Eros - A 007 Hammy Secret Agent!

[cypher]

I think there's still a touch of the baby face there Eros!
She'll be a beauty no matter her age dreamtree, time does fly I know, belated happy 16 month anniversary

[Coco61]

16 months together, gosh time has flown by. Love her early morning look with curly locks! They always remain our babies though don't they?!

[Razor]

16 months! Wow! Congratulations dreamtree1234! I'm so happy for you and Eros and thank you for sharing your adventures together with us!
Love all the pictures. The HoM pictures were all so adorable! But the one picture that really stopped me on my tracks in this one below! My! I don't know how to describe it, but it's so mesmerizing in beauty and elegance! Love it!

Originally Posted by dreamtree1234

BP, your parents' wildlife sounds absolutely marvelous and charming. It would be so lovely to step outside your parents' house and be greeted by the sights of all of those lovely animals. I rarely see deer unless I am driving somewhere and luckily happen to spot one in a slightly wooded area on the side of the road, and sadly I never see any hedgehogs anywhere, not even at the zoo. I think deer are one of the most graceful animals, and hedgehogs are utterly adorable.

Today marks 16 months with my precious Eros; wow, the time sure has zipped past so quickly! This morning, I was greeted with a very eager face peering from inside her bin cage. Apparently, she knew it was an extra special day today, and she wanted to be sure to share some of my breakfast with me to celebrate, lol. She was in such a rush to come out that she didn't even bother with grooming her curlicue wisps behind her ears. She did look extra cute with her silly bedhead locks though and I couldn't help but grin from ear to ear at her appearance. Besides having her portion of my breakfast, she will get some extra treats and two, extra long playtimes with me to celebrate.

Oh Eros, your ooh-la-la, curlicue wisps behind your ears surely do make me laugh!

[BorisPasha]

I agree with cyper, there is still a little touch of baby face about her especially with her wispy curls

Happy belated 16 month anniversary to you both xx

[dreamtree1234]

Thin Lizzy, Cypher, Coco, Razor, and BP - thank you for your well wishes for her 16-month Gotcha Day and for your very sweet comments about Eros and her "baby face", lol. I'm sure that will make her even more pleased that you think so. Razor, I'm glad that you enjoyed all of her HOM pics and the photo showing off all of her "curls", lol.

I probably will not be able to capture anymore pics to share of the house finches unless I am extremely lucky, which is very doubtful. This is a pic that I took a few days ago. I absolutely love how their down feather mohawks sway in the wind as they chirp their merry songs begging for food.


The second one from the left is always the most enthusiastic of the bunch, lol.


This is a closeup today of the most adventuresome chick (a.k.a. The Crooner). Wow, has he grown!!! In fact, they are all getting much larger now; of course, The Crooner is second from the left and always seeks the most attention from all, lol).



Sorry that this is incredibly out of focus and the lighting is horrible (another bad storm), but I thought it would be special to share this event with all of you. The Crooner hopping up and down, flapping its wings, and preparing for future flight. It will happen any day now. I am so excited for the happy family, but I must admit that I will be sad to see them go. I really have enjoyed them.


Mum house finch feeding her four, eager chicks!!!! Btw, Dad is also extremely loving and attentive and still feeds the babies, taking turns with Mum; however, I haven't managed to capture him in many photos because he is just way TOO fast. Chirp, chirp, CHIRP!!!!!


After a wonderful playtime with me and a few extra treats, I went to give Eros some cuddling. This is sight of the absolutely adorable face, with extra huge pouches and lots of tiny crumbs all scattered in her fur, that made me laugh so hard. Eros really does make the most priceless expressions, lol. She is such a silly, SILLY ham, and I love her so!!!!

[SunnyOy]

Eros: mama, bet with me how many more pieces I can stuff in! If I can’t take more than 1 piece, I’ll be punished to take 3 pieces. If I can, I take none.
Dreamtree: deal!
Eros: ok I’ve lost, I’ll take 3 more to my nest
Dreamtree: ......

[dreamtree1234]

HeeHEE, that dialogue is quite silly, SunnyOy!!! It certainly made me laugh, and you captured Eros's mindset and reasoning quite well, lol. Love it!!!

[BorisPasha]

The finches have grown so fast but nice to see they still have their wispy mohawks

What lovely cheeks you have there Eros

[dreamtree1234]

Thank you, BP! Eros's cheeks are quite impressive, lol. She sure knows how to stuff them to the max! She is sleeping cozily in her nest probably excited to see what adventures she can when she wakes up.

