Thanks to everybody who participated in Chloe’s memorial service on Sunday. It turned kind of silly with the bonfire and burning of the effigy of the cat that killed her. Kato said they’d never had a tree planting ceremony go quite that crazy. At least we had some fun, and we said farewell with some joy and the silliness that Chloe was so fond of. And we did have some good pictures and memories. If you missed it and want to see the shenanagins or share your own memory, you can use hashtag #celebratechloe . If that got a bit too silly for you and you’d like to see more on Chloe and a formal obituary, you can click on the “Chloe's Memorial” tab. (We have a memorial for Ollie too, if you click on the "More" tab.)

​It probably got silly because mommy and I were there. That’s one thing we have in common: a penchant for mischief. Include us, and you can be sure that something wacky, silly, or completely off-the-wall will happen. I’m not sure what it is about us that brings on the silliness, or just plain strange. Mommy said that a friend once told her that crazy follows her like a shadow. She couldn’t argue with that, and neither can I.

I guess it’s better than being somber, or boring. We have shed a lot of tears over Chloe’s loss and certainly miss her, but I think mommy was grateful that the memorial was more of a celebration. She was glad to see you all get in the Anipal Land spirit that Chloe established with her sweet, silly nature and mad Kung-fu skills. We’ll always remember her, and Anipal Land will go on in the fun spirit she and Zack established. It may even get crazier, now that you have me and the Spaceship BOOM. We’ve gone interstellar now, and more new friends arrive all the time!

Thanks again for always being great friends to us. Daddy, mommy, Zack and I can’t tell you how much it means to us, and what comfort and joy you bring to all of us. You guys are fantastic!

That’s all today. Take care, and have a great rest of the week.

Luv,

Bubbles 

May celebrations continue as the parronts celebrated their 20th anniversary yesterday. Actually, they celebrated a couple of weeks ago when they went on that beach trip, because they both had work obligations and couldn’t take off this week. Well, phooey! It seems that jobs are good at making you do a whole lot that you don’t want to do. The things you humans have to do to make money. But I suppose life is full of decisions, and sometimes you have to make the hard ones and do what’s necessary and practical over what you want. It worked out anyway, as it’s been rainy everywhere around here the past few days, and it looks like that dreary weather pattern is going to continue into next week. Sometimes when things don’t work out, they actually do. Life is strange.

I call their anniversary "Flock Formation Day," because the day they got married was the day our flock started to form. And I've been with them for 18 of those 20 years. Whoot whoot!

There’s one more celebration to be had, and it’s Chloe’s life celebration on Sunday. May 20th was her “gotcha day,” so mommy decided to celebrate it one last time with the memorial service that we were too brokenhearted to have when she died in December. Join us on Twitter at 4 p.m. Eastern Time (USA) to celebrate the joy that Chloe brought to us during her too-brief time. She was such a sweetheart, with just the right amount of spunk. We miss her, and I think Sunday will be a great time to celebrate and bring us some closure on her sudden loss. Be sure to use the hashtag #celebratechloe for the celebration/memorial.

That’s all today. Take care. I hope you have a Happy Friday tomorrow and a wonderful weekend!

Luv,

Zack

Bubbs and I were beach birds last weekend! Mommy and daddy took us to Myrtle Beach to celebrate their anniversary. Actually, the celebration was early, because their anniversary isn't until May 16. But their work schedules plus Harley Davidson Week on the week of their anniversary inspired them to celebrate with an early trip. It was a good idea, too. Mommy's parronts have a camper at Ocean Lakes Campground, and it was great. The weather was wonderful. They said it was a bit crowded around town on Saturday, but Sunday there were fewer people around. 

What's most fun is the attention we get from other campers. They love us. I've been many times, but this was only Bubbles' second trip. There were a couple of families around us, and at one point we had 5 kids crowded around our cages, looking at us. Wow, we were popular. It's always good to have your natural beauty and charm admired! 

What's not good is sleeping in closer quarters. Bubbs and I are used to sleeping in the den, away from the parronts. They sleep in their room - upstairs. But in a camper, it's all right there in 40 feet. We heard every snore. Every overnight bathroom trip. Every flush. Every shower. It was a bit too much information for us! But we managed. Boy, are you humans high maintenance, though!

