Yes, indeed, I hit the big three-oh. It's not as scary as people make it out to be, even if I'm ooooolllllllddddddd. But I don't look it, and I most certainly don't act it. It's just fun to surprise everyone by listing my age.
I went and fed the geese at the big park near here, and had a ball. A huge group of Canada geese have decided they don't want to move on, and they stay for free eats. Some of them are great about being hand-fed, and some are still fairly shy. But they're cute, and they chatter, and they're so beautiful. And the other geese are big, and they hornk (which is not quite a honk), and the ones who've been there the longest are really polite. There are ducks too, but they're usually pushed aside by the geese. They're not as cute.
I also got a new pet snake. She's this gorgeous high-white aberrant California Kingsnake. Yes, it's a mouthful to say. Almost as long as her name; Flash AaahAaaah Hesavedeveryoneofus. Yes, she's named after a Queen song. An addictively good Queen song. My old man though I was going to just name her after Freddie Mercury. Goes to show our telepathy isn't as strong as it needs to be.
She a gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous snake. And a healthy itty bitty baby. Right now, she's the size of a pencil, but a little longer. (It's always hard to judge the sex at this size, so she might actually be a boy.) And she's hungry, even getting close to shedding time. She immediately devoured a pinky the first day I brought her home. Yesterday, she was hunting, so I got her a three-pack of pinkies at Petco (god damn they're expensive), and she devoured all three of them. She took them right from my hand, didn't even hesitate, and wolfed them. Flash was tired by the third one, but she finished it anyway. She's doubled in girth, she's so full of baby mouse. And, she was tracking movement as if she'd eat more. Gluttonous reptile. Shows that she'll grow quickly.
But now she's sore and itchy, and trying to shed. I keep watching her rub her tiny little face and "shrug". All around a swollen tummy.
The sad part: I got her from a small pet store, which I generally prefer for reptiles over the big box stores. She was on the nasty aspen shred bedding, with no water dish, in a tiny little plastic cup. Flash has gotten so used to not having a water dish that she forgets she has one in her new tank. I've had to put her in it several times, and I've watched her chug water for long minutes. I can't wait until she out grows that.
My parrot appears to be starting a nesting phase. Which would be appropriate to his age. He's nine now, which is supposed to be Amazon adolescence. He now stalks around the bottom of his cage, rearranging things, looking like he's keeping house. And yet it's not his driving obsession. Playing with his toys and getting scratches are still his favorite games.
