Little Guy FLEW to the futon! He KNEW (he KNOWS)... "Lunch then snooze"! So I moved the "Futonettes" over, and as soon as I did, there he was, waiting for me! I got to lie-down and he hopped onto my chest and we played for several moments there. He REALLY wanted to PLAY... but just for a particular time. Or, maybe he figured I needed some shut-eye and headed back to his house... to let me snooze.
The alarm sounded at the 30-minutes and there he was... ON THE PILLOW, PECKING AT MY HEAD! He'd come down from his loft to let me know it was time to get up! Oh... but we PLAYED MORE... as I laid there, getting me together to get back up. (I could have stayed there through the entire rest of the day but, when Yonah decided that wasn't happening, he went over to the desk shelf, then back to his loft... I got up.
The rest of the day?
In between me doing budget and paper-work, we had a 20-minute PLAY BREAK on the futon with Burdie and the White dove! Yonah played so much with Burdie and THEN... when I started playing with the White dove, he PREENED that one! I see his two favourites are Burdie and the White dove and some-how, it appears the White one is his "lady", as it were. Burdie is his "mount" and by the way he plays with Burdie, it almost seems they're "peers", in a manner of speaking. But he treats the White dove with more kindness. Oh, I STILL wonder what he'd do with an actual other dove in "his" house/home/room. (Again, as always, I don't want to take the chance that he might reject or resent another dove... he's not terribly fond of "Brown Beanie", the one I coloured to look like a Mourning Dove. I wonder if he doesn't see that one as some sort of "intruder". I wish I could see the colours he sees. I tried to keep this one more on the "female" colouration, but... I'll never know.)
And so, well then... the rest of the after-noon was more paper-work. I had to "fix" some of the sheets in his "Lullabies"... "Schlaflieder" collection. OH! PAPER! He was SO interested in watching me type, print, changes sheets in his book/binder! We had SO MUCH FUN with rattling pages and such!
And I got budget-work work done too... and next thing... dinner time.
My Little Companion had had his evening snack as I heated my dinner on the hob so when I sat to eat, I ate solo at the desk. He took to his loft and then... Up to his roof-top as the dim day-light grew even more dim out-side.
And now.... 18.32, he's just up from his roof-top... and down to his food... a little snack and I'm up and getting ready for evening water run. Tonight, I hope we'll get to tucking-in at a proper hour again. Out-side, the sky is BLACK already! "Night"... "Autumn" is HERE... we're back to "dinner and done"!
I'm just SO DELIGHTED though, that we had the day together. I'm angry that I had to work at something in this place that isn't my responsibility. But then... as long as it provides safe housing for my SOLE REASON AND CAUSE FOR EVEN BOTHERING TO GET UP OF ANY MORNING OF ANY WEEK... as I said to him today, after the snooze: WERE IT NOT FOR YONAH, I'D LAY DOWN AND NOT BOTHER GETTING UP FOR ANY REASON... EVER.
(People don't or won't or can't understand: there's never been a more factual truth than that statement. "I wont' be alone with only dreams of you, for, when you go, I go with you".)
20.07 Well then, the news went off... the Little Guy had his late-night snack... BUT... instead of eating the food in his dish, he was pecking through the food he'd tossed onto the shelf! I'll NEVER understand that. But it's still good food and if he prefers it, so be it. The water in his pool is fresh and clean. (I'm waiting to find him in it... it's raining out-side... inclement weather is usually the signal for BATH!) So the news is off, the night music is on and I'm off to my evening ablutions.
A little note here: the TVOCs were reading "0,027" for the longest and when I closed his windows, it went up to "0,047"! Still in the "green", I'm thankful, but I wonder. There's no strong "scent" in the air, thankfully. But I still do wonder. I should complain. "Green" is better than "yellow/normal", but I prefer the 27 over the 47. We shall see as the night progresses. The furnace will be turned on though. Forecast: 7° tonight! But SUN tomorrow! And 15°. Not bad.
Off we go... he's on the desk and the computers are in the kitchen.
20.30 MY LOVE is on his roof-top making with evening nest-coo's and those little "flutters". It's time... it's time. We're closing house and Monday. (Well, I believe we are. With this Little Character, there's never "being sure" until... so, to be continued...)
Tuesday 21 October:
7.00 This morning, I woke at 5.44 and laid, in the dark, on the futon, waiting to hear that our "neighbour" was leaving for work (which I hope for each morning because, when she's gone, we don't have to deal with the "fumes", &c. from her "laundry). When, at 5.46, I heard her pass out-side the window, I dozed off again and the next thing, it was 6.28. "People things" to get to this morning (and this Journal) I got up from the futon and silently stepped out of the room, closing the door behind me and...
Last night: as I put the futon together and commenced with my "Evening Serenade", Yonah-the-LOVE, stopped his nest-coo'ing, stood up and strolled over to his little platform to await his "lift" and ride home to the night roost! So, I made quick work of laying the linens and when I went over to him, he was at the centre of the little board, ready to "fly"... well, as it were. I lifted the platform, managed to get in a little "snuggle" en route and as the platform met the night roost perch, he stepped from one to the other.
Apparently, he was tired.
I put the room in order, dimmed the lights, sneaked in another little snuggle and kiss on the night roost and closed the door to his house. He was "in for the evening" and I was down for the night on the futon.
We had a little "sign-along" at the end of "Let's Face The Music and Dance"... with 2 little "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"s and after that, well, "Guten Abend". It truly does seem that he recognises that melody as the "close of the day" because as I began, I could see the little silhouette on the night roost, tucking-in and, I managed to get through the rest of the repertoire with-out accompaniment.
The last light was turned off at 21.05. Monday, closed.
8.44 And it's been a flurry of activity this morning, as the sun rises out-side the window into a sky where the clouds are departing with promises of a clear, and another "warm" day ahead. A bit of laundry is on the rack to dry AND... the Little LOVE is in his loft, at his window, making gentle, little coo's of "hoo!".
And WHAT A MORNING IT'S BEEN!
I was at the kitchen table, getting the house together for the coming new day when...
7.20 and through the door came the softest "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo".
When I answered: "I HEAR ya." another "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo", and they just kept coming until I softly opened the door to his room and stepped in; "Did I hear a 'woo-hoo'?".
Indeed, I did... and I heard another, slightly louder "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" too! It was time to get the house and windows open! Today had commenced! And all the while I went about opening house, placing door perch and such, the coo's continued, in earnest, varying between "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" and "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo". WOOHOO! We held a veritable CONVERSATION ALL THE WHILE. And then came the "final"... "woo-HOO!" and THOSE were exchanged a couple of times. I was taking too long, it appeared, to get this place in line!
Ah... THEN, as I popped my head in for "Good morning" kisses... WING-STRETCHES! SEVERAL! BEAUTIFUL! WONDERFUL! They always lighten my heart, seeing those wings moving about and being "brushed", making ready for the morning "take-off"! AND... KISSES? OH! SO MANY KISSES THIS MORNING. And NOT the "obligatory" kisses, little pecks on the nose. A FACE FULL OF KISSES... AND MORE WING-STRETCHES! (And I'll say here, it put my entire mood in order to face - or confront - what-ever the day ahead had in store for us. Mornings, for me, tend to be "slower" of late; perhaps it's "age" or medical, BUT getting KISSES gives me a strength that other-wise seems to be "suppressed" some-where, deeper in my being. It's a burst of energy and ability to handle ALL else in Creation. When my Heart-and-Soul is in good health and spirits of a morning, it's to be a GRAND day ahead... no matter what!)
WELL! It didn't take but a moment, as I opened the curtains and blinds to the early morning light when the Little LOVE was up and over to his food shelf and coo'ing all the while!
And THEN... he was OUT... OVER TO THE FUTON, THEN UP TO HIS ROOF-TOP AND AS I PREPARED TO RUN THIS MORNING'S WATER CHANGE... OH... MORE WING-SNAPS! LUVIN'S TIME! HE WANTED CUDDLES, KISSES, SNUGGLES AND PLAY! WE WERE READY AND RARING TO RUN!
ALL the while I ran back and forth with the fresh water for his pool, he was over to the wall shelves, down to the futon, up to his roof-top, a brief stop at the door perch (to check on the status of the water in the pool, so it seemed) and the coo'ing continued!
WHAT A "DIVINE" (in the truest sense of the word) beginning to a new day.. for US... TOGETHER!
And now... the bird-songs are playing, the house is calm for the while, even the breezes of the past couple of days have stilled. And we're off and into a day where I have one little errand to run at some point (but I'm in no particular rush to leave my LOVE) and the rest? Together, as we should be.
Fresh water in the pool. Fresh food in the dish. The air monitor is reading very nicely, indeed, this morning. What's to come is to be seen. But as this PRECIOUS LITTLE GUY has taught me: Live for the moment at hand, and the moment at hand is WONDERFUL!
POOPS REPORT: 12 PERFECTLY WONDERFUL POOPS, EVERY ONE UNDER THE NIGHT ROOST! MARVELLOUSLY BROWN, WHITE UREA. JUST "MADE TO ORDER"!
And now... time to get on with the day ahead. It looks to be a really clear and bright day ahead. Not "too cold"... I'm thinking of an errand at some point but... it can wait... thankfully. Maybe we'll just get a day to spend together, "at home"... hopefully, in peace... We shall see...
18.00 and the perfect close to a wonderful (though REALLY QUICK) day together. My Heart-and-Soul is on his lap-top beside me, at the desk, his "cleaned" bird-songs playing behind the news. The bird-songs are "cleaned" because I took out so much "silence". There were files with the longest periods of nothing which really defeated the purpose. They're supposed to keep "sound" in the room, especially when I'm away from the house and I was never sure if they really had "silence" or if they'd simply stopped playing. Then too, there were some that were so quiet that they were barely audible. Well? We're playing them and they'er much better. Now, I have to find more because there's a LOT more space on his player. (But a new player is on our next shopping list. Something a bit more "up-grade". Next, a nicer speaker or speakers. Something that would sound more realistic.)
AND, we worked and printed a little "cover image" for his "Schlaflieder Buch". "Schlaflieder von Yonah Tuabe" is "official" and current and holds the entire evening repertoire! Next on that, the recordings. But That's for a day of quiet and a good voice.
Meanwhile... we had SUN-SHINE ALL through the day today! It would have been such a perfect day to get out and get real sun-shine, but... the air is holding the chill of Autumn. If we had a place that was protected from the breeze... One day, one day. But it POURED in through the windows and this after-noon, as I broke for lunch, the Little Guy got to bask on his "beach", so the sun-shine wasn't "missed" or "wasted".
And I stayed so "occupied" that we didn't have a snooze today!
We "tested" the "new perch" branch today too. I put it up from his house roof-top to the desk shelf to check his footing and to see if he liked it. It's about the same diameter as his current night roost but is has a bit more "texture" with the "gnarls" on this maple. His current is, I believe, ash, and it's going "smooth". I'm hoping that the fresher branch will be better for his little toes and feet. And yes, the one branch will give us 2 perches so we can get rid of the "dowel" that holds his loft. He doesn't use the dowel as a perch, other than just before tucking-in at night and even then, that's for mere moments. There was another "dowel" before but it was obvious that he had to grasp with more effort. The smooth surface doesn't give him much to hold onto and I don't want to risk "bumble-foot" or any troubles with his little feet. (One thing I did notice today: he really needs a "pedicure". He's got 2 "claws" that need a trim. I was tempted today, but I just SO worry about the "trauma" involved. He doesn't like "nail trims", and certainly doesn't like being wrapped in a towel and held. I need time with NOTHING else on my mind and a LOT of time. I have to find more flat stones to put into his house... with those, maybe he'll be able to "file" those nails. I can hope... It's just a matter of heading back down to the river. There's a bend there where a lot of stones tend to accumulate and many of them are flat. I could line the floor of his house with them... but then, I worry about the weight. As it is, with the pool, his house is already quite heavy and it's been on the shelving, with the wheels, for about 4 years now. I keep careful attention to the sturdiness of the whole set-up. I don't want ANY "incidents"!)
Well, no snooze, but we did have lunch and he DID have snacks through the day. But WOW! Did THIS Tuesday ever skip right by us!
Shortly after lunch, the Little Guy took off and headed out to the living-room where the sun was already shining in. And with the warmth, we had the front door open for most of the after-noon. (I just closed the house for the night because the sun set and so too, the temperature... there's a "coolness" in the air.) He didn't come back to his room until I was about to have dinner! I don't know what attracts him to the living-room... The "noise" of news and bird-songs in his room? The sun-light? The open door and air? I wish I knew so I could duplicate it all in his room... I wish we were in a place where he could have his windows open longer. We're looking... we're looking. The MOST important aspect of a new place is Yonah's health, comfort, well-being... NOTHING matters more. So...
And so, dinner is done. The washing-up is done. It's 18.26 and out-side, the sky is already "night". It's time for evening water run and then... already... getting ready to settle-down and settle-in for the night. "Time" becomes quite a "foe" at this time of year. And as Yonah and I "age"... "Time" proves that it's heartless and soul-less...
19.05 Evening waters are done. Back-board is installed. The Little LOVE su-bird-vised from the floor of his house all through. No playing this evening, but he's on his door perch now and his room is almost settled for the night! The sun is VERY gone from the sky out-side. And the house furnace is running, "cleaning" the air. The air monitor is "green". No "shocking" numbers (and that will get even better as the furnace filters the rest of the house.) Bird-songs are off. No "chirpies" or "woohoos". The Yardies are roosting for the night so no birdies in the house.
We just might make a "last light off" before 21.00 tonight! (I'm working toward that.)
These are the moments, when the night comes early, the temperatures drop, and I look to this Little LIFE here, safe, protected from the cold and the predators of the night, with fresh, clean water to drink, fresh good food to eat, and warmth, and I'm consoled. I'll never feel "sufficient", never feel I've ever done enough, but he has "Life"... and health and protection. He's had 5 years, going into 6, after being abandoned and given-up for "gone". Am I "perfect"? No. Will I ever be? No. This isn't the world or life he was born into nor intended for, but he's not suffering from pain or illness. He never has to worry about nourishment and water. And he's NOT confined to some horrid "cage". And he's NOT "abandoned". And he NEVER will be!
