Freaking out!

Man, oh, man, I've been so freaked out all week. First, a whole lot of snow fell on Sunday. Then, we had a lot of warm sunny, weather, and you know what snow gets like in weather like that. It just can't sit still. All week long that pesky snow has been sliding off the roof, right by my window. It won't stop. All day long it's slide, thump! slide, thump! slide, thump! Man, does that freak me out!I have to squawk and flap my wings all over the place. Fortunately, it's all fallen off the roof now. Phew! Let's hope it stays that way.

Eating Sandwiches

I love sandwiches, mainly because they have a lot of bread and I just love bread. When a plate with a sandwich on it is set near me, I get to work right away nibbling away at the bread. It's very tasty. While I nibble, I scatter bread crumbs everywhere because that's how we parrots eat. We always drop at least half our food on the ground. It's a parrot thing. Even though I mostly focus on the bread part, sometimes I take a nibble or two at the inside of the sandwich. If it's just peanut butter, I won't go anywhere near it. I can't stand peanut butter. But if it's berry jam, what a treat! Berry jam is filled with tiny seeds, and I just love seeds. A strawberry jam sandwich is just about the best kind of lunch I can think of. What about you? What kinds of sandwiches do you like?

More Snow!

More snow fell last night. At this rate it will be forever before spring is here and I can go outside in my carrier. Right now a large piece of snow is hanging off the roof. I don't like that at all because I know any minute now it will go sliding off the roof and land on the ground with a big thump! Then I will have to squawk my head off to keep that scary thump-making thing away from my room and my cage. Snow is so scary! And so white. I don't like that color at all. Things are so much nicer when the outside is green. That's a nice, safe color. And a pretty one, too, if I do say so myself. But I don't like white at all and I certainly don't like scary snow. What about you? How do you feel about snow?

Talking

A question I am often asked is, "Do you talk?" Personally, I prefer blogging to talking, in human language, that is. I do spend a good deal of the day squawking in parrot language. There are many parrots who enjoy talking in human language and are quite good at it. My true love, Quentie, for example, is a very talented talker. He likes to say, "How's my quaker?" (His species is quaker parrot.)He also says "Want some broccoli." Both of us just love to eat broccoli. He even says, "Polly wanna cracker!" Quentie can say a lot of things in human language, and so can a lot of other parrots. Then there are parrots like myself who prefer using parrot language most of the time. I do have one human language phrase that I enjoy saying: Pretty bird! I repeat that phrase often, but that's about the only human phrase I use. After all, once you've said Pretty bird! what more is there to say?
What about you? What kinds of things do you like to say?

Parrot Valentine

Since Valentine's Day is coming up soon, I thought I'd post this picture of me with my Valentine, Quentie. My godmother, Abbie Emmanuel, took this picture of us. Even though I left Quentie behind in the city, I will never forget him. He will always be my Valentine. I just love preening him. That's how we parrots show affection to each other.

Winter Reading

Lots of people like to spend cold winter days sitting cozily by the fire with a good book. We parrots enjoy a good book too. Right now my person is re-reading Gone With the Wind. She says I can have her copy when she's finished because it's very old and the covers have come off and the pages are falling out. I'm really looking forward to it because there's nothing I enjoy more than chewing my way through a good book. This one promises to be a great one - it looks like it has lots and lots of pages. My favorite kinds of books are the fat ones with a lot of pages. What about you? What kinds of books do you like?

More Mail

I've got more mail!

Dear Shadow,
I've heard that parrots are very smart. Is that true? How smart are you?
Smarty Pants.

Dear SP,
Of course it's true! We parrots are very smart. I have learned many things in my years living with people. I have leaned where my food is kept and when it's time for bed and I know all my person's routines and I always know what she wants me to do, though I don't always do it. Parrots can learn to do tricks and to understand many things. I have a very high PQ (Parrot Quotient). How about you, Smarty Pants? Do you want to find out if you are as smart as a parrot? You can take the Parrot Quotient quiz here. Let me know how you do.
Shadow

Still Winter

It's still winter! I sure wish it was spring so I could go outside for walks in my carrier. On the other hand, I guess I am glad I have a nice warm inside to spend the winter in. Sometimes I look out the window to watch the chickadees and goldfinches at the feeder. When I see them there with their feathers all fluffed up, I know it must be really cold out there. So then I go back to my cage and eat my apples and pellets, then settle on my perch for a nap. I dream about warm weather and spring. I can't wait!