Yard Work

Do you like yard work? I do because I love anything that involves being outside. My favorite kind of yard work is mowing the lawn. It’s really fun to ride in my carrier, back and forth, back and forth, while my person mows the lawn. While she goes in one direction, I get to watch what’s happening on the road. In the other direction, I can watch what’s going on in the woods. There’s always something interesting to see—cars, bicycles, chipmunks, all kinds of birds, lots and lots of things. When the neighbor comes out to pick up the newspaper, I get to squawk at her. (It’s a parrot thing.) What about you? What kind of yard work do you enjoy doing?

Paper Shredder

I had an interesting conversation with the paper shredder the other night while it was eating its dinner. As it gobbled up sheet after sheet of paper (what an appetite!), it made the loveliest whirring and whining sounds. I joined right in with my squawks, chirps, and whoops. We had a grand old time. I didn't even mind the paper shredder's bad manners, talking with its mouth full like that, because it's such an entertaining conversationalist.

Woodpecker

A woodpecker comes to eat at our suet feeder sometimes. Now there's a bird I can relate to. Not the pounding on trees part--What's that about?--but have you ever noticed a woodpecker's feet? They're very similar to parrot feet, with two toes facing front and two toes facing back. Woodpeckers are climbing birds, just like parrots. So you know they've gotta be nice birds. While they are lacking in the brilliant colors of a parrot, they make up for it with the pretty black and white patterns of their feathers. But all that pounding and tapping on trees? Why make a noise like that when you can squawk, I say.

Dumb and Dumber

That dumb robin is at it again. I guess attacking its reflection in the picture window wasn't enough. (Read about that here.) Now it's also going after the car, especially the rear view mirrors. It also sometimes flies right at the kitchen window. You'd think it would've figured out by now that there's no other robin there. Believe me, you would never catch a parrot doing a silly thing like that. First of all, we parrots know the difference between the real and the merely reflective. Second of all, why chase away another member of your own species? After all, our survival depends on the flock. There's just no figuring out a robin.

Cozy Evenings

I just love a cozy evening at home. Don't you? I sit on my person's knee and preen my feathers. If I'm in the mood for conversation, I say "Pretty bird! Pretty bird!!" and make my chattering parrot noises. If my person is reading a book, I might take a few bites out of the pages. Then I go back to preening. It's a cozy way to pass the time. What about you? How do you like to spend an evening at home?

More Parrot Poetry

Parrot Lunch
by Shadow

Chewing on a cracker,
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
Eating apple slices,
Munch, munch, munch.
Millet spray in my cage,
Bunch, bunch, bunch.
Eating off my person's plate,
Lunch, lunch, lunch!

conversations

A cold and rainy day. . . which means I can't go outside in my carrier. What a disappointment. To pass the time, this morning I struck up a conversation with the microwave oven. It went like this:
m.o.: Beep!
me: Beep!
m.o.: Beep!
me: Beep!
m.o.: Beep!
me: Beep!
m.o: Beep!
me: Beep!
m.o.:
me: Beep!
m.o.:
me: Beep!
Well, obviously that old oven got tired of talking after a while, but it was great while it lasted. We parrots always appreciate a good conversation.