Yesterday I was helping myself to a handful of cookies. These are cookies that Max recognizes and loves (and are relatively healthy, which is why she knows them), so as soon as I pulled the container out of the cupboard, I was besieged by a little grey dancing and excitedly repeating "Want some! Want some! Want some!"
I very much want to get a video of her saying this, as I think it's quite adorable, but Max is not cooperative. Never much of a talker, she clams up when the camera is pointed at her.
Instead, I made her do a couple of tricks in order to get the treat.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Not cooperating
Max was doing some funny things last night, but every time I tried to take a picture of it, she stopped and started shoving her face into the camera instead. So just a boring Max picture:
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The fish all gather on the right side of the aquarium when they know it's feeding time. For some reason, yesterday they were all hanging out together even after dinner. There should be 9 Australian rainbowfish; I could count 7 here. And of course one clown loach and a few glowlight tetras in the background.
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Last night, when I was in a semi-sleep/semi-awake state, I had a horrible dream. Thomas opened the front door and Stella flew outside. I remember thinking, "this is just a dream -- have her turn around and fly back to you," but that didn't happen. It was very scary and she got extra hugs this morning.
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This morning, I showered with just the greys. After I finished, I was doing some things in the bathroom to get ready for the day and Max kept flying to my head. I couldn't get anything done like this, so finally I tossed her into the hallway (one of the benefits of a flighted bird although if she were clipped she wouldn't have flown to my head in the first place) and she went to her stand in the kitchen.
Almost as soon as Max was gone, Stella, who had thus far been perfectly content to sit on the shower curtain and watch me, decided that she needed to keep flying to my head as well! It's pretty hard to get ready one-handed, which is what I attempted to do after having her step up on my hand from my head.
After I got ready, I went into the kitchen and couldn't find Max. She had flown to the counter island in our kitchen and was perched on our fruit bowl, currently containing onions. Although I didn't see her in action, the evidence left behind suggests she was peeling the onions a bit. Parrots are not supposed to eat onion. I guess we'll have to find a different place for them! Later on in the morning, we noticed that she had taken quite a few bites out of a $20 bill that was on the counter. She's tried to eat money in the past, and apparently I didn't learn my lesson. It's still spendable, but it might be a little embarrassing to use. Maybe I'll pay cash at the parrot rescue next time I buy food -- they'll understand!
************************The fish all gather on the right side of the aquarium when they know it's feeding time. For some reason, yesterday they were all hanging out together even after dinner. There should be 9 Australian rainbowfish; I could count 7 here. And of course one clown loach and a few glowlight tetras in the background.
*************************Last night, when I was in a semi-sleep/semi-awake state, I had a horrible dream. Thomas opened the front door and Stella flew outside. I remember thinking, "this is just a dream -- have her turn around and fly back to you," but that didn't happen. It was very scary and she got extra hugs this morning.
*************************
This morning, I showered with just the greys. After I finished, I was doing some things in the bathroom to get ready for the day and Max kept flying to my head. I couldn't get anything done like this, so finally I tossed her into the hallway (one of the benefits of a flighted bird although if she were clipped she wouldn't have flown to my head in the first place) and she went to her stand in the kitchen.
Almost as soon as Max was gone, Stella, who had thus far been perfectly content to sit on the shower curtain and watch me, decided that she needed to keep flying to my head as well! It's pretty hard to get ready one-handed, which is what I attempted to do after having her step up on my hand from my head.
After I got ready, I went into the kitchen and couldn't find Max. She had flown to the counter island in our kitchen and was perched on our fruit bowl, currently containing onions. Although I didn't see her in action, the evidence left behind suggests she was peeling the onions a bit. Parrots are not supposed to eat onion. I guess we'll have to find a different place for them! Later on in the morning, we noticed that she had taken quite a few bites out of a $20 bill that was on the counter. She's tried to eat money in the past, and apparently I didn't learn my lesson. It's still spendable, but it might be a little embarrassing to use. Maybe I'll pay cash at the parrot rescue next time I buy food -- they'll understand!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Lentils
Last night, Thomas made dinner and then boxed up the extra lentils for me so that I could make my "meatloaf." Max got so excited when she saw the lentils and helped herself. They're actually quite a favorite in our house -- even the lizards love them! Stella, in the back, is supervising.
I guess I shouldn't have posted so much yesterday since I don't have much to write today! Maybe more exciting things will happen tonight that I can write about tomorrow!