We came back Monday, and are kind of back to our routine. I say 'kind of' because mommy was off work today for Confederate Memorial Day. I know, it's strange and all I can say is it only happens in South Carolina! But, as she says, a day off is a day off, and she won't say 'no' to that. Who can blame her? Yes, a Thursday off is odd (they get this holiday on May 10 every year, no matter what day it falls on). But it's a nice break for her, and she's enjoyed it. 

That's all today. Take care. I hope you have a Happy Friday tomorrow and a wonderful weekend. 

Luv,

Zack

Mommy and I need to work on our communication skills. I think we “get” each other for the most part, but sometimes we have miscues. She’s never had a Quaker before, and I’ve never known a human quite like her (obviously, most of you could claim the same about her – she’s weird!). This morning was a good example. She was running late and rushing around, so I bit her. It was a “hey mommy, slow down and focus!” bite. But she got mad instead. She didn’t appreciate that slowing down to stop the bleeding and put on a bandage gave her a break from rushing around. So an apology kiss, a neck fluff, and some cute noises later, and we made up and she was happy again.

I thought Chloe taught her that her stress becomes our stress. Did she forget, nor just not get it at all? I didn’t like her rushing around the kitchen, muttering about all that had to be done. Flock emergency! Time to get a beak on the problem and eat it! I think it finally occurred to her when Zack chewed down his softie perch and it crashed to the floor. He didn’t bite her, though. He just stared at her with those big, handsome conure eyes like “now you have to stop to put a new perch in here because I'm so darn cute and sweet, and you can't resist my conure-charm.” And he cackled and fluffed up when she replaced it. More kissies. More snuggles. More apologies from her for being frazzled. A list for the pet store to pick up more seed and another perch (and toys, maybe?). And she was actually out of the door on time. See? She had time to slow down, and hopefully relaxed on the commute. Stressed is no way to start the day!

I hope she learned her lesson. What’s more, I hope she learns that I’m no simply feasting on her flesh when I bite her. I’m trying to tell her something, Quaker style. She just has to learn Quaker-ese. And, I suppose, I have to learn some  more human communication as well. Zack has this down pretty well and thankfully, he’s helping me.

That’s all today. Take care. Have a Happy Friday tomorrow and a wonderful weekend!

Luv,

Bubbles

Hi all, I hope you enjoyed the Anipal Land short stories the past couple of weeks. Mommy had fun getting back into those, and was happy to share some more adventures with you. She also updated our pages on this website, so take a minute to look around if you haven't lately. The main changes were on Chloe and Ollie's memorial pages, and the final "Other Feathered Friends" page. She added pictures and obituaries, and a few more details about the birds who have blessed our lives. 

Now, mommy’s settling into a writing break. Her job is in it’s busiest season of the year right now, so she’s giving herself a break from writing and promotion to adjust to the higher workload, busier days, and achy wrist tendons that tend to accompany this not-so-wonderful time of the year. She says it happens in every job.  They all have busy times.Bubbles and I are here to comfort them when the days are long, stressful, and busy. It’s our job and pleasure to help our humans feel better and to make them happy. Our work starts when they get home from work, and we take it seriously. We want our human parronts happy, and we are their sunshine. Happy parronts, happy home!

In closing, I want to give you a heads up on an upcoming event. Mommy decided to have a Twitter memorial service for Chloe on May 20. That’s Chloe’s “Gotcha Day,” and she thought it would be appropriate to honor and celebrate Chloe then, since we’ll be thinking about and remembering her anyway. We know it’s late – Chloe died in December – but mommy feels like she’s finally at a place where she can do this and properly honor Chloe’s life and memory. No time has been set yet, but planning is in progress. It will probably be in the mid to late afternoon to accommodate various time zones.

That’s all today. I hope you have a Happy Friday tomorrow and a wonderful weekend.

Luv,

Zack

Birds just want to have fun! This week, I'd like to give you three more Anipal Land stories, this time with Zack in the spotlight. Enjoy!

Hey Zack, Nice Shot

Cheech the evil cat drug his crushed body out of the road.

“Get away vultures!” he hissed. “Now I’m really going get Zack and Bubbles. They thought they bested me? Never! I’m a cat! I have nine lives!”