19.57 Just finishing ore catching-up on this Journal and the Little Guy has had his night snack and was up on the desk shelf over my head until just now... WOOSH! Off to his house and door perch and a drink of water! It's time to wrap this day up! 27° in the room! 36% humidity! ALL numbers in the GREEN on the monitor and it's time to stop the news, start the "night music"... Thankfully, the windows are closed, back-board up and house in "night placement". Roof-board and futon... and my ablutions remain and we're tucking-in!
Dreary forecast for tomorrow but we'll deal with that tomorrow.
20.21 and the computers are out of the room, the "night music" is on but my Little LOVE has taken him-self to his night roost already! Oh sure, there's still time for a quick "bolt" to the desk or wall shelves or... the top of the book-case, but he seems to be "established' for the night. We're a bit on the "earlier" side of time. I wonder... Well, off to lullabies and to settle the room... to be continued...
Wednesday 22 October:
It's 6.09 and I woke at 5.30, lounged on the futon in the morning "quiet". Not "silence"... the rains tapping on the cellar shed roof out-side the window in the nightly darkness, listening for any sound(s) coming from the night roost. All was calm, none was bright, save the light from the air monitor that stays on through the night now... just in case. Coffee at hand, we wait for the "official call to a new day".
Last night was another evening of "no ride home". The Little Guy had taken him-self up to his night roost and there he stayed as I put the futon at the ready for me and began our nightly serenade of lullabies.
But oddly, when I'd gotten me under the linens, I looked up, as I sang and I could see that he was a touch on the "fidgety" side for some reason, looking about and "arranging" his feathers. Then, a little shuffle to one side and then to the other, across the perch. It struck me as a bit "odd", considering he'd taken him-self to the night roost some moments before. I stopped the lullabies for a bit, to ask if he was "OK" and to "chat" but a while, all the time, watching. And when he'd calmed again, I picked-up with the lullabies, but a bit slower, watching.
He fidgeted for another 5 minutes or so and then, it appeared he'd calmed and tucked his head into his wings. I finished the lullabies and, still watching the little silhouette there, wrapped the day into the night. I have to say I was unsure, but I took the chance and put the last light off at 21.05 and laid there, listening for any sound of motion... and, in the silence, drifted-off.
I know I had a relatively restful night. I was up only once, at about mid-night, and all was well in the house... and in his. So I'm curious this morning. Let's see, when he wakes, where the poops are. Poops tell so much. Silly, almost, to think, but they DO... by colour, content, consistency and... where they are. Hopefully, all will be well... But for now... it's "wait and see".
(7.04 and the sky out-side is covered in clouds and it's damp out there. Not "cold"... I've been working on this Journal in the silence and now... let's see... turn off the kitchen light and open the door to Yonah's room...)
8.28 The house is settled, the skies are dark, the drizzle is returned out-side and MY LITTLE LOVE IS ON HIS FOOD PERCH... He'd been in his loft after QUITE THE VOCIFEROUS MORNING!
I'd opened the door to his room and gone about the usual morning kitchen-settling when...
7.32 came a soft but audible "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo" from his room! And almost immediately following, a "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo". When I called to him "You're awake?" came "the"... "woo-HOO!"
I was IN the room and opened the door to his house, placed the door perch, all in the dark, and popped my head in for "Good morning" kisses... Well... there was a LOT of "woo-HOO"ing and not so much "kisses" as pecks on the nose and cheek. But ALL the while, the coo's! OH! The COO's! SO MANY COO'S this morning! And all through the opening of the windows and setting-up for the morning relay, the "woo-hoo"s continued right along! Even when I put on the bird-songs! So I got right to the water changes, and turned on the UV lamp for a little more "illumination" in the room. That UV bulb isn't "brilliant lighting" but better than the darkness of the morning, and, of course, the "UV" aspect.
The UV light went on and the Little Guy headed out of his house, over to the desk. I put the Futon Flock out but he really wasn't interested... not even with seeing Burdie-Birdie this morning. Hmmm... interesting.
BUT, when, as I was setting-up for water run, I went over and moved Burdie, he came rushing over, with "Good morning" woo-hoo's to Burdie and a little bit of play-time... and then, I was into changing the water in his pool. All the while, to the sounds of "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" and "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo".
By the time I'd done with water runnings, he was back to his house and up to his loft... Bird-songs playing, and I turned the desk lamps on. It really IS a dark morning, this one.
And now... 8.32 and he's back in his loft and I'm at the desk and the morning is under way.
Poops, to my consolation, 12 in total, ALL of them quite perfect in colour, consistency, composition AND ALL UNDER THE NIGHT ROOST. Appears that last night was "calm". What a relief! And not a stain on the the "rug" so all the poops are wonderfully healthy! Good news to start a new day.
Now... where we get to from here is... well... we'll see how the weather goes. How I SO wish we could still get out to the yard. But, unless there's quite the change in this season... We'll be going with the UV light for a while. It struck me, this morning: we really didn't get much time out in the sun-shine this past season. Ah, to find a healthier, happier place to reside. I hold "HOPE".
18.00 and a whole day of working on trying to get the "Schlaflieder" pages coded to be put onto the server and at this last moment... the images of lyrics were degraded when they were scaled-down! SO... 18 pages of lyrics have to be re-done. And ALL the while, my PRECIOUS, SWEET, ADORED LITTLE HEART-AND-SOUL HAS TOLERATED ME AND MY SILENCE AT THE DESK! And NOW? The sun is already setting and it's time to get to the water run. "Time" is no "friend" in this house. To be sure.
And all day, with one exception of about 10 minutes, we've had to have the UV light on and both desk lights! It's been SO dark and dreary and damp and chilly... no doors open! Oh, the Little Guy did make a brief viist to the living-room after lunch, as I took my lie-down. But he was back, yes, 2 minutes before the alarm was set to sound. (HOW he does it... I'll NEVER know!) So, needless to say, most of my "snooze" was "solo" today. He DID come over at first, to my chest. But apparently, he was in no mood for snoozes today.
AND... he was SO ACTIVE MOST OF THE DAY TOO! FLYING FROM HOUSE TO DESK TO FUTON AND BACK AGAIN! AND HE DID A LITTLE "ADDING" TO SOMETHING IN HIS LOFT. HE DISCOVERED SOMETHING IN THE ORANGE TREE AND BROUGHT IT UP. And yes, we did take breaks... with my Heart-and-Soul on my shoulder for smooches and cuddles. And a little while of playing with the "Futon Flock". But for the most part, I was BORING! (It's strange, but the more I think back, I used to be able to code a good 10-page web-site and create images in an after-noon. These days, between the coding that has changed and my general "fog" - probably unconsciously pre-occupied with medical - as I say: all day today and I'm almost no closer than I was when I started this morning. But I want, so much, to get these lullabies on-line... and I want to add a little music and such. "I want to"... and I will do.)
And now, dinner is done, washing-up too and the Little Character is on his roof-top, all sorts of "animated", and out-side his window, the sky is going nightly-dark! Oh... I'm off to get the waters now... All things will attend to themselves... We WILL got this all done. I still have to work our 5th Year Anniversary too! Honestly... I'm almost just disgusted with me... Were it not FOR YONAH...
18.54 POOR SWEET LITTLE ONE! The waters are changed and the windows are closed for the night. His house is ready for him for the night but OH! What a WHIRL-WIND he's just gone through!
As I was running back and forth in and out of the room with the water, he came SOARING INTO THE KITCHEN and then back to his house. The living-room was DARK! No "visiting" out there. But I DID turn a light on. Nope. After the second attempt, he decided not to give it another try. SO... He was ALL OVER his house as I tried to flush the pool and get things together. And THEN....
As happens, as I was just finishing, the last "flushes" with the pump running, a seed got stuck in the pump so it stopped completely! THANKFULLY I now know how to repair instead of replace and SO.... more "time"... as I took the pump to the kitchen and opened it to clean ONE little seed out. Back to flushing clean water through so a few more trips of me running back and forth. AND, with the Little Character on the door of his house! I had to move the door to get to the pump and such and he made it abundantly clear that he was NOT pleased with the "swinging". But we made good of it.
As I closed the curtains, he was on his roof-top and I thought he wanted to play with the "curtain critter" or the "hand behind the back-board" but... nope... He was having none of it. There's been too much commotion too soon and for too long.
So now... he's on the desk shelf, by the radio. His room is settled and so too, the rest of the house. Calm returns.
What a close of a boring day for him. And tomorrow morning, I have an errand and will have to leave him, for about an hour (I hope no longer) at 8.30! OH! But this is the last of the "physical therapies" so we return to our "usual" "2 old guys at home"... for a while. MAYBE we'll get his web-site together at long last! But we'll be TOGETHER!
So now... I'm closing the computer work for the night and we're off to seepie-nigh-night... I think. We'll see as the rest of the evening goes along. OH HOW I DO SO MUCH LOVE AND ADORE THIS LITTLE ONE! MY "HERZ-UND-SEELE"... MY HEART-AND SOUL!
AND... 20.05 I got the "Schlaflieder" pages started... and now... the Little LOVE is on his roof-top and I'm off to prepare for "seepie-nigh-night" for the both of us... I think...
20.31 OK. I was ready to settle-in for the night about 10 minutes ago. The house settled, me settled, ablutions and such all done BUT... the second I gathered the "Futon Flock" to be put into the book-case nook... in a WOOSH, the Little Character came RUSHING over! Burdie-Birdie had to get a "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"! And kisses! And the White Dove too! For some-birdy who seemed ready for a night's rest, there was much to say and do before. So, we took a bit of time to "play" with the doves, and one thing that was really rather obvious: Yonah is NOT fond of the "brown" doves, the 2 that I coloured. Not sure why. I always look at them and wonder what colours he sees. And the larger ("Hansa") was given colours that are more on the "male" side so that might have something to do with it. But the "Beanie" was straight beige/brown like female. I wonder...
But... WE PLAYED and all the while I kept repeating "Seepie-nigh-night" to the "flock", hoping this Little One here would get the hint. Oh no... More KISSES!
Then, suddenly, he headed up to his house to the door and... now, at 20.33 he's on the night roost. The night music has been playing all the while too. I'm closing things here... More to follow...
WHAT A NIGHT! GOTTA SO MUCH LOVE MY LITTLE HERZ-UND-SEELE!
Thursday 23 October:
6.36 Well then, last night was, indeed, quite the straight-forward "tuck-in"... after all the commotion. The Little One was on his night roost and (almost) ready to call it a day. I did managed to sneak in a few kisses though before "closing shoppe", as it were. And got me onto the futon, lullabies rolling along. AND a little "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" or two, between "Seepie-nigh-night I Love YOU" and the "closing extras". No "woo-HOO!" though.
Last light off at a late, 21.05. Hey, I tried for a proper hour but as I always say (since I've come to learn), there never any real "planning". This Little Character can come up with something before we actually settle down for the night.
I say "almost" ready to call it a day because again, last night, he was a little fidgety before the calm. Not sure why, but it didn't last long. And oddly enough, I too, didn't actually get to "sleep" until almost 1.00 thie morning. Strange night. I'm wondering what "poops" will tell today. But right now, the house is quiet and I'm up (obviously) and waiting...
7.26 and all's quiet. I've turned the light off in the kitchen... off to open the door to his room. I'm curious (spelt: nervous - of course).
OK THEN! 10.51 ALREADY AND QUITE THE MORNING!
So, yes, I did open the door to Yonah's room this morning, an in the silence, not even a little "HOO", I took the futon linens out to the kitchen to fold them and as I did...
7.28 "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo". Clear, but soft, almost as though he was "testing". Like a little "Hi? I'm awake? Where did you go?"
When I called back "I HEAR you my Little LOVE." another little "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo". So I said "I'm coming right back." and he replied "woo-HOO!" and Thursday was called to order.
I headed right back to the dark room and went right over to his house to check and there he was, on his night roost. And as I opened his door... WING STRETCHES! BEAUTIFUL WING STRETCHES! So I leaned in for our "Good morning" kisses and, well, this morning, "not so much". A few little pecks on the forehead. OK. Then...
POOPS: 11 total AND 4 of them a bit on the "beige", the rest ABSOLUTELY NORMAL... AND ALL OF THEM ON THE "RUG", UNDER THE NIGHT ROOST! SO, IT WAS A CALM NIGHT FOR MY LITTLE LOVE!
I just didn't have the heart to get right into the "rollie-rollin'" because I just didn't want to disturb the Little Guy so early (early?) so I worked round his house, removed the roof-board, placed the door perch and roof platform and squeezed me behind his house. Opened the "far" window first so as not to blast the dime day-light into the room. (Another dreary start to the day, so over-cast.) But as I opened the blinds, with a hop, he was on the food shelf perch! OK. Some-birdy was up and at the new day! So I made my way over to the other window, opened that up and then, got to the business of water run.
As I did, he hopped down to his door perch and then... over to the futon.
But OH... the "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"s rolled along this morning. We had quite the little "chat" and it did my heart SO MUCH GOOD! Clear coo's, fantastic poops, and energy, up and at the day.
Oh, but, I had early morning errands to run this morning. I kept trying to think of ways out but... As it turned out, I showered, dressed and it was one of those "just keep moving" sort of mornings. No sooner had the house been settled for the morning, bird-songs on, radio on low... I was at the door and away.
Turned out, I'd put the wrong time on the calendar for this morning's appointment and when I arrived... Oh well... re-scheduled. But I was already 45 minutes ahead of what I'd planned! YAY! So I got the marketing done, back to the house to put groceries up and check on the Little LOVE who was on the wall shelf when I returned. We played a little bit, "chase", as it were, across the shelf and, sadly (for me), I was off and running the next task that I'd thought of attending after lunch!
By 10.00 everything was done and I was back... and my little Heart-and-Soul was in his loft and there were breaks in the clouds! (A chilly 9° morning out there though. But the room was at a comfy 23° and the clouds were thinning so we didn't need the UV lamp this morning, thankfully.)
So here we are, my LOVE is on his perch beside his loft, we've played a little, I've gotten "people nonsense" together for the morning and, as of 11.00 (ALREADY! NO MATTER HOW "AHEAD" I GET, "TIME" JUST MANAGES TO PUSH BACK), all is settled. We're on with the rest of the day!
