Pictures worth a thousand words!
Who is the proud MOM? Avian OR Human?
Who is the proud MOM? Avian OR Human?
VeeraMahal FRANKLIN
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Jacuzzi Garden
When the bird bath is still frozen...
Do you dream or wish...You still have your herbal garden thriving...
I did. But not anymore! I do have a thriving herbal garden that keeps me happy through the winter. As you can deduce from above, I just had to opt for shower baths!
What could be a better location than your bathroom-to keep your Lavender, Cinnamon Basil, Mint, Lemon Balm, Curry leaf plant and Jasmin surviving through winter!
Yes! You are not imagining. I do have my tangerines and Pomegranate plants raised from seeds of the tastiest, store bought fruits. I may need a green house eventually.
Who knows...I might be lucky enough to have that dream come true-with my Parakeets and colorful Hibiscus as part of that tropical greenhouse ecosystem.
What would I be without dreams?
-VeeraMahal FRANKLIN
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Parakeet baby is Born!
Seven Eggs! I am sure Sky has contributed to this collection. Could you see the tell-tale blue feather of Sky? You can also see Tweety's yellow feather on the opposite side. But we have figured out that Tweety is a male. But, if Sky's eggs hatch Nightly would be the father. Nevertherless, Foresty is brooding and Tweety is the "man of the nest"; that's the declared law among the birds as we see it.
Motherly Pride shining through ...
Do you know how much sacrifice, patience and tolerance goes behind this simple act of brooding? For example, see the next two pictures below:
A) The normal Parakeet P!
On the day of the birth, I heard the feeble chick-voice past midnight amidst the excited Parakeets chirps. Okay....! I was working late sitting at the dinning table. I felt the impending special event from the way-all of them sitting right in front of the nest, chirping excitedly when I came home that evening!
You should see how they function as an extended family, pitching in to take care of both Foresty & the keetling. Foresty still does not eat grains or fruits from the feeder. She gets fed and then she feeds the chick. Isn't it amazing? Or is it amazing-only because of our human brain having miscalculated happiness by substracting the extensions from "family" to a very small circle or even just to a mere "me & mine"?
Motherly Pride shining through ...
A) The normal Parakeet P!
B) The brooding mom's "P"
B) is Foresty-the mom's P, relieved during her once a day, out of nest expedition. Holding all that in...what a big sacrifice! The finger is not to point, but to convey the relative size between the normal non-brooding vs brooding mom parakeet "P."
I know what you are thinking!
Yes, I guess the "crazy scientist mind" is still kicking in--time to time! But, then on second thought... I must have been born with this-crazy scientist brain or instinct for exploration. Or is it nature and nurture? For more details, click on the link "dedication to mother."
Now coming back to our brooding keet we have our chick or keetling born exactly after 18 days. When I took this picture the following morning the chick already seems much bigger than the eggs and sitting up, eventhough looking very feeble.
On the day of the birth, I heard the feeble chick-voice past midnight amidst the excited Parakeets chirps. Okay....! I was working late sitting at the dinning table. I felt the impending special event from the way-all of them sitting right in front of the nest, chirping excitedly when I came home that evening!
You should see how they function as an extended family, pitching in to take care of both Foresty & the keetling. Foresty still does not eat grains or fruits from the feeder. She gets fed and then she feeds the chick. Isn't it amazing? Or is it amazing-only because of our human brain having miscalculated happiness by substracting the extensions from "family" to a very small circle or even just to a mere "me & mine"?-by VeeraMahal FRANKLIN
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Just Watch and Learn God's Ways and Nature's Wonders
Our parakeets had one egg in the nest; then… there were two. That was three weeks ago. By Feb.7th there were five... then SIX eggs and our green keet Foresty was brooding. She was all fluffed up looking 3x her normal size-one loving dedicated incubator. 
On Valentine’s Day there were SEVEN eggs. The other buddies "Tweety & Sky" were feeding her and even get inside the nest for quite awhile-keeping her company. They are doing a great job of feeding Foresty-because she rarely comes out. Is it possible one of them or both of them contributing to Foresty’s egg collection? Is it possible for one parakeet to lay all those eggs? 
One fact is clear. “Nightly” the dark blue one is a male and he is never allowed inside the nest. Tweety had been very protective of the nest and fought many ferocious battles with Nightly to keep him at bay. That implies… Tweety is a male-but having pink beak goes against the common belief! It is interesting that eventually, Sky got Foresty’s approval and was able to go into the nest. Is she keeping company - helping out a friend -providing food and even eggs to brood over?
When Foresty makes her once or twice a day appearance, other three get so... excited;chirping a lot, all four of them swoop around the house. It is like the well coordinated jet squad flight maneuver in an air show.
That shows Foresty is well feed and I guess she is getting her daily exercise at flight time. As soon as they are back at the nest Foresty goes straight to the nest entrance and other two-Tweety & Sky peck her and encourage her to go in. Then they check her out through the side window that they have made on the basket as if to make sure she is comfortable. Most of the time Tweety seem to go in and tuck her in (sort of)!
We were excited at first then started to worry a little about the number of eggs. But as we watch them taking care of the matron brooding over the eggs, feeding her and enticing her to take regular flight exercise, we are convinced –that our keets know... what they are doing! 
We probably under-estimate their capabilities and think -all they need is shelter, water, food and little attention. Even worse if we think that they are pretty little things just providing us some fun.
We thought our parakeets needed some freedom; they have shown us that little freedom can do wonders!
Copyright © 2009 by VeeraMahal FRANKLIN
Saturday, February 14, 2009
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY
Monday, February 9, 2009
Believe in Santa!
Remember... my wish list for Santa-way back in August? Can you see that Santa has brought me my "professional" camera?
Wow! What a difference it makes. I love this close-up of Maggie with the frosty silhouette of the trees and the sky in the background. It is as if the camera can read my mind & in sync with what I am seeing.
This is my Jasmin... in bloom right now. I could not have captured this lively beauty without my Nikon from Santa.
The scent-almost permeating from the picture!
Thank You Santa!
VeeraMahal FRANKLIN
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
History in the Making
Uphold... A dream did missionary
Martin Luther King, that
Unfold in history this very... Day. A
Mighty story so...very real, breaking
Boundaries of race; missing no color
Bound in unison-the people
Roared on, cheering... O'bama!
Soared high... a Blessed nation-Be
Holding equality at its peak, for
Whole world to see...in
Our new president of
America-United States, the
Promised land... above the hill-as
Proclaimed by visionary King's will!
Copyright © 2009 by VeeraMahal FRANKLIN
Written in awe of today's events!
January 20th, 2009
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