A shadow passed over Cheech, rumbling loudly. He looked up with a squashed eye, seeing a metal hull with the word
BOOM etched on it. “Is that a sun conure and blue Quaker in a spaceship?”

Phew! Phew! Phew!

BOOM!

Zack laughed from his commander’s chair on the BOOM. “Ship, how many lives does Cheech have left?”

“I read no lives remaining, Commander Zack.”

Bubbles chuckled from the Captain’s chair. “I guess we aren’t the only ones who shot at that demon cat.”

“BOOM, give me an accounting of Cheech’s spent lives," Zack said. 

The ship beamed a light on Cheech, scanning him.

“Commander Zack, I read two gunshot wounds, three poison injestations, consumption of two rabid squirrels, an automobile accident, and an aviation incident.”

“Aviation incident,” Bubbles laughed. “I  like the way you put that. Vaporize him, BOOM.”

“Yes, Captain Bubbles.”

A the beam incinerated Cheech into steam. A beautiful rainbow appeared in the sky, glittering in the sunlight.

 “Look at that rainbow, Zack!” Bubbles said.

“It’s so pretty! It reminds me of Chloe.”

“Justice for Chloe!” Bubbles said.

“Justice for Chloe!” Zack said. “Now let’s fly through Sonic for some tater tots.”

“Course set,” ship said. Their hearts lightened with joy as they zoomed through the shimmering light to another day of fun
and mischief.

Zack’s Big Date

“Oh, I’m such a handsome fellow!” Zack sang as he straightened his bow tie and top hat in the mirror. “Wings trimmed in green, and my back is yellow! I’m sweet and handsome and oh, so mellow. Oh, I am a handsome fellow!”

“Zack, are you going to serenade the toilet all day?” Bubbles asked.

“I’m done,” his face feathers fluffed at his adorable reflection. He threw open the door to find Bubbles in a blue evening gown and pearl necklace. “What’s that?”

“I have a date, too!”

“With whom?”

“With you!”

“What?” Zack asked. “I scheduled this through Hotchicks dot com.”

“With Sapphire Sweetie?”

“Yes.”

“That’s me!” she said cheerfully.

“Oh dear,” he said. “Well, you do look nice. Come on. Maybe we can convince people that we’re prom birds and crash a dance somewhere.”

“That’s what I’m talking about!” Bubbles said, tucking her small clutch bag under her wing as they headed to the BOOM for a night of fun and mischief.

Chef Zack

“Ok, it says to crush up the decongestant pill and add it to the blender with the salt water, probiotics blend, cough syrup, honey, and chili pepper,” Rocky said from the computer.

“I sure am glad smell isn’t our best sense,” Kato said, “because this stinks. How are you going to get your mommy to take this blend for her sinus infection?”

“Here’s her water mug,” Zack said. “She washed it this morning, but she’ll forget and go in the fridge for it. Let’s put the blend in there. She won’t smell it. Her nose is so stopped up that she couldn’t smell Uranus right now.”

“I won’t ask if you’re speaking of the planet, or metaphorically,” Rocky said.

“It’s best not to,” Kato said.

“One more ingredient!” Bubbles rushed in the kitchen with a small sack. She emptied a few pebbles into the blend.

“What’s that, love?” Kato asked.

“Asteroids,” Bubbles said. “I swung the BOOM through the Asteroid Belt. I thought the radioactive isotopes would destabilize the bacteria and break down the mucus in her throat.”

“Humans sure are nasty,” Rocky said. “It makes you glad to be a bird.” He hopped to the blender. “That’s everything. Are we ready to go?”

“Ready!” Zack said, pressing the blend button. The blender shook with the concoction swirling about.

“That looks like puke,” Bubbles said. “It’s a good thing this mug is steel. Come on, let’s pour it in.”

The birds stacked up to carefully pour the foul mixture into mommy’s mug. They pushed it in the refrigerator and scurried under the loveseat just as mommy walked in the door.

“Ugh! I feel terrible!” she opened the refrigerator. “Oh good, I thought I washed this, but it’s here and full. Boy do I need some water!” She upended the mug, taking a huge gulp.