19.24 My Little LOVE is up on his roof-top where he's been for the past 45 minutes, all snuggled-down and WE JUST HAD QUITE THE FRIGHT WHICH I'M INCLUDING HERE TO COMMIT IT TO MEMORY AND BECAUSE OTHER PEOPLE WITH BIRDS IN THE HOUSE OUGHT TO BE AWARE OF. I'D PUT ABOUT 10 DROPS OF A "NATURAL" PINE NEEDLE EXTRACT IN THE HOLDING TANK OF THE TOILET, THINKING IT WOULD HELP REMOVE THE "ODOUR" OF "LAUNDRY" THAT I DISCOVERED WAS COMING FROM THE TOILET BECAUSE OF THE HIGHLY SUB-STANDARD PLUMBING IN THIS OLD HOUSE. I'D MANAGED TO GET RID OF MOST OF IT WITH A THOROUGH CLEANING BUT THOUGHT SOMETHING AS NATURAL AS "PINE" WOULD HELP REMOVE IT COMPLETELY. WELL! IT WASN'T MOMENTS LATER WHEN THE "TVOC" READING ON THE AIR QUALITY MONITOR STARTED RISING, REGULARLY, SECOND-BY-SECOND! WHAT'S USUALLY A READING OF "0,025", WITH "GREEN" LIGHT INDICATOR JUST CONTINUED INCREASING, AS I SAY, SECOND-BY-SECOND! UP INTO THE 520s! AND IT CONTINUED TO RISE! I HIT THE "AI" TO CHECK FOR "DANGEROUS" LEVELS, DESPITE THE "YELLOW" LIGHTING THAT CLAIMS "NORMAL" AND AFTER A FEW GENERAL QUESTIONS, IT OCCURRED TO ME, I'D USED THE OIL! I ASKED, DIRECTLY, IF THAT WOULD CAUSE THE RISE AND SURE ENOUGH, EVEN THE 10 DROPS, DILUTED IN LITRES OF ROOM TEMPERATURE WATER. I COULDN'T SMELL THE PINE BUT THERE IT WAS, IN THE AIR! AND IT WAS POINTED-OUT THAT STUDIES OF "SPAS" THAT USE "AROMATHERAPY" USUALLY HAVE HIGH LEVELS OF TVOCs. NOW, FOR HUMANS, THIS ISN'T SUCH A CONCERN. MANY OF US USE THESE OILS TO "CLEAN THE AIR" IN THE HOUSE. BUT MY CONCERN ISN'T "PEOPLE"... MY CONCERN IN MY LITTLE HEART-AND-SOUL! HE WASN'T MAKING A FUSS OR ANYTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY. AND HE WASN'T "LETHARGIC" SO IT LIKELY DIDN'T HAVE ANY AFFECT ON HIM. BUT I WASN'T TAKING ANY CHANCES AND NOW I KNOW TO BE EXCEEDINGLY CAREFUL IF/WHEN I EVER USE OILS IN THE HOUSE AGAIN! NOW, AT 19.37, AS I TYPE, THE READING HAS DROPPED TO 0,123. I'D OPENED THE BACK DOOR AND THE WINDOW IN THE LOO FOR A WHILE. AND THE HOUSE FURNACE IS RUNNING SO THAT TOO, WILL FILTER THE AIR, ESPECIALLY WITH THE ACTIVATED CHARCOAL FILTERS. AND THE LITTLE GUY HAS JUST TAKEN A FLIGHT FROM ROOF-TOP TO HOUSE FLOOR WHERE HE'S LOOKING ABOUT AS HE DOES. I'M RELIEVED I FOUND THE CAUSE BEFORE WE TUCKED IN FOR THE NIGHT AND WE'RE ABOUT TO DO JUST THAT!
Meanwhile, the day? I used the time to "refine" our new "Schlaflieder" pages with the time I had. And the Little LOVE spent his day lounging in his loft, as he does. It was a dreary day all through, grey, cloudy, drizzly and quite chilly! (There are nights ahead with 0° coming! I checked the oil for the furnace and if we can continue with "comfortable days and sun-shine, we should be quite well into November... I'm hoping. But we still have the little oil radiators and if needed, we can keep Yonah's room VERY comfortable with-out the house furnace so, no panic.)
After lunch, I grabbed a 45-minute lie-down... solo again, sadly. I had Burdie-Birdie and the new Brown Beanie with me but Yonah was having none of it. He flew over to the futon as I went to lay down, came to the pillow beside my head and gave a couple of pecks on my head. (Maybe those were "Good night" kisses?) And then, he was off to his loft and I was off to snooze.
When I woke, there was the briefest moment of some sun-shine, but as I say, the briefest moment. And the sun was gone again. Thankfully, it wasn't so dark that we needed the UV light today though.
And I got right back to Yonah's web-site pages. There's so much I need to up-date, so much he's taught me over these 5 years. And though it's all in the Journal, I'm pretty sure nobody's going to invest the time to read 5 years (now going into 6 years) to learn what I've learnt "step-by-step". So I want to condense the important information for others. Having a Little Guy like Yonah can present all too many hard-ships where knowing what to do is concerned and I don't want anybody else to have to experience OUR experiences where so much (too much) is "live and learn" or "instinct", "trial and error".
Well, that covered the rest of this day (which has disappeared entirely TOO quickly!) until dinner at 16.30 this evening. Acctually, I had my dinner as Yonah had his! It's the time difference in the season here: dinner will be earlier as the day grows darker earlier.
I made quick of washing-up and re-settling at the desk until... 18.40... Evening water change! The sky out-side was already DARK!
And, mentioning "DARK"... it's already gotten to be 19.55 (what an hour!) and the sky out-side the window is BLACK! The Little Guy is on the perch by his food... he's had a little snack, the bird-songs are off and now? I'm off to ablutions. The house is settled. The TVOCs are back down to 0.076! All is calm and now, we get to rest tonight.
BY GOD! IF NOT FOR YONAH... I'd simply "lay me down to sleep"... "forever and day" (as Janis Ian sang.)
"There may be troubles ahead. But while there's moon-light and music, and love and romance" together we'll "face the music and dance"!
20.32 and the windows were closed against the night... under "Su-bird-vision" from INSIDE the house! No playing this evening, we made it quite clear that 'twas seepie-nigh-night time! Looks like I'm gonig to have to adjust the timing accordingly. "Winter hours" are now under way. And he's on the night roost already so looks like no "ride home" again. I miss that, but as I say, I need to adjust accordingly. So that said and done... off to lullabies and tucking-in for the night. At least the "TVOCs" are back to "normal"... well, according to the monitor... "better than normal", since "yellows" are "normal" and "green" (which is where all the little "bars" are now) is "better than". That's a relief. Let's hope they stay that way through the night.
Friday 24 October:
9.41 already and to think... well, I woke at about 5.30 and was so lazy that I dozed back off until 6.15 and am only now getting to sit at the desk and on with the day! AND... my MOST PRECIOUS LITTLE LOVE is in his loft, by his windows, to watch the grey skies out there on this "chilled" and damp morning. Oh, the drear of Autumn. But the house is cosy-warm and thus far, all is well.
I was in the kitchen this morning, at the table, coffee at hand. I'd opened the door to Yonah's room slightly, so to hear for the "morning call" when...
7.24 came the soft "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo"...
I replied with a "spoken-not-coo'ed" (too early for trying that) "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo?" as I started to get up and immediately...
"woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" returned.
My next "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" was addressed with a "woo-HOO!" So... as I went to the door, came another "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo". So well then, "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" it was!
As soon as I got into the room, another "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo". Oh yes, indeed, morning arrived, time to get up and into it and no time to dilly-dally here!
Ah... when I arrived, opened the door to his house, the Little Guy was stretching wings and making ready for...
Popped my face in for "Good morning" kisses and got the briefest little pecks on the nose. Yep, no time to tarry, so we got to opening the curtains and blinds to a grey and dreary morning out-side. It's all the more dreary now that the leaves on the trees are almost completely gone. "Autumn" is here and Winter is just up the road, round the next bend.
But as soon as the windows were open, the room was "a-flutter" and I looked into the "catch-bucket" under the pump for the fountain to see that it had been leaking through the night! The pool was still quite full, but I had to do something about the leak. I checked, still can't quite figure out what's wrong, decided to change the pump. (So thankful that I finally figured out how to "repair" the pumps so we had one at the ready. Another "lesson" learnt , thanks to my Soul-and-Inspiration here.) I suppose Yonah decided that this was going to be involved so he took off for the desk to "supervise from a distance" as I pulled the plumbing for his fountain apart, investigated and replaced the pump anyway.... Water changes were thrice this morning since I've learnt too, how to drain the pool whilst simultaneously running the fountain. It flushes the pool and the pump with fresh water that way so I know the tubing and pump are clear and clean.
Seems there's something wrong with the "intake stem" on that one pump so... another little "project" for later (as if we don't already have enough "projects" at present - but this one can be done in the room so it's "together time").
Apparently, my activities were boring so as I worked, the Little Guy took a flight out to the living-room for a few moments and then came back to check on my progress. I was still "on the run" with the water so he headed to his house to watch from "above".
By 8.15 all the "nonsense" was done and the Little Guy was back in his house... coo'ing the morning in.
Poops? 12 in total this morning. All but 2, under the roost and all quite pleasantly "healthy"! YAY! Healthy poops and a calm night.
And now... it's already 10.00 and he's gone back out to the living-room! As I've been typing, he's been ALL OVER THE PLACE! Pecking about the floor of his house, up on the wall shelf tearing at the dried corn leaves in the pot up there, came for a cuddle on my shoulder, up on the desk shelf... ENERGY! WHOA! THE ENERGY THIS MORNING! AND NOW WE'RE BACK IN THE HOUSE, TODDLING ABOUT. We're going to have to make sure we have play-time today! (And out-side... the ticking of rain on the roof of the cellar shed. Oh well... HEY! Today's "agenda" is "Schlaflieder" pages for the web-site, seeing about the new perches... they need to be cut and I want to see if he's comfortable on them before replacing the old ones... I'm mostly concerned because the "night roost" will be replaced and I want to be sure he'll be comfortable. The new one will be almost exactly the same diameter but I wonder about "texture". We shall see. I'll keep the old one... just in case. AND today is "hoover day" so we'll be making noises... sawing, hoovering... and we'll see how the day goes... when the day "goes". I've been taught: live "now"...)
18.33 And... the sky out-side is already BLACK! Oh yeah... Summer is LONG gone now. And it was a dreary day through. And now, the Little LOVE is on the roof-top of his house, right at the front edge, looking snoozey. It's time to start closing house already, after what must have been a boring day for the Little Guy. I kept so busy, finding music to add to his web-site (on the "Schlalieder" pages) AND I managed to a recording of ME, singing "Mein Kleiner Lieber Yonahlein"! It's terrible, but at least it's a recorded copy of a lullaby that's HIS... original all the way.
It was quite fascinating to see his responses to hearing other recorded renditions of the lullabies he's accustomed to hearing before tucking-in. When I started playing the videos, he was flying all over the room, and for the longest while, he was on his door perch, staring at me as the melodies played on his lap-top. I could actually SEE that he was "pondering", "thinking". This wasn't "normal". And the room was light, the curtains were open. What was going on? And then, I started singing along and THAT made it all the more confusing! That said...
After lunch today, I cut the maple down into 2 perches and had put them into his house under the perches that hold his loft, one of which is his night roost. OH and he noticed them and wasn't too thrilled they were there. But they DO take space and they will be removed until we get to cutting them to size and the notches are put in. They're a little "bent" so they might need some work to fit but they fit. I'll keep the originals, just in case he completely rejects the "new". The maple is a bit smoother than what's in there. My primary concern is his comfort and making sure he doesn't get any sort of "foot complications". We shall see. It's more of the "trial and error". But looking it up with "AI", and looking at all the forums, that's about as good as we can do. I still have the other "branch" from the top of that maple, in the living-room. There's a nice place that would hold a "nest" and I'm working on how to use it and where. I don't know that' he'll use it, but, at lest it'll be there... in case. OH! How I WISH I could know with certainty. But I've wished that for 5 years! I'm such an "inferior human"...
Dinner this evening was at 16.30 because i was trying to keep-up with the day and hoping for more time to get more done.
Deborah came by at about 17.15... She didn't come in to see Yonah BUT SHE REITERATED HER INVITATION TO * US *. "You could come down for 3 days and of course, Yonah will come too." IMAGINE? Bringing Yonah to The City! I don't know how many rooms they have down there, but she just made sure to say that Yonah should come too. She's said the same thing about the place here, at "the farm". They have rooms there and she always makes sure to say that a room would be set for Yonah. I mean... OH WOW! She really does have a LOVE for Yonah... I wish she'd feel more comfortable around him, but he gets all sorts of "fidgety", that "skittish" Mourning Doves are known for, when she's around. I don't know why. But then again, doves, in general, aren't known to like "strange" and Deborah's not around often. Amy stops in the house when I'm away and comes in to see and talk with him. Oh... we'll have to see what we can do...
Other than all this, we had a "snooze" this after-noon after lunch. I set the alarm for 30 minutes as usual and had more of a "lie-down"... solo. 30 minutes later, I was up and about. There were things to get done, including the hoovering!
And now... hoovering done, house is settled and evening waters... ANOTHER DAY THAT SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN RUDELY AND ABRUPTLY TAKEN FROM US IN A BLINK OF AN EYE!
19.45 and I'm out of the shower, the windows are closed for the night. Fresh water in the pool. The rest of the house is settled and I'm about to go for evening ablutions. My Little LOVE, my Herz-und-Seele is snuggled on his lap-top beside me, little eyes closed. End of the day. End of the week. PRECIOUS, SWEET LITTLE BEAUTIFUL BABE!
I noticed, again, today, that his little legs and feet were so DARK! So I checked with 2 "AI" and, of course, along with general "position" and such, they gave "respiratory illnesses", "congenital illnesses" in doves. But I have to watch. Because it isn't "constant" or "too frequent", it could be his position when he's lounging in his loft. They've gone back to the "red" that they usually are. They've never actually been as red as the doves in the yard and I don't doubt that there's "something" injured, damaged, from that attack. But, I'm HOPING it's primarily because of being in the loft. If that's the case, I'm sure that, if it becomes uncomfortable for him, he'll get up and move about. He was SO active most of the morning. I have to make sure he gets his exercise! (I'm a terrible companion... and because of his web-site, these days.)
