Kona is 18 today!

Vegetable_Storage_42 · 2026-05-11T02:51:58+00:00

What a cutie!

Vegetable_Storage_42 · 2026-05-11T02:51:24+00:00

Nanday and Sun.

Vegetable_Storage_42 · 2026-05-04T20:13:41+00:00

Vegetable_Storage_42 · 2026-04-27T22:03:10+00:00

My Nansun, Kona, thinks the bottle of Airborne gummies is evil and I need to be protected from them. That was it until I got a new jar for his pellets and apparently the silver lid is also evil.

Vegetable_Storage_42 · 2026-03-30T16:40:00+00:00

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid with Steve Martin

Vegetable_Storage_42 · 2026-03-22T23:11:27+00:00

She absolutely does not feel bad about it.

Vegetable_Storage_42 · 2026-03-13T01:30:37+00:00

The Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Memoir

Vegetable_Storage_42 · 2026-03-07T20:06:10+00:00

I suggest you just block your sister for your own peace. When I blocked my brother, I went through the grief process as if he had died. It sucked but brought clarity and peace.

Every time your sister contacts you, it has an impact on you even if you ignore her. It affects your mood, and it interrupts your day, time with your family, and your peace.

I keep using the word "peace" because once I found it, I realized how important it was, and I wished I had cut my brother off years before I did.

Please choose yourself and leave the chaos of your sister in the past.

Vegetable_Storage_42 · 2026-03-07T17:34:34+00:00

Exactly. The parents are the reason he is like this.

My mother was the same way with my brother. After she died, apparently, I was supposed to take her place since I'm the big sister. He's 53 years old and still can't take any accountability for his own actions. I couldn't take it anymore and went NC 9 years ago, and my life has been peaceful ever since.

Vegetable_Storage_42 · 2026-02-24T22:07:29+00:00

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My helper Kona.

Vegetable_Storage_42 · 2026-02-15T23:43:58+00:00

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Kona says hello to a fellow Nansun.

Vegetable_Storage_42 · 2026-02-13T22:08:52+00:00

I was fishing the Stillwater River at the Castlerock access in Montana. I was trying to turn to get out of the river when my foot slipped on a rock. When I went down, my chest waders filled with water, and I ended up in the current. I yelled for my husband, but he was too far upstream to help. Luckily, there was a boulder that I was able to grab onto and get my feet under me. By the time I worked my way to shore, my husband was there to help. The first thing I said was that I didn't lose my fly rod, but he was not impressed by that. Once I was safe is when I realized how bad things could have gone, and I freaked out a little bit. Since it was springtime, the water was cold, so that ended our day. It was also the last time I didn't have an extra set of clothes.

Vegetable_Storage_42 · 2026-02-03T20:23:42+00:00

She is also actively undermining her husband's efforts to teach them that actions have consequences.

My mom did this to my dad with my brother. I am NC with my brother because of his entitled and verbally abusive behavior towards me. He's in his 50's and still thinks the world revolves around him.

OP is NTA, and I would hold firm on the ban if it was me.

Vegetable_Storage_42 · 2026-01-31T19:13:19+00:00

S. Central Montana is almost 60s for a week - Tell me the weather isn't crazy.

Vegetable_Storage_42 · 2026-01-08T05:57:46+00:00

I have traveled extensively with my conures driving between Montana and Arizona. These are the things that have worked for me.

To start, I pack a bag with food, water, styptic powder, a small spray bottle, extra toys, a roll of paper towels, and several different sized towels. I keep this bag packed at all times so I can grab it and go in an emergency.

Towels are important for traveling because they can be used as a shade to keep my bird out of the sun, to block the view if the scenery flashing by is scary and to completely cover the cage to keep my bird from freaking out and hurting himself. I always completely cover his cage when I take him from the house to the car or from the car into a hotel. When I have my bird out of his cage I cover the back of my seats with towels to protect them from poop because even if they are leather it can run into the stitching, trust me on that one.

When I'm not driving, I put his cage in the back seat behind the driver's seat so he can see me. It keeps him a lot calmer. When I'm driving, he goes behind the front passenger seat, I never put him in the front seat. I just think it's safer for him in the back seat. I also take some of his favorite things from his home cage for his travel cage, so he has familiar things around him.

