Thursday, October 31, 2013
The individual pumpkin shots
Like I said I might do, here are the individual shots that went into the collage in the precedent post.
Happy Halloween!
And here it is, this year's rendition of what has become a yearly collage -
It can be viewed in a larger format here.
As it generally is, Joey was the most cooperative of the flock. Shade, Pixel, Zuri and Petey were ok when on the pumpkin (but putting them down is always an interesting experience). Piper, well I got two shots of him before he flew off and wouldn't go back (nor did I press the issue) and Léa, once again, has to be bribed onto the pumpkin with a pumpkin seed (you can see her eying the seed.
Here are links to pictures from previous years:
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
Later today I might post the individual pictures within the collage in a bigger format on the blog, since some details are lost when everything gets shrunk down.
It can be viewed in a larger format here.
As it generally is, Joey was the most cooperative of the flock. Shade, Pixel, Zuri and Petey were ok when on the pumpkin (but putting them down is always an interesting experience). Piper, well I got two shots of him before he flew off and wouldn't go back (nor did I press the issue) and Léa, once again, has to be bribed onto the pumpkin with a pumpkin seed (you can see her eying the seed.
Here are links to pictures from previous years:
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
Later today I might post the individual pictures within the collage in a bigger format on the blog, since some details are lost when everything gets shrunk down.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
I love you
I love you.
Words just said by Léa. It was very clear.
My heart might have melted a little.
Words just said by Léa. It was very clear.
My heart might have melted a little.
Chew, chew, chew!
Joey chewing something that is perfectly fine to chew; a fallen piece of a toy that was in his cage, there is no wasting.
He does look a little possessed below though...
Monday, October 28, 2013
Pumpkincide
A little preview of something to come later this week -
Yes, I'll be doing the "birds on a pumpkin collage for Halloween" thing again, although this time I didn't have time to carve the pumpkin first (I almost didn't take the pictures at all).
This is not the picture of Léa that will be featured, rather an alternative, and I love the irony of her eating a pumpkin seed while on the pumpkin...
Yes, I'll be doing the "birds on a pumpkin collage for Halloween" thing again, although this time I didn't have time to carve the pumpkin first (I almost didn't take the pictures at all).
This is not the picture of Léa that will be featured, rather an alternative, and I love the irony of her eating a pumpkin seed while on the pumpkin...
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Another step forward
This morning I experienced another step forward with Léa.
We were in the orange room and I had to go down to the main floor to prep something for dinner (long and slow cooking involved). I didn't want to leave her up unsupervised so I checked if she would step up nicely onto my arm, which she did. Now the trickier part was bringing her down, as she hasn't allowed me to do that in some time but, once in the hallway, she remained firmly on my arm and made some cute little noises. Great. Next step was going down the stairs without her flying back up to the banister. And again, she just remained on my arm. I put her on the Java tree we have down there, wondering if she would fly around and get into trouble (which she has in the past) but no, she remained on the tree until I was ready to go back upstairs. I asked her to step up once more, she did (on my arm again, not my hand) and up the stairs we went, with her staying on my arm until I got her to step down on a play structure in the orange room.
I was quite proud of her!
We were in the orange room and I had to go down to the main floor to prep something for dinner (long and slow cooking involved). I didn't want to leave her up unsupervised so I checked if she would step up nicely onto my arm, which she did. Now the trickier part was bringing her down, as she hasn't allowed me to do that in some time but, once in the hallway, she remained firmly on my arm and made some cute little noises. Great. Next step was going down the stairs without her flying back up to the banister. And again, she just remained on my arm. I put her on the Java tree we have down there, wondering if she would fly around and get into trouble (which she has in the past) but no, she remained on the tree until I was ready to go back upstairs. I asked her to step up once more, she did (on my arm again, not my hand) and up the stairs we went, with her staying on my arm until I got her to step down on a play structure in the orange room.
I was quite proud of her!
October's "Cooking for the birds"
This post is actually somewhat overdue, as I made the batch of food over the Thanksgiving long week-end in Canada (aka October 12th-14th). But being generally busy and not wanting to spend a ton of time on the computer when I get home, well I haven't really got to this until now (I figured the post had to go up in October at least).
As it was the case when I made a large batch of food in September, I wasn't close to running out what I had made previously when I tackled this batch, but rather the drive to make more food came from the fact that I had time (three day week-end) and that I was worried the first frost was around the corner and I harvested whatever greens (chard) I had in the garden over that week-end and I still had the Farmer's market around to get more fresh vegetables (incidentally, this week-end was the last week-end with a Farmer's market around here until next Spring).
So what went in?
