Dear Readers
Okay so I know that there are people who read this blog because occasionally someone will comment to me about "i saw that on your blog". Yet you do not leave comments! Did you know that you could? There is this little icon at the bottom right of every post that says "comments" and even if you are not a member of blogspot you can still comment using your name. I know this sounds silly but I would simply like to know you are out there, reading my mindless babble occasionally. I know I'm not awe-inspiring or anything, but a nice hello would suffice. Thanks! :-)
Finally some pictures
Sorry I don't have time to write more dialogue, all is well and very busy. march will be super busy. But I'll update this more on Wednesday night. For now enjoy the pics!
Me and my new friend, Baby the bird
The horses on the hill
Evy talking in her bouncer
Evy's "Diva" pose isn't she a doll
It's a Sunshine-y Day!
I don't know about where you are, but the weather the past few days has been INCREDIBLE. Gidget and I have opened the windows and taken walks and both yestery and today I took the baby to the barn in the stroller. I also learned how to wash the (many) windows! My heater doesn't come on as often at night, I'm wearing t-shirts during the day, ahhhh its beautiful. I love Texas warm weather!
My relationship with the bird is still going well - he seems to be the only man willing to show me affection lately and I'm soaking it up. Now when I go visit him at his cage he'll approach me and rub his beak on my hands and cough up a seed or two. The whole regurgitation thing is not so bad anymore - I know what it means so I'm looking past the actual process to the meaning. Its all about meaning. He also mimics my voice more which is cool to hear. I cleaned his cage yesterday and he didn't waste time getting on the floor to enjoy his clean area. He really likes when I give him fresh water for his bathing bowl.
The baby is growing - she's now wearing more 6 month clothing which Gidget thinks is sad. She's still not rolling over like we'd like her too but she sits up and eats like a champ so we take what we can get.
I am really looking forward to the warmer weather so I can go on more walks with the baby - get good excersise!! Also, Gidget has a horse clinic coming up and then after that is the St. Jude Trail Ride in May. I'm not sure what my part will be this year - I'm sure I'll be manning the registration booth with the baby instead of riding. Thats okay with me!
Anyway, I still haven't downloaded my pictures but I will soon. Stay posted!
Showing Affection on Valentines Day
This morning Baby got off of his cage again and made it as far as the kitchen. He made a noise and Gidget and I both realized that it as far too close - sure enough there he was walking down the hallway. I went to go get him and as I started talking to him and knelt down he started moving his neck rapidly and made a coughing sound and..... yep you guessed it. He regurgitated a large seed right into my hand. Um. Gross. I continued to talk to him, trying to coerce him into stepping onto my hand so I could carry him back to his cage but all he kept doing was spitting up seeds on me! Thats how birds show affection, apparently - they puke on you. I'm just glad the seeds were still whole..... he finally stepped up onto my fingers but continued walking up my arm, all the while making the gagging noise and shaking his head at me. Now when I approach him he automatically starts to do that, and when I passed by his cage to go to Casey's room he flung water at me. What a beautiful relationship.
(picture to be posted soon, I forgot my cable for my camera!)
A Potential New Friend
Pretty much as long as I can remember I’ve never been much of a fan of birds. Its not really that I “dislike” them, I just don’t prefer to have anything to do with them. They are cool to watch from afar – especially when flying. But as for having a bird for a pet? Or even touching one? Nah, not for me. Funny that now I sort of live/work with an African Gray Parrot. A super smart, talkative and sometimes hard headed parrot. “Baby” is supposedly Joseph’s parrot but since Joe has gone off to college, Gidget is his caretaker now. No one else really pays him any attention. My first few visits to the ranch gave me a good picture of Baby and his personality. He is excellent at mimicking things and if he comes across one that’s particularly hard he’ll work on it til he gets it right. Lately its been the baby monitor when it goes out of range. It beeps – he’s been working on just the right tone. He can mimic Andy’s cell phone and the house phone very well – to the point sometimes I have to check to be sure. He mimics voices very well and he talks to the dogs regularly. Whenever someone walks in the door he says “Come on In” and whenever we send the dogs outside he says “OUT”. Throughout the day he chatters constantly. When I first came out to the ranch I didn’t believe Gidget when she told me I’d get used to it and wouldn’t hear him much. Now I know its true. He’s background noise. He can get very loud and annoying and I’ll just tell him to hush. Sometimes he says “no” back to me. Sometimes he says the funniest things, or he’ll try to mimic something he heard on tv but he gets it all garbled. Anyway, I haven’t really had a lot to do with him other than occasionally talking to him, or playing the game of “I can make this sound, can you?” back and forth. He whistles, I whistle back; He whistles differently, I copy it and so forth. Until finally he does something he knows I can’t possibly do and I say “fine you win”. But as for touching him? No thanks. A few times in the past he’s gotten off his cage and walked around on the floor where he instantly becomes bait for the dogs if he gets too close. If I was by myself, I did whatever I could to shoo him back to his cage but never actually attempted to pick him up. Gidget usually had to come and he would “step up” on her hand and go back to his cage. Tonight, I was baby-sitting while Andy and Gidget went on a date and at one point I got up to go get a drink and lo and behold, there was Baby by the staircase, walking around. The funny thing is I didn’t even hesitate. I knew what I had to do – he was about a foot away from Woodrow, Gidget’s blue healer mix. He was about to be a late night snack. So I knelt down to Baby and started talking to him, stuck out my finger (Like I’ve seen Gidget do) and said “Baby, step up”. He looked at my finger, stuck out one claw and then released. This went on a few times and he was inching closer to Woodrow. So I repositioned myself between the bird and Woodrow and tried again – SUCCESS! He stepped up with both feet onto my hand (ouch, those claws are sharp!!!) and he didn’t even bite me! I carried him back to his cage and told him good boy. I was so proud! I didn’t even freak out! When Gidget got home I told her that Baby and I were finally friends – she laughed and said “I hate to tell you, but you’re not in with Baby until he’s drawn blood”. Great. So I have that to look forward to!
The stars at night...
are big and bright - DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS! Seriously, lately the night sky has been crystal clear and amazing. The full moon and bright stars make for awesome sky gazing! Sometimes I just stop in awe of where I live - it seems unreal! Things are continuing to go well, but with Gidget picking up more lessons (praise God!) and getting busy, that means more time with the baby who is getting increasingly more active. Won't be long before she is rolling and sitting up on her own and then crawling! I will certainly have my hands full then! I'm trying to really relish the moments now when she contentedly sits in her swing while I do housework. There are still times she wants my undivided attention, though. Just Monday she was having trouble sleeping so finally I just left her sleeping on my lap and that way if she woke up crying I could soothe her instantly and she would go right back to sleep. I am beginning to think she is going through some sort of growth spurt lately - that would explain the weird eating schedule and the trouble sleeping. Lately she can be just a little needy - we are hoping its not spoiling her but I think she's still too little to be spoiled quite yet. I just don't know how mom's do it - the ones who do it ALL! Anyway, below are some pictures from today. She had sweet potato's for the second time and is REALLY enjoying eating. She also had a good visit with the horses in the barn since the temperature got up into the 70's. She's been inside all winter with this cold weather so Gidget wanted to take advantage of the sunshine and warm weather (which of course, is short term). She had a blast - mainly with Leo, the lab. I couldn't get a picture of that because she was on my lap and it was too close, but basically Leo lets her do anything she wants. His head was in her lap (as far as I'd let him go) and her fingers were up in his mouth, his eyes, his ears and he just stood there, tail wagging.
Sweet Potato's are Good!!
Shay and Evy get an eyeful of each other
Jake gets up close and personal!
