For the Birds

You may have noticed that since I started volunteering at the World Parrot Refuge a lot of my posts have been 'for the birds...' They're a pretty interesting bunch. To prevent boring you to death with that single topic, and to work more closely with the WPR, I'm going to be blogging my bird adventures directly onto their website from now on. I'll probably throw a note in here whenever a particularly interesting posting comes up.

So, this will let me get this site back to the usual variety of other things I blah-blah about.

Buster's Wing

I just posted an item on the parrot refuge website - a video report about a recent arrival at the sanctuary. Buster came in with a badly infected wing and the video may be too strong for some viewers.

Buster's Wing

Father's Day - a little late but...

I just discovered this video posted to youtube in honor of Father's Day. I miss my father who is no longer in this world. I hope you also enjoy this whether you are a Father or a Child of one.

Beach Fun...

Peter Meyers, from the airport just sent me some photos of his aircraft and another, sitting on a beach on the west coast of Vancouver Island. I'm looking forward to joining them on their next flight over! Beautiful.



In the meantime ... I tried to takeoff this morning in my Zenair CH601HDS -- but when the aircraft was getting light on it's wheels and I glanced down to confirm my instrument readings, I saw the airspeed was still firmly frozen on zero.

So I cut the power and returned to the parking area. For the next hour or so Peter and I (with a bunch of the usual airport gang watching on), fiddled and poked and soaked the inside of the pitot tube until the blockage finally gave way. It seemed to be a larva/mud nest of some sort. Either I forget to install my pitot tube cover sometime last year, or the little beasty found a way inside the cover anyway.

After re-connecting the tubes, I had time for three quick circuits. The airplane is flying well and looks like it's ready for action. Again. Finally...

(Waiting for departure, Runway 22, CST3, July 2006)

Michael Hart's Living Room concert

Last week we held a Living Room concert featuring Michael Hart. We co-hosted with friends, Joann and Frans Helmes from church. The Helmes have this great gift of hospitality and they regularly open their home to adventures such as this.

Here are some songs from the second half of the evening to give you a small taste. Enjoy!

Lord of the Mountain


Have a Little Mercy


Nightingale


Si Nous Marchons


Humiliated Son


2 Poems - Yellow Boxes; Grayed Hair


Another Poem: Two Sided Coin


Instrumental - Once a Kid

Esther and Frodo - tour guides extraordinaire!

I just posted a short video update of some new construction progress at the World Parrot Refuge - here it is:

Dinky Doo and Lucky Lou

Dinky is the one on the left, Lucky Lou is his best buddy. Dinky was wild-caught many years ago as a young bird and that was when both his wings were broken along with one leg. Though 80% of wild-caught parrots perish during the capture and shipping to Canada, Dinky hung on to life! Only to be confined to a pet-parrot breeding facility for the next several decades. Dinky is now totally blind and I don't know when or how that happened. Most parrots in captivity are suffering from some (often subtle) form of malnutrition as we just don't have the same food for them as they would eat in the wild. Maybe it was related to that?

When Dinky was "used up" as a breeder, he ended up at the refuge where Wendy Huntbatch had to make the difficult choice whether to keep the little guy caged the rest of his life "for his own good" or let him regain some freedom during his declining years. She opted for freedom. Dinky knows every nook and cranny in the small elevated table and climbing branches where he hangs out with a few good buddies. Still he will occasionally take a nasty tumble to the concrete floor below and have to be treated for shock. This happens from time to time with all the flight-disabled birds. As well as not having flight, these birds also have balance issues due to the lack of healthy wings. But they still have instincts that say climb higher for safety and when necessary, jump and fly!

Despite all this, Dinky is doing fine. He gladly takes the spoon-feeding the refuge offers each evening as a way of ensuring birds like Dinky are well fed. He is bold and confident in his little world, despite his problems. I can only admire and honour the strength of spirit and courage contained within this frail little body.

Like so many parrots at the refuge, Dinky Doo is my favorite!