Toaster Oven

Toaster ovens are funny things. At times they can be quite attractive. They make a lovely ticking sound and glow a nice warm orange and then - ding! - delicious hot toast pops out. But other times they can be dull as stone no matter what you do. Just this afternoon I tried to strike up a conversation with the toaster oven, but it just sat there in silence. Not one tick or ding did it make. I stared and stared through the glass window, but it was all dark and cold inside and I couldn't see any toast. I don't get it - so friendly and generous when it wants to be, but other times so aloof. We parrots aren't like that at all. We are very sociable creatures. True, sometimes we bite, but we always appreciate good company.

Outside

Oh, happy day! I have been dreaming of this all through the long, cold winter, and today it happened--I FINALLY got to go outside for a walk in my carrier. How good it felt to be outside! It was warm and sunny and the sky was blue and the streams were full of sparkling water and the air was fresh. . . . . .It was wonderful. I think spring is my favorite time of year because it is so exciting to go outside in my carrier after being inside all winter. What about you? What do you like about spring?

Animals Without Feathers

We've had some wild animals of the fur-bearing kind visiting around here recently. I saw some deer in the woods behind the house the other day. They were walking slowly through the woods nibbling on things and I just watched them quietly. But when I saw a woodchuck sniffing around the shed, I let out some really loud squawks that sent that fat old thing waddling as fast as it could down the driveway. That was really funny. We parrots are never so clumsy when we want to move fast. We fly elegantly away. Last year at out old house I often saw foxes in the yard, but I haven't seen any foxes around here yet. What about you? Have you seen any fur-bearing wild animals recently?

Parrot Poetry

Ode to a Walnut
by Shadow

I think it is my fondest wish
To find a walnut in my dish,
A walnut with its skin so brown
Sitting there without a sound.
I'd bite into it with my beak
And taste the nut's delicious meat.
Eating nuts is a true pleasure.
Walnuts are my greatest treasure.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I love this holiday even though I don't have a drop of Irish blood in me. (I'm actually of South American extraction.) I love it because it's all about green, and that's my favorite color. I always wear green on St. Patrick's Day. Actually, I wear green everyday. I say: If you can wear green, why wear any other color? What about you? What do you like about St. Patrick's Day? Tell us about it in the comments.

Chinese Restaurants

I like Chinese restaurants, but not because of the food they serve. I've never actually had the opportunity to taste Chinese food, though I'm sure I'd like it because I understand it involves a lot of rice and I love rice. The reason I like Chinese restaurants is because when my person visits one, she brings home the chopsticks for me to play with. Chopsticks make really good chew toys, almost as good as milk bottle caps. What about you? Do you like chopsticks? What kinds of restaurants do you like?

Clementines

There's at least one good thing about winter, and that's clementines. I'm so happy when my person brings a box of them home. I love sinking my beak into a clementine slice and sucking up the juice. It's so tasty! After we've eaten all the clementines, I get to play in the box. That's really fun. My person puts toys and pieces of paper in the box for me, and I step in and chew away. Then I chew down all the sides of the box. It usually takes me a couple of weeks to chew through the entire box, working on it a little bit everyday. Sucking clementine juice and chewing clementine boxes are really fun winter pastimes. Do you like clementines? What about clementine boxes?

Places to Play

One of my favorite places to play is the trash can. It's usually full of paper, and I just love chewing and shredding paper. I could spend all afternoon chewing my way through a trash can full of paper. What about you? Where do you like to play?

P.S. My person asked me to tell you that even though I call it a trash can, it's really a recycling can. She does NOT take that paper to the landfill. She takes it to the recycling center. I after I'm through shredding it, that is.