From 2007-2011 this blog was mainly about my animals with a bit of off-topic chatter. Then my husband shocked me by confessing to an affair. We've divorced. Life is better than ever!
Then, Max was a little sad that she'd spurned his afffections:
It's kind of hard to hear over Thomas and the CD, but when he sings like this to Rocky, Rocky hums a little bit. There's also some dancing. At the very end, that's Stella "singing" and Beeps beeping.
But then he realized that the fortress would not be able to withstand the onslaught from the greys, so he brought them into the living room. They played on their cages until we'd finished and could supervise them around the food again.
And the video:
Rocky has done that before, but this was the first time I remember seeing her do this.
I had a meeting last night, so Thomas was alone with the parrots. These were the five pictures on the camera when I got home.
Every single one of those pictures was of the greys playing on the stairs. Where they are not supposed to be!
It used to be that only Max tried to play on the stairs, so this is an upsetting development that Stella has apparently decided to join in the fun.
Sorry, ladies, I am back home tonight, so I hope you enjoyed your stair exploration while it lasted!
Notice how Rocky is more interested in me than the game.
We only wish Max would gravitate towards the berries. She instead has a dairy-magnet in her, despite the fact that parrots shouldn't eat much dairy:
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Notice how ratty his tail feathers are getting from wandering around the floor and nesting under his cage! Then, Thomas decided to let Max preen his tail a bit. She will frequently try to preen his tail when they're both walking around the floor, but he doesn't allow it.
He didn't really seem to mind it, as you can see from the video -- look for quick glimpses of Stella and Calypso on the stands as well:
There was a bit of wind, and she was being blown all over, making sure to keep her hold on the tiny branch. It reminded me of an amusement park ride!
Max in mid-attack, even though her victim has already fled.
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There were a ton of these little guys foraging on the ground:
I'm not sure what they were. I'm going to do some searching around to see if I can figure it out, but I'm thinking junco. Additionally, there were a ton of robins and a black-capped chickadee. When I left for work about 30 minutes later, not a bird to be seen in our backyard. I was glad we didn't miss the show!
Personally, I think it's ridiculous to break into a closed cage and then scream because of where you are!
In other Rocky developments, Thomas informed me that I needed to break open Rocky's grapes before giving them to him. What? If the caiques, with their much smaller beaks, can break into the thin skin of a grape, a severe macaw certainly can. Also, his beak has no problems breaking through nuts or our aquarium stand!
Who would have thought that oatmeal, a bit of dried fruit, and almond milk would be so popular?
Perhaps to try to get away from Stella, Max climbed up a few stairs, but then wouldn't let Stella follow her. I was worried that carpet attacking might follow this, so they were removed from this area after I took the picture.
I wanted to maybe get him a little fan in his cage, so he could choose to get air blown on him whenever he wanted, but Thomas told me that was ridiculous and this will have to be a pleasure enjoyed only while out!
Stella had previously thrown all offered grapes to the ground, so I was shocked when I noticed her chewing in front of the bowl:
For a short while, the greys were eating grapes in harmony:
Until Stella decided that the grapes on Max's side were more appealing:
I soon realized that Stella's aversion to holding food in her foot had a role in this. She loves grapes; she just doesn't want to hold them! I also realized that she'd taken one bite out of about 5 different grapes. Not wanting her to ruin the entire bowl, I had to take a different tactic:
I had to put the bowl back, so Max had grapes handed to her as well. As long as the bowl was around, Stella would prefer to take one bite out of each grape rather than eating the ones in front of her!
As Thomas was pouring himself some almond milk last night, he noticed that the container suggested to share with a friend, so he took the container up on its advice:
When Max eats something she particularly likes, especially if it's warm, she gulps it, like at the end here. What could possibly make her this happy? Sauteed zucchini!
Her patience was rewarded (if you look closely, you can see Max perched on Thomas's right hand):
Rocky felt a little left out, so he climbed over and Thomas grabbed him as well:
After Stella flew away, Thomas and Rocky went to the window to look at the squirrels:
Probably because I was there, Rocky climbed up on to Thomas's shoulder (where Rocky is not really supposed to go), drawing the attention of Max:
Max jumped to the other stand:
So Thomas had to grab Rocky off of his shoulder for Rocky's safety:
Step two: ask nicely. She pushed the nape of her neck into his hand. Even though he knew what she wanted, he was curious what she'd do next, so did not immediately comply.
Step three: repeat your demand, possibly with more force. Here, she gives his hand a gentle nip. Pay attention to me! Pet my head!
Step four: success! It may be hard to see from this angle, but his little finger is scratching her neck.
Silliness aside, things like this make me so happy! I love watching the parrots try to figure out a solution to their problem; especially if that solution does not involve biting, screaming, or any other undesirable behaviors!
