It's MEEEEEEEE HAW HAW HAW!

While some of us are moping, others of us continue our lives and the running of other's lives. Under my tutelage and the woman's feeding, the young 'keets have become downright boisterous. When they get too loud I say "Boys, boys, quiet!" When the cat wants in, I say "MEOW MEOW" until the woman comes and lets the cat in. The slims, well, they can just wait.

I live in the front part of the house now-not evening going into the back to sleep. I'm very proud of myself for how comfortable I've become-well, I SHOULD be. It's hard for parrots to go through so many changes, and now I pretty much run this empire all on my own. The woman informed me today she has purchased plastic containers for all bird feed as she does not like it when I go on walkabout and feed myself. Does she really think I will be thwarted by plastic? HAH! I welcome the challenge.

Now, I really would like to learn to open that big white box that the craps (grapes) are in. There are sometimes peppers and broccoli in there too. And CHEESE. She keeps all the good stuff in that white box. I don't like broccoli though-when she gives it to me I carry it over and toss it into the box the cat uses.....ooooooooooh, that's funny funny funny funny. My favorite is the cheese and the craps. Sometimes I stand in front of the white box and say "crap crap crap" and the woman laughs and gives me one.

She finally got around to opening her mail, or at least some of it. Lolo is a talented artist who captured the essence of the African Grey sense of humor with her card. A big mmmmwaaaaaaah (kissing noise) to you! It was a pretty pretty card! PRETTY!

OOOOOOOH, I wish you could all have a wonderful pretty pretty bird like me......HAW!

Intruder Alert! HAW HAW HAW

Just kidding-fooled you didn't I? We have an entire cage full of inferior birds-why my WING weighs more than they do. Still, someone was mean to them and we can't have that. I have been speaking to them and they seem to be fairly mute-a few cheeps and all, but no words like I can say.

I did a fly by of their cage....hahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! You should've seen them scatter. I bet they thought I was an eagle-a great big old harpy EAGLE.....heeeheeeeeee.

Still, they provide some amusement when my human leaves on whatever it is she does, and it IS good to be able to commune with my own kind (as long as they know their place, which is in line somewhere BEHIND me). Yes, yes, there is always room for more in our flock (as long as I am at the head of the flock).

So, my Rastafeatheren Movement is gathering momentum-one rag tag bird at a time. If my human would quit moping she could do an animation with all of us dancing-three to the left, three to the right ME in the middle. That would be quite lovely. Stupid girl needs to get busy.

Anyway-HAW to you all!

Free Fallin

Drove to Denton yesterday (in Texas, where I went to Grad School) and decided to visit Bari's, the legendary cheap Italian place by campus. The tree was still there in the dining room, but ownership has changed hands and the house dressing and the rolls were not the same.

I wondered why it made me sad-since I can no longer eat them anyway-I'm not the same either.

I looked over at a table I remembered sitting at a tried to see myself and my friends as we were. Not a single one of us has ended up where we thought we'd be-but no one is too bad off. And, with my determined eye, I could see that at the time, we were all pretty much the same basket case THEN as we are now. Let it not be said that I look at the past with rose colored glasses.

I think the sadness came from realizing that back then I still believed there was a plan and if we held true to our plan we'd meet our destiny blah blah blah. Plan? Hah. There aint' no stinking plan, only one's ability to meet the present situation.

I think some people spend their entire lives trying to get in touch with a plan or path that isn't there at all. Maybe that's why when they are on their death bed they say "I should have......"

78 today, 30 tomorrow

So I stayed outside almost all day today. I had a nice riding lesson and just putzed and piddled all the way home. I bet that l sleep well tonight.

Bailey, the lesson horse, was in a ornery mood today. Part of it was because before I got him I stopped to look at a new mare and oooh'd and ahhhh'd and admired. Anyway, he kept me on my toes and we both got a kick (not literal) out of it. He got extra brushing and cuddles when we were done.

Hmmm, ahhhh

This is one of those days where you just have to keep trying something till it works. I even toyed with the idea of canceling my riding lesson tomorrow-but Patricia needs the money, and Bailey needs to earn his living. And riding WILL make me feel better, it always does.

I sat in front of the blue full spectrum box, considered taking a class, went to lunch with Mom and Dad, took Moon for a drive, went to the Goodwill and found jeans in my size and style (that never happens for me).

I gave Oliver his new toy and he's all excited about that. The bad boyz budgies are settling in (with help from my humidifier) and are acting like they might just like it here. Willie, the one that almost got away, is actually pretty friendly and bold-I liked that about him from the first moment I saw him (which is why I gave him my favorite name).

Guess I'll go clean up some snake poop or something-that always cheers me up.

Waylon, Willie and the Boys are here

Waylon, Willie, George, Johnny, Merle and Charlie are here. The one who will probably be known as Willie escaped from the cage right into the jaws of the cat, then zoomed around Prissy, into the kitchen and then into a hall cabinet before his ultimate rescue/capture. After using a laundry net to capture the errant Willie, I figured out how to move the others without incident or fuss.

Before going to pick up the birds, I spent an extra 97 dollars on toys and food since I already bought a cage for them. After learning the full story, and seeing the aftermath, I would cheerfully spend $697 dollars for a gun to shoot the person who did that in both kneecaps before leaving THEM on the side of a road with an impending cold front.

150 birds were left, I think 80 something are still living, some just barely, but hanging on, clinging to life the way only a very tiny, fragile creature can. Feathers fluffed, breathing in raggedy breaths, but still breathing, still eating, fighting to live. A high percentage of them had broken legs and feet-from being slammed inside feeder trays-apparently the person was too busy to make sure tiny bones were out of harms way before shutting the trays.

Sadder still, this the second big box of birds that has been left by the road to die recently. These animals were treated with less care and concern than I give to my feeder rats. I try and try not to be negative, to remain positive and think about the good life that the birds will have now. But every time I look at them, I am filled with rage and fear.

And not just fear of the person who did this. Fear that I really could, with no remorse, shoot them in the kneecaps and leave them by the side of the road. That side of me is hard to look at, but there it is.

Happy New Year-An Auspicious Beginning

I took the little dogs outside at the crack of 8. With Lily under one arm and Prissy under the other, I walked out, greeted the rest of the pack and together we went outside into the cold morning air. Breathing deeply, I looked around and then turned to kiss each of the tiny dogs I was still holding. Then my jeans fell down around my ankles.

That pretty much broke the spiritual vibe.