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Hoover the Chicken at The Washington Monument



One of my cousin, Hoover’s favourite places in Washington is the Washington Monument.

This monument was made in honour of George Washington, the first president of the United States.

Hoover wanted to climb the monument and check the view from the top but Mom said she didn’t want to climb 897 steps in the 100 degree heat. We later found out that visitors can also take an elevator.

There are so many interesting things to know about the Washington Monument. Click the link and you can get some really cool facts.

Just remember, whether you walk, take the elevator or fly, you do need to order timed tickets in advance.

On this visit, Hoover and I admired the monument from below but there is always next time….

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Chickens at Washington’s National Zoo





Recently, I met up with my cousin Hoover, in Washington DC. (Hoover was named after one of the United States past presidents.)

Hoover enjoyed showing Washington’s sights to me, Mom, her friend and the kids.

One of our favourite places was the Smithsonian National Zoological park. Mom liked the fact that it’s free to get into.

Hoover and I loved the bird house. I took a great picture of Hoover on the eagle statue by the bird house.

Many of the animals were hiding or sleeping because it was so hot outside, but there were many active animals in the indoor exhibits. Check and see if the Pandas are up on the Panda cam.

We loved the reptiles in the Reptile House. Did you know that evolutionwise, reptiles are related to us birds? Maybe that’s why I have such scaley feet.

Mom thought the Meerkats…you know, the ones that look like Timone from Lion King, were really cute.

With it being so hot, the kids loved the misters that were located around the zoo. The mists of water sure helped to cool us down.

I’ll be telling you more about our trip to Washington this week, so keep checking my site.

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Quaker Parrots and One Rubber Chicken


I’m not the only bird in our family home. I live with a Quaker Parrot named Kirby.

Quaker Parrots like Kirby are also called Quaker Parakeets, Monk Parakeets or Grey-Breasted Parakeets. Quakers are usually green with a pale grey chest, throat, cheeks and forehead but some of Kirby’s friends are blue or yellow.

When living with pet humans, Quakers usually learn to talk,laugh and even sing.

Quaker Parrots originally came from Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina in South America but like me, they are prone to travel. I have seen Quakers in Southern Florida, Brooklyn and even Brussels, Belgium. If you don’t believe me, check out the You Tube videos.

Look at the time! Gotta fly. I promised Kirby that I would meet up with him and some chicks tonight.

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Playing Fowl in the Toronto Islands



Ontario is really something to crow about in the Summer.

One of my favourite places to go is the Toronto Islands. There is soooo much to do.

Half the fun is arriving on the ferry. I love to ride my bike around the islands and usually hang out at the beach for a while then check out the haunted lighthouse on Gibraltar Point. There’s even a bird sanctuary nearby and lots of Canadian Geese. (Whatever they eat, sure makes them poop a lot).

It’s always fun to go to Centreville and ride the roller coaster and swan boats before checking in on a few of my relatives at the farm.

One of the coolest things is the view of the city from the island or watching the planes take off from the airport.

The Islands are a great place with an interesting history, but don’t take my word for it. Check out these two videos on the island’s past and the islands today.

Gotta fly now. I’m off to meet a few ducks at the Wards Island ferry dock.

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Something to Celebrate


I’m getting ready to party!

This Friday, July 1 is Canada’s 144th birthday. It’s the perfect time to wave our flags, enjoy fireworks and crow with national pride.

Canadians have a lot to be proud of. We live in an amazing country. Check out some of these Canadian facts from the National Geographic Kids site.

Many famous people come from Canada including Justin Beiber, Wayne Gretzky, Avril Lavigne and Jim Carrey to name a few. Check out this much larger list of famous Canadians.

So stand proud Canadians, and belt out our national anthem.Happy Canada Day!

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Goose Bumps in Key West, Florida


I went to Key West in Florida recently and had an amazing time.

One memory that sticks out in my mind is our visit to Fort East Martello Museum where I saw Robert, the haunted doll. Talk about creepy.

Many people say that they’ve seen Robert’s expression change or have seen him move. I didn’t but he still gave me goose bumps.

Check out this video about Robert’s story if you dare…but maybe not before bedtime.

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Warrior Emperor and Air Conditioning at the ROM


To beat the heat, I joined the family on a visit to the Royal Ontario Museum. The air conditioning was cool and so were the terracotta warriors.

I saw ten life size figures and horses from the tomb of China’s warrior emperor, Ying Zheng. In 1974 the Warrior Emperor’s tomb was discovered in China along with 8000 terracotta figures, all different. They’d been buried for over 2,200 years. Boy did they have some catching up to do.

The Warrior Emperor had a busy life. At 13, he became the King of Qin, then went on to build an empire to rival Rome but his empire lasted much longer. During his lifetime, he started many building projects including a section of the Great Wall of China.

To find out more about him, check out the ROM’s Warrior Emperor and Terracotta Warrior exhibit.

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Saving my Rubber


Whether you’re on a trip or at home, it’s important to wear sun screen, especially in the summer. I always lather some on my rubber skin every morning and touch it up during the day.

Sun screen is a fairly new product. The first sunscreen that worked was created in 1938 and called Glacier Cream. It only had a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of 2. The one Mom buys has an SPF of 70.

In 1944 another product came out called Red Vet Pet. It was a yukky, red, sticky goo, kind of like petroleum jelly, (you know the stuff that moms rub on baby’s bums to protect them from rashes).

This stuff became popular during WWII because soldiers in the Pacific needed something to protect them from sunburns. The product really took off when the patent was sold to Coppertone in the 1950s.

Todays sunscreens are much improved. They even stay on when you go in the water or sweat…and its not yukky and red anymore.

So whether you’re on a tropical island or just hanging around the back yard, take a minute, rub it on and protect your skin from the sun.

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Chicken on the Beach


You don’t always need to go a far way to get the tropical beach experience. Here I am catching some rays at a beach in Long Point, Ontario.

Long Point isn’t only a beautiful beach. Its sand dunes and marshes are also home to many types of birds, fish, frogs and turtles. On one visit, we even watched a mother turtle dig a hole and lay her eggs!

This is the perfect summer place. Often my family camps at the provincial park. I love to watch the fireflies at night. Other times, we just come out for a day of swimming and relaxing.

If you’re in Ontario for the summer, come check out Long Point Provincial Park.

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Tea Time for the Peckish


As I scratch around in the back yard, I find myself still thinking about high tea. High tea is served all over the world. Some of Mom’s favourite tea houses are in New York City, Boston and Victoria, B.C.

These days high tea is considered very fancy. Goodies like tiny sandwiches with the crusts cut off, fancy appetizers, scones with clotted cream, pastries and of course tea, are served on fancy dishes called china. You would be in big trouble if you broke any of these cups or saucers.

Formal high tea has come a long way from what it used to be during the industrial revolution. Back then, only poor or working class people would have high tea.

Most of the poor people could only afford one main meal a day and that was lunch time, (they called it dinner). By the time they got home from work around 6pm they were starving so they would set the table with leftovers from lunch and whatever else they could scrape up, usually meats, bread, butter, pickles, cheese and of course tea. No fancy sandwiches or pastries for the working class.

Because the meal was eaten at a high table (not a low tea table), it was called high tea or meat tea.

All this talk about tea has left me feeling a little peckish. I think pour myself a cup and drink it with some chicken feed.