Busy, busy, busy

February is almost over and I've hardly posted at all this month.

"What a lazy creature!" I hear you saying. "She's turning from a parrot into a sloth."

You may think I'm living the life of Riley, but the fact is, as a pet parrot I have many duties and responsibilities that keep me busy all day long. It starts in the morning, when I have to make sure my person gets up on time. Usually she does, but just in case she doesn't, I'm always ready to give a few loud squawks to remind her that it's time for her to get up and take care of her responsibilities (number 1 responsibility: feed me). Then I have to sit on her shoulder while she exercises, and after that I have to sit on her shoulder all morning while she works.

At lunch time, my job is to take some of the tastier bits off my person's plate and eat them myself, just to make sure that she doesn't overeat. While I do this, I have to make sure to leave a lot of crumbs lying around so that she will have something to clean up. (Tip: It's really important to keep your people busy, otherwise they get cranky and might cause you some trouble.)

In the afternoon, it's back to sitting on my person's shoulder while she works. And at all times I have to keep an eye out for hawks, cats, scissors, and other predators and warn my person of their presence by squawking loudly and biting her ear. I tell you, I'm always exhausted by the end of the day and am very happy to spend a few quiet moments in my cage nibbling on a seed treat. So you see, it's a miracle I find any time at all to blog. I really enjoy it, though, so thanks for reading!

….and yet another parrot poem

The Parrot's February Lament
by Shadow

I look outside my window
And see the sky so gray,
And ice and snow are all around--
Winter is here to stay.

I care not what the groundhog says
Whether spring is far or near--
I look outside my window
And see that winter is still here.

For now I'm safe and warm inside.
In my cage I've nothing to fear.
I care not what the groundhog says.
I'll just wait for spring to appear.

A New Parrot Poem

Upon My Person's Shoulder
By Shadow

When days are getting short
And nights are getting colder,
I am warm and snug
Upon my person's shoulder.

When predators come near
And I'm needing to feel bolder
I fly to a safe perch
Upon my person's shoulder.

We've passed the years together.
Now that I am getting older,
There's no place I'd rather be
Than on my person's shoulder.

Ho Hum

Things are pretty dreary here in the parrot cage. Most of that scary white snow has been washed away, but it's being replaced by ice and rain, gray skies, chilly air. There's not much to do but snuggle up to my person to stay warm, watch her write, and nip on her ear every time she's eating something that looks delicious, just so she doesn't forget to share some with me (she does forget sometimes). So that's how we're spending these gray winter days over here. How about you?

Vacation…again!

OK, somebody's got to explain this whole vacation thing to me because, frankly, I don't get it. I just got back from vacation and the only word I can think of to describe the experience is BO - RING. I mean, really. My person took me to the neighbor's house and then just left me there. So I spent the whole week just sitting around in my cage eating and chewing and playing, doing all the usual things, but I wasn't at home and I wasn't with my person. So, what was the point of that? And where was my person the whole time? Finally at the end of the week she came to get me and brought me back home and now, thank goodness, everything is back to normal. So that's good, but why did we have to go through that whole "vacation" experience in the first place? Can someone please tell me why people do this?

Merry Christmas

Here I am enjoying a special treat I got for Christmas -- a seed treat! Yummy! I hope your holidays are splendid and that you get to enjoy lots of treats, too!

White

OK, that scary snow is back again, sliding off the roof with big "whumps!" and making everything outside all white. It would be dangerous for a little green parrot like me to go outside at a time like this. Think how easy it would be for a predator to spot me in my pretty green feathers. I understand there are some animals out there that turn white in the winter time for that very reason. While I am sure that is a strategy that works very well for them, I have to wonder: Why bother? Why go to all the trouble of changing color when you could just stay inside out of harm's way? And on top of getting to stay your normal color, you would get to be in a warm place with a full food dish. It works for me! Well, there's just no understanding some animals.