June 2015
Dear Elephants, Birds and Humans,
Sitting here with a bird on my shoulder pulling pieces of my breakfast out of the side of my mouth is a joy only those of us who own parrot type birds can appreciate. From my shoulder down to my plate where he avails himself of everything he wants, sometimes walking across the plate. I have had reactions to this ranging from "isn't that adorable" to "oh my God, that is disgusting".... I guess, like everything, it depends on your point of view.
All the news that is being circulated about the avian flu is frightening and disconcerting. It has happened before and hopefully, it will end without any of us suffering from it. I have pet chickens and pet parrots and so for me, aside from the general fears of such situations, it is doubly .distressing. I do not let anyone who has birds or chickens go near my coop, but that is no guarantee and my birds are no longer free ranging. I do what I can, I hope it is enough. I love them all.
I sent a press release to everyone in our club about another fund raiser that Jackie and I are doing for the Boon Lott's Elephant Sanctuary. I hope it draws enough interest to raise more funds to support them in the great work that they do for elephants and all the other animals they help. This time it is at the Wellness Center of the Monroe Animal Hospital, on June 13th, and Jackie is selling some beautiful photographs of the elephants that she took when we were there. All the profits from this will, of course, go to BLES. Come down and join us if you like. It should be a very nice day and every dollar spent will be worthwhile.
Aristophanes and Zeke have just had their birthdays. Aristophanes is 22 and Zeke is 21. Emma is about 36, but I am not sure when his birthday is. I am not sure if he was one of the babies hatched at a breeding station that was made by King's cages somewhere in Central America, years ago, or if he was one of those unfortunate fledglings pulled from a nest in a tree, often killing the parent birds if they try to protect their babies, where he was born in the wild. I hope it is not the latter, but I will never know. He was bought as a baby in the Bird Jungle Bird Store on the corner of Bleeker St. and W. 12th, in Greenwich Village in Manhattan. That store is no longer there.
We have some great programs coming up. To begin with I was able to get David Oehler, the new Curator of Ornithology at the Bronx Zoo/ Wildlife Conservation Society, to be our speaker at our 29th Anniversary dinner party/meeting on Thursday evening, July 9th at 7:00. This year, the same as before, it will be held in a private room at Mr. Willy's Restaurant, 3695 Rte 42, Monticello NY. It is about 1 1/2 miles from Monticello. We will have a full dinner, several choices of entree, a silent auction that is provided by the wonderful things donated by our members and friends and a fantastic program. The price, I hope, should be the same as last year, $35, I will let you know if there is anything different. Please get your reservations in as early as possible as I have to give the restaurant a count of how many people will be attending. You can call or email meloxodon@aol.com 845 794-7966 or Matt, mfrumess@hvc.rr.com 845 747-9370 to let us know.
Our August meeting will feature Kathleen Knight who runs the Stonehouse Woods Sanctuary for Poultry. This is a beautiful place where she keeps many different kinds of poultry that were rescued and now have a permanent place to live.
Tonight, we have our own Dr. Joe D'Abbraccio, (Catskill Veterinary Services) Avian vet, Dog vet, Cat vet......you name the animal and he will take care of it and do a damn good job, too. Dr. Joe will come to your house and take care of the animals you love. His phone number is 845-807-8380. Dr. Joe will present a very interesting program and answer any questions you have about healthcare for your pet.
So we have a lot going on......take good care of your birds and be kind to every living thing. Please let us know that you will be joining us for our Anniversary dinner...and donate some really nice things to the silent auction.. It should be fantastic, but only you can make it that way.
****A very special Happy Birthday to my beautiful and wonderful daughter, Arielle.*****
LOVE,
Richie
Sitting here with a bird on my shoulder pulling pieces of my breakfast out of the side of my mouth is a joy only those of us who own parrot type birds can appreciate. From my shoulder down to my plate where he avails himself of everything he wants, sometimes walking across the plate. I have had reactions to this ranging from "isn't that adorable" to "oh my God, that is disgusting".... I guess, like everything, it depends on your point of view.
All the news that is being circulated about the avian flu is frightening and disconcerting. It has happened before and hopefully, it will end without any of us suffering from it. I have pet chickens and pet parrots and so for me, aside from the general fears of such situations, it is doubly .distressing. I do not let anyone who has birds or chickens go near my coop, but that is no guarantee and my birds are no longer free ranging. I do what I can, I hope it is enough. I love them all.
I sent a press release to everyone in our club about another fund raiser that Jackie and I are doing for the Boon Lott's Elephant Sanctuary. I hope it draws enough interest to raise more funds to support them in the great work that they do for elephants and all the other animals they help. This time it is at the Wellness Center of the Monroe Animal Hospital, on June 13th, and Jackie is selling some beautiful photographs of the elephants that she took when we were there. All the profits from this will, of course, go to BLES. Come down and join us if you like. It should be a very nice day and every dollar spent will be worthwhile.
Aristophanes and Zeke have just had their birthdays. Aristophanes is 22 and Zeke is 21. Emma is about 36, but I am not sure when his birthday is. I am not sure if he was one of the babies hatched at a breeding station that was made by King's cages somewhere in Central America, years ago, or if he was one of those unfortunate fledglings pulled from a nest in a tree, often killing the parent birds if they try to protect their babies, where he was born in the wild. I hope it is not the latter, but I will never know. He was bought as a baby in the Bird Jungle Bird Store on the corner of Bleeker St. and W. 12th, in Greenwich Village in Manhattan. That store is no longer there.
We have some great programs coming up. To begin with I was able to get David Oehler, the new Curator of Ornithology at the Bronx Zoo/ Wildlife Conservation Society, to be our speaker at our 29th Anniversary dinner party/meeting on Thursday evening, July 9th at 7:00. This year, the same as before, it will be held in a private room at Mr. Willy's Restaurant, 3695 Rte 42, Monticello NY. It is about 1 1/2 miles from Monticello. We will have a full dinner, several choices of entree, a silent auction that is provided by the wonderful things donated by our members and friends and a fantastic program. The price, I hope, should be the same as last year, $35, I will let you know if there is anything different. Please get your reservations in as early as possible as I have to give the restaurant a count of how many people will be attending. You can call or email meloxodon@aol.com 845 794-7966 or Matt, mfrumess@hvc.rr.com 845 747-9370 to let us know.
Our August meeting will feature Kathleen Knight who runs the Stonehouse Woods Sanctuary for Poultry. This is a beautiful place where she keeps many different kinds of poultry that were rescued and now have a permanent place to live.
Tonight, we have our own Dr. Joe D'Abbraccio, (Catskill Veterinary Services) Avian vet, Dog vet, Cat vet......you name the animal and he will take care of it and do a damn good job, too. Dr. Joe will come to your house and take care of the animals you love. His phone number is 845-807-8380. Dr. Joe will present a very interesting program and answer any questions you have about healthcare for your pet.
So we have a lot going on......take good care of your birds and be kind to every living thing. Please let us know that you will be joining us for our Anniversary dinner...and donate some really nice things to the silent auction.. It should be fantastic, but only you can make it that way.
****A very special Happy Birthday to my beautiful and wonderful daughter, Arielle.*****
LOVE,
Richie