Enter Ken & Dierdre

It never rains but it pours.   No sooner had we sorted out the lonesome cockatiel, Douglas with a wife when an advert appears in the local online rag for two more cockatiels looking for a new home.

One Lutino female and one pearl male apparently but both less than a year old.   They are a little too young to breed but it would be fun to have a few eggs.   Why Ken & Deirdre?   They came from Kennedy Town in Hong Kong.   The owners believed the Lutino was a male and they then went and bought a so called female from the bird market in Kowloon.  Since they have been in the flight it seems the birds are either two males or the Lutino is a female but for sure the Pearl is a male.

Ken (left), Douglas (right) & Deirdre (rear)

Red Tide

This scummy red mess appeared in November.   It is actually some sort of plankton.   When I first saw it I thought someone had dumped some red paint into the river.   Thankfully it disappeared after a day or so.   Apparently caused by low oxygen and high nitrogen in the water and is thought to be attributable to run off from aggressive use of nitrogen fertiliser in farming.

Duped

Douglas (right) and his new companion

Douglas came to us some eighteen months ago.   His previous owners relocated to Malaysia and due to Hong Kong's issues with bird flu, Malaysia had and still has banned the import of birds from Hong Kong.   He came to us with a decent sized cage but the plastic base tray must have deteriorated in the sunshine and was so brittle it eventually fell to pieces.  

Luckily we had a spare but much bigger parrot cage so in he went and after a few days in his new home we decided he deserved to share his much larger space with a companion.  We decided he deserved a wife, so I was despatched to find him one.   Despite my hesitation in the shop, the lady assured me the bird I was about to buy was indeed a female and even persuaded me to buy a nesting box too.

Without getting too nerdy about ornithology let me explain that female cockatiels rarely sing, are mostly drab coloured and have barring marks under their tail feathers.  Well we got this young, supposed lass home and Douglas immediately began to sing and show off.   A good sign we though until she immediately burst into an equally magnificent sing song.  The bird is not that drab in colour but does has barring under the tail feathers, so who knows?  We are not that bothered really and I guess eventually we will find out.   In the meantime as long as they both are consenting then ....

School carnival awaits.

Not so sure about the maths teacher' ethics....   Obviously a capitalist and not averse to a bit of mark up.

Fin Swimming - last competition for 2014shn

The Silvery Sharks Fin Swimming Club had a great final competition of the year with some great races and lots of medals being won.   Some of the younger swimmers really showed how much their fitness has improved and have the medals to show for it but Arthur and Matthew learned some very tough lessons.

1. Count your laps carefully and do not stop too early, (Matthew 400m)

2. Make sure you touch the timing board when you finish or your time keeps on rolling. (Arthur 400m)

Arthur had seven races in all some of which he was competing two age groups high than his age. He won gold in the 100m and knocked 4 seconds off his China time.   The jury is out on that one though.  Some great swimming by Ivan and LD and the little water flea, Kaa Fai all of whom slowly wore Arthur down in the 200m mono fin race to push him out of the medals.    Kara fair literally streaked ahead to win gold, followed by Ivan and LD then Arthur.   Well done boys, it was one of the most exiting races to watch and you all deserve your medals.    

Matthew missed a clear place in the 400m (see lesson 2 above).  He was five seconds clear and swam like a demon to catch up but did not quite make it. He earned a bronze for his efforts in the 200m though and a gold for the 4 x 50m relay.

Mui Wo Python

I caught this beauty last year.   All afternoon the dogs next door had been making a right old racket  running and barking and generally making it very obvious something was not right.   I had a look about a couple of times but never saw the snake.   By the evening the dogs had quietened down and it was the turn of our neighbours to start making a racket.    The python had ended up on a concrete yard and found not find its way out.    Someone had brought out a rice sack that was obviously far too small to put it in and none was brave enough to go near it.   I grabbed a wheel bin and laid it on its side next to the by now very pissed off poor snake's head.   Luckily it went in side and when enough of it was in I stood the bin up and the snake was safe and out of harms way.   Eventually it was carted away by the cops.   Hopefully it was released back into the wild and did not end up in some police canteen's hot pot.

Red Tide

At first I though someone had thrown a pot of paint into the sea but alas no, it is the dreaded red tide  algae bloom that apparently forms as a result of increased nutrient loading from human activities.   Must be all those so called organic farms that are sprouting up on Lantau?   More likely it is the result of China farming effluent washing down into the sea.   

A new addition to the Mui Wo herd.

Riding home this evening and had to negotiate around a rather large bull who was standing side on across the road flanked by two other slightly smaller members of the herd.   After cycling around them a smaller cow came cautiously out of the bushes followed by a wobbly calf.    I can only presume the calf is recently born as some of its coat looked wet and it was absolutely spotlessly clean.

An Eagle Owl - My what big eyes you've got Grandma!

   Found in a built up area and thankfully released in a far more suitable place.   Some serious peepers!   Not exactly what you expect from a bustling cityscape is it but there you go.

HK Triathlon Association - The boys' first dabble in the realms of cyclists with pointy hats

No day of rest for the boys this Sunday.  Both Matthew and Arthur made their first forays into the murky secretive world of triathlon, albeit this was without the cycling part!    Wearing their cheap trainers, swimmers and an old school running the vest the boys were hob knowing with the skin suited kids who preferred to wear their race number on a special gadget belt and lace their swanky running shoes with toggles stolen from a a parka hood.   The boys did splendidly, both came out of the swimming pool in second place, pushed / wedged their feet into all ready tied trainers, threw on their vests and set off on the run.   Unused to running for anything other than a departing bus, they soon fell backwards but nevertheless they had fun.   

Next on the agenda was Arthur's 3000m open water swim in Deep Water Bay in preparation / selection for the 2014 Hong Kong Invitational, international fin swimming competition in December.     Despite the water looking clean and clear he swam the distance and came out with a fine coating of oil and slime.   Not ideal but his hair has a great shine!   Not sure when we find out if he has made the cut for the Hong Kong team but if not he will be swimming a parallel race in the local races anyhow.

Before that though he has the last pool race meet in December to contend with too.

Islands District, Inter Schools Athletics

 

Chucking the ball competition.   Gold last year, for Arthur but fourth this year thanks to the participation of the cricket fanatics no doubt!

Mui Wo Recreation Centre - An End of an Era!

The end of an era.   The most happening place in Mui Wo finally succumbs to the wrecking ball.  What will the new one look like, I wonder?