Sanguine Tenacious Tidings

Birds outside, Birds inside

Tell us about the pet you had for the longest amount of time or the one that made the most significant impact on you. If you have never had a pet (I’m sorry), what pet would you want?

She was not quite what you would call refined. She was not quite what you would call unrefined. She was the kind of person that keeps a parrot. Mark Twain
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/parrot

I've written before in my blog about the parrot that was being harassed in a store. When I could not get the clerk to stop the little boy who was harassing the parrot I bought it and took it home. That was in the 1973. I had kept parakeets before and always thought I would like to have a parrot.

Never buy a parrot unless you:

1. Want a pet that will be with you for life. My parrot is 46 years old. Actually, she is older than that because I've owned her 46 years. I think she could have been 1 to 2 years old when I bought her.

2. No something about the kind of parrot you want. My parrot is a female, lilac crowned, Amazon.

3. Are prepared to be laughed at on a regular basis.

I did not know much when I bought this bird. Parrots and parakeets are similar and different.
I bought a book so I could feed it right and train it.

Don't believe the book when it says they can't survive low temperatures. When heat failed in our house I put the bird with her cage wrapped in a towel in a part of the room without drafts. When I could not find regular parrot food or afford it I fed her field corn off the cob from the barn and popcorn and snacks from the kitchen.

Lilac crowned parrots are well known for their irascible temperament. Besides being cranky, snappish and other types of I bite. She was harassed by different people who were hoping I would be her target at some point. She started out in a small cage, which I saved money and put her in a larger cage as soon as I could. Then in 2005, There was a lot of parrot fairs going on because of several bird clubs had sprung up in the area. I found a deluxe large cage which she moved into with enthusiasm.

She doesn't bite me. She talks. She likes to watch cartoons and she loves music. She laughs at things I do. More than one cat has learned to keep paws to themselves when the cat thought it would just stick a paw in the cage.

Sometimes, I have clipped her wings but, as a rule, I never do. It just isn't necessary. She was imported from Mexico and came with a shot record. Now, Lilac Crowned Parrots are protected in Mexico. It is no longer necessary to import them, because the bird enthusiasts of USA have learned how to hatch out birds for the pet trade. Many parrots that you see in homes are so much a part of the family they morn their owners when they lose them. Also, they were hatched in cages. They live longer in captivity than they would in the wild.

Unfortunately, the pet trade has probably put a lot of birds out there that should not have been sold. People who did not understand the commitment bought birds, then would not keep them, when they found out the work and length of life involved in a pet bird. So, places sprang up to take in the unwanted birds. Taking in a second hand bird can be a problem because they learn bad habits and bad words.

Pet birds are extremely loving. They like jokes and understand more than people often give them credit for. I do wonder what will happen if I die first. But, we have been together a lot of years.

A health worker came into my home one time and told me I should get rid of all my pets. That was about 10 years ago. Why should I stop living because I am older than a health care worker? I've put a lot of learning effort into giving my pets and myself a healthy and happy life. I will be here as long as I am here and so will my pets.

Don't ask me to be you. I'm me. I like me. I like you. Our differences are interesting. If you have lived with a human for 47 years would you kick them out, because you are getting older? I suppose that has happened too? Oh Well. The neighbors were shooting a gun in a blizzard this morning. I hope they knew to wipe the melted snow off the barrel before it rusted.

Yesterday's thunder storms turned into today's snowy blizzard. There was a squirrel in the bird feeder outside my window but, the dove ran it out. Now the birds are swarming the feeder.

See Ya

!