But now, we're about to get to tucking-in. The air monitor could be better, but some of what's being "detected" is, no doubt, from my shower. The readings are still all "green", unlike the "yellows" we had. So that's consoling. When I read "respiratory" slowing his oxygen circulation I admit, I was angry. With all the fumes and dryer sheets and dust and mould in this old "box o'toxins"... well... More incentive to REALLY do what we have to do to get out of here before...
For now... it's now and now is when we have to get settled for the night.
Before I forget... before windows and shower, I took the "new perches" out of his house this evening and the Little Character was on his roof-top, watching me. I held them in my hands and brought them up so he could see them and...
BOTH WINGS UP! I brought them down again and then back up and again... BOTH WINGS STRAIGHT UP! WHAT A SIGHT! I don't know what that means, but now it's going to be interesting when I have to work with them, cutting them to size and getting the "notches" in them to fit in his house. I HOPE he doesn't out-right reject them, especially since one of them will be his "night roost". If he rejects them, and the "night roost" I don't know... but as I say, I'll keep the ones he has and if we must, we'll just keep the "new" for "extras" in case we need.
I checked, on-line (again) for the best "diameter" for perches for doves, now that I'm aware that their toes "wrap" naturally, and laying flat isn't "natural". These new perches are, according to "sources", PERFECT, but is was suggested to move perches about in the "house"... though, it was also mentioned that doves are not "fond of change" so the re-locations shouldn't be frequent or drastic. Now, I'm looking at Yonah's place and wondering how I might "re-arrange the furniture" for him... and still keep it "familiar enough" so that there's no "trauma". Oh... I'm still learning and there's SO MUCH MORE information to add to and change on all the pages on his web-site! We have a Winter of "busy" ahead!"
OK. It's already 20.00 and the Little Guy is stirring and I'm off to my evening ablutions. We have to put the night music on but he's on the lap-top and I don't like to disturb him so... we shall see...
Tonight, it seems, we just MIGHT get to lullabies and tuck-in at a "civil" hour, but there's never any guarantee... always time for a little "game" of book-case, wall-shelves, curtain-rod... or the last minute "soo-hoo" to Burdie...
20.14 all done, off we go, Yonah is snacking. The room is ready for us for the night, the house is settled... To be continued... we're "early"!
Saturday 25 October:
17.55 AND... after another day of "grey-blue-grey-blue" skies, the skies out-side the window are going "nightly dark" already. And my little Heart-and-Soul is up on his roof-top, singing the "Evening Serenade", with his soft "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"s, filling an almost settled house with his own warmth and the reminder of why I'm still alive... and that I have a "LIFE" and not simply and "existence". My biggest resentment: our day-time together is so short any more and today, even shorter because of when we finaly actually got up and into this day.
BUT, I have to say, we DID manage to accomplish TWO rather (some-what) important little tasks... and I'll get to them in order. For now...
Last night, I finished closing the house and jotting the closing note for the day and when I got back into his room, the Little Guy was on his night roost again and as he made obvious, ready for a simple "tuck-in" by 20.20! So, I turned our "night music" (instrumental) off and started lullabies as I put the futon together for me. Admittedly, I was waiting for a sudden flight out and up to the desk or wall shelves but, no, this Little One was "down for the night" and I made it all through the last minute settles and got me under the covers, lullabies rolling along... no "woo-hoo"s through.
I DID manage to sneak a couple kisses in though, before closing his house. "Kisses"... not just the passing pecks. Though they were brief - he was TIRED!
"Schlaflieder" (lullabies) went along, softly and slowly and... at 20.50... the last light of the day was turned off.
THEN...
This morning? I woke, as usual, at about 5.00, looked at the clock and thought "There's more time and nothing important enough to get up and disturb a Saturday morning. I'll snooze a bit. Probably wake again in about half an hour." Closed my eyes and... fell right into a dreamful sleep! I can't recall the dream(s) but, when I DID open my eyes next, and looked at the clock... 7.20! Not only had I actually slept, but there was no "morning call" yet! I got up and silently, headed out to the kitchen to put the kettle on and no sooner had I poured the water... from behind me...
"woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"
Softly, but quite clearly! 7.22. Water poured, kettle on, I headed right back into the dark room, over to the little "house" at the window and looking in, I could see the little silhouette there, on his night roost, still all cosy and as I opened his door, OH! the woo-hoo's continued right along, accompanied by wing stretches! When I popped my head in for "Good morning" kisses... KISSES! It was a bit strange, for both of us, I'm pretty sure, getting up at the same time and me, doing my best to get everything together in our "regular time slot". BUT we were BOTH SO HAPPY TO SEE ONE-ANOTHER this rather dark, dreary morning.
Out-side, I managed to catch, the temperature was a mere 7° but the room was a comfy 23°.
This morning, I changed the routine of opening the windows... I opened them before I lifted the back-board and all the while, the coo's continued. And when, at last, the back-board was lifted and the day-light made it into his house, Yonah hopped right across to the perch at his food and let out a hearty "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo"! It was as though he was saying "AT LAST! DAY-LIGHT!"
I got his house settled and ready for the morning water change, rushed out to the kitchen to make my morning coffee and came right back, brought out the "Futon Flock" and as soon as Burdie was there, so too, was Yonah, with a "Good morning" "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"!
Poops check: 13! OH MY! 2 rather "light beige", the rest were all a healthy brown. All of them were on the "rug" though a touch on the "scattered" side. I'm taking it's because they were "dry"... surely not "too dry" but "dry enough" to bounce a little here and there. All said: HEALTHY! YAY!
As I made and had my morning coffee in between water runs, the Little LOVE stayed on the futon with his "flock" and watched me running in and out of the room.
When done, I had a little laundry to get washed this morning, so I put that into the basin to soak whilst I finished with our regular morning tasks.
When waters were changed, fresh food in his dish on the shelf, futon linens folded, room settled for the day ahead, I went back into the kitchen to wash the soaking laundry and behind me? I happened to look round and there he was... MY LITTLE SU-BIRD-VISOR HAD COME SILENTLY TODDLING OUT TO VISIT and when he saw that I saw him, he headed out to the living-room to his tree, with another hearty "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"! he stayed out there whilst I finished the laundry and when I'd done putting it up to dry, I headed out to the living-room. By then, he was on the roof of his "yard house" and I GOT IN SO MANY EXTRA KISSES AND HE RAN BACK AND FORTH ACROSS THE ROOF, PLAYING A BIT OF "CATCH AND KISS"! When he'd had enough, he headed for his tree again and I went into his room to settle me for the morning and get back to working with the new "Schlaflieder" (lullabies) pages for his site.
Oh... no sooner had I gotten settled... my Little LOVE came SOARING back into his room and on to the desk beside me... for more kisses and a little playing. Hey. Saturday. It's a day of "rest" and I was "working"... though, I don't consider his web-site to be "work"... It's more of a back-up to his care, and the care of other Mourning Doves so it's about "Life"... and "Life" takes precedence. But what FUN to have him with me there... AND at 11.15... SUN-SHINE CAME FLOODING IN THROUGH THE WINDOWS AND THE LITTLE GUY TOOK OFF, TO HIS HOUSE, TO HIS BEACH... FOR A BASK!
Shortly after, Deborah stopped by but didn't come in to see him. BUT... IN OUR LITTLE CHAT ABOUT HIM, SHE SAID, SOME-WHAT IN PASSING, THAT IT WOULD BE NICE IF WE COULD BUILD AN AVIARY AT HER PLACE! SOME PLACE TO BRING YONAH DOWN, WHERE HE COULD HAVE SPACE AND BE AT PEACE! THE WAY SHE PUT IT "THERE'S SOMETHING FOR YOU TO THINK ABOUT. YOU'RE ARTISTIC. YOU COULD DESIGN SOMETHING. YOU COULD BUILD IT BY THE NEW BARN." Now, I can't see either of us doing such a thing, really, sensibly, considering our health and that of Julio. But what a delight to hear. She truly DOES care for and about Yonah SO MUCH! Between this and her saying that I should come down to their place in The City, stay 3 days "and bring Yonah"... I DO have to wonder. Where The City is concerned, I wonder most about the travelling. 5 hours in a vehicle, truly "confined". I'm sure if he and I were in the back seat together for the trip, it wouldn't be TOO traumatic. Still... I'm already heart-sick thinking about us moving from this place to another, and that that might take an hour or longer. But over-all, I don't doubt he'd handle it all quite well. The trip to Deborah's to get the perches went well... with him beside me... as long as I spoke and he knew I was there. It's the HIGHEST HONOUR to know that he TRUSTS me SO VERY MUCH! And, simultaneously, quite the responsibility. I MUST BE HERE FOR HIM... ALWAYS... AND I WORK, DILIGENTLY, TO ENSURE THAT I AM!
Well then... the morning slid right by all too quickly and we took our mid-day break for lunch, with the news. And after, I went for a 30-minute lie-down which turned into a mere moment of shut-eye. No sooner did I get to the futon when the Little LOVE was over to me, on my chest to PLAY! AND OH! DID WE PLAY! Burdie-Birdie was on my chest and of course, there was much "woo-HOO'iing" to Burdie. And a little game of "chase" as I tried to pet my Heart-and-Soul and he pecked at my hand and ran away... and came back again. There wasn't much in the way of snoozing and certainly no "dozing". But that wasn't important. We were TOGETHER... and we got play and exercise!
Oh... but as I laid there and the Little Character took off to the desk, the sun vanished and the room went back to dark again. And that was the way the rest of the after-noon passed...
FUN NOTE: THE "SCHLAFLIEDER" PAGES ARE ON THE SERVER AS OF 16.15 !!! EACH PAGE HAS THE LYRICS AS WE SING THEM, BUT A COPY OF THE "ORIGINAL INSPIRATIONS" IS THERE SO THAT ANYBODY CAN KNOW THE MELODIES! There's still a little work I'd like to do on each page, a little "art", and there's no "link" from any other pages on the site (yet), BUT THEY'RE THERE AND THEY'RE ACCESSIBLE! It took me ALL TOO LONG to get them there but...
THEN, CURIOSITY GOT THE BEST OF ME AND I WENT OUT TO THE LIVING-ROOM AND, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE LONGEST WHILE, I PICKED-UP THE GUITAR AND RAN A "TRIAL" OF PLAYING SOME "ACCOMPANIMENT". FOR *** OUR *** "MEIN KLEINER LIEBER YONAHLEIN" .. EASY CHORDS! " * D * A * G * " !!! I'D MADE A REALLY QUICK RECORDING OF ME SINGING IT, PRIMARILY SO THAT SOMEBODY ELSE WILL KNOW WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE... BUT NOW, A NEW "CHALLENGE" FOR ME: TO PLAY THE GUITAR AND MAKE IT ALL SOUND A BIT BETTER, CLEARER. I JUST SO WANT SOMEBODY ELSE TO KNOW THAT SONG SINCE IT'S "OURS" AND - may ALL THE FATES FORBID - IF I EVER AM UNABLE TO SING IT TO MY "HERZ-UND-SEELE", SOMEBODY ELSE CAN DO SO. IT'S SUCH A PART OF HIS "FAMILIAR LIFE" NOW... AND IT'S OUR "CLOSE OF DAY" SONG... I WANT IT TO BE THERE FOR HIM... NO MATTER WHOSE VOICE IT'S SUNG IN! (I'm SO terribly worried about a time when we'll be separated... and these days, our "Tiellady/Della" on social media is in hospital and somebody is posting little up-dates on her progress and little videos of her Arnie. And when I see them... I get physically sick, thinking "my day might come"... and it rips me apart. These lullabies are part of Yonah's Life now... I want him to NEVER end a day with-out them!)
Well then so then... We took a quick break for dinner this evening as the skies out-side went darker. The sun is setting so much earlier now, and with the clouds, it was almost "late evening" by "early evening". I made quick work of it and... it was time, already, to get to the evening water changes. I could see, as he snuggled at his lap-top, the little guy was following the day... and it was time to start getting his room and house ready for the night.
At 18.36, I headed to the kitchen, put things together for the vening water run, the Little Guy was already on his roof-top, preening and getting ready for the night ahead. The sky was BLACK out-side the window already! And the threat for the night: 0° (which means it's likely to be colder... here we go! WINTER!). But the temperature in the room: a cosy 24° so all should be well through the night. The house is warm. He has his Sweeter Heater in his house for the night and if we need... we have the little radiator ready to be run. No matter the temperature in the rest of the house, Yonah's room will be safe and warm... "I wish you shelter from the storm, a cosy fire to keep you warm"... and I'll see to it that he has BOTH!
20.00 and all too soon, the Little Guy is on the lap-top and it's time to close house.
Amy stopped by about half hour ago to drop some things for Deborah and we chatted and he was on the lap-top all the while. When I got back into the room, he was still there, all snuggly.
I'd gotten the waters changed before and we had to clean the pump to his fountain this evening at 18.30 and he watched for a while, from his laptop. Then, as I made a fuss about fixing the pump, he headed up for nightly snack! After all the commotion, I closed the windows... and all the while, he just watched... un-phased. WHAT a Character.
Now... I'm off to ablutions. (I'm typing "quick notes" to be put together tomorrow... we're running late again.) And the Little Guy is preening... on the lap-top. I want to put our night music on but I don't want to disturb him. We shall see... We play the time according to him.
20.34 My Little LOVE is on his night roost and the night music is on... lap-tops in the kitchen. Ablutions are done and we're finally off to close the day... More tomorrow...
Sunday 26 October:
14.22 A bit of a later-than-planned start to the day but here we go... catch-up.
Last night's tuck-in was brief again, and later than I'd hoped for. The Little LOVE was still on his night roost when I came in from settling the house for the night, and since I'd done the windows and back-board, it was a simple task of placing the roof-board and getting the futon together for me. So I got right to evening lullabies as I put the "finishing touches" on the room and the Little Feather-bundle "arranged feathers" for the night. I tried for a couple of "Good night" kisses and got several but it was obviously time to get some sleep!
A little neck rub and the door was closed and I was onto the futon.
Lullabies were soft, slow, calm... un-broken... all through and I COULD SEE that the Little LOVE was tired... it didn't take but a moment and he was all tucked... head in wings... and the last light was off at 21.10...
This morning was another one of those "I'll just lay here for a moment longer." mornings when 5.00 turned to 7.00! Last night was calm and this morning, "Sunday" with only one brief errand to run, I was in no particular hurry. BUT...