I guess I shouldn't have posted so much yesterday since I don't have much to write today! Maybe more exciting things will happen tonight that I can write about tomorrow!
Monday, March 2, 2009
Just when they had been getting along...
I'm not quite sure what was going on over the weekend, although I suspect hormones were at least partly to blame (Max has been a bit more aggressive than normal). The greys were on their normal spots on the stand, but Max kept climbing down and beaking Stella who defended herself.
Of course I supervised to make sure things didn't get out of hand. Since they are both around the same size and flighted, I like to give them the opportunity to work some things out among themselves. If they were unable to get away (i.e. clipped) or of different sizes, they would not even be allowed even this close to each other. Daphne, my budgie, has absolutely no contact with any of the other birds as it would only take a nip for her beak or toes to be gone.
Of course I supervised to make sure things didn't get out of hand. Since they are both around the same size and flighted, I like to give them the opportunity to work some things out among themselves. If they were unable to get away (i.e. clipped) or of different sizes, they would not even be allowed even this close to each other. Daphne, my budgie, has absolutely no contact with any of the other birds as it would only take a nip for her beak or toes to be gone.
Laundry
Yesterday, I had a hamper of dirty laundry waiting by the basement door. Rocky climbed up and started attacking the clothes:
Later in the day, I had a basket of clean workout clothes waiting outside another door. The laundry basket was the one that Rocky has chewed up previously. This worked well for him as the hated red hat was right by a Rocky-created opening. He was able to get it out and give it the attack it required. Sadly, I could not capture this on video since Beeps was near the scene and in a very hormonal mood -- I would have been attacked for sure had I brought the camera out!
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I found Max chewing up the entry forms for several races I plan to enter this spring. Does she know what they are and she's trying to make me stay home instead?
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This morning, I left the greys in the kitchen as I got ready for work. I had previously set out a bag of lentils to remind me to make lentil "meatloaf" this afternoon as my lunch for the rest of the week. I found Max perching on the lentils and pulling them out through a hole she created in the bag. She did not appear to eat them; I think she thought this was a toy.
Later in the day, I had a basket of clean workout clothes waiting outside another door. The laundry basket was the one that Rocky has chewed up previously. This worked well for him as the hated red hat was right by a Rocky-created opening. He was able to get it out and give it the attack it required. Sadly, I could not capture this on video since Beeps was near the scene and in a very hormonal mood -- I would have been attacked for sure had I brought the camera out!*************************
I found Max chewing up the entry forms for several races I plan to enter this spring. Does she know what they are and she's trying to make me stay home instead?
************************This morning, I left the greys in the kitchen as I got ready for work. I had previously set out a bag of lentils to remind me to make lentil "meatloaf" this afternoon as my lunch for the rest of the week. I found Max perching on the lentils and pulling them out through a hole she created in the bag. She did not appear to eat them; I think she thought this was a toy.
Aquarium update
It's been several months since I've posted any aquarium photos. Nothing too exciting has been going on. Really the only change has been our rainbowfish babies growing up!
I'm pretty sure the smaller fish in the foreground is one of the babies. They're indistiguishable from the larger fish after a year.
Thomas was taking a bunch of different pictures; it's almost like this guy is trying to communicate with us:
Here is one of our glow-light tetras. These guys have been in our tank since it was set-up a little over three years ago. From this angle, it looks like she has neon eyebrows.
A rare sighting of all three clown loaches in the same area. The smaller one still has not caught up, size-wise, to the others (he's off to the left; they seem to isolate him):
The two larger clown loaches were swimming around in a way that makes me think they were doing pre-mating rituals. Any babies would most likely get eaten by the tank inhabitants, but I will keep an eye out to see if any hardy souls make it, like the rainbowfish last year.
A close-up; I love how you can see his barbels so closely:
I'm pretty sure the smaller fish in the foreground is one of the babies. They're indistiguishable from the larger fish after a year.
Thomas was taking a bunch of different pictures; it's almost like this guy is trying to communicate with us:
Here is one of our glow-light tetras. These guys have been in our tank since it was set-up a little over three years ago. From this angle, it looks like she has neon eyebrows.
A rare sighting of all three clown loaches in the same area. The smaller one still has not caught up, size-wise, to the others (he's off to the left; they seem to isolate him):
The two larger clown loaches were swimming around in a way that makes me think they were doing pre-mating rituals. Any babies would most likely get eaten by the tank inhabitants, but I will keep an eye out to see if any hardy souls make it, like the rainbowfish last year.
