I have a bird on my shoulder. A co-worker's neighbor was trying to retrieve his mail when a gray cockatiel landed on his shoulder. Can you imagine? He walked his neighborhood with the bird on his shoulder, knocking on every door, trying to find the owner. No luck. He put out fliers. Some of you might remember that I had a cockatiel that I loved and lost. I thought I'd go see this bird, just in case. Of course, it wasn't my bird, but this family didn't want to keep him/her any longer, so for now, he's here. I'm going to put ads in the local papers, the Pennysaver, and Craigslist. There's got to be a family out there that's frantic to find their pet. He likes me OK, but seemed to love the man who found him. His owner must have been male. He seems to like electronics. He just hopped down to my keyboard, which I thought was cute, till he pooped on it. Fortunately bird poop is easy to clean up. Now he's walking all over the remote control. Better move him before he poops on that.


On a sadder note, Emily's hamster died yesterday. Her boyfriend called to say that something appeared to be very wrong with him. We went over to see, and I just knew he was dying. He passed away a few hours later and we buried him in the backyard.

Kind of uncanny how we lost a pet and gained one.

Time to get up and going. I'll try to post again later...

For the birds

I really can't believe how long it's been since I've written anything. How am I going to remember my life if I don't write about it? I'm going to try to do better. Famous last words! Have I ever talked about good intentions? Probably.

One of the things I was thinking of this morning as the sun was streaming through my windows was dust. The beautiful sunlight just highlighted the layer on my furniture. Where the heck does it come from? You couldn't tell I had just dusted a week ago. Dust is for the birds. And speaking of birds..I got a bird. Twice! I don't remember if I had my cockatiel Zeus when I started my blog. I loved him. He was the only pet I ever had and he flew away when I stepped outside without realizing he was on my shoulder. I'll never forget him and never let that happen again. One day last week it popped into my head that I might like having a bird again. A companion. Rob and I went to a pet store that breeds and hand-raises their birds, and I chose a bird that was beautiful. Emily was so excited! I had to go home to get my old cage and the three of us went back to the shop to get him. I was a little envious in the store with how good he was with Rob and Emily, but I knew I'd have plenty of time with him alone. Long story short, he would get on my shoulder but not ever let me touch him. All he did was try to bite me. I had buyer's remorse, but was determined to win him over. I brought Mango back to the store today for his 1 week check-up.

Not my finger
The store is owned by a husband and wife and this time the wife was there. I talked about Mango, and how all he does is try to bite me. I told her how loving Zeus was. She observed Mango with me. She held Mango and he was mean to her! We talked a lot about the care I was giving him. She could tell that I was trying really hard to do everything right. I was a little excited and hopeful when she gave me another cockatiel to hold. Right away this new bird put his head down for me to rub. He let me hold him and stroke him and get close. The owner told me she's never exchanged a bird before, but she wanted to do it for me. I'm so happy! So, so happy! They're going to re-socialize Mango so he can go to another home. Can we name the new bird Mango too?

Mango 2
I went to NY last weekend with my friend Kit. She asked a couple of weeks ago if I wanted to go and without hesitation I said YES! I'll write about it this weekend. I'm making a commitment here. I want to read all about it!

I forgot to write about my bird's last day here. I let him hang out on my shoulder as I got ready for work on Saturday, knowing it was almost time for good-bye. His new owners, Gary and Joyce, got to my house at 5:00. They couldn't believe how beautiful he was and kept asking me if I was sure I wanted to do this. I told them I would miss him, but that it was the right thing to do. He stayed on my shoulder as we talked. They have a cockatiel, and have had as many as 3 at one time. I knew my bird would fit right in with their family. We talked for a long time, till it was time to say farewell. I got a few e-mails from the couple that night, telling me about the bird's antics. They sent pictures of him with their other cockatiel, climbing on Gary's leg. I asked them to let me know what they name him, and to send me pictures from time to time. The house is a little lonelier without him. I put away the cage last night.

Today's class was on hair texturizing. There were only 5 students, and the other 4 were from the same salon. We had long hair mannequins, and learned a few new techniques. Since my mannequin still has a lot of hair to work with, I'm going to do more cuts on her.




In most households it would be a little freaky to see a mannequin sitting around. Not here. I have a collection of them. This one was tonight's centerpiece.

I went to Marshall's after the class, but then didn't feel like shopping. I went to the grocery store. Came home and made tuna salad. Sat outside on the deck in the chaise lounge reading the last few day's newspapers. Picked up Emily from practice. Finally figured out how to install the Bose speakers on her computer (they sound awesome). Ate dinner, read blogs, watched TV, and here I am. What? You didn't ask what I did today? Well there it is, anyway...

Time to read more of the Cliffs Notes on Pride and Prejudice. I officially gave up on the book last night. I just can't tolerate it.

I thought it was time to write about my lost pet, Zeus. He's not really lost. He flew away and must have died. I was never a pet person. I never wanted a cat or dog. I've always thought I must not have the gene responsible for pet love. Then I got a bird. My parents have cockatiels, and I took care of one of them for a winter. I found, much to my surprise, that I liked having a pet around. It was nice coming home or waking up to find a pet that was happy to be with you. My cockatiel, Zeus, came to us when someone placed an ad in the Pennysaver. He belonged to a family that no longer had the time to give him the attention he needed. I started out being really afraid of him. Of being bitten or pooped on. He became my buddy. When he wasn't sitting on top of his cage, he was on my shoulder. He'd stay on my shoulder for hours at a time. I'd vacuum, eat, watch TV, whatever. His favorite food was popcorn, and it was a riot watching him eat. I was thoroughly entertained by him. He loved water. He had a perch with suction cups that was made for the shower. He'd put his face right up to the pounding water and get completely soaked. He'd get in the funniest positions trying to get the undersides of his wings wet. It was pretty comical. I think we had Zeus for about 2 years. One day, I was really mad at Emily. I don't even remember why. I was washing dishes and feeling really sorry for myself. I looked out onto the deck, and thought I'd go out and fill the birdbath. I looked at the cage to make sure Zeus wasn't on top. The cage was not far from the door and I was always careful. I walked out, and as I was pouring the water, I felt something alighting from my shoulder. It was Zeus. I didn't realize he was on me. He flapped his wings and kept on flying. I just went crazy. Emily and I ran from the house in the direction he flew. It was over by the 'beaver pond'. We called and whistled for him. We could hear him. To make a long story short, we searched for hours. Our friend Sarah helped. We made and put up posters. Finally, I had to go to work. A few hours later Emily called from Sarah's. Zeus was in a tree at the edge of the woods by her house. They could see him. I told her to just keep whistling and calling his name, and that Zeus would fly to her. I hung up and continued with the highlights I was doing, but I wanted to be there. She called me back about 10 minutes later to say he wouldn't come down. I told her I'd be right there. I found someone to finish my client, and rushed to Sarah's. It took 20 long minutes. Finally I was there, along with Emily, Sarah, her husband and young son. I called for Zeus. He was so freaked out he was squawking up a storm. I guess that was what attracted the hawk that we watched, as in slow motion, fly to Zeus and grab him. Feathers flew, but Zeus was able to fly away. He must have been mortally wounded, though, and that was the last we ever saw of him. I searched for days, put ads in all the papers, etc...He was gone.

It took me a long time to get over what happened, and the fact that it was my fault. Zeus was a good bird, really funny, and I'm glad to know I have it in me to love a pet. If I thought that I could get another bird that would be as loving as he was, I'd get one in a minute. I always thought I'd get another bird, and maybe one day I will.

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