At 7.11 (as was the case in the past as well), as I laid on the futon, eyes closed and thinking...
A soft but quite audible "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo". "Morning call". No more time for snoozing.
I replied with the closest I could manage "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" and came the reply "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo". That's when I noticed the hour. But, I still wanted to "languish" in the morning so I tried to keep a little "conversation" going to see how long I could manage to keep it moving and after THREE "exchanges" came the "woo-HOO!". 7.18! The Little Guy put up with me for 7 whole minutes! And I have to add here that I'm fascinated because I'm getting to recognise the slightest change in his coo when the next one will be the "woo-HOO"!. I actually was prepared for it this morning!
Anyway, since he was up and awake and it was time to get on to the day ahead, I "hopped up" (as best as an old man "hops" from bed), went right over to his house to see the little silhouette looking in the direction of the futon, and... WING-STRETCH! Truly time to open house and get on with the morning and the day!
Opened the door to his house, "woo-hoo'ed" a "Good morning" and leaned in for a kiss which I got... ONE... and then a peck on the nose and he scuttled to the side and gave another wing-stretch. These are the moments when I wonder what he'd do out in the "wild" when he wakes of a morning. If I were to leave the door to his house open, would he make a little "flight" up and out of his house? Or is his room still too dark to navigate? I'll just have to keep wondering because I'm not about to "risk". I certainly don't want him trying to fly out to the room if he can't see perfectly well. So... we'll wonder but "err on the side of safety".
Opened his door, placed the door perch, removed the roof-board and he waited there, on the night roost all the while. I headed out to the kitchen, put the kettle on for my morning coffee, put the kitchen in order for the morning water run and went back into his room, folded the futon linens, brought out the "Futon Flock" and then headed to the windows to open them, removing the back-board first, this morning and I opened the curtains and blinds slowly so as not to FLUSH the room with day-light quickly.
We "chatted" a bit as I went along...
Out-side, this morning, the sun hadn't risen above the Eastern hills yet, but the skies were clear, the temperature... 1° (I'd checked whilst setting the kitchen). But the room was a comfy 23° and the house furnace was running, to be sure.
All done, I gathered the containers for the morning water run, put the bird-songs on and headed back out to the kitchen... made coffee, opened the tap to get the water cleared and when I got back into the room, the Little One was on the perch at his food shelf, waiting for me to get things rolling. In a moment, he was over to the futon... "Good morning woo-hoo's" to Burdie and Co. and I was off and running back and forth with the water. (Had to do it thrice this morning... there was a little seed in the tubing on its way to the pump so we drained the pool to make sure we didn't have to take plumbing apart this morning. The extra run was, apparently, noticed... I was being stared at from the futon... by my "Su-bird-visor"! "Workin' under pressure." And seeing how aware he is of EVERY LITTLE CHANGE in a routine is STILL FASCINATING!
Well! To say the least, I made quick work of it all and got his house settled, by the window and the sun rose in the sky and came POURING into the room! A beautiful start to a "mountain Sunday morn".
I rushed into the weekly "budget", checked all that needed to be checked, got me dresses and rushed out the door so to get back with time to spend TOGETHER with my Heart-and-Soul today!
(14.51 He's on the futon, "preening" Burdie... opps... he's off to the living-room! We'd just played a bit with Burdie, something I'm making sure we have time for now as I check his little feet for colour. They've been great today, but play and exercise are now tops on the list of daily activities... circulation!)
Managed to get everything on the "errand list" done in under 30 minutes this morning and was back to the room, all settled together. The Little Guy took to his loft and I took to the desk.
POOPS REPORT TODAY: 14 PERFECT LITTLE POOPS, ON THE RUG, UNDER THE NIGHT ROOST! 14 OF THEM! HAPPY, HEALTHY TUMMY AND A RESTFUL NIGHT, LAST NIGHT! NO HALOS! NO STRANGE COLOURS! Just what I SO need to see first thing of a morning!
Sadly, because of the later start to the day, it wasn't long before it was time for LUNCH! When I got up from the desk to go to the kitchen, he came over to his door perch and I picked him up and put him on my shoulder and we went to the kitchen, together... with "a little birdie" in the hood of my Sherpa! And he stayed with me almost all through my putting the kettle on and setting the dishes for lunch! (He took off and headed back "home" for HIS lunch whilst I "toiled" with mine.
THEN... as I was eating at the desk, the news was on as it is for lunch... at 12.30, I looked up to see the Little Bundle of Feathers... LOUNGING... IN HIS POOL! The sun was POURING IN, right onto the pool, so the water must have been comfortably warm and he was SO cosy! I did manage to get a couple of photos AND A SHORT VIDEO OF HIM SPLASHING ABOUT! (Next project on my list: some sort of way to set the camera there to get GOOD video of him in his pool. But today's wasn't all too bad. I look forward to putting it on his site!)
He must have been in there a good 10 minutes before jumping out! I have to chuckle... all of about 7° out-side and here he is, splashing about in his pool.
OK. So, lunch done at 13.00, I put his room together again and... as we do after lunch, set a 30-minute alarm and headed for the futon... Yonah came to "visit" as I got me settled and then was back off to his loft. I snoozed... solo again today.
And now... with the crazy Little Character in his living-room, the sky out-side is clouding-over again. The room is at 23°. The living-room is a touch cooler but no house furnace needed. As long as he has his room and his Sweeter Heater to come to for warmth... all is well.
Sadly... it's already 15.00... and another day is slipping past us... TOO QUICKLY!
19.43 AND... "Boogaloo" is on his door perch having only just left his lap-top. His water in the pool is flushed and fresh (after today's "bath"), he's had a snack, and I've had a shower (well, HE took a bath so I HAD to take a shower). The house is settled for the night. Only my annoying ablutions left. And as for this after-noon-evening?
I was BORING again today, trying to catch-up with back Journalling and generally being "me"... the boring human. The Little Love was, for the most part, on his lap-top from since lunch, with news, lounging. A little time in the loft. But it got SO DARK SO SOON!
I was barely done with dinner, which we had together, of course, and I looked at the window and "BLACK SKIES"! At 18.00! But of course, by 18.30, my Little Crooner was on his roof-top, singing-in the evening and FILLING this old "box o'toxins" with the most BEAUTIFUL SOUND in Creation with his "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"s!
So now, we approach 20.00 and it's time for me to get to my "close of day people nonsense" and HOPE for a peaceful, restful night's sleep ahead. It's 5° out-side and 23° in the room. The house furnace was off as of "lunch" today and stayed comfortable until the sun headed down behind the mountains when I noticed 21°, which is supposed to be a Mourning Dove's "comfortable" but with THIS Little LOVE... and considering tonight's low in the forecast of a mere 1°... Start warm, stay warm. No "fluffing feathers" in one's sleep!
Tomorrow? Well, I have a 45-minute appointment after lunch, but it's close by so, we'll have the morning (and I should be cooking for that), lunch and dinner together and hopefully the Little Guy will enjoy a house with-out some crazy human running around. (And as always, I'll be sick with worry all the while I'm away. We SO need a place where I won't have to worry about his safety.)
20.00 and night music on, my Heart-and-Soul is on his food perch and... we're off to "house closing"! He's had another snack too! Full tummy, fresh water and seepie-nigh-night!
20.20 and my little Heart-and-Soul is back to his night roost and the house is settled and the only thing left is to close his house and set the futon and... close today. Not quite as "on time" as I'd been aiming for but... we're getting there. Sunday is closed... on to another week... More tomorrow...
Monday 27 October:
6.27 and I'm up and about and I can't say why because I would have liked to stay on the futon and wait to be "called". But here I am and my Little LOVE is in his house, on his night roost and I'll wait here for him.
Tucking-in in last night was, well, when I went back into the room to finish the day, he'd gone over to his food shelf and "scrunched" into that little position he does for "nest-coo's", tail up, wings a-flutter. So I tried t make quick work of putting the futon ready for me and as I did, I started lullabies... AND HE COO'ED AS IF SINGING ALONG! When I'd done with the futon, I managed to get in some of the most delightful little KISSES there, on that shelf and he hopped across to the night roost and started to settle down for the night, I placed the roof board and lullabies continued, softly, calmly and I watched as he tucked-in for the night ahead...
Well, as it went, the last light was turned off at 20.58... and as I sang our closing melodies I thought of the week coming. The clocks ("people nonsense" again, of course) get set back an hour as of Saturday this week... our "21.00" will read "20.00" and there will be that "re-adjustment" - for me, the silly human - but as I thought, it will be closer to Yonah's time. Morning's will be "odd" for a while, but the night's... We'll see how we can "move into" the "new time" during the coming week. Dinner will be at 16.00 but we "watch" a particular programme at 17.00 and that will change with the clock. I wondered if I could start having dinner at 16.00 this week, but will he notice the change in the "news"? I DO believe he "knows" the "people" on the screen on his lap-top with the "dinner news". It'll be a "change" for a while. Oh, "people" and "clocks" and such nonsense. (How things like this remind me so of those months of "living rough" so many years ago, when, as the sun started to set at close of day, I hurried to my little place beside the Atlantic, behind the dunes off the beach, under that little tree. I'd rush to get there before dark, to set things up for a night's sleep, out-side. By dark, I was asleep and as the sun rose the following morning, I woke. The "natural clock"... Yonah's "clock". Oh! To have that back again, here. So Yonah and I could tuck-in as the sun set and wake when it rises. One day... One day... I SO HOPE... SOON!) Any way, we've managed to "adjust" for 5 years now, we'll be fine, again. I'll see to it.
And now, that "clock" runs along, completely oblivious to me and us. It's still quite dark out-side at 6.45 and I wait to be "called"... as I do every morning, be it on the futon or in the kitchen. 4° out-side in the dark, and 23° in the house. He's safe, warm, protected, and that's really all that matters.
10.50 already, my LOVE, my LIFE is in his loft at the windows where the sun is trying to break through the clouds, the bird-songs are playing and I'm getting the "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"s as I type. The rest of the house is so quiet - for the while. It's been a "morning" already...
At 7.20, I was getting up from the kitchen table to open the door to his room and as soon as I stood up, through the door came that little "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"... I called "I hear ya." and came the reply "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" again. So I made haste to get to the door and open it, albeit, quietly. No sense in throwing the door open first thing in the morning. And as I stepped into the room... silence. I wondered... so I took the linens off the futon and waited for another coo as I folded them and sure enough... "soft" but clear, from the little house by the window, another "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" and when I answered "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo" he repeated it! (I SO WISH I KNEW WHAT I'M SAYING TO HIM! But when he repeats my "pattern", to me, it's AMAZING!)
I finished the folding, got the "Futon Flock" out for the day and went over, opened the door to his house and there he was, on the night roost, waiting... with a WING-STRETCH! AND... THIS MORNING, WHEN I LEANED IN FOR "GOOD MORNING" KISSES... KISSES! KISSES! MORE KISSES! NO MANY KISSES! WOO-HOO-HOO-HOO-HOO TO MONDAY MORNING! AND THOSE WERE FOLLOWED BY EVEN MORE KISSES! (OK... I was so DELIGHTED I did start to shed some tears. "It seems like a mighty long time" since I last got so many kisses!)
Door perch placed, as I removed the roof-board, MORE WING STRETCHES! AND MORE COO'S!
Energy this morning was ASTOUNDING! SO MUCH HAPPINESS SO EARLY IN THE MORNING!
And I checked the poops. 14 ABSOLUTELY PERFECT LITTLE POOPS... ALL BUT 3 ON THE "RUG". AND WHEN I SAY "PERFECT", I MEAN IN SIZE, CONTENT, TEXTURE, COLOUR... REALLY, JUST "TEXT-BOOK" HEALTHY AND PLACEMENT!
So, it was a healthy tummy after a peaceful night! AND, I know I didn't wake the Little Guy this morning, he got to sleep for as long as he wanted and needed.
Windows open to the dim morning light, I moved round to start the morning water change and OH! This Little LOVE was up, out of his house, over to the desk, then to the futon, then up to his roof-top where HE SO WANTED TO PLAY! WING-SNAPS, TODDLING ABOUT UP THERE, COO'S, MORE WING-SNAPS! AND COO'ING BACK AND FORTH! CHATS, DIALOGUES, CONVERSATIONS! MORE FLIGHTS TO THE DESK AND BACK FOR MORE WING-SNAPS AND MORE CONVERSATION! AND ALL THE WHILE I WENT ABOUT WITH THE MORNING WATER RUN!
By 8.10, we were settling for the day, the sun hadn't quite yet made it up over the Eastern hills, but the sky was only slightly "hazy" with morning clouds so the light was dissipated as it tried to come in through the windows.
WHAT a start to a day and week!
And I threw "things" together to get to the "business of the house-hold" as we do of a morning and the Little Guy had a bit of breakfast, and as I got to the desk, he came over to set beside me and THEN, a hop up onto mu shoulder for cuddles and MORE KISSES!
When he went over to the futon, I stopped to have a "Play break" for about 10 minutes - which was Yonah's timing, not mine. We played with Burdie and the White dove, "briskly", I'll call it that. As I say, SO MUCH ENERGY THIS MORNING. And then? Off to the loft again and me back at the desk to settle the affairs of this morning.
Now... the Little Guy is up on his roof-top platform, coo'ing away! The sun is still trying to make a grand appearance but there's a light cloud cover up there in the sky. The room is at 23° but there's a bit of that "strange chill" in the air. No matter. The Little LOVE is comfy and really, seems quite happy the way things are and that's the ONLY thing that matters at all!
13.35 Sun shining into the room through the windows, up from a 30-minute solo snooze and the Little Guy is on his roof-top woo-HOO'ing away. We actually lunched together earlier and he took advantage of the sun's warmth and light with a little basking on his "beach"! I'm only some-what relieved to have seen that windows block 5% of UV from the sun. But he has screen too so it's a bit higher. Still, at least he's getting SOME of what's out there and hopefully it helps him.
Downy feathers all over the place today! I'm REALLY wondering why. Moulting? Might be the season. At least the rest of his feathers are looking healthy. AND HE'S STILL FULL OF ENERGY! (Pains me, to be honest, because I have be out on an errand for an hour... Hopefully he won't even notice. At least this is "local" and I can leave the news on for him.)
