tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45331487407189587312024-02-07T07:18:27.710-05:00the Beloved ParrotI am a writer who lives and works in a city somewhere below the Mason-Dixon line, east of LA. This blog is about my parrots, various and sundry things going on in my life, and whatever events occur that demand my opinion.
All material contained in this blog is copyrighted, 2007-2016. All rights retained by the author.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger179125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4533148740718958731.post-14460230794047046532016-10-30T14:17:00.000-04:002016-10-30T14:17:30.701-04:00Teaching Our Parrots Independence, with Mattie Sue AthanBack around 2006 I produced a series of podcasts about parrots. I would interview various people in the parrot world and post the podcasts on a special website.
Most of those podcasts are just as relevant today as they were ten years ago, so I'm going to post one every once in awhile.
The one I'm posting today is with Mattie Sue Athan, author of the best-selling Guide to a Well-Behaved Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4533148740718958731.post-18511668649290979792016-10-24T13:30:00.000-04:002016-10-24T13:30:13.708-04:00Some Bizzaro MomentsI love the Bizarro comics by Dan Piraro, especially the ones with parrots. So, with his permission, here are several of my most favorite ones.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4533148740718958731.post-72349243704949607192016-10-05T08:57:00.000-04:002016-10-05T08:57:04.849-04:00The Joys of Foraging
The store was having a big sale on fresh organic broccoli; the kind of broccoli that comes on those huge stalks.
I personally like raw broccoli and all my birdies like raw broccoli, so I try to keep some in the house, when I think of it.
I couldn't pass up this deal, so I came home with two huge stalks of broccoli and some organic apples.
Now Charli loves "helping" me work on the computer, Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4533148740718958731.post-76761843330263838722016-09-28T07:17:00.000-04:002016-09-28T08:48:01.974-04:00The Evil Telephone
A frightened phone peeks out from its protective cover.
Charli hates the phone. Whenever I have to use it she becomes enraged at the attention I seem forced to give it, rather than giving my attention to her.
Sometimes she'll bite me if I'm on the phone too long. I like to think she bites me to make me move away from the Evil Phone lest it eat me up altogether. Of course, that's a prime Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4533148740718958731.post-35633408863021704812016-09-21T19:38:00.002-04:002016-09-21T19:38:27.719-04:00Allergies in Parrots
Charli grabs a tissue to deal with her allergies.
Several months ago, back in the spring, I noticed a slight congested sound from Charli when she was on my shoulder. Not all the time, certainly not loud, but it was definite congestion. Her nares were clear, and her behavior was in all other ways normal.
I figured I was imagining things.
The next evening I heard it again, and it was not my Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4533148740718958731.post-75688583651138389422016-09-17T22:58:00.000-04:002016-09-17T23:23:24.379-04:00Yet Another Hoarding Crisis
I've seen too many of these notices on Facebook lately -- another hoard of birds locked up in some dark dangerous place, starving, dead, sick, all victims of someone with a serious mental illness.
This time it happened in Connecticut on September 15, 2016. Reports of a foul odor led to the discovery of over 200 animals, over 150 of them parrots. The Rhode Island Parrot Rescue has been working Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4533148740718958731.post-5230477632538624752016-09-13T12:24:00.000-04:002016-09-13T12:24:17.454-04:00Unanimous Decision About Kale
We have a lot of farmers' markets here and throughout the state, so there's always something fresh and delicious to choose from nearly any day of the week.
I keep seeing pictures on Facebook of happy little birds chomping away on clumps of kale and lettuce and other various greens, so I decided I should give my birds some, too. I stopped by one of the stalls that offered only the finest Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4533148740718958731.post-9100766933599715522016-06-27T16:05:00.001-04:002016-06-27T16:05:12.649-04:00The Beloved Parrot is coming back!
It feels like forever since I've updated this blog, but that's going to change soon.
I'm moving things to Word Press and writing some new posts -- just as soon as I get the details worked out I plan to publish on a regular basis. I'll be opening up comments and inviting other bloggers to post.
Stay tuned!
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4533148740718958731.post-69217050170978459402013-12-25T08:42:00.000-05:002013-12-25T08:42:00.337-05:00
Cheb stops to admire himself in the mirror on the wall opposite the cage before determining what havoc to wreck on the house today.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4533148740718958731.post-82665831504068849662013-12-24T11:41:00.003-05:002013-12-24T11:41:50.767-05:00Cheb and Toys
Another change Cheb has brought into the house is the debris from chewed up, gnawed on, and broken toy bits. When I change the cage papers there are the usual feathers and poop and food, plus now the colorful leftovers of toys well loved.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4533148740718958731.post-38124724880415330122013-12-19T09:35:00.000-05:002013-12-19T09:35:00.620-05:00Charli's Newest New Toy
I had an extra roll of toilet paper set out in the bathroom, and before I knew it Charli had hopped onto it and began shredding.
It was a struggle to get her away from it, but I finally relocated it to her area of the coffee table.
Yes, it makes a dreadful mess, but watching Charli work at it is well worth the effort.
That dark spot on top of the roll is cardboard; in the video it looks Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4533148740718958731.post-4962763745422009362013-12-17T08:02:00.000-05:002016-09-01T13:18:17.780-04:00Cheb, on Top of the World
I couldn't resist.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4533148740718958731.post-74262849110948009682013-12-15T12:33:00.003-05:002013-12-15T12:34:37.403-05:00And no birds sing . . . .
I took this picture yesterday; it's the wild bird feeder outside by the deck. In early winter I keep it filled with safflower, to attract the small birds.
It's been full for three days now.
