Returning Home

I must admit that I miss the housekeepers when they go away for the holidays. I realize they must see their family, too. (I am very fortunate that my flock never leaves me!)

Since they left the heat on while they were gone, it got pretty dry in the house. The first thing I wanted to do when they got back... Was to take a bath!

Of course, I made Pepe jealous by getting to take a bath first. That's okay by me!

But Pepe got his chance to get wet - eventually.

As for the housekeeper that cared for us during their absence... She's cute! She can come over here anytime!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas

From our flock to yours!

Driving Miss Sweetie

Oh where was she going

Without ever knowing

the way?

A Different Point of View

Finally, Pepe has found someone willing to see him eye-to-eye.

I can't imagine how long that's going to last!

Getting Ready for Black Friday

Birdie wants to get the flock nice Christmas presents this year, but he'll have to moonlight to earn enough money.

Forget about it! Keep your day job Birdie!

The Spurs Return

Once again, basketball has taken over our flock. Obviously, Sweetie has a crush on Tony Parker...

These Colors Don't Rum

A heartfelt "thank you" to all the veterans who have served our country!

Cats can't spell either

The neighboring feral cats began eating the birds we fed outside our window, so the wife thought it would be better to feed them instead. Somehow, that just doesn't seem right.

Headscratch

Birdie is so pathetic.

Simple Things

It's the simple things in life that can make you happy.

Knock knock is one of them.

One of these birds is not like the other...

I'll give you a hint - it's the good looking one!

If you hear from my cousins...

If you remember this post and this post, then you might be curious to know what a real quaker sounds like:

The quaker "growl."

It's a very distinctive call we make when nervous!

Nom Nom Nom

Mmmmm... Berries...

I <3 Sweetie

Sweetie and Guiness Perching in a tree P-R-E-E-N-I-N-G First came love Then came feathers Then came Caitlin in a baby carriage!

Nom Nom Nom

needs more cowbell

Biker "chick"

Sweetie is such a card. Even though she doesn't say much, she likes to investigate everything.

This time, she decided to explore the housekeeper's helmet. There was a time helmets used to really scare me, but obviously this doesn't bother Sweetie at all.

*Sigh*

Fish Sticks

The housekeepers are so kind. They let me snag this fish stick from their dinner plate.

What would you do for a pumpkin seed?

The way to a quaker's heart is through his stomach. Mine, in particular requires a steady diet of roasted pumpkin seeds.

To brag a little, I've trained the houskeepers to provide me abundant supplies of pumpkin seeds. All I have to do is raise my foot a little and say "Wave..." I'm not sure what they think it means, but they make pleasant sounds and hand me pumpkin seeds... most of the time.

Ah, it's a bird's life!

Lymeric

Birdie and Sweetie
crawled up my cage;
they thought they were so clever.

Birdie jumped down
at the sound
of me pulling on Sweetie's tail feather.

Caitlin and Guiness

I thought it'd be nice to show a few pictures of Guinness and Caitlin on Guiness' blog:



And for what it's worth, CSI Birdie was no crime scene. It just so happens that Birdie was molting at the time. No birds were harmed in the making of that photograph.

Parenting

more cat pictures

The housekeepers have kept Caitlin around ... I'm still not sure what to think of all this. This is NOT what I expected after all the hype. This Caitlin is waking everyone in the flock at all hours! I'm surprised I've not pulled all my feathers out...

On the other hand, I can now immitate her fairly well. My repertoire includes a few of her cries, the housekeeper's laughing, the "Where's Guiness - Peekaboo" sequence, good Caitlin, good Guiness, good Quaker along with about ten minutes of "knock knock." Then I'll wrap with a good "Birdie - Sweetie c'mere" before finding something else to do. I still only perform in concert with my bell - which seems mysteriously appropriate.

My nieghbor Mozart seems to have his own version of Caitlin in his songs. As you can see, Mo has his own bell to ring.