“Here we go,” Zack whispered.

Mommy made a face as the concoction slid down her throat. Her cheeks puffed out as she ran to the sink and spewed out the last few ounces of the concoction.

“Did she get enough of it?” Kato whispered against her loud retching.

“She drank most of it,” Rocky said.

Daddy walked in from work, rushing to mommy hovering over the sink. “What happened?”

“This water tastes like puke!”

“It’s green!” he said. “Did you put water flavoring in it?”

“I don’t think so. I felt so bad when I put everything up before work that I can’t remember.”

Zack and Bubbles ran across the floor to their cages as the parronts talked, silently closing the doors and pushing the hidden door lock button inside their cages.

“How do you feel?”

She wiped her face with a paper towel. “That tasted so awful that I forgot about being sick. I actually feel much better.”

Daddy looked at mommy. “You must be getting better. It looks like your head is glowing.”

“Really?” mommy asked. “I feel a bit flushed. Maybe this stuff is purging from my system.”

 “Good!” daddy said. “We better get the apple ready to hand feed the birds. Guys, are you ready for supper?”

Zack and Bubbles beeped out affirmatives.

“Mission accomplished,” Kato said, foot bumping Rocky under the loveseat as Bubbles stealthily hit the small BOOM remote attached to her perch to beam them home.

​THE END.
 
 

Hi all, mommy here. I promised that I'd work on Anipal Land short stories several months ago, but that fell to the wayside between Chloe's death and finishing The Earthside Trilogy. But I didn't forget you! Today, I'd like to offer you 5 short stories in Anipal Land. Do you ever wonder what your birds do while you're out of the house? Perhaps this is the answer!

I do hope you'll grant me some venting in the first story (Bubbs the Executioner), as it is kind of a tribute to Chloe. Chloe was such a huge part of Anipal Land that I felt that her loss needed to be addressed, and this gave me somewhat of an outlet to vent. Rest assured that the rest of the stories are back to our normal, silly style. I hope you enjoy them, and that you'll let me know which story is your favorite on Twitter!

Without further ado, let's take another break to Anipal Land! 

Bubbs the Executioner

Cheech the evil cat pranced through the woods, full of himself.

“Oh yummy birds, oh yummy birds! How tasty is your sweet meat!” he sang. “Wow, Chloe sure was tasty last December. I believe she has a brother and look, that house is where he lives! Perhaps I’ll catch him unawares, too. His parronts should be out and not shooting at me in the middle of the day.” He pranced across the street.

HONK HONK!

Cheech stopped in the middle of the road and looked up. “Is that a blue quaker driving an 18 wheeler?”

A black Trans-Am zoomed around the truck.

BOOM!!

The 18 wheeler thumped over Cheech. “East bound and down, 18 wheels and rolling,” Bubbles sang, “We just bashed a bad ‘ol crunchy cat.”

“Golden boy calling Blue Beauty,” the CB crackled with Zack’s cheerful voice. “The turkey vultures said thanks for lunch.”

“It worked perfectly!” Bubbles said. “Justice for Chloe! Now let’s get these vehicles back to the diner before those guys finish lunch!”

“Justice for Chloe!” Zack said. “Beep beep!”

Bubbs is the Bomb

“Hey Barnum, do you see a strange object out of your window?” Bailey asked.

Barnum looked out of her window. “What is that? It looks like two birds in a spaceship.”

The front of the spaceship opened, splattering green poo all over the window.

Morty gasped from the commanders chair of the BOOM as the canister exploded. “Bubbs! I thought you said it was filled
with hot air.”

“Yea, I backed that thing up,” Bubbs said from the Captain’s chair. “Ship, target next window.”

“Yes, Captain Bubbles,” the mechanical ship voice said.

“She’s crazy,” Morty mumbled as he activated the air freshener and sanitation modules.

Bubbs the Secretary

Bubbles tapped the earpiece in her fluffy ear hole. “Good afternoon, how can I not help you today?”

“Your website is stupid!”

“Our website has or lacks no intelligence,” Bubbs said. “It just is, and does what you tell it to do. What did you do?”

“Nothing!”

“Then that’s the problem. It can’t operate itself yet.”

“Yet?”