The past two weeks we've had snow, rain, ice, and cold, but no birds have come to feed.
I've seen one cat
roaming the neighborhood this season, so perhaps word has gotten out
about Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4533148740718958731.post-51573100694551141062013-11-26T12:33:00.003-05:002013-11-26T12:33:54.110-05:00Coffee & Cruellers Cold and wet this morning; big storm out west headed this way, we're told. I've got coffee and pastries and a million things to do -- all indoors -- so I'm not too worried about the weather.
The birds are, as always, busy, busy, busy. Charli is chewing up a nice thick paperback book that cost me $1.00, and the two cockatiels have come out of the cage in order to climb up to the top Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4533148740718958731.post-58242272924510286952013-11-23T20:20:00.000-05:002013-11-23T20:20:26.405-05:00Obedience
Here Flash and Cheb demonstrate how well they obey me. Flash is the one on the left.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4533148740718958731.post-30568184050398804812013-11-23T13:54:00.000-05:002013-11-23T13:54:00.056-05:00Good Day for Cheb
It was a very good day for Cheb, though he doesn't know it. It was a good day because I emptied out the box of mixed seed he's probably been eating all his life. Of course, we don't know how old he is or what his life was like before his other mom found him, but I'm going to assume he's always eaten mixed seed.
The number one cause of death of pet parrots is STILL malnutrition fromUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4533148740718958731.post-56485808478019911332013-11-20T13:29:00.000-05:002013-11-20T13:29:00.721-05:00Inseperable Quarantine is over.
Someone else's food is always better than yours; even if it's the same food.
I worried that Flash might not like Cheb or that Cheb might not like Flash; I needn't have worried at all. I was prepared for Cheb to say in his own cage for as long as he wanted, which turned out to be less than one day.
Cheb moved right in with Flash, and Flash let him. They eat Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4533148740718958731.post-13654687032951747442013-11-18T15:54:00.001-05:002013-11-18T15:54:08.743-05:00"Bookish" ToysBelieve it or not, it can be difficult to sate Charli's desire for more paper things to chew on. She's gone through phone books, envelopes, note pads -- anything anywhere.
I was browsing the clearance section at Books for Half the other day and came upon several books of a very healthy thickness. They weren't books I was interested in reading, but I knew that Charli would enjoy them.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4533148740718958731.post-23997178456308073602013-11-16T19:16:00.000-05:002013-11-16T19:16:00.844-05:00
I am pleased to announce that my book, Cockatiel Lessons, is now available as an audio book, narrated by Gale Cruz.
Yes -- just in time for the holidays!
Now you have your choice of three versions of Cockatiel Lessons:
paperback from Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble
e-reader form from Smashwords
audio book from Audible.com
And don't forget
The Parrot Reckonings: A Look at Real Life withUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4533148740718958731.post-25194570567893457002013-11-15T20:00:00.001-05:002013-11-15T20:00:49.673-05:00Other ToysCharli is a paper chewer. She'll chew on wood once in awhile, but she much prefers paper. She adores chewing on my personal and valuable books, so it's a constant battle keeping her away from my bookshelves.
Her most favorite toy is a simple roll of blank adding machine tape. I buy it in boxes of 12 rolls, and stick one roll on a pencil, which I then thread through the bars of her Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4533148740718958731.post-81833840309579061722013-11-14T15:37:00.000-05:002013-11-15T20:30:07.791-05:00Toys
The whole point of a bird toy is for the parrot to chew it up, dismantle and destroy it. This is why so many of us buy all manner of toys -- hanging toys, foot toys, big and small, some with bells or buzzers, expensive, cheap . . .
It's also why my house is littered with dozens of toys my birds are not the least bit interested in. Well, until Cheb came along, that is.
He has shownUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4533148740718958731.post-39736973205794801252013-11-11T13:56:00.001-05:002013-11-11T13:56:54.097-05:00Cleaning, Cleaning, CleaningIt never ends with parrots! Flight feathers, down feathers, tiny bits of dust, seed husks, pellet crumbs, splinters of wood from toys . . . .
And the cages. Paper has to be changed, bars need to be wiped down, water and food dishes need to be washed and dried, perches cleaned of poop splatters . . . .
I do my best but it never seems good enough. If I had larger birds that threw Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4533148740718958731.post-55063709427836727302013-11-09T15:13:00.001-05:002013-11-09T15:14:29.493-05:00Feeding BirdiesMy birds seem to like Harrison's birdie bread -- that is, they chow down as soon as I give them a bowl of it, but they never seem to want seconds. I don't think I'm giving them too much because I've seen how many Nutriberries they can scarf down without taking a breath.
If you're familiar with Pat Sund's blog Parrot Nation, you probably already know about chop. Pat didn't invent chopUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4533148740718958731.post-77983504664028709592013-11-08T14:34:00.000-05:002013-11-09T14:35:19.371-05:00Living with a Talking ParrotI've never lived with a talking parrot before Cheb, so I haven't been prepared for the nightly ritual, which goes as follows . . . .
I cover up Cheb's cage and wish him a good night. A few minutes later I hear a soft "whatcha doing," followed by a louder "whatcha doing." Followed then by "pretty bird," repeated at various sound levels. Then an entire assortment of noises and Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4533148740718958731.post-72870079390773400962013-11-05T19:55:00.000-05:002016-09-01T13:43:25.215-04:00Memes of the DayIf you're a parrot slave and enjoy jokes and cartoons about parrots, have I got a blog for you!
I've been posting humorous memes related to parrots and other birds on Scritches.com for a time now. Not every day or on any kind of regular schedule -- just whenever the mood strikes.
Here are a few to get you started.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0