CSI Birdie

It's a gruesome sight, but these things happen. Every now and then, a bird will be caught by a cat or some other predator and all that remains... well, it's what you see here.

Some poor, unnamed victim's feathers are scattered on the floor here - the body probably carried off somewhere else and eaten.

Now, only two questions remain:

• Who was this poor bird, and
• Who killed him?

Stay tuned as we further investigate this mystery.

Baby Songs for Infants

Infants have no clue what's being said to them. They don't even know anything about what goes on around them. So talking to infants - even using that silly "baby voice" is... silly. At this point, the content of the "discussion" is probably more for the benefit of the speaker than the baby.

That said, an amusing song to sing to an infant might go like this:

(To the tune of "If you're happy and you know it")

If you're happy and you know it,
Stare into space.

If you're happy and you know it,
Stare into space.

If you're happy and you know it,
Your face will surely show it!

If you're happy and you know it,
Stare into space.

This is a Caitlin!

So the housekeepers have finally allowed me back on the computer. They weren't here for most of four days, though the one did show up on occasion to make sure I had my sustenance. But the biggest surprise was the Caitlin. I knew it was coming, but I had no idea what it was. Thankfully, it only makes me nervous when it starts flailing its arms about.

On the other hand, the housekeepers pay a LOT more attention to Caitlin than to me now... I think I may have perfected some of the sounds it makes, so I'll try and see if that will get them to pay more attention to me.

The other birds haven't really noticed her that much. Pepe might have, but his incessant squawking is no different than before...

Caitlin is here - but not home yet

I don't have much time to elaborate, except that Lani had to have Cesarean to finish the deal. She did so well in normal labor, it was a shame that Caitlin couldn't make it through normally!

The NBA Finals Are Over!

Thank goodness, the NBA finals are over. Now perhaps I can get a full nights sleep...

As you might guess, I was rooting for the guys in green.

Getaway

The housekeepers were gone almost all day Saturday, which seemed unusual for a Saturday. The one has been home all day for quite a few weeks...

I did get some quality time with the housekeepers when they got back, however. They did mention something about finding my "cousins" nest...

Do you see what I see?

The housekeepers do not always know what I'm looking at when I'm on the ground. This time it's pretty obvious.

If I absolutely have to point it out, I stepped in some poop. Argh!

Sightings

Yesterday, on the way to class Lani and I heard a quaker expressing his annoyance at someone carrying a ladder near the Chick-Fil-A at Loop 1604 and US 281. A quaker's annoyance call is very distinctive.

I hope to be able to post that sound so that others may recognize and log their own sightings, too.

New Paper?

The housekeepers let me go to bed early last night. So finally got some real sleep before they turned in. But when I got to my cage this morning, the paper under my cage was filled with pictures of Joey Crawford!

Is this why they stay up late at night?

The Car Seat

Today the housekeepers startled me. They brought this large contraption into the house. As soon as it entered the room, Sweetie jumped to the ground. Birdie promptly followed. Pepe started his usual squawking. (Does it really matter what happens for him to start squawking?)

Now, I don't mind it too much when the housekeepers bring large things through the house; that is to be expected. (How else would they bring me my treats?) But instead of putting it away, they just left it in the middle of the room, antagonizing us.

The housekeepers mentioned something about Caitlin. What's a Caitlin?

I'll put up with it... For now.

something to make you happy

Sweetie says hello, and she thinks that they way you ring your bell is a great skill that she loves.

This is not my first day!

My housekeepers decided to use the vacuum cleaner and change the paper in my flock's cages. They also changed the paper in Pepe's cage. Pepe starred in his own reality t.v. show: "So you think you're louder than a vacuum cleaner?" Naturally, he lost in the first round.

Birdie whistled very enthusiastically the whole time the vacuum was running. I'm sure it was very pretty, but I'd rather not hear him at all.

I showed Sweetie that I'm not afraid of that cleaner. Chicks dig parrots with skilz... Mine include biting off toes and flirting across the room.

Well, back to preening!