Archive for the ‘birds’ Category
Dogs and birds can be a rough mix
You know the intent of the sentence, “what, you think it’s just going to fall out of the sky and land in your lap?” – it means you have to go out there and work for what you want in life.
Well, not always.
Today it was warm and sunny for the majority of the day – amazing! The dogs had been in the yard, running and wrestling and were now taking a rest on the warm patio, near the house. The sun was shining hard on the second story picture window and must have made it look just like an extension of the sky, from a bird’s perspective. I was mopping the floor, right on the other side of the lower level picture window when I heard a loud BANG! and thought, and saw, at the same instant, “bird.” It dropped like a stone, right in the middle of the dogs circle. They all leapt up, startled and leaned in to investigate. Hermes figured it out first – “a free lunch!” (another platitude proved false) and grabbed it and ran. I tried not to think about it. It was too late to do much anyway. When I rounded them up to go walk a few minutes later, they all came running to the door where I stood, all except Hermes. He was standing over a pile of gray and black feathers, and lowered his head as I approached. It was nearly gone and what was left looked like a high school biology lab dissection – neat and pared down and red. He gulped the remainder and I said out loud – “This is what it would look like if you ever got Frank Frank…except the feathers would be green” And I think I actually shuddered.
Frank Frank
Later, that afternoon I was holding Frank Frank as Hermes laid by the piano and I became aware of his whining, quiet yet persistent. He was looking right at Frank Frank. I said, “LEAVE IT” and glared at him but it didn’t phase him. I truly believe he thinks I am an idiot, playing with my food. Eventually, he gave it up and went to sleep but I fear the damage is done – one slip on my part and bye bye Frankie…yikes.
Pluto, my Quaker parrot hero
I was surfing for Quaker Parrot videos on YouTube (because I am lame and have no life?) and found Pluto, my Quaker Hero. He is the singer of “the Quaker Parrot Song” and you must have a look at it. Here’s his official website and I like it’s feel. It reminds me of our site and I told them so. If you like Quakers, check this site out at TalkingQuakerParrot.com.
Franklin is very good at hide and seek
Tuesday night, after Chloe returned I went into my room to put Frank Frank to bed and he was NO WHERE TO BE FOUND! I panicked and immediately jumped to the thought, “Bella (our dog who is a firmly dedicated critter hunter) ate him” We started looking everywhere, deciding he must have gotten out under the 1.25 inch space under the door. But so much didn’t make sense…HOW did he get under the door and if Bella ate him, why wasn’t there a “crime scene?”
We looked for an hour and then cried and cried. Ryan was distraught, he said, “I wish magic were real so we could wish Frank Frank back” So sweet and so sad. Finally, at 9:40 Ryan said, “will someone please put me to bed?” and we did. I finally got to bed at midnight and as I was trying to calm down I heard the unmistakable sound of wings fluttering!! I opened the closet door and FOUND him standing in my laundry basket! He must have climbed up my pant legs and was hanging out in my clothes the whole time! What is amazing is that we were all crying and calling out to him and all the lights were on and we were literally tearing the room apart! He never made a sound! That stinker…he seemed very happy for all the attention in the middle of the night…I of course woke everyone up and we all celebrated. Franklin was warm and happy and just sat there chirruping and preening. What a night! Here’s a link to another post of a similar thing – apparently Quakers do this sort of disappearing act regularly if they get the chance.
For the love of Franklin
Franklin’s favorite foods:
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Things Franklin says:
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Updates and naming the puppies
The puppies are getting the hang of eating on their own – today I counted 5 of the 7 all lapping from their bowls at the same time! A new record.
Tonight I weighed them all and gave them a wormer. Even though their paperwork indicated they were wormed when they came into the shelter I was having my doubts. They’ve been with me since Saturday, making this day 5, and their bellies were still tight. So at 4 weeks their weights range from 3 lbs 1 ounce to 4 lbs 3 ounces!! Most were in the upper 3 pound range. If I kept better records I would know how this compares with other litters but alas I have not. Oh well.
I was thinking, since we had so much success with Annie‘s puppies being named after Rudolph’s reindeers, I was thinking of naming this group after flowers. It took some head scratching to come up with male sounding flower names (we have three males in the litter) but here they are in order of my favorite:
Female names: Poppy, Lily, Iris, Tulip, Daisy
Male names: Sweet William, Aster, Crocus, Jacob (Jacob’s Ladder)
Any votes which we keep and which one of each group we throw out? Just comment on this post (below) and let me know.
Parrots are different than dogs
Franklin gets puffy
Our Quaker parrot Franklin has been with us for a week now. He is a love but the honeymoon has definitely worn off. He has started challenging me more, standing up for himself and not doing everything I ask. During those first few days he was like the perfect bird, very compliant and easy going. But for the last few days he’s been more stubborn. Tonight for example, he was pulling my hair. I made it clear that I didn’t like it and usually he would stop. But today he hissed at me and did it again! So I went to shake him off my shoulder and he flew off before I could and landed on my arm. I was impressed that he anticipated my reaction. Since he changed his behavior I let him stay there. But I fear that I am either totally misreading his cues or that I am acting like a push over.