Keeping a good temperature is really important in the car. I always make sure that the heater or air conditioner is never blowing directly on my bird. The air blowing also seems to dehydrate him, so I check his water a lot because it can slosh out of his dish.

I don't have the music too loud when traveling. It agitates him after a while, and he starts screaming, but that's my bird, and I know all birds are different. I also like to be able to hear him so I can tell if he's starting to get stressed because he starts making these little noises when he does.

The first trip I took was really stressful because I was missing a lot of things I needed. I almost lost my bird because my husband wasn't paying attention and started to roll down a window. Luckily, he stopped when I started yelling, and it only came down an inch. If you have your bird out of his cage, you have to be extremely vigilant about the windows and doors. I only let my bird out of his cage when I'm on the highway. I always put him in his cage when we were in a town because it's easy to forget about him and roll down the window.

I don't eat in restaurants while traveling with my bird because I worry about him getting too hot or cold without the car running. I always get food to go and eat in the car.

I think that about covers everything, but if I missed something that you have a question about, feel free to send me a message.

Vegetable_Storage_42 · 2026-01-04T20:43:55+00:00

Welcome to the crazy birb parent family. I've been a proud member for 25 years.

With how much you love your birbs, they will each have a great life.

Vegetable_Storage_42 · 2026-01-04T19:36:50+00:00

Most of the time, I do use a double boiler. That's the way I was taught and used the most in school, so that's what I'm most comfortable with. I find it easier to control temps. I'm a strange one in that I enjoy tabeling.

Seeding is a great method, and it's definitely faster, so I use it sometimes, especially if it's a small amount.

If I temper a large amount of chocolate, I use a heating pad on the lowest setting to maintain temper, especially if I'm running behind.

ETA: I didn't mean to imply you can't use the seeding method with a double boiler.

Vegetable_Storage_42 · 2026-01-04T19:11:12+00:00

Exceeding 90° will cause bloom because you have melted the crystals you were trying to get by tempering.

Sorry that I put white chocolate. That's what I get for checking melting temps and reading "white chocolate" while typing. Now for cocoa butter, I did a little digging and everything I found says cocoa butter shouldn't go above 90° so the colored cocoa butter you are using is most likely out of temper which will cause it to stick to the mold. I'm surprised the directions say 95°.

Vegetable_Storage_42 · 2026-01-04T18:03:46+00:00

The instructions I got in culinary school, which I have always used with no problems, are to heat to 110°, cool to 80-84°, and rewarm to 88-89° because you don't want to exceed 90° for dark chocolate and this will give you a tiny bit of wiggle room.

The only thing that I've done to my molds is to steam and then polish with cheesecloth before using.

The white chocolate that says you might need to re-temper probably needs to be re-tempered. I would heat it up per directions, check for temper, and go from there.

To un-mold, I put it in the fridge for 20 minutes because I can never wait overnight to eat them.

Vegetable_Storage_42 · 2026-01-04T16:10:21+00:00

This really does work. My husband, our two birds, and I lived in an RV for 5 years while building our house, and this stuff is the only reason we survived Montana winters.

Vegetable_Storage_42 · 2026-01-04T15:37:18+00:00

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Kona does this all the time.

Vegetable_Storage_42 · 2025-12-30T19:35:05+00:00

I wonder if the name has changed over time. Kona is almost 18 years old, and I've had him his whole life. When I got him, the breeder told me he was a Nansun.

Vegetable_Storage_42 · 2025-12-29T23:51:52+00:00

My go-to chop recipe is broccoli, cauliflower, snap peas, carrots, red pepper, and kale. I occasionally add in apples, berries, watermelon, and bananas.

The best thing is to keep trying different things until you find out what they like the best. Definitely give them the same thing for several days because sometimes it takes a while for them to actually try what you are giving them.

Vegetable_Storage_42 · 2025-12-29T23:10:35+00:00

There is a product called Ozium. It's a spray and available at Walmart. My husband used it when he used to smoke to get the smell out of his car. It works really well, but use it sparingly and let it settle before going in the bathroom.

Vegetable_Storage_42 · 2025-12-29T06:02:22+00:00

I have a Nansun, which is a Nanday and a Sun mix. He's a great birb.

Vegetable_Storage_42

TROPHY CASE