19.26 and I'm just getting to the day here! It's been... interrupted... we'll call it that. The errand was run at 2.30 and it took longer than expected. I didn't get back until 15.45! BUT, when I got back, the Little LOVE was in his loft and all was well again. We were together. The "flock" was back at the "roost".
And now, the water run is complete, poopie-rug is in the house and there's soft, instrumental music playing on the old lap-top. A "new" tune. I'm trying to find something to add to our "nightly music" repertoire and "testing". A little "change" from the routine... though our old stand-by will pick up when I'm done typing.
NOTE: As I was finishing the water run, the sky out-side, already "nightly black", I was at the kitchen basin when... WOOSH! THE FLUTTER AND WHISTLE OF WINGS! My PRECIOUS LITTLE LOVE CAME FLYING OUT TO THE KITCHEN TO CHECK THAT I WAS STILL IN THE HOUSE! HE MADE ONE ROUND AND WENT BACK TO HIS HOUSE TO HIS DOOR PERCH! (The living-room was dark so there was no flight out there, to be sure.) SO I RUSHED INTO THE ROOM TO "HOLD" HIM, IN MY CUPPED HANDS, AS I DO, STROKED HIS NECK AND GAVE HIM KISSES. HE NESTLED HIS LITTLE HEAD INTO MY CHIN AND WAS SO COMFY! I CAN'T BUT BELIEVE HE REALLY DID COME TO MAKE SURE I DIDN'T LEAVE HIM ALONE! HOW MY HEART BREAKS TO THINK OF HIM HAVING ANY EVENING ALONE... AND A NIGHT? NEVER! NO MATTER WHAT THE SITUATION... I'LL SEE TO IT THAT HE'S NEVER ALONE, ESPECIALLY AT NIGHT. I've a LOT to do to document his "expected" routine and to make ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN THAT, SHOULD I EVER HAVE TO BE AWAY FROM HIM OF A NIGHT, NOTHING IN HIS ROUTINE WILL BE CHANGED! It's not going to be easy because I don't know of anybody who will give him the LOVE, AFFECTION and ATTENTION HE DESERVES AND IS OWED. And now with Teillady/Della being away from her Arnie... it strikes all the deeper into my soul. I don't know that anybody actually realises and appreciates the importance of this Little LIFE here. But it gives me all the more reason and cause to make sure that, as long as his little heart beats, there's NEVER a reason for me to be away from him! (No Yonah... No me.)
As for the rest of the afternoon... the sun DID manage to make an appearance, even when I was away. But the house managed to take a bit of a chill. Even now, I feel "chilled", in spite of the 23° I see on our thermometers. It's another evening when I'm grateful for the "Sweeter Heater" in his house.
Concern of the day: FEATHERS! He's still shedding so many downy feathers! I'm SO hoping that this is a seasonal moulting and nothing more. He's had the same energy through the day that he had this morning. And his feathers look healthy. Poops too. I'll be watching... and of course, running questions through various "AI" to see, to check, to scrutinise. TO be sure. And he's got a great appetite too! WE had dinner together this evening and he's had a little snack too!
Oh, when I got back from today's last "Physical Therapy" session (for my "left wing"), I had a bit of business on the phone and all the while, as it is, the Little Guy was all over the place, coo'ing! I still believe that he believes that as long as I'm talking, I'm talking to/with him, and as he does, we have a "conversation". It's SO cute, in its own way: at times I have to go to another room to talk on the phone. But I've had people at the other end ask if I'm calling from out-side... Between Yonah and the bird-songs, I have to wonder what they wonder. But all the while, I'm smiling... mostly because his coo'ing is just such a tonic to my old soul. I can't imagine a moment with-out him... or the silence in this place... were he...
Dinner this evening? I made a mad dash to throw something together. Were it not for Yonah, I wouldn't have bothered, really. But I have to mind my weight and general well-being... so that I'm here for him. And, as I say, we dined together. This is another thing I worry about: he eats when he sees me eating. WHO will come and sit with him at dinner time, make a dinner, bring a dinner and sit with him?
Then too, there's the general concerns of who will take care of him against the "odds" and the "Dee. E. Sea"? THAT is my worst nightmare. But, as he's taught me: we live in the moment. He's been through such Hell, and here we are, together, and if HE can move beyond that horror he suffered at the claws and teeth of .... and come to trust me, I can learn to do like-wise, with "Life". With-out Yonah, there would be no "Journal" of any sort... no "tomorrow" and certainly not as many "yesterdays" as we've had.
But, it's 19.45 now and he's up on his roof, over the heater, the house is settled. And I'm going to see to it that we're not up late again tonight.
Nothing but cooking for tomorrow's agenda and that's for the morning. The rest of the day? US... HERE... TOGETHER. We'll work on this Journal. We'll work on his web-site. We'll work on some paper-work that has to be submitted to a place that I've been on a waiting list for a while now. It's a "renewal application". My health insurance has been changed and improved for the coming year (my phone time today) so that that's covered. I wouldn't have bothered with that either, if not for Yonah.
So, on this note, I'm off to get me ready for seepie-nigh-night and my PRECIOUS HERZ-UND-SEELE! Our Monday is about to close... well... we'll see what he has planned before we actually tuck-in...
20.11 ALL DONE and all the while I was in the kitchen... OH THE COO'ING! But our night music is on and the Little LOVE is on his roof-top... coo'ing all the while. I wonder why. If ONLY I could KNOW what he's coo'ing! But right now, we're heading for "tuck-in" (and what-ever surprises await). More tomorrow...
Tuesday 28 October:
17.57 And FINALLY, the day winds-down, dinners and washing up are done and the Little LOVE is on his roof-top, over his heater, "adjusting feathers". I was up at 5.00 this morning. No particular reason, other than there were things to be done and, silly me, I thought I'd get them all done... Well? Here we are... more notes on the day put together...
OK... Last night? "RIDE HOME"! I'd done with everything around the house by 20.15 and headed right into my Little LOVE who was on his roof-top, apparently awaiting his "lift home". I put the futon together and started the lullabies, softly and calmly and when I went over to him, he gave me a bit of "a look" and then, simply turned round and stepped ever-so casually, onto his platform! So, I lifted him up and over and on the way to the night roost, I managed to get a couple little kisses in. As usual, he was having none of it so we went to the night roost and upon arrival, a little "step" and there he was. Ah... BUT... once he got settled and I put the roof-board on, I dared to pop my head in and... a couple actual KISSES! YAY!
Continued the lullabies, no rush because it was still "early" (though no as early as I would have liked... we have to move toward the change of time coming on the week-end AND getting closer to the actual sun-set) and got me to the futon and settled. Lullabies went along in silence... and... 20.40... the last light off for the night!
(Maybe that's why I was up and about at 5.00 already this morning?)
This morning? I was at the kitchen table, "attending" what-ever I could get to in silence (there was cooking to be done but I wasn't going to risk making noises and waking my Little Guy before he was ready) when I happened to look up at the clock... 7.17! I got up, opened the door to his room just enough so that I could hear him when he called and...
"woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"...
It was clear but Yonah's "voice" is noticeably "softer" these days. I used to think it was "morning voice" but it's not as "loud" and clear as it was. It truly IS touching my heart now. He's aging. I'm aging. We're aging... and I can't bear the thought of him being anything but in perfect health and contentment. I'm noticing that, even during the day, his voice is "softer". "Time" again... how I'm coming to resent it. Once, I resented having any... For these past 5 years, I resent having it "stolen". How one Little Life can GIVE "Life" and change it so drastically. But, as we sing, last line every night:
"I won't be alone with only dreams of you, for, when you go, I go with you.
So, with the first "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" I answered, as I got up from table: "I hear you. Good morning my LOVE."
"woo-HOO-hoo-hoo.hoo" came the immediate reply. And that one was followed by another of the same and as I got into the room, it changed to "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo" and THOSE ran right along! OH! Between the two of us, there was quite the "chatty morning" and his voice DID "clear" and became a bit louder.
And WOW! I got the windows open, he hopped right over to his food perch, I leaned in as I moved his house into position for the day and KISSES! I GOT KISSES THIS MORNING! AND... by 7.45, waters changed, room settled, the Futon Flock out... SO WAS MY LITTLE WONDER! OUT OF HIS HOUSE, OVER TO THE WALL SHELF AND BACK TO HIS LOFT! WOOHOO!
Poops, this morning: 10 total, 3 off the "rug" but I'm calling them "bounced" because they were all rather "dry" (only little "stains" but no halos). ALL of them were the "normal, regular" size and ALL of the urea, white. BUT... one "concern": "dark". ALMOST some-what "black-ish". More like a combination of "dark brown" with "dark green". I've seen this colour in "some" over-night poops, but this morning, ALL of them are the same colour. The last time they were this colour was when I added the "parakeet mix" in with his food but I haven't added that in many months now. Poops are now on the "watch-list" with the hopes that this is a "one-off" night. Although, it might be time for another 3 days of "ACV" in the water and we have plenty of that. We shall "watch and see". More to report as the Journal continues. If not for the energy and voice. I'd be horrified. But then, no matter what the "difference" in ANYTHING where Yonah is concerned, I tend to "horrified". (He and I are alike that way too": any "change" in anything...)
Since I had "tasks" to attend and I didn't want them to take the entire day, I got RIGHT TO THE KITCHEN. Cooking at the top of the list and that's time-consuming and keeps me away from the desk (which means, it keeps Yonah and I from being together... and I'm not happy about that but I have to eat to stay healthy so that I can be here with him...)
The whole morning went by with me in the kitchen... the WHOLE morning! AND... As I cooked, my PRECIOUS LITTLE SUPERVISOR came toddling in and out of the kitchen, "just to check on me", so it seemed. I was SO DELIGHTED! BUT...
I finished the cooking and came back into his room to grab a quick lunch as the sun POURED IN through the windows and then grabbed a literal 10-minute lie-down before heading back out to do the washing-up. Yonah took advantage of the light and warmth with a bask as I did.
When, at LONG last, ALL the kitchen work was done, I came back into the room, set a 30-minute alarm and got entirely too comfy on the futon... The alarm sounded and I actually "stole" another 30 minutes.
The "BUT"? When I'd laid down, I was on my side and I felt the Little Guy on my leg, at the bend of my knee and I dozed off. WHEN I FINALLY WOKE... THERE HE WAS, NESTLED IN THE BEND OF MY KNEE, JUST AS COMFY AS HE COULD BE! I WAS SO TEMPTED TO JUST STAY RIGHT THERE UNTIL HE DECIDED WE SHOULD GET UP AND I ALMOST DID, JUST THAT. I lifted me up, making sure not to disturb him, but as soon as he saw that I was awake, he was up and over to his house. So... I was up and back into what was left at the day (at 14.00!).
All the while... SUN-SHINE IN THE SKY AND THE ROOM AT 25°! WHAT A DAY!
The rest of what we had of a day was "paper-work". One thing was "renewing" our application for another place to call "home"... higher up in the mountains. Not the "perfect" place but if we're so blessed, a little place on a side street, closer to "medical" for BOTH of us - if we ever dare AND I'm hoping for a place with a little "balcony/gallery" in front, a place for Yonah's "yard house" where he can be out in the air for longer than ever. (I have to go check to see if/when it gets sun-shine... and we haven't seen the lay-out but... it's a comfort to know that it's there and we're considered for a vacancy.)
As for the "list of tasks"? I managed to get most of them done! In fact, catching-up with this Journal was on the list and for today, we're doing that!
The sun DID manage to stay in the sky and DID manage to pour in through the windows and my Little LOVE DID get basking on his beach in whilst I played the "silly human", keeping busy in the room with him.
HE? Flew about from time-to-time, from loft to futon to desk shelf. All said though, I have to say that I wasn't much of a "companion" to him but, if "Dr. Tom", our "webinar veterinarian" is correct, "ambient companionship" abounded and I can only hope that it was "OK" for my LOVE!
And now... 18.27 already and the sky out-side windows is nightly black and there's a little "birdy" on the roof-top platform, giving him-self a little "arranging of feathers" and it's time for us to get to the evening water run! Another day... "stolen"... too quickly!
19.18 Waters are done. House is settled. My Heart-and-Soul is in his house, on the little "drift-wood" on his floor. And when I'd changed the water this evening, he took the GREATEST drink! So I'll be mindful of that when checking poops. The poops during the day changed back to their usual, normal, light-brown colour and were just FINE! I'll be watching.
I even managed to get a shower this evening and no "coo'ing" during. Gee!
But, in a short while, we'll close the windows and see where we go from there. We just MIGHT make it an "early tuck-in" tonight... Oh... closer to sun-down but the "adjustment" in the clock to come. "Dinner" will be "odd"... our current "17.00" will be today's "18.00", and if not for our "routine" of watching the news at 17.00, I could pull it off by simply changing the events. But we've been through 5 years of this, I'm just being an "over-thinker", I'm sure (as I always am about every-thing).
19.46, he's having another drink... He's been on the perch at his food shelf for the past while, starting at me as I "busy" at the desk. But it's time... windows and ablutions and... he's on his lap-top. I wondered why he wasn't there before. Our "night" is turning normal. Let's see how the rest goes from here... there's never telling with this Little Character.
And I'm relieved to note: the air quality monitor is all with-in "green"... "regular" readings. And, the furnace is on. (I checked our oil this morning and we're only JUST getting to half a tank. Fingers crossed, hopes high. The nights ahead will be 0° and 1° but all day today, no furnace running and the room stayed at 23°!)
20.10 I'm done. The house is done. The windows are done. And the Little One is still on his lap-top, all snuggly. So here we go... to see how "ride home" goes...
Wednesday 29 October:
Oh the ride home last night when ever-so... I managed to turn the lap-top off whilst the Little One stayed right where he was. And then, got the night music on. He made no indication of wanting to leave his spot so I went about setting the futon ready for me for the night and all the while, our night music played and he stood up, gave a little preen and looked up to his house but made no moves toward getting there.
Futon done, I sat back at the desk, leaned over to him and asked:
"Aren't you ready for seepie-nigh-night?"
Nope. He wasn't, apparently. So I tried for a little kiss and a neck rub and he moved away from me. Well then, I had to wonder what was going on but, again, I said, softly, "It's time for seepie-nigh-night. All the Yardies are seepie-nigh-night. Even the Futon Birdies are seepie-nigh-night. Do you want a ride home?"
