Sunday, February 28, 2010

Odds and Ends

Pika and Pixel, along with Jezebel the tiel, were finally able to make their way home. They are now settling in, and seem very happy. I know they will be taken great care of there! I am still helping a woman in Kentucky with a tiel she took in when no one wanted him, Jeffrey. He would really like a permanent home, hint hint! He was very frightened when she got him, but he is really coming around, and becoming quite the quirky, always adorable little tiel!

I would also like to bring up Happy Endings again, in case anyone new reading this has one to share. If you have had a positive experience with your rehomed or rescued parrot, and have had them for more than 6 months, I would love to hear your story! It doesn't have to be long, or even a story! Photo essays, poems, however you want to tell it. Just leave a comment or email me through my profile.

Recently the program Trees for a Change was brought to my attention. As we all know deforestation for whatever reason is a real problem, but it costs quite a bit of money to re-plant an area! Trees for a Change allows you to "purchase" trees to be planted in one of our National Forests as a gift or memorial for many different occasions. One of the tree memorials they offer is a pet memorial. Planting a tree in honor of an animal is so very fitting, especially for birds. You get a card or certificate on recycled paper, and can add your pet's photo to their website. Plus, you actually get to see where your tree was planted, which I think is wonderful; it really makes it seem so much more personal. I am definitely going to look into doing this for Cone, my first tiel that died of a complete prolapse after attempting to lay an egg.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

So much snow!

Goodness! Who knew eastern Virginia could get this much snow? And is it strictly coincidence that PBS ran a program on the Donner party before these last snows?

My parrots love snow. Just think of how it changes the atmosphere of the room- different light, different sounds, different window scene, different wild bird behavior, etc. And because of all these changes, my birds always seem different with snow. Or I should say always did seem different; snow is getting to be old news here!

Claudia, my little window watcher, spends snow days switching between closely watching the window for hours and running around like a parrot maniac beating toys with her beak. Usually the latter takes roughly only 20% of her precious snow days, but it leaves quite the impression on the rest of us!

Yo-yo shares Claudia's behavior, but on a mellower scale. Rather, he spends just as much time studying the outside goings on, but he also spends time whistling loudly to the wild birds, getting shocked at sudden movements like snow falling off the roof (I am sure all of you with cockatiels are now picturing the adorable crest up, tail low, feathers flattened look), and then with any spare time he stuffs his face with ever more food. It is a mystery of nature, how he can remain so tiny and underweight (70 g) and yet sooo much food! All because he was starved as a baby.

The other birds enjoy the snow while still maintaining something more similiar to a regular schedule. Ava spends most of the day beak grinding and snow watching, with a few breaks dedicated to destruction or her morning and evening flyabout. Miss Patty follows an almost opposite schedule, prefering to spend the day destroying things with a few well deserved breaks to watch the scenery. Linus spends the whole day looking out the window, singing to the wild birds and getting shocked at sudden changes, but for him, this dedication is not unusual! The quakers, especially Frank, can't wait to talk with you all about the snow, but they don't let it get in the way of their daily duties other than that. No, they still maintain their jobs as mess makers through it all.

And then there is Chester, the only bird that really seems unaffected by snow. Actually, he seems to live in his own world and is unaffected by many things, so this is not surprising!

Personally, I love the snow. Little Gwen, the chihuahua, used to say the same, firmly believing snow was the single best invention ever to fall from the sky! However, the heights of the recent snows have greatly damped her enthusiasim. Somehow, she doesn't think it is so fun when it is over her head, and mixed with ice, to boot!

I hope everyone else experiencing these snow storms is doing ok!