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?

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?

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?

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?

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?

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!

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?