Nope. Made no difference to him. But then, he turned to the dark screen on the lap-top and gave a "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" and I said: "There's nobody and no-birdie there. No woo-hoo's. They're all seepie-nigh-night." He wasn't interested. So I got up and brought the little platform down from his roof-top and held it level with the lap-top thinking he'd see it and get on. OH NO! Not last night. For some reason (never known by me, of course), he was hesitant about going "home for the night". So I started the evening lullabies, mostly out of curiosity and, into "Autumn Leaves"... he stepped onto the platform and I slowly brought him home. He didn't really even wait for the platform to get to the night roost... he jumped from one to the other! And when he got to his night roost, he still didn't appear to be "quite ready" to tuck-in but, I continued with the lullabies and in a minute, he was settled... some-what. I placed the roof-board, leaned in for a kiss, got a little peck on the nose and... dimmed the room lights, closed his door and got me to the futon.
Lullabies went along, ever-so slightly "up-tempo", considering the hour and...
20.45, last light off... I could see the Little One tucked-in for the night.
This morning? I was up at 4.30 and decided to wait a little while before getting me up but at 6.00, I was up, stepped silently out of the room, closed the door behind me and got to the morning here. It's 6.58, the house is silent and calm. 0° out-side this morning. 23° in his room. So now I wait...
7.22 OK. There's a bit of "day-light" out there... the house is still... time to open his door and see...
15.27 OH WHAT A DAY WE'VE HAD TODAY... POOR LITTLE PRECIOUS, PATIENT LOVE!
Stepping back to this morning... when I crept, silently, into the room, all was silent for a moment. So I went over to the futon and started folding the linens and suddenly, the softest little "hoo"s. Almost inaudible! I didn't say anything, waiting to see if he was actually awake and then... at 7.28 came the "official" opening of the day with a hearty "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"!
When I asked "You're awake? Yeah?"
"woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"!
So I went over, opened the door to his house and there he was, all cosy on the night roost. I put his door perch on and leaned in for a little "Good morning" kiss and OH! I GOT KISSES, KISSES, AND ANOTHER HEARTY "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"! And when I gave my little "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" he answered right away! It was the beginning of such a conversational morning! Even as I started to set his room for the day, the coo's continued!
POOPS? 14... ALL on the little "rug", ALL of them the PERFECT SIZE AND COLOUR! NO HALOS, NO "BLACKNESS"!
By 7.39 HE WAS UP AND OUT OF HIS HOUSE WITH SO MUCH COO'ING! KISSES! COO'S! FLYING AROUND THE PLACE! And out-side, the sun was doing its best to climb up over the trees and into a clear sky!
The tie-back on one of his curtains needed repairing this morning so we could open the curtains properly so I got right to that, immediately, pulling the sewing kit out and I sat at the desk, sewing. With-out it, we couldn't have opened the curtains properly and with this sort of morning, we HAD to let the day in! All the while I sewed, he sat, at the desk, not on the shelf, but right beside me, on the desk, and he WATCHED, as if he had such interest in what I was doing, all the while! he didn't head back to his house until I finished and opened the other curtain!
By then, I had to step out-side to check the electric meter as I do every morning at 8.00. I left the inside door open since it was only a moment's time and when I got back to the front door, I could hear him... "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"! When I stepped in, he was there, on the roof of his yard house!
When I got to the kitchen to the lap-top on the table, he'd been in his room and he came SOARING into the kitchen, once round and back to his house again. "Reconnaissance" or "surveillance"? But it just seemed that once he saw I was there, all was well.
THEN CAME THE COMMOTION... I decided that, this morning, I'd get to change the sands in his little trays, under the pool and his "beach", but of course, since I was going to do that much, I figured I'd just get to "proper house-keeping" and get the whole house cleaned. It was due anyway so...
At about 8.30, I started taking his house apart... trays, pool, fountain, trees... No water run this morning, just taking EVERYTHING OUT! POOR SWEET LITTLE LOVE! He headed over to the desk shelf to watch the devastation, and all the while I took things out, he took a couple flights out to the living-room and I heard a few "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"s out there. (No doubt, there was much "DO YOU SEE WHAT HE'S DOING IN THERE? MY HOUSE IS A MESS!" Surely another moment I would have SO LOVED to understand what he was saying!)
So, the house was completely emptied, trays, pool, fountain in the kitchen to be washed. The fountain pump and tubing went into a bowl of white vinegar AND... I CUT THE NEW PERCHES TO LENGTH AND MANAGED TO GET ONE OF THEM INSTALLED whilst his house was empty. THAT "DOWEL" THAT HELD ON SIDE OF HIS LOFT IS NOW NATURAL MAPLE! It was a bit more work than I remembered the others took and, at first, OH, it was SO obvious that the Little Guy wasn't exactly thrilled with the change... WINGS UP WHEN I PUT IT INTO HIS HOUSE. THEN, TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE, I HAD TO REMOVE HIS LOFT... WHERE HE HAD ALL HIS TWIGS ARRANGED SO COMFORTABLY AND, OF COURSE, I MADE A MESS OF ALL HIS WORK. BUT... as soon as I got the new perch in and the loft back, he came RUSHING TO CHECK THE DAMAGES! He didn't appear TOO upset, but I could see that he noticed the "damages" and he set right to moving twigs about. (I have to see how long it takes him to re-establish things there, but as I type, he's been in the loft already so... I will watch anyway.)
Perch installed, we started putting the house back together the way it's SUPPOSED to be and as I moved back and forth, kitchen-to-room and back, every time I "added" things (putting things back "where they belong), they HAD to be "inspected"! This Little LOVE is quite the "su-bird-visor" and NOTHING goes un-noticed!
WELL THEN... I got the house back together, and of course, there was the re-filling of the now-clean pool. Water run LATE! But the fountain is running very nicely now. I have to work on the "plumbing" to see about filtering the in-take. BUT THE POOL IS LEVEL! (And I noticed that the trays have never really fit properly in the tray on the bottom of his house! It's not that his house is "bent" in any way, it's the "fit". ALTHOUGH... IT LOOKS LIKE A NEW HOUSE, THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE OUR "ANNIVERSARY" GIFT, WILL BE "CHRISTMAS/CHANUKAH". There's a little bit of "rust" in the corner where the pool is. THAT should be fascinating stuff. This "crate" has been set, literally, on the shelving for so long. I'll have to figure how to do that again. I was rather hoping we wouldn't have to deal with that until we were in a "new house". But, it appears we'll be here for another Winter, to my chagrin. And a "new house" is due.)
But the perches are cut. One is installed. The dowel is gone. And the other perch needs to be "notched". We still have "things to do". But it was a busy and constructive morning!
Everything was done by 12.16 and no sooner had every-thing in his house gotten settled, THE LITTLE LOVE TOOK TO HIS "NEW, CLEAN" BEACH IN THE BRILLIANT, WARM SUN-SHINE! IN FACT, HE DIDN'T EVEN WAIT UNTIL I WAS DONE! I WAS STILL INSTALLING THE FOUNTAIN AND HE WAS BASKING, COSY! THAT, TO ME, WAS SO RE-ASSURING AND COMFORTING!
Then... LUNCH! (I still needed to hoover though but LUNCH!) AND...
I threw my lunch together, got the lap-top to the desk, sat to eat and as I did, I happened to look up to see...
THERE HE WAS... IN THE POOL, HAVING A CHARMING SOAK IN THE WARM SUN-SHINE! THE ENTIRE WORLD WAS AS IT SHOULD BE AND ONCE AGAIN, YONAH TAUBE TEACHES ME:
WE LIVE FOR THE MOMENT AT HAND. THIS MORNING'S CHAOS WAS DONE, FINISHED. HIS HOUSE AND HOME, BACK TO "NORMAL". ALL WAS WELL... AND IT WAS TIME TO RELAX IN THE POOL! "THE MOMENT"... NOT "BEFORE"... NOT "LATER"... THE MOMENT. These days I SO need to keep this in mind. And as I've always said: I might have saved HIS life, but HE'S SAVED MINE! With-out him... I would have NEVER had a "later", a "next moment". With-out him, I never will.
And so... after all that, I DID manage to finish my lunch, got the house a bit together after the morning, and I hit the futon for a snooze! 30-minute alarm set... and no sooner had my head touched the pillow, my PRECIOUS LIFE came over, toddling on my legs, up to the pillow beside my head for a little peck on the head and... we settled for the full 30-minutes... TOGETHER! When the alarm sounded, I was back up, the Hoover came out and... POOR SWEET PRECIOUS ADORABLE LOVE... he took to the lap-top to watch, manage, su-bird-vise! I was at it AGAIN! And, as he does, he took it all in stride. (Oh, how I'd SO like to know what he was thinking! All the noise and mayhem again!)
Made quick work of cleaning the rest of his room, putting it all back proper order and managed to get the rest of the house hoovered too! And THEN... the Little Guy took to his house, to his loft and I took to cleaning the remainders of the mess I'd made this morning and wrap-up a little bit of "house-hold budgetary".
Now... 16.35, my dinner is on the hob. I just put fresh food in his dish. He's EATING SO WELL... and I'm about to get my dinner to the desk. Out-side, our "sun-shine" is being hidden by in-coming clouds. But... it was quite the day! (And the furnace was off from about 11.00 this morning and the room is just dropping from a high of 25° during the day to 22°. I'm just SO GLAD the Little Guy got so much SUN-SHINE on his own little beach... with the fresh sand.)
18.53 we're actually at a point where we could settle-in for the night! Maybe it's time to figure how we can do that... futon, night roost, a little more "news"... I don't know. A change in the routine? But the Little LOVE has been on his roof-top for about an hour now... no lap-top again tonight. But then, lately, he's been waiting until it's time to tuck-in before heading for the lap-top so... we shall see. It's been quite the day and I'm looking forward to seeing what tuck-in will be tonight.
20.26 OK. He was on the lap-top with me all while I closed all sorts of things for the day and now...he's up on his night roost. Our night music is playing and I'm closing this house and this day. It's "seepie-nigh-night" time for both of us!
Thursday 30 October:
AND.... 6.46, the sky is dark, light rains falling and...
It was another night of "I'm so tired". My Little LOVE stayed on his night roost and waited, patiently, for me to get on with the lullabies and settling us both down. No fuss. No games. And 2 little kisses. And lullabies were intentionally "calm" but just ever-so slightly "up-tempo", considering the hour. He DID play, just a little, when I closed the curtains though. Not much. Just a moment. And as it went, all lullabies were done at 21.00. Lights off, no more of me droning on. Terrible of me. It was another one of those "Oh, I might be able to do..." at the last minute instead of "Oh look. We're early, let's get some extra rest." "People nonsense." As if "people nonsense" really matters in the world. But today, I have another opportunity to "make it better". So let's see if I, silly "human", will do so.
Right now, I wait for the "call"...
9.00 and the rains are falling (again) out-side, tapping on the cellar shed roof. The Little Guy is all a-flutter, having made a trip to the living-room and back. MUCH LUVIN's this morning, here.
At 7.26 I got up, opened the door to his room, all the way... silence. But... as I was about to step in to go to the futon, in the darkness, from across the room
"woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo", still "soft" but quite clear.
AND... when I opened the door to his house and popped-in for a little "Good morning" kiss... KISSES THIS MORNING! WOOHOO! And wing-stretches! AND, when I "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"ed, it started quite the CONVERSATION! But I opened the windows slowly again, this morning, so as not to "rush the flood" of day-light - dim as it was - too quickly. (Odd sort of morning: at 7.30, as the day-light was actually starting, there was a "red glow" to the sky and all around. Actually "red". I had to wonder. But the old adage: "Red sky in the morning, sailors' warning"... well, here we are, rain.) It didn't take very long before the hop to the food perch though. And all the while, our "dialogue" continued. SO MUCH to be said this morning!
Poops? WOW! 9 ABSOLUTELY PERFECT LITTLE POOPS, ALL OF THEM DIRECTLY UNDER THE NIGHT ROOST! 4 OF THEM STILL ON THE "DARK" SIDE OF COLOUR, BUT GENERALLY AND OVER-ALL, REALLY HEALTHY!
Ah... by 8.00, he was up, out and to his roof-top... nest coo's and flutters... and I was "allowed" to give him more kisses! SO, this rainy, dreary, cloudy morning, there's MUCH energy and poops looking good. And now, the water in his pool has been changed, all clean and fresh. And he's in his loft after a bit of flying about the house, the room, his house and visits with the Futon Flock. Our day in under way and we're "rollin'" here!
(UV light is on in the room too.)
11.30 I'm just up from a lie-down on the futon with heating pad. My shoulders have been so stiff this morning. Cold and rain, no doubt. BUT as I laid there, I was "visited" by my little Nurse here, on the chest, twice, at my chin! Just came by to ""check", it seems. And then... I'd set an alarm for those 30 minutes and, yes, again, 2 minutes before, there he was, back on my chest and toddling up and down until the alarm sounded. It sounded, I turned it off and he was back to his house! I'll NEVER know... and I'm sure many will say "coincidence" but... YEARS of this now... And I've no doubt that the lie-down before lunch was noticed too. Oh, but we ARE the "flock" and with-out my Little Companion...
18.50 and at long last, the Little Guy is on his lap-top beside me after a day of "MAYHEM"! OH! But what a day of ACTIVITY THIS HAS BEEN! IT'S BEEN AMAZING!
After this morning's early lie-down, I didn't take any more snoozes, but got involved with making a "Thank You" to Deborah for so many things. And all the while I worked on that at the desk, THIS LITTLE CHARACTER WAS FLYING ALL OVER THE ROOM! He had SO MUCH ENERGY! I was "awarded" two, rather brief visits to the shoulder, and those were almost like "checking-in", a little snuggle, tug on the ear and he was OFF AGAIN! Flying about the room, to the desk shelf and to his house... up to the wall shelves, just almost non-stop! There WERE a couple "rest periods" in the loft, but for the most part, he was finding all sorts of something to do all day. One thing, I brought a pot of pea-sprouts into the room and put them on the shelf in the book-case by the window, beside one of the purifiers and HE FOUND IT! OH YES! HE SO ENJOYS TUGGING AND THOSE SPROUTS! I'm going to have to find a larger planter of some sort (and a place to put it in his room) to grow all the more! But what a laugh, seeing him "attack" those little bits of greenery! I've NO idea what he did with any of them. Haven't looked in his loft, but when we've had them before, he's brought some in there, for some reason.