I have wonderful news to share. Today, I was awaken to the loud chirping of four excited chicks and their two eager parents. After much practicing and encouraging by their doting parents, all four chicks took flight for the very first time and happily flew away to their new homes, where ever that may be. It was such a precious thing to witness, and I'm so overjoyed that they got me up to see it happening as I was so afraid I would miss out on this momentous event. I really wish that I had a video camera to film the whole experience because my pics and words just do not do the experience justice. The Dad demonstrated proper flight techniques by swooping to the nest, flapping his wings, and then flying to a light fixture approximately three feet away. Then, Mum did the same. They took turns doing this for a few minutes, chirping encouragingly as loudly as they could while looking at each chick and cocking their heads as if asking "Any questions?" The first of the chicks to fly was The Crooner; no big surprise there, lol. Then, he/she joined with the parents in encouraging his/her siblings to fly to them. Next, came Tweety (the closest in size to The Crooner and usually spotted on the right side of him - left side in pics). Third, came Chirpy doing the same as the rest. Lastly, after being encouraged by all five birds for a full half an hour, Teeny took flight. Before they all departed, they each took turns cocking their heads at me one last time as if to say their final goodbyes. I was thoroughly touched and overwhelmed with so much emotion that tears rolled down my cheeks. Although I must admit I will miss them all very much now that they are gone, these were tears of happiness and appreciation for all of the amazing adventures they will have and for allowing me to be a tiny part of their amazing lives. May you be safe darling House Finch family, and maybe I will be lucky to see you again one day. Goodbye and good luck my finch friends. As you probably have guessed, these will be the last photos of them. Btw, I know some of you may be laughing since I named the baby chicks, but I just couldn't help myself; I thought The Crooner, Tweety, Chirpy, and Teeny were perfect names for them even for the short time they were with me.

The Crooner takes flight.


Tweety following.



Chirpy copying.



Teeny looking hopeful right before take off.


This is the expression that Eros makes whenever she heard the sounds of the finches chirping right outside of my front door. It is quite adorable and thought it would be a wonderful way to end this post. Who knows, maybe Eros may miss them, too!

What's that? Oh yeah, they are the finches saying hi again!!! They sure are talkative, aren't they?


* * * * *

Oh my, look who is back from their flight so soon! I could hardly believe my ears when I heard a very familiar chirping sound again. It is Tweety and Teeny coming back to their nest for more food from Mum. I guess they decided my house was just too hard to leave and wanted to cheer me up as I am mourning the heartbreaking loss of my beloved, last, green cory catfish named Shamrock who passed to the bridge just a little while ago today. She was with me for five years and had the longest lifespan possible for her breed; she was always the first fish to greet me whenever I looked in the tank (which is quite often) and was the last to say her final goodbye. RIP, Shamrock; you are in my heart always; give a bloopy, wet kiss to all those loved ones at the bridge for me.




* * * * *
Eros decided to come out and give me a lot of cuddles. Aww, she really is my little snuggle ham and never can miss an opportunity to be with me.


Let me give you some ticklish whisker kisses, Mum; I know you want them!

[dreamtree1234]

When Eros came out for her early morning playtime after sharing my breakfast with me as usual, she decided that she wanted to get a few more cuddles. She scurried to the palm of my hand, ran up my arm, sat on my shoulder to give me a few whisker kisses, then ran down my arm, sat on my hand again to groom herself, scurried right back up my arm, sat on my shoulder, and gave me even more kisses. She repeated this for about fifteen minutes before deciding to burrow herself in my shirt pocket, pop her head out to give me a few VERY silly expression, and then ran up to my shoulder to give me even MORE whisker kisses. After she decided to use my hand as her personal elevator down to my lap, I decided that she was in great need of a nutty treat. Although today isn't National Nut Day which is celebrated on October 22, Eros enjoyed a couple nuts because she was being a bit EXTRA "nutty" during her morning outing with me, lol. Of course, I totally appreciated the sweetness of it all and it melted my already mushy heart.

CrrrackKK. . . . I can smell the scent of your yumminess, Mr. BIG Nut!!!!! Mmmnn. . . I can hardly wait until your insides are mine!!!!! Whahahaha. . . . !!!!!


Mum, this very, VERY naughty nut is doing the great escape routine again; come back here NUTTY NUT!!!! Don't you know I always want the extra BIG treat first?


Hmmn, maybe I'll just gnaw on a BABY NUT instead since Mr. BIG Nut isn't being the most cooperative at the moment! Which one should I munch on first? You look like twins!!!


My reliable nose chooses you (the slightly bigger one) to visit my eager tummy first, and I will stash the other one for my much later treat if Mum isn't looking! I had better be swift at hiding this other one under my paw. Pretty sneaky, huh?


CrrrackKK. . .


Nyum. . . Mnnnn. . . !!!!


* * * * *
Thanks, Mum; I'll be back for plenty more before you know it! All of this fun and excitement sure is making me sleepy. . . . ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzz. . . . . . . !!!!