Joey in Flight

As I was taking a picture of Ernie and Joey sitting on my stamps, Joey flew towards me (to get the camera?), and amazingly, the camera snapped this shot at just the right second. Even more awesome, Joey was in focus! I photoshopped out the distracting background elements to make Joey stand out more.

Ernie as a Celestial Object?

I heard some unusual sounds coming from my craft corner, and I was delighted to find Ernie perched on the ornamental candle holder my friend Pokin gave to me in high school.

Lately, I have been reading a book about the constellations of the sky and the ancient stories associated with those constellations. Seeing Ernie amoungst the Sun, Moon, and Stars starting to make me think... my birds need a constellation! Ernie's likeness would make a great celestial object.

What's Missing?

Two birds...

Two heads, two beaks, two eyes, two tummies...

But only three feet?!

My Birds Are Escape Artists!

There must be a siren, audible only to lovebirds, which calls to Ernie and Joey from the entrance hallway. Although the birds know this space is forbidden, they are always waiting for their chance to escape and explore the hidden wonders just beyond our inner front door. The birds are always watching, and waiting to pounce (err, fly) when given the opportunity.

Now, it should be mentioned that in our entrance hall, there is a staircase that leads to suite upstairs, and at the top of the stairs there is a light, some 12 feet high, hanging from the ceiling. It should also be mentioned that birds particularly relish bright, shiny, objects in high places! When they escape to hallway, it does not take long for the birds to make their way up and onto said light, delightfully out of my reach. At first I employed the "menacing broom" routine to convince my little birds to come down from that golden light. Then I realized I could lure them down with their most favored object of all -- the camera. I had only seconds to snap this photo of Ernie before he noticed the camera and immediately flew down and landed on it. I was then able to promptly carry my little hooligan back inside our suite where he belongs.

Joey's Wing

Just as I clicked the shutter button, Joey streched out his wing
allowing me to capture this lovely shot of his wing feathers.
It's amazing how shiny they are!

Hide and Seek

Joey: I think we should hide over here Ernie.

Ernie: I don't know... maybe we should go down there.

Joey: Look! This will make the perfect hiding spot... she'll never find us.

Ernie: Okay, but move over and make some space for me.

Joey: *chirping laughter* She'll never find us now.

Gotta Get That Itch!

Everybird knows that when the head is Itchy it MUST be scratched. Here, Joey takes a break from his purse explorations to find some relief.

Birds on YouTube!

Now people around the world can enjoy cute video footage of Joey and Ernie. I will have one video at a time directly on this website. Below is a list of all of their videos on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/v/WS_aVk6zPqY

www.youtube.com/v/SekFaPE2iPU

Front Yard Bandits!

Since the acorns began to fall, the front yard has seen plenty of traffic in the way of squirrels and Stellar's Jays. Ernie and Joey seem to be somewhat suspicious about these larger, and noiser (who would have thought it possible) visiters.

The "Tuck"

If you have a bird, then you will know that the "tuck" is the ultimate in cute. You know your birdie loves you when he is willing to go into "tuck" mode while fluffed out and resting on your arm. But a second before this picture, the birds where double "tucked", unfortunately, Darren's taking the picture jostled Ernie out of it for a minute.

Can You Feel the "Love" Tonight?

"And can you feel the love tonight, it is where we are. It's enough for this [feather-ed lovebird] that we got this far. And can you feel the love tonight, how it's laid to rest. It's enough to make [birds and adoring owners] believe the very best."
~ Lyrics by Tim Rice (with a few alterations), Music by Elton John

Cheek your bird!

Soft, warm, and fluffy - Get some some quality "cheeking" time in with your bird today.

No Soup For You!

Recently I suffered the misfortune of having all four of my wisdom teeth removed. For awhile, I found my self existing on a diet of lukewarm liquid mush -- not too hard, not to cold, and definitely not too hot. I should also make two observations about Ernie at this point: 1) he normally has little interest in "people" food (to my distress, as I am always trying to get him to eat his veggies!) and 2) he tends to be extremely over cautious about where he will land (getting this bird into a bathtub can be like pulling teeth! - I hope you caught that). I had consumed one mouthful of my orange/white mush (carrot, onion, miso and tofu in a yellow bowl), when all of the sudden Ernie decided to land IN MY SOUP! He got hip deep before he realized he was sliding into a bog of carrot goo and flew off to his cage to start preening his legs vigorously. Poor Ernie was forced to suffer further dunking in a bowl of clean water to wash off his feathers as he kicked and squirmed like mad. Joey's response to Ernie's bedraggled state: "Oh, I just can't look... ".

Doppleganger Syndrome

Joey and Ernie look so much a like, sometimes I feel like I am seeing double. Where does one bird end and the other begin? Same dark eyes, same buff coloured beaks - thankgoodness for the patch of green on the back of Ernie's head!