A close-up; I love how you can see his barbels so closely:
Friday, February 27, 2009
Wrap-up
Yesterday I beat Thomas home, and was surprised to be greeted by this scene:
Apparently I had either forgotten to put Calypso in his cage, or I forgot to make sure his cage was securely closed. I do a double check of everyone as I leave for the day, making sure they're secure and saying goodbye (it's part of our routine that helps make the parrots feel comfortable and safe), so I'm not sure how he got past me.
In any case, if I had to leave any of the parrots out during the day, he's the one I'd choose. I'm pretty sure he spent the entire day on or in his cage. Had it been one of the greys, I would have found mass destruction, I'm sure. I triple checked him this morning before I left!
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Beeps, aka Mr. Hormone, attacked Thomas last night. We think we may have found another trigger. Thomas was lying on the kitchen table (I have no idea why) when Beeps flew over and attacked. Later, experimenting, we discovered he became very agitated whenever one of us sat on the table, and that's when he attacked me the day before.
As she had for me, Max came to Thomas's rescue and buzzed Beeps off of Thomas, herding him back to his stand.
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I'm starting to wonder whether Thomas and Rocky collaborated in the bite from earlier this week; otherwise, Thomas is just taking extreme advantage of the situation; e.g. "Would you mind very much doing all of the dishes? I would help, you know, but I have this bite on my finger and I don't want it to get infected."
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For dinner last night, we had nut burgers and french fries. Below is one of the potatoes I turned into fries (sorry it's so dark):
I remarked to Thomas that it looked like a heart, but he said it looked like a butt.
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Over the weekend, I could not resist purchasing a pint of blueberries and have been eating them sparingly, with the intention of turning the majority into muffins. I got up early this morning and finally made the muffins, worried that the blueberries might go bad before I had the chance if I didn't do it today.
I was in the living room, handing small pieces of muffin to the parrots in there (everyone but the greys) and returned to this scene:
I must say I was not surprised by this.
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I stopped at the library on my way in to work this morning to drop off some books and pick up a few more. I set off the alarm walking in. I don't even understand how that could happen as I had properly checked out all of the books and it didn't sound a few weeks ago as I was leaving. I held my breath while leaving, but didn't trip the alarm with my new books, luckily. I would have hated to be thought a library thief, even for a moment!
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Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend and a great start to March!
Apparently I had either forgotten to put Calypso in his cage, or I forgot to make sure his cage was securely closed. I do a double check of everyone as I leave for the day, making sure they're secure and saying goodbye (it's part of our routine that helps make the parrots feel comfortable and safe), so I'm not sure how he got past me.In any case, if I had to leave any of the parrots out during the day, he's the one I'd choose. I'm pretty sure he spent the entire day on or in his cage. Had it been one of the greys, I would have found mass destruction, I'm sure. I triple checked him this morning before I left!
*************************
Beeps, aka Mr. Hormone, attacked Thomas last night. We think we may have found another trigger. Thomas was lying on the kitchen table (I have no idea why) when Beeps flew over and attacked. Later, experimenting, we discovered he became very agitated whenever one of us sat on the table, and that's when he attacked me the day before.
As she had for me, Max came to Thomas's rescue and buzzed Beeps off of Thomas, herding him back to his stand.
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I'm starting to wonder whether Thomas and Rocky collaborated in the bite from earlier this week; otherwise, Thomas is just taking extreme advantage of the situation; e.g. "Would you mind very much doing all of the dishes? I would help, you know, but I have this bite on my finger and I don't want it to get infected."
*************************
For dinner last night, we had nut burgers and french fries. Below is one of the potatoes I turned into fries (sorry it's so dark):
I remarked to Thomas that it looked like a heart, but he said it looked like a butt.*************************
Over the weekend, I could not resist purchasing a pint of blueberries and have been eating them sparingly, with the intention of turning the majority into muffins. I got up early this morning and finally made the muffins, worried that the blueberries might go bad before I had the chance if I didn't do it today.