The greens -
The rest of the vegetables -
I tried to replicate what I did in September and have more vegetables than grains/legumes. I think I was fairly successfull, although out of the vegetables pictured above, I didn't manage the put the bell peppers in as the tub of food was just that full towards the end.
Ingredients:
-Black kale (pictured - from the Farmers market)
-Rainbow chard (pictured - from my garden)
-Beets & tops (pictured - from the Farmers market)
-Broccoli (pictured - from the Farmers market)
-Cauliflower (pictured - from the Farmers market)
-Rainbow carrots (pictured - from the Farmers market)
-Brussels sprouts (pictured - from the Farmers market)
-Scarlet runner beans (pictured - from my garden)
-Some heirloom type of green beans (pictured - from my garden)
-Squash (pictured - from the Farmers market)
-Sweet potato (pictured - from the Farmers market)
-Chilies (pictured - from my garden)
-Quinoa
-Chick peas
-Adzuki beans
-Mung beans
-Organic purple barley
I'm not sure what I'll be doing next, as I've grown accustomed these last few months on having a variety of fresh vegetables to work with.
As it was the case when I made a large batch of food in September, I wasn't close to running out what I had made previously when I tackled this batch, but rather the drive to make more food came from the fact that I had time (three day week-end) and that I was worried the first frost was around the corner and I harvested whatever greens (chard) I had in the garden over that week-end and I still had the Farmer's market around to get more fresh vegetables (incidentally, this week-end was the last week-end with a Farmer's market around here until next Spring).
So what went in?
The greens -
The rest of the vegetables -
I tried to replicate what I did in September and have more vegetables than grains/legumes. I think I was fairly successfull, although out of the vegetables pictured above, I didn't manage the put the bell peppers in as the tub of food was just that full towards the end.
Ingredients:
-Black kale (pictured - from the Farmers market)
-Rainbow chard (pictured - from my garden)
-Beets & tops (pictured - from the Farmers market)
-Broccoli (pictured - from the Farmers market)
-Cauliflower (pictured - from the Farmers market)
-Rainbow carrots (pictured - from the Farmers market)
-Brussels sprouts (pictured - from the Farmers market)
-Scarlet runner beans (pictured - from my garden)
-Some heirloom type of green beans (pictured - from my garden)
-Squash (pictured - from the Farmers market)
-Sweet potato (pictured - from the Farmers market)
-Chilies (pictured - from my garden)
-Quinoa
-Chick peas
-Adzuki beans
-Mung beans
-Organic purple barley
I'm not sure what I'll be doing next, as I've grown accustomed these last few months on having a variety of fresh vegetables to work with.
A surprise!
On Friday, I received a surprise in the mail; a small box, although large enough to make it difficult to get out of the mailbox slot (I was really wondering how it got shoved in it in the first place) was waiting for me.
The box was from Things for Wings and inside it was this toy -
It was a gift from my friend Maya and given how I know of her preference for Pipe, I guess it is only fair that he receives the toy. Plus, given he's not entirely destructive, the little adorable Teddies (not entirely visible on my picture) will stay intact for far longer this way.
Thanks Maya!
The box was from Things for Wings and inside it was this toy -
It was a gift from my friend Maya and given how I know of her preference for Pipe, I guess it is only fair that he receives the toy. Plus, given he's not entirely destructive, the little adorable Teddies (not entirely visible on my picture) will stay intact for far longer this way.
Thanks Maya!
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Friday, October 25, 2013
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Progress with Léa
We (well I) had some progress with Léa lately. For one, she's much calmer than she was when we left for our Holidays. This means that she is attempting to go after my fingers less (I feel like she was starting to view them as a chew toy at times), and, I think the same can be said about her going after the Boy's fingers (she'll only attempt to "bite" (these are not as hard as she has the potential to make them) if she doesn't want to do something).
But the biggest improvement, and I'll cross my fingers that it wasn't a one-time deal happened on Sunday. Generally, if let lose in the birdroom, she'll go in spots where it is hard to retrieve her (higher spots where if the Littles go, they'll come down if we hand them a perch, Léa, not so much) and "taunts" the Boy (since he had better luck to get her to step up than I did for a while). Well on Sunday I wanted pictures of her in that room, namely on the atom, so we tried. Recent past experience were that she wouldn't stay put for very long, but on Sunday, she posed nicely and stayed on the atom until I was done. Feeling positive about the experience so far, I offered her my forearm for her to step up so I could bring her in the orange room and she did so without a fuss and stayed there until I put her down on a gym in the orange room. I was quite proud of her and she got praised plenty, verbally and with pumpkin seeds!
