Sunday, December 28, 2008

Read aloud

Do you like to have stories read to you? I love it. Of course, as I am sure I have mentioned before, my favorite story to hear is If You Were a Parrot, by my person, Katherine Rawson. But I enjoy listening to other stories, too. When my person writes stories, she often reads them aloud to hear how they sound. They always sound great to me. I chirp to show my enthusiasm. To me, the best part of a story is not the plot or characters or setting. It’s the sound of the words. I love to hear a story with words that sound good. What kinds of stories to you like to hear?

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Turkeys

There are lots of wild turkeys living around here. Sometimes I can hear them gobbling. It’s an interesting sound. Sometimes I see them in the field scratching around on the ground looking for food. That doesn’t look too safe to me. I think a tree branch is a much better place to be when you’re outside where all the predators are. But I guess turkeys are too dumb to know that. That’s probably why they get caught and eaten for Thanksgiving and Christmas. You’ve never heard of anyone eating roast parrot for Thanksgiving or Christmas, have you? Of course not! That’s because we parrots are way too smart to get caught in a situation like that.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Lots of Changes

We finally got the power back, but that didn't mean things got back to normal. My cage is not in the living room any more, but it's not back in my old room either. It's in an entirely new room in an entirely new house. My person says that this is where we will be living now. I guess it's all right, but nobody told me about it or asked me if I wanted to change houses or anything. All these changes are very confusing for a little green parrot like me. But I guess my new room is OK. Most important, I still have my cage, and most of the rest of the furniture looks the same. One really nice thing is that the walls of my new room are green. . . just like me!

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Powerless

The worst part of a power outage is the change in routine. We parrots really like routines and when something about the daily schedule changes, it's really discombobulating (we like big words too!). Also, if your person puts your cage in a different place, that's kind of confusing, too. For the past three days, my cage has been in the living room. My person says it's because it's warmer in there near the wood stove. I guess I like being warm, but I really would rather be in my own room like always. The fire is pretty interesting though. It makes all kinds of neat noises like crackling and roaring. I am very interested in it. Unfortunately, my person won't let me get anywhere near it. All in all, despite the interesting wood stove, I think I would have to say that power outages are confusing and not entirely comfortable. I hope this one is over soon.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Love to Eat!

There are so many fun and tasty things to eat. At the top of my list, of course, are sunflower seeds and walnuts. YUM-MY! I’d do anything for a sunflower seed or walnut. Actually, I’m pretty lucky because my person puts a couple of bits of walnut in my food dish everyday. I also love anything made of corn—cereal, bread, corn kernels, corn on the cob, etc. Carrots are good, too. It’s really fun to chew a carrot and let the juicy orange bits fly all over the place. And I love sinking my beak into a pile of mashed potatoes. I like eating ice cream once in a while. I scrape up little bits with the sharp tip of my beak, then stick out my tongue and lick it off. It’s cold, but sweet. What else? Oh, berries are great because they’re filled with seeds. Green beans are too. Did you know that? It’s true. If you open up a green bean, you’ll find some pretty tasty seeds inside. Of course I eat my pellets everyday, but I like to eat other things too. What about you? What are some of your favorite things to eat?

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Free Time

It may be hard to believe, but even a busy parrot like me gets some free time. Of course, I have to spend time everyday preening my pretty green feathers, and I have to devote a good part of the day to eating, too. Then, it’s my duty to keep an eye out for predators and to squawk as loud as I can if any come near. But despite this busy schedule, I do also get some free time every day. Usually, I choose to spend that time chewing things. My favorite things to chew are bottle caps and popsicle sticks. I chew them up, then drop the pieces in my food dish. That’s really fun to do. I love chewing books, too, whenever I can get my beak near one. However, those occasions are rare as my person is very protective of her books, so I really have to sneak to get near one. It’s the same with pencils. But I often get newspapers and paper bags to shred, and that’s fun. Chewing and shredding are great ways to spend some free time. What about you? How do you like to spend your free time?

Monday, December 1, 2008

Snow

I’m sure glad I have a nice, cozy cage inside a comfortable, warm house because today the outside is covered with slushy snow. And snow is another thing that’s on my list of predators. It looks OK when it’s lying quietly on the ground, but don’t let appearances fool you. Snow has this mischievous way of sliding off the roof or jumping off of tree branches right when you least expect it. It goes flying past the window, then lands on the ground with a heavy thump. You’d better believe I start squawking when I see that go by my window. That scary snow keeps me busy all day long squawking and squawking to keep it out of the house and away from my cage. Nope, you just can’t trust snow.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Thankful

Since it’s Thanksgiving, I’ve been thinking about the things I am thankful for. There are lots of them. First, I am thankful for my nice, comfortable cage, my always-full food dish, and my water bottle. I am also thankful for the seed treats that I get almost everyday. I am thankful for my toys, especially my toothbrush, which I love to hold and to chew. I am thankful for all my friends, both human and avian. Most of all, I am thankful that I have such a nice person to care for me and love me. What are you thankful for?

