Dino

  • Meeting Little Mate Is An Absolute Tweet

    Thanks to the courtesy and support of colleagues, I could whip out of the office early, get on my bike and be greeted with the delightful chirps of a little bird ecstatic to see me as I arrived at the Yokohama Bird Clinic. Dino, our rosy faced lovebird, chirped excitedly upon seeing me. I was delighted to hear that she is improving, but also a little disheartened to hear Dr. Ritsuko Kato’s opinion that it is unlikely our bird will ever make a complete recovery and will need fairly constant attention if released from the hospital. After the roughly five minute visit, which is about the extent permitted, I got…

  • Heading Out On A Bird-Brained Mercy Mission

    Another extreme heat warning has been issued for the Tokyo area, but that’s not gonna stop me from heading out on a bird-brained mercy mission. It’s bird-brained in more ways than one as I will go to visit Dino, our ailing rosy faced lovebird who is hospitalized in Yokohama. She is, according to her vet on a phone call last night, doing OK, but the core problem of her being unable to poop remains a sticking point. I’ll find out more when I leave work early today to ride through the heat to see her and the vet, but the state of affairs is casting a pall over my lifestyle…

  • Keeping Things In Focus When Everything Is Blurred

    Things have rattled me a little over the past week or so, with seeming stability I thought I had built up shaken and stirred but (to continue the analogy) I’m thankful for the strong bonds I have to keep my mind in place. Dino, our little rosy faced lovebird, is continuing her battle to get better, with each day a bonus now after we thought she was gone last week. Her fight is consuming a lot of my time (and resources), but she is deserving of that. Friends and family have rallied behind us to try and bring her back to health. And I am grateful to be able to…

  • The Little Dinosaur Keeps On Fighting

    Having a pretty lousy time of things, but Dino is giving me hope just by hanging on in there. Our rosy faced lovebird is continuing her fight for survival. As a last resort, she has been hospitalized at the Yokohama Bird Clinic since Friday. We thought she was going to die as she is unable to poop under her own strength. She was lethargic, pained, struggling. But she continued to have a voracious appetite. Worried sick at my best friend’s state, I went to visit her on Saturday afternoon, and was delighted to see she looked happier and, well, chirpier, even if not quite literally so. On Sunday morning, another…

  • Trying To Kid Myself On Children’s Day

    Blessed with glorious weather and little wind, it was almost appropriate I spent the first part of Children’s Day trying to kid myself that I am something of a decent cyclist. I did manage to build up an almost acceptable pace considering the countless number of traffic lights I had to deal with on a quick trip in and out of central Tokyo. Blessed with a day off as part of the Golden Week series of holidays, I headed into town to attend a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous near Tokyo Tower. The group was filled with sanctimonious, pious souls, so I left feeling like I could speak in tongues, but…

  • Bird Bother Has Us Flying…By The Seat Of Our Pants

    Our dearest–in terms of both emotion and bloody expense–little mate gave us a bit of a shock the past few days as Dino, our rosy faced lovebird, appeared to be petering (ptering?) toward the brink only to slowly move toward recovery. I’m guilty as I’ve been sharing meals (and snacks) with Dino for years now, and she also shares my love for carbs and cheese, making her as fat and unhealthy as I am. You’d never know it, though, as she is vigorous and active, spending nearly all day out of her cage and flying freely throughout our home. But something seemed amiss on Friday when she was clearly in…

  • Warm in the Winter

    It’s bloody freezing, but some know the best way to beat the cold. We had a pretty heavy snow fall last week, but it was followed by a few days of unseasonably warm spring-like weather that took the edge off. Only for winter to return with a vengeance as the mercury plummeted, the winds wound up and the sun struggled to break through the clouds. Some of us are better at coping with the cold, with my pet Dinosaur being a case in point. Dino is a rosy-faced lovebird, which is endemic to south-western Africa, so they’re genetically inclined to seek the warmth. In the coldest parts of winter, usually…

  • Warm in the Winter

    Dino the dinosaur is no slouch in finding a warm place in the winter, which is a handy trait when you’re a rosy faced lovebird. She huddles up next to her heaters, on the nest she builds out of the strips of paper she so dexterously rips off with her beak, or nestles in the nape of Kangaeroo’s neck, or in the sleeve of his cardy. Rest assured, though, where it’s warm and comfortable in Kangaeroo Corner, there’s a good chance you’ll find Dino. It’s reassuring to have her in the cardigan sleeve as I type, to be honest (even though she’ll probably poop there, too). She laid eggs recently:…