Pet Forum / Birds / Birds / October 2007

One must appreciate the Internet: when I first purchased my two
parakeets, I said to myself, "self, you have two parakeets." But once
I first read two books about them and then joined this group, I began
to marvel at the developing relationship I was enjoying with respect
to these two creatures! At first, I was slightly dismayed because of
their lack of appreciation for what I was doing for them, and the fact
that they were, in their own way, very scared when I approached their
cage. However, after being told various things from many of the
dedicated people on this group, and after time spent, just sitting
back and watching them, caring for them, I have begun to understand
more about their personalities (I know, a misnomer) and how they will
finally become to "be."

For example, most of the time, one will usually see me reading. The
television is on only during times when I eat, or have the energy to
do something domestic. And then, there are those few occassions when I
am on the phone, and for some reason, the birds seem to "come alive,"
demonstrating their own abilities, as well as ridding themselves of
some of the aforementioned fears. If I should eat a bowl of cereal,
for example, suddenly, they look around, and perk up. "What is that
noise," is what they are probably thinking, I suppose. When I have
those moments when I want to play a few tunes (my favorite of all
times is the song, "Honey," by Bobby Goldsboro -- I know, I am dating
myself, but it reminds me so much of my mother when she and I had a
mother-son relationship and a specific time when she actually did
"wreck the car," but the outcome, at that time, was different; my
parents were married at the time and there was a demonstration of
testosterone that I dare not think about) -- they perk up, and the
"dominant one" will be the first to leave the cage. Now, at times, I
see the dominant, more courageous of the two on top of the cage,
probably saying to the other bird, "Ha Ha!" or "Look, no hands!"

In any event, I just want to tell those who have been following my
posts that I really do appreciate those people who have responded to
my posts in the past; those people have not only given me the hope
that my birds and I will grow together, but they also gave me the
inspiration to continue, to share my own "being" with these little
creatures, realizing that they must certainly be thinking: "who or
what is that big head?"

Mark