Sunday, November 23, 2008

The Country Life

I am enjoying the quiet country life. It is very different from my former life in the city. There was always a lot of activity there. There were lots of interesting noises to listen to, like sirens and car honks. There were lots of interesting things to look at outside my window, too, like cars and people. But there were also lots of cats and dogs, and I had to do a lot of squawking to keep them away from my window. Here in the country the noises are much quieter. There aren’t any sirens. There are cars, but not so many, and they don’t honk. So far I haven’t seen any cats or dogs come by my window. Sometimes I see foxes, though, and I have to squawk at them. I liked the noisy city life, and I like the quiet country life, too. I can be happy in either place, as long as I have water in my water bottle and pellets in my food dish. What about you—do you prefer city life or country life?

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Paper Bags

Aren’t paper bags wonderful? There are so many uses for them. They make great hiding places if danger is near, or if you just feel like hiding out for a while. The dark, enclosed space feels really safe to a little green parrot like me. Then, when you get in that need-to-chew-something mood, a paper bag makes great shredding material—just as a good as a newspaper or book. And if you ever have to spend the night at the neighbor’s house when your person goes away for the weekend, a paper bag makes the perfect carrying container for the pellets and seed treats and extra dishes that you need to take with you. Yes, paper bags are really useful things, and I think no parrot should be without them. Do you have any other ideas for good ways to use paper bags?

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Baths



My godmother, Abbie Emmanuel, took this picture of me getting into my bath. Aren't I elegant? Aunt Abbie has taken lots of beautiful pictures of me, because I'm such a pretty parrot!
Baths are so much fun. I just love being in the water. When my person says “Spritz!” I know its time for a shower. I stand on the counter and wait for the spray to fall on my back. Sometimes I just can’t help but squawk, because getting spritzed feels so good on my feathers. When my person says “Take a bath!” I know that she is getting ready to fill the dish with warm water. Then I step in, one foot at a time, and scooch down and flip the water onto my back with my wings. That feels really good on my feathers, too. After a bath or shower, I have to spend a lot of time preening. It’s important to keep my feathers looking nice. After all, I am a pretty bird! I think bath time is really fun. Don’t you agree?

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Rainy Days

I just love rainy days. Don’t you? They are a good time for dreaming. I stand on one foot on my perch and close my eyes and dream of the rain forest. Everything there is green (like me!) and you can always hear the sound of water dripping off the leaves. You can also hear parrots calling to each other (my favorite sound!) and monkeys chattering and all sorts of other interesting animal noises. To be honest, I’ve never actually been to the rain forest, but I like to think about it. I know rain forests must be wonderful places because lots of parrots live there. What do you like to dream about on a rainy day?

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Home Repair

I’d have to put people who do home repair high on the list of predators. They come walking by the window with those big, long, scary ladders. I really have to squawk when I see that. And then, whenever the home repair people are around, you hear all sorts of strange noises like banging and buzzing and whirring. The noises come from above, from below, from outside, from inside, but you can never actually see who or what is making the noise. It’s very unnerving for a little green parrot like me. I have to spend the whole time hiding in a dark corner, when I’m not squawking at ladders, that is. Oh, and speaking of predators, I have an update on the predatory chair. It’s gone!!!! My person took it away and brought back the friendly wooden chair. So now I don’t have to worry about trying to make friends with that big, black scary thing. Phew!

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Breakfast

I love breakfast time. Every morning I wait quietly in my cage for my person to come and take the cover off it. It’s warm and dark in there and I sit on my perch and dream parrot dreams of walnuts. Finally my person arrives. She takes the cover off and puts fresh water in my water bottle and fresh food in my dish. I get pellets and dry cereal for breakfast. The walnuts are mixed in with the cereal, and I scramble as fast as I can to dig them out of the dish. Mmmmmmm! Walnuts are so yummy. I eat fruit and vegetables and other things during the day, but for me the best meal of all is walnuts for breakfast. What do you like to eat for breakfast?

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Favorite Person

You’ve probably already guessed that my favorite person is Katherine Rawson, the person I live with. She’s pretty nice to me. She puts fresh water and food in my cage every morning. She gives me lots of head scratches. She takes me on walks in my carrier so I can see all the outside birds. She gives me toys and lots of treats. We usually have a pretty good time together. Of course, as with anyone you love, there are a few things that bother me about her. For instance, there are those times when she makes me stay in my cage when I’d rather not. And there are certain things, actually quite a lot of things, that she won’t let me chew, or if I chew them, she gets really mad at me. The worst is when we go for a ride in the car and I think we’re going somewhere fun but then we end up at the vet’s office. Talk about disappointment! But mostly she’s really nice to me. She often tells me that I’m a pretty parrot. That’s the most important thing of all, don’t you think? Who is your favorite person?