We DID have the UV light on all through the day (I only just turned it off when I got to this evening's water run... early - 18.00.) And I HAVE noticed that having that on during the day makes a difference in his energy levels. But today was QUITE the experience! Tomorrow's forecast is for more of the same weather as today so, if we wake to another dreary morning, that light will be on again. Sad, really, because Winter is coming and with Winter, there will be MORE days of that light. But if it makes such a difference, I'm glad we have it. AND we have another, on-hand, to replace this one. I'm still not sure how to know when the "UV" part dims. I've read that they change from the "blue" tint to something more on the "beige", and the length of usefulness is calculated on having them on for 8-10 hours per day every day. That, they say, is about a year. But I've gotten it "confirmed" that with as infrequently as we use it, this should last longer. No doubt, when the UV is gone, I'll notice when the Little Guy doesn't fly around like he's a Dove On A Mission, as he was today.
AND... we BOTH had dinners together this evening at the same time. He did take a moment to stop for a bite to eat. Thankfully for both of us. And when I'd done with dinner and washing-up I hit the water run and put some fresh food in his dish. HE'S EATING VERY WELL! And the room isn't as covered in those little down feathers as it's been the past few days. (He's preening as I type... something that I SO enjoy seeing.) So, poops during the day were "normal/regular", his energy was AWE-FULL, his appetite is FANTASTIC! His feathers look very healthy. Now... if only I could figure out how to trim that one "claw" on his right foot. The back one is so "curled" and I can see where it can be trimmed but... I thought about it today but after all the disturbance he endured with the house-keeping yesterday and with his HAPPY MOOD and ENERGY today, I wasn't about to do anything that would cause ANY "trauma". And nail-clipping is "trauma". OH... the little feathers are all over the place, in the towel... a bit like that visit to the veterinarian... years ago. When I think of how my heart ached seeing all those feathers in that cloth when "she" brought my Heart-and-Soul back from the "other room". Subsequently, I read (back before the "AI" days) that Mourning Doves (and doves, in general) will "shed" feathers when traumatised. It didn't make it easier for me to handle, but I've come to learn that yes, Yonah WILL shed feathers when he's upset. So... no clipping of nails... yet. We'll see if we can't get to it on the week-end. I'll hope.
But for now... we're about to get settled for the night ahead. The rains are STILL falling out-side. The house furnace was just turned on. It had been off from after lunch today. The room is at either 22 or 23°, depending on the thermometer. There was an actual "chill" in the room.. and it had gone down to 21! with the rain and the 9° out-side... it was chilly! I'm just comforted in knowing that, if there's too much chill, my Little LOVE has his own heater in his house. And should we need, we have the extra little radiator. No need for fluffing feathers!
I haven't closed the windows yet but am about to get to that too. But he's so comfy on the lap-top and when I hit the windows, he'll be up and to his house and from there, he'll expect to tuck-in and... well... it's 19.17 now... at 19.30 we'll get to closing house... and hopefully, shortly after that, tucking-in for a restful seepie-nigh-night.
19.48 I just got up and closed the windows for the night and the Little LOVE was still on his lap-top, and when he saw me go for the windows, he got up, gave a "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" to the "folks on the screen" and as I put his house into the "night placement", he went flying up to his door and now, he's pecking about his "beach" where the "grit" is. We're preparing for tucking-in and I'm about to head for my "ablutions".
20.30 already! I've dashed through my "ablutions" and the Little One is on his night roost. I've kept him up too late again! But night music is on and I'm still moving about at "speed". But the house is settled. Every thing done but the tucking-in. And out-side, the rains are still falling. We're closing the day... Unless he has something else in mind. There's never a "sure thing" at the end of a day... I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!
Friday 31. October:
It's 7.27. I didn't get up until 6.55! DARK skies. So much rain falling out there this morning. But at least it isn't snow or ice (yet). I can't believe... out ANNIVERSARY MONTH is finished. FIVE YEARS... AND WE'RE HEADING INTO OUR 6th! How I wish we weren't here, where we are.
I got up, crept silently out of the room, closing the door behind me and got to my morning routine. It would be so nice to be able to just get up in the morning and not have to close his door. The house is relatively warm, but the furnace was running. I'd closed the bottom window in his room last night before we tucked-in, to keep the "chill" out and it made a bit of a difference. A little warmer through the night. But with his door closed and the windows open at the top, I worry about that room getting too cool, even though my Little Guy is under his own heater. (I see that it's a "toasty" 11° out there this morning though. That's slightly comforting.) Oh... one day, soon, please. A nice little place, safe, clean and warm.
It's so dark out there this morning, even the Yardies haven't come round yet. But then, according to "people clocks", come Sunday, it will be 6.27... and the Little Ones? Well. They wake when they wake. And THIS Little LOVE? He will too.
Last night's tuck-in went right along when I got to him. He stayed on his night roost and I put the futon together, and started lullabies right away to try to compensate for the time. Sang only slightly up-tempo so as to get them in but not "rushed".
I made it all the way through to the "closing" of "Stille Nacht" and "seepie-nigh-night, I LOVE YOU" and just before the last little snippets of the rest (schlaf mein kleiner Yonahlein...) we had a little exchange of "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo". Once. I wasn't sure if it was "OK. Let's finish this and get to sleep." or "Good night. You schlaf too." But I did manage to finish all and, at 21.00, the last light of the day was off.
As I got into "position" to sleep, I thought I'd heard, what sounded, to me, like a little "wing-whistle" in the dark! I put one moon light on, the dimmest, and looking up, saw the little silhouette, on the night roost. he looked over and down to me and then trucked-his head back between his wings... he was OK... I was OK... we were OK... and that was the close of the day.
And now, I'm sitting in the dark kitchen, his door is open a bit so that I can hear when he calls... No doubt it will be a while because it's so dark this morning. And as I think, Winter hours are waking closer to 8.00 so... But every morning, I sit, wait, wonder and... this morning... considering our time together and our "aging", I wonder all the more.
15.00! ANOTHER DAY SLIPS BY! BUT... At least, as I sit at the desk to get to this at last, the sun managed to come through all the morning rain and drear, my PRECIOUS, ADORABLE, LOVE OF MY LIFE, HEART-AND-SOUL is nestled in his loft after a day of WOW! And I've just put the house furnace back on.
It was an interesting start to a day that became "more interesting" as it rolled along here:
This morning I managed to get "June's" Journal on-line. Catching-up with it! (Though we still have all of 2023 to get up and running. But we're moving along.)
Then... at 8.17 this morning, the house was still silent and I was REALLY "concerned" so I decided "I'm going in." and opened the door to Yonah's room, silently, and stood there, for a long moment, waiting to hear ANYTHING.... Nothing... so I went in and started folding the linens on the futon, in the dark, silently, still and...
8.19... "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"!!!
It was really rather "soft", but clear, but I'm wondering now, why his voice is so "soft" in the mornings of late. Still, as I say, it was clear so, I went right over to his house, opened the door and said "Good morning to you. woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo." AND HE ANSWERED with a little "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" a little louder!
OH MY! WE HAD ANOTHER ONE OF OUR LITERAL CONVERSATIONS THIS MORNING! The exchanges of "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" and "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo" and "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo...hoo" and even to the "woo-HOO!" ! And THAT was before I even got to open the curtains and blinds! I'd only placed the door perch and removed the roof-board and we were already chatting!
AND, when I got the back-board off and the windows open, I popped back in for a "Good morning" kiss and I GOT A FACE FULL OF KISSES! HEAVEN... IT WAS HEAVEN! I'd been so concerned. (And now, I wonder about the change in the clocks... If I continue getting up at "5.00" now, come Sunday morning, I'll be up at 4.00. If Yonah's going to "sleep-in" until 8.00 now... it'll be "normal"... at 7.00. Oh... this shouldn't be any thought at all, considering we've managed through 5 years of it. But no matter, it seems, how often we do, it's always the same: something to see when we get to it.
AND IT WAS AMAZING... THERE WAS ALMOST NO HESITATION, ONCE THE WINDOWS WERE OPEN... HE WAS UP AND OUT OF HIS HOUSE, OVER TO THE FUTON TO THE "FLOCK" THERE, THEN UP ON THE WALL SHELF AND OVER TO THE DESK SHELF! BOOM! A BLAST OF MAJOR ENERGY IMMEDIATELY! So much for the "soft" coo on the morning!
Kisses, kisses, conversation and OUT, into the day! Some kind of "start"!
And POOPS? I'll have to say there were 12 "over-night" poops, but there were 16 that I managed to find about the place. But the 12 were directly, ALL under the night roost, no bounced. And ALL of them were as healthy as they could possibly be! It was AMAZING!
I got the house together, his room together, and we headed into the morning water run and as I did... this Little LOVE headed to the pea-sprouts and got into pecking, pulling and clipping (and yes, I looked... he's putting them into his "nest" on his loft. Thankfully, the humidity in the house is low enough so I don't "worry" about them "going bad". They'll likely dry out before that. But he's SO enjoying having them in the room! I REALLY have to find a way to plant MORE around the place! It's a grand way to use those peas that come in the "Dove mix" that he won't eat! He gets to play with and decorate with them and maybe he'll even get some nibbles out of some of them. "Veggies"? he won't eat "chop". He's not fond of broccoli any more. Maybe pea-sprouts? Can't guarantee but I can hope.
Well and so, I managed to get through the rest of the usual morning mayhem, settled the house and, in the drizzle, made the maddest dash for a morning errand and was right back.
But this morning, thanks to some "error in searching" for shopping, I got the idea that I could cut a stainless steel tea strainer and some-how incorporate it into the fountain in his pool, to keep the seeds from getting into the pump and whilst out... I got a "sink drain" made of stainless steel screening and...
When I got back to the house, we set up for a little "early lunch" together as the day lightened out-side our window and as soon as I'd done... we were BACK INTO THE POOL to "test" the new "filtration" idea!
Oh... I could sense the "trepidation"... I was back in his house, pulling things apart! OH NO! BUT... I got it put together and so far, the water is RUSHING out of the fountain like it's never done before! We're HOPEFUL!
THEN CAME THE WORST OF THE DAY: THAT RIGHT-FOOT REAR CLAW! I STILL CAN'T REMEMBER HOW BUT I ACTUALLY MANAGED TO CLIP... TWO SHORT CLIPS, AND THERE'S STILL A LITTLE MORE THAT COULD BE TRIMMED, BUT I MANAGED TO GET THE LITTLE LOVE WRAPPED IN THE LITTLE GREY TOWEL, HELD HIM SO I COULD SEE THE CLAW AND "SNIP... SNIP"... AND DONE! IT'S NOT EXACTLY WHERE I'D LIKE IT TO BE CLIPPED TO, BUT IT'S A LOT BETTER, SHORTER, AND THE "CURL" IS ALMOST GONE! I'm hoping that he'll manage to "wear it down" some-how, as he goes about his house and the stones on his floor. I still want to get to the river to get more flat stones and put them in his house on the floor so that he toddles about on them. (I have to watch the weight of them though... his house is rather "heavy" with the pool in there on the shelving.) BUT IT GOT DONE AND NO BLEEDING! IN FACT, AS SOON AS IT WAS DONE AND I REMOVED THE TOWEL, HE WAS UP, OFF, FLYING ABOUT THE ROOM, UP TO THE DESK SHELF, OVER TO THE WALL SHELVES, WING-SNAPS, AND I WENT AFTER HIM TO GIVE HIM SNUGGLES AND KISSES AND WE WERE AS THOUGH IT NEVER HAPPENED! RELIEF!
SO... we had quite the day! And I'm STILL SO amused by the fact that he's SO amused with the pea-sprouts! OH... what "fun" he's having with those! Now, I wish the seeds I'd planted would do as well as the peas and would actually grow. But, I'm learning... I'm learning. We'll figure out something. We have a Winter coming...
Now, 15.45 and it's time for another moment of mayhem: hoovering day! Hoovering time! And then... dinner. I can't believe how quickly this day is passing. And the sky? Well... there are new clouds passing by. I've just turned the UV light off too. Tonight's "low" is expected to be 4° which is better than 0, but the week-end... chilly and the nights... back to 0°. (I checked our fuel for the house furnace and we'll be just fine.)
19.33 I am out of the shower. My LOVE is having his evening snack. We changed the water in his pool already and it's still SPLASHING wonderfully! The new "filter" will show us how it works (or not) tomorrow. But for now, it's really a wonderful sight to see. And maybe the "movement" of the water will encourage drinking and bathing!
The house is settled. I've yet to get to the windows but they're up next. There's still time for games. But he's now on the "drift-wood" giving a little "preening". He hasn't been to the lap-top this evening. I wonder why. His news has been on. There's never "telling" with any certainty what to expect. But it's been quite the day and it's the most beautiful thing: the house is at 23°, cosy, the air monitor is all in the "green" with great numbers. And out-side it's 7°, no rain. But I'm keeping that one window closed at the bottom again fro the night. We've got 0° nights ahead!
20.00 Closed the windows for the night... and my Little Su-bird-visor watched from the floor of his house! And when the house was in "position", I got in some SMOOCHES and he BOLTED for the futon to "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" his "seepie-nigh-night" to his Burdie-Bird! (And now? He's on the floor by my foot, looking all so snuggly! In the shadow of the desk! I'm putting our night music on and we'll see what comes of that!)
20.22. Everything's done for the day and 'tis time to close the day (and, I can't believe this, the month!). This is a difficult month to close... FIVE YEARS... IT'S BEEN OUR "ANNIVERSARY MONTH" FOR A FANTASTIC MILE-STONE FOR BOTH OF US! We've come such a LONG way from those first nights and days together, five years ago! SO MUCH!
Our night music is on, the windows are all closed. There's a bit of wind kicking out there tonight. But we're here, together, and as we sing every night: "I wish you shelter from the storm, a cosy fire to keep you warm"... This Little LOVE, this Little LIFE has shelter from the storm, and indeed, I'll keep him warm. And most of all, when snow-flakes fall - and all other times too - I give him LOVE.
We even had some play time with Burdie before the Futon Flock got tucked in for the night.
Time to close and get us tucked-in and rested to face a new month... "November"... "Winter" is just there, round the next bend in the seasonal road... Here we go!
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