I don't know if part of the reasons things got better is that I now get to spend one-on-one time with her in the mornings, where I find her to be generally in a better disposition than the old afternoon time slot - but I guess I might keep the alternating between Littles and her in the morning, even when we revert to our old schedule (leaving for work earlier) in a few weeks.
Monday, October 21, 2013
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Scratch my head?
Yeah right, not a chance I would fall from that! It is just an invitation to be bitten, well for me at least. The Boy would be safe.
Revisiting old pictures
I'm not sure these ever made it to the blog, as they were taken in October 2008, a month or so before I began the blog, and they weren't of birds from my flock.
These were taken during one of our visits to the Boy's parents. We visited a local pet store and saw quite a few parrots. I'm not sure why, but I didn't take a picture of all birds present and, due to the bad lighting inside, very few of the pictures I took turned out.
I have two to share.
The first is of a female Hawkhead parrot, who was named Flora at the time, and which one of the clerks working there really loved.
The second is of a male blackwing Jardines named Elye. He made it very very hard to leave the store without him in tow. Practically, I didn't have the space for a Jardines at the time, nor was it really on my list of "must have birds" (possibly the last of the Pois I'd want to add to the flock) and he was rather expensive. Nevertheless, he was incredibly cute and I spent most of my time at the store with him, talking to him and scratching his head.
As I said, it was hard to leave him behind, even more so when he mumbled something as I left his side and the Boy said that he heard him say "I love you"...
These were taken during one of our visits to the Boy's parents. We visited a local pet store and saw quite a few parrots. I'm not sure why, but I didn't take a picture of all birds present and, due to the bad lighting inside, very few of the pictures I took turned out.
I have two to share.
The first is of a female Hawkhead parrot, who was named Flora at the time, and which one of the clerks working there really loved.
The second is of a male blackwing Jardines named Elye. He made it very very hard to leave the store without him in tow. Practically, I didn't have the space for a Jardines at the time, nor was it really on my list of "must have birds" (possibly the last of the Pois I'd want to add to the flock) and he was rather expensive. Nevertheless, he was incredibly cute and I spent most of my time at the store with him, talking to him and scratching his head.
As I said, it was hard to leave him behind, even more so when he mumbled something as I left his side and the Boy said that he heard him say "I love you"...
Saturday, October 19, 2013
One toy...
...fits all sizes (of birds).
From the tiny Lovebird...
...to a "large" Cape parrot!
It's fun for everyone!
From the tiny Lovebird...
...to a "large" Cape parrot!
It's fun for everyone!
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Busy...
For the next few weeks, our schedule will change (a work thing).
Because of this, the birds get a longer out of cage time in the morning but won't get to come out twice in the evening (between us coming home from work and dinner time slot, as we get home later). Because of this change, instead of always having the Littles in the morning, the Boy and I will "flip" it around, or rather mix it up, where one morning I get them and he has Léa, and the next day we switch. The after dinner time stays the same, where the Littles come out first and Léa comes out on her own after.
So far, "morning Léa" (something I haven't experience this early in the morning, as they come out later on the week-ends and we do "shared" time like on a regular week day evening) has been interesting. She's doing something she hasn't really done before, something that keeps her busy yet out of trouble, something that will grab her attention for quite some time (impressive!). She stands on the computer desk and tries to get wood chips out of the crack between the glass top and the metal base. It's quite funny to see her do this, as she turns around a lot, trying to get the best angle. Entertaining and much better than her trying to go for my fingers or the computer screen!
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Monday, October 14, 2013
SWS 2013, Delivery #3 - Things for Wings
As I pointed out in an earlier post, the box from my Sidewalk Sale Things for Wings order arrived sometime last week. But, life being in the way, I really only got to take pictures yesterday and process them this morning. Lots and lots of pictures...
This order, when I initially submitted it, was very reasonable. I had told myself I wouldn't look at the "daily deals" (more like hourly deals), and keep my order simple. But I didn't listen to myself and got roped into the daily deal fun, although I think I did show restraint on some items and wasn't glued as much as I could have been on the Things for Wings website - the order could have easily gone out of control.
Oh and one last note, for the first time in a long time, I only ordered one copy of each individual toy - something that goes against how I normally order, ensuring birds have similar toys (if they have similar likings).
So here is what I ordered.
The "original" order (i.e. no daily deal items)
"Tahiti Chipper" - most likely will go to Joey, as he's the biggest fan of the shreddable material and is going through pine like crazy lately.
"Fall Shenanigans" - could go to just about any of the Littles.