Friday, October 24, 2008

True Love



I wanted to share this picture of me with Quentie, my true love. Isn’t he good looking? He’s a quaker parrot. He’s very smart and talks a lot. Sometimes he says, “Polly wanna cracker?” He’s such a talented bird! I think the only thing I regret about moving to the country is leaving Quentie behind. We spent many happy days together, sitting wing-to-wing and preening and feeding each other. I sure miss him. However, we write each other frequently, and just a few weeks ago, Quentie sent me a bag of plastic bottle caps—my favorite chew toy! He sure knows the way to my heart.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Sounds

I love sounds. Well, I guess that must be because I’m parrot. There are lots of interesting sounds to hear, but my favorite sounds of all are beeps. There are a couple of beepers living in our house. The microwave oven is a great beeper when it wants to be, but it isn’t a very good conversationalist. It’s quiet most of the time. The phone is much easier to talk to. Whenever it jumps off the receiver and starts dialing, I’m right there, beeping along with it. Do you like beeps? What sounds do you like?

Friday, October 17, 2008

Predatory Chair

It’s so hard being prey! It means I have to watch out for predators everywhere I go. And I have to be super careful about any new or unusual thing that I see. Take the new chair, for example. My person brought it in to my room recently and placed it VERY NEAR my cage. I’m supposed to like that? I don’t think so! It’s big and black and for all I know, little green parrot could be its favorite meal. My person has been sitting on it all day, but there’s no way I’m going near that thing, not for a few days, anyhow. I have to keep a beady eye on it and make sure it isn’t getting ready to attack. If it doesn’t do anything for a few days, it might turn out to be OK. I’ll let you know.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

North for the Winter

These days I’m getting some competition for my squawking. It’s those honking, migrating geese. They fly overhead making the most raucous noise. But I sure give them a run for their money. I know my squawking can beat any old goose’s honking anytime of day! Poor geese, to have to fly so far to find a place to spend the winter. Personally, I don’t mind winter in the north at all. My cage is cozy anytime of year, and there are fresh pellets and seed treats in it everyday. What more could a little green parrot want? I’m glad I’m not a migratory bird. What about you? Do you migrate? Where do you spend the winter?

Sunday, October 12, 2008

More on Chores

There is a scary monster that lives in the closet. It’s big and blue and loud. It really roars. It roams around on the floor sniffing all over with it’s big, long nose, sucking up anything that gets in its way. It likes to come over to my cage and suck up all the bits of food that I’ve thrown out of my dish. Whenever it comes near, I squawk at the top of my lungs, but it doesn’t pay any attention to me. Even my mighty squawk cannot be heard over the monster’s terrible roar. I hate that thing. I guess they keep it around because it helps clean up the house, but I don’t like it at all. Vacuum cleaning is definitely the scariest household chore there is. What household chores are you afraid of? Tell us about them in the comments.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Quiz Time

Have you been wondering what your PQ (Parrot Quotient) is? Well, now you can find out! One of the things my person, Katherine Rawson, does for a living is write test passages and questions. By combining her test writing skills and my special expertise on being a parrot, together we have developed a Parrot Quotient quiz. You can take it here. Then come back to this page and tell us how you did. Happy quizzing!

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Laundry



Don’t you just love laundry? I think there is nothing more fun than climbing up neatly stacked piles of folded laundry, then watching it all tumble down…to the dirty floor! Chewing holes in clean socks is really fun, too. Best of all, though, is watching the washing machine at work. What sounds it makes! Someday, I will get my beak under that lid and open it up and get to the bottom of the mystery…Where does that sound come from? As soon as I find out, I’ll let you know. Anyhow, you can probably tell that doing laundry is my favorite household chore. What household chores do you like to do?

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Books

Do you like books? I love books. I can chew through an average size paperback in less than an hour. I do telephone books, too. I am illiterate, but I enjoy having stories read to me. They sound very nice, and I always chirp softly while I listen. My favorite book is If You Were a Parrot. Have you read it? What are some books that you like?

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Welcome

Hi. I’m Shadow. Welcome to my blog. I am a pretty bird! I am a nanday conure. My ancestors lived in the jungle in South America. I live in a cage in Vermont.
Here are some of my favorite things to do:
- squawking
- eating sunflower seeds
- taking walks in the woods (I ride in my carrier)
- squawking
- chewing popsicle sticks and bottle caps
- squawking
- protecting the house from intruders (by squawking)
- taking baths in a pie pan
- taking showers under a spray bottle
- squawking
What are some of your favorite things to do?