(no subject)
Jul. 15th, 2009 07:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysobelI wonder if birds have changeling myths. Well... I don't know what's the right term, because it would be more like instinct or racial memory, but, y'know. If a baby bird falls out of its nest, gets taken in by strange giant monsters, and comes back again, do the parents wonder if the one that came back isn't the right one?
(Now I want to, somehow, write a story about that.)
#
I also wonder if the birds yesterday knew we were trying to help.
#
My backyard is a no trespassing zone right now. There are a couple of fledglings -- not related to the baby birds from the other day, which were in a tree in *front* of my apartment -- larking about, adorable little fluffy fuzzballs, with parents on full attention. My roommate tried to water the tomato plant and got divebombed.
#
The stories in my head keep morphing. It makes them very hard to pin down in words.
(But at least they're *there*.)
#
If I had the money, and if I had the physical ability, I would be so very tempted to get a bird of some sort. It's probably better that I don't.
I wish I had some sort of warmfuzzycute. Stuffed animals are nice to hug but they don't quite cut it.
Maybe one of these days I'll get my service dog.
#
When I was a kid, I wanted to be a small-animal vet. (Among other things. I also wanted to be an astronaut, an author and self-illustrator, a multilingual translator, and a forest elf. And many things I've since forgotten.) My sister was allergic to anything with fur, more or less, so we never had a dog, or a cat, or a guinea pig, or anything like that -- I did get fish, in junior high or thereabouts, but fish are seriously not cuddly at all -- but I had it all planned out. I'd grow up to be the sort of person with a zoo for a house, and also get animal contact through veterinarianism.
Being a vet isn't practical when you can't move. Neither is owning pets.
Still, there's a part of me that wants all of that. Even now.
#
*sends pettings-by-proxy to all the fuzzy critters who own the people reading this*
(Now I want to, somehow, write a story about that.)
#
I also wonder if the birds yesterday knew we were trying to help.
#
My backyard is a no trespassing zone right now. There are a couple of fledglings -- not related to the baby birds from the other day, which were in a tree in *front* of my apartment -- larking about, adorable little fluffy fuzzballs, with parents on full attention. My roommate tried to water the tomato plant and got divebombed.
#
The stories in my head keep morphing. It makes them very hard to pin down in words.
(But at least they're *there*.)
#
If I had the money, and if I had the physical ability, I would be so very tempted to get a bird of some sort. It's probably better that I don't.
I wish I had some sort of warmfuzzycute. Stuffed animals are nice to hug but they don't quite cut it.
Maybe one of these days I'll get my service dog.
#
When I was a kid, I wanted to be a small-animal vet. (Among other things. I also wanted to be an astronaut, an author and self-illustrator, a multilingual translator, and a forest elf. And many things I've since forgotten.) My sister was allergic to anything with fur, more or less, so we never had a dog, or a cat, or a guinea pig, or anything like that -- I did get fish, in junior high or thereabouts, but fish are seriously not cuddly at all -- but I had it all planned out. I'd grow up to be the sort of person with a zoo for a house, and also get animal contact through veterinarianism.
Being a vet isn't practical when you can't move. Neither is owning pets.
Still, there's a part of me that wants all of that. Even now.
#
*sends pettings-by-proxy to all the fuzzy critters who own the people reading this*
no subject
Date: 2009-07-16 03:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-16 04:59 am (UTC)Oscars are the most "pet-like" fish in the aquarium trade -- they are sometimes called "aquatic puppies"! Theyy can learn to recognise their owner and many even enjoy petting! And unlike your carnival goldfish they live a long time -- even up to 15+ years!
Trufax!
(This site claims 90 gallons is the mininum for one Oscar; while I never worked in the fish section of the pet store that employed me, that seems suspiciously high to me, and another site said the minimum as 30 gallons. I suspect this is a species difference, so ask wherever you buy.) :D
no subject
Date: 2009-07-16 05:01 am (UTC)*gentle hugsmish*
Date: 2009-07-16 06:07 am (UTC)I know there are at least some species of bird that will find another species' nest and lay their own eggs in there while the nesting parents are away, and then the sneakily-added eggs are tended and raised by the nestbuilders. *pokes wikipedia* Aha...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brood_parasite
Unrelatedly... I don't know how much mobility is required, but many animal shelters often have volunteer spaces for folks who can cuddle with little critters for an hour or two a week, to get young pet-type animals used to being handled by humans and just used to being around people. If you're craving furry cuddlies for short time periods, and if such a shelter is nearby you, that sort of volunteer position might be both possible and enjoyable for you, and also beneficial to the animals and their future long-term owners.
I'm currently enjoying my virtual dragon pets... they are cute but not cuddly, but the don't barf on the carpet, shed on the furniture, pee on the bed/couches/carpet, or generate a lot of stinky, heavy litter to be hauled out, unlike my and my roommate's cats (yes yes they're very adorable but holy crap what a lot of work, especially if one or both of them is feeling ill, which right now, one is).
no subject
Date: 2009-07-16 09:23 am (UTC)