I was in the living room, handing small pieces of muffin to the parrots in there (everyone but the greys) and returned to this scene:
I must say I was not surprised by this.*************************
I stopped at the library on my way in to work this morning to drop off some books and pick up a few more. I set off the alarm walking in. I don't even understand how that could happen as I had properly checked out all of the books and it didn't sound a few weeks ago as I was leaving. I held my breath while leaving, but didn't trip the alarm with my new books, luckily. I would have hated to be thought a library thief, even for a moment!
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Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend and a great start to March!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Grey fun
Last night, Stella helped herself to an almond. Thomas had just finished sweeping the floor, so was a little upset that he'd have to sweep up again since she chose to eat the almond while perching on the back of the chair.
Sadly, I was not quick enough as she'd already dropped the almond in the dustpan, but he held the dustpan under her for several seconds and asked her to drop it in when she was done, which she did (that she dropped it in the dustpan was just an accident, helped by gravity and the fact she decided not to fling the shell).
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A few days ago, we made nut butter, which is so much more delicious that anything we can find in the store. We just buy bags of mixed fancy nuts at Trader Joe's and then blend them up for a few minutes. The only ingredients are nuts!
Max goes crazy for this. I was eating breakfast this morning, which consisted of apples dipped in the nut butter. I had given Max a small spoonful of the nut butter in a spoon, but she quickly finished that and decided she wanted more.
Although she rarely does this, she flew to the table and started bothering me for nut butter. I'd pick her up and fling her towards her stand. This was only a temporary fix, as she'd fly back to me and try to steal my food. Finally I flung her and she didn't come immediately back. I should have been suspicious, but instead enjoyed the relative calm as I attempted to finish the Sudoku puzzle in the paper.
Thomas gave her up, saying to me, "Look where she is!" She must have seen the cover to the nut butter on the counter and decided that made an acceptable substitute. Since she'd already had enough for one little parrot for one day, we removed her shortly after taking this picture.
You can see her eyes pinning -- she loves it!
Sadly, I was not quick enough as she'd already dropped the almond in the dustpan, but he held the dustpan under her for several seconds and asked her to drop it in when she was done, which she did (that she dropped it in the dustpan was just an accident, helped by gravity and the fact she decided not to fling the shell).
***********************A few days ago, we made nut butter, which is so much more delicious that anything we can find in the store. We just buy bags of mixed fancy nuts at Trader Joe's and then blend them up for a few minutes. The only ingredients are nuts!
Max goes crazy for this. I was eating breakfast this morning, which consisted of apples dipped in the nut butter. I had given Max a small spoonful of the nut butter in a spoon, but she quickly finished that and decided she wanted more.
Although she rarely does this, she flew to the table and started bothering me for nut butter. I'd pick her up and fling her towards her stand. This was only a temporary fix, as she'd fly back to me and try to steal my food. Finally I flung her and she didn't come immediately back. I should have been suspicious, but instead enjoyed the relative calm as I attempted to finish the Sudoku puzzle in the paper.
Thomas gave her up, saying to me, "Look where she is!" She must have seen the cover to the nut butter on the counter and decided that made an acceptable substitute. Since she'd already had enough for one little parrot for one day, we removed her shortly after taking this picture.
You can see her eyes pinning -- she loves it!
Clementines
As mentioned in a previous post, we have clementines. These are like crack for parrots (and people); at least the ones in our house.
Max:
Stella prefers if you hold it for her so she can drink the juice:
I don't know exactly what happened, but after Thomas gave Rocky his fruit, Rocky put it on Thomas's hand and then jumped up there himself:
Calypso didn't want his picture taken; you can see the clementine piece on his left side as he runs away:
Since I am patient, I eventually got a front picture of him with his treasure!
Beeps also enjoyed his, but since he is very hormonal, I couldn't get a picture of him (cameras set him off).
As usual, Daphne was not interested. More for us! Although not much more since she is only a little budgie and her consumption of clementines, even if she loved them, wouldn't make a dent in ours!
Max:
Stella prefers if you hold it for her so she can drink the juice:
I don't know exactly what happened, but after Thomas gave Rocky his fruit, Rocky put it on Thomas's hand and then jumped up there himself:
Calypso didn't want his picture taken; you can see the clementine piece on his left side as he runs away:
Since I am patient, I eventually got a front picture of him with his treasure!
Beeps also enjoyed his, but since he is very hormonal, I couldn't get a picture of him (cameras set him off).As usual, Daphne was not interested. More for us! Although not much more since she is only a little budgie and her consumption of clementines, even if she loved them, wouldn't make a dent in ours!
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