"Big Juicy Strawberries" - I'm thinking will probably go to Léa given the chunky branch pieces and hardwood shapes.
"Pirate Boy" - another toy that could go to any of the Littles, but I'll probably give it to Petey as it's an adorable toy and it has a better chance to last a little longer with Petey.
"Léa's Toy" - the toy's name does say who this will be destined to.
"Hardwood Teddy Trio" - will go to one of the Littles, thinking Shade.
"Teddy Crunch" - will go to Piper.
That was it for the "toy" aspect of the original order. But since T4W has recently expanded to include perches, cleaning supplies and food, well I got a little of each in this order.
Rope perches - because I never have enough on hand it seems.
AviClean - does work rather well on my cages (this is the concentrated stuff, will need to be diluted).
10lbs worth of TOPs (the pellets).
Now we get to the extra items I didn't originally plan for...
"Daily Deals"
"Bag of drilled pine scraps" - first thing I purchased, it was cheap, plentiful (I was expecting less wood) and it will make for great skewer fillers.
"Very nice wood coin toy" - I think, before it went up, Danita had personally told me that it would be one right up my "alley". She was right and in the basket it went...
"Vault - Willow, Hardwood shape, 3/8" pine" - one of Danita's "vault" toys (either discontinued or some T4W designs that never really were put up for sale as far as I can gather) and something that I think Shade will love!
"Yucca and pine" - looked neat on the screen, was even nicer (and bigger) in person. Will be going in one of the Littles' cage.
"Willow coins" - the last item I purchased. She had the coins up for a very short period of time and, when I saw them up, I freaked out a little and ordered 20, since I didn't know if there was a limit and it seemed reasonable. But then, before the time was up, I made a second order for another 20. In retrospect, I should have just put a larger number from the get-go, but what can you do...
I'm very pleased with everything and even more surprised that Danita managed to make everything fit in the box it came in. There was no way I would have been capable of putting it all back in there neatly.
Thanks Danita!
This order, when I initially submitted it, was very reasonable. I had told myself I wouldn't look at the "daily deals" (more like hourly deals), and keep my order simple. But I didn't listen to myself and got roped into the daily deal fun, although I think I did show restraint on some items and wasn't glued as much as I could have been on the Things for Wings website - the order could have easily gone out of control.
Oh and one last note, for the first time in a long time, I only ordered one copy of each individual toy - something that goes against how I normally order, ensuring birds have similar toys (if they have similar likings).
So here is what I ordered.
The "original" order (i.e. no daily deal items)
"Tahiti Chipper" - most likely will go to Joey, as he's the biggest fan of the shreddable material and is going through pine like crazy lately.
"Fall Shenanigans" - could go to just about any of the Littles.
"Big Juicy Strawberries" - I'm thinking will probably go to Léa given the chunky branch pieces and hardwood shapes.
"Pirate Boy" - another toy that could go to any of the Littles, but I'll probably give it to Petey as it's an adorable toy and it has a better chance to last a little longer with Petey.
"Léa's Toy" - the toy's name does say who this will be destined to.
"Hardwood Teddy Trio" - will go to one of the Littles, thinking Shade.
"Teddy Crunch" - will go to Piper.
That was it for the "toy" aspect of the original order. But since T4W has recently expanded to include perches, cleaning supplies and food, well I got a little of each in this order.
Rope perches - because I never have enough on hand it seems.
AviClean - does work rather well on my cages (this is the concentrated stuff, will need to be diluted).
10lbs worth of TOPs (the pellets).
Now we get to the extra items I didn't originally plan for...
"Daily Deals"
"Bag of drilled pine scraps" - first thing I purchased, it was cheap, plentiful (I was expecting less wood) and it will make for great skewer fillers.
"Very nice wood coin toy" - I think, before it went up, Danita had personally told me that it would be one right up my "alley". She was right and in the basket it went...
"Vault - Willow, Hardwood shape, 3/8" pine" - one of Danita's "vault" toys (either discontinued or some T4W designs that never really were put up for sale as far as I can gather) and something that I think Shade will love!
"Yucca and pine" - looked neat on the screen, was even nicer (and bigger) in person. Will be going in one of the Littles' cage.
"Willow coins" - the last item I purchased. She had the coins up for a very short period of time and, when I saw them up, I freaked out a little and ordered 20, since I didn't know if there was a limit and it seemed reasonable. But then, before the time was up, I made a second order for another 20. In retrospect, I should have just put a larger number from the get-go, but what can you do...
I'm very pleased with everything and even more surprised that Danita managed to make everything fit in the box it came in. There was no way I would have been capable of putting it all back in there neatly.
Thanks Danita!
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