“I’m working on that. Soon, it will be more self aware than you are.”

“Now listen, miss! Your head is too big for your shoulders!”

“My head is perfectly proportioned to my plush, blue body.”

“Blue body? Am I talking to a freak alien or something?”

“I’m a mutant!” she said cheerfully. “How else may I insult you today?”

“Let me tell you something about yourself that you don’t know –“ the line went dead. Bubbs looked up to find Zack feasting on the connection cord. “Zack, what are you doing?”

“Wires and cords make great snacks, especially when that conversation was going nowhere.”

Bubbs returned to building SkyNet. Somebody had to do it. Its not like humans were smart enough to do things themselves anymore.

Bubbs the Hacker

“Are you sure this will work?” Jinx asked. “I don’t want Mad Hacker to hack us.”

“It’ll work,” Bubbs said, tapping at the keyboard. “Mad Hacker has been hacking the system at intervals of every 24 hours. It’s nearly time, and then we’ll have a special surprise for him to send back to his comrades this time!”

“Are you sure this will deter him?” Zack asked.

“Would you like it if you were a communist hacker looking for data to sell on the dark web or to politicians?”

“No,” the boys said together.

“Here he comes,” she tapped in the rerouting code. “Get ready for a surprise!”

The 24 hour gospel and praise Internet station activated.

“He’s trying to back out!” Zack said.

“Launching the budgie bot counter virus,” Jinx said, tapping the keyboard at his work station.

“Success! It locked his system!” Bubbs activated a clone of Mad Hacker’s screen, showing the gospel choir dancing and praising at top volume on the screen. “Jinx, it worked. Your virus attached to all of his systems and rerouted to this web channel. All he’ll be able to see is a gospel choir every time he tries to hack again!” She cheered. “Sell that, Mad Hacker!”

“Hallelujah,” Jinx said, foot bumping Zack.  

Bubbles the Wise

“Hey Bubbs, the garage door just went up. Daddy’s home.”

The happy hut shook. Zack stared at her cage across the room. “Where are you? Is that your fanny sticking out?”

“It’s the secret to a great day,” Bubbles said. “Always put your best butt forward.”

“I thought it was your best face forward.”

“Did you see any indication of people using their heads lately? You can hear it on the jabbering the parronts leave on the radio for us to listen to all day!”

“That’s a good point,” Zack scratched his head. “Do you think the parronts need to find something better than the radio to keep us entertained while they’re at work? They think we play with these cage toys and sleep. They have no idea what we
did today.”

“No, we do just fine,” Bubbles turned around, her pretty face feathers fluffed in joy. “And we always make it back here just in time!”

​THE END.
 
 
 

​Zack and I went for our annual checkup on Monday. The good news is that we both got a clean bill of health. The vet said we look great, and are super healthy. He was also very sympathetic over Chloe’s loss. It turns out that he lost his daughter’s parakeet to a cat attack. “That’s traumatic,” he said. “It’s a hard thing.” His kindness helped mommy a lot (along with support from family, friends, and you guys!).
 
The bad news is that place was a hall or horrors! I see why nobody likes going there. It was full of dogs and cats. One guy came in with something that looked like a walking rug. He said it was a dog, but mommy and I thought it was a creature out of a video game or D&D. At least it wasn’t a hell hound. One woman kept staring at me. I bobbed my head at her for a while before I decided this whole charade was shameful and quit. And they were behind schedule because they had to put 6 anipals to sleep that morning. It turns out that it wasn’t a very happy Easter for a lot of people. We were in that nightmare circus for 2 hours!
 
At least it’s over, and we’re healthy. That’s great news. He also trimmed our wings and toenails, so we’re looking as good as we feel. Wonderful news! Now back to chasing Zack with the kissies!
 
That’s all today. I hope you’re doing well. Take care. Have a Happy Friday tomorrow and a wonderful weekend.
 
Luv,
 
Bubbles

Spring has sprung, and people are crazy! At least, that seems to be the case around here. Yesterday, we had a standoff on Interstate 26 when a suspect in a chase through a small town led officers to a standoff on the friggin Interstate (where everybody could see, and traffic was stopped for several hours, by the way). It ended with an officer killing the suspect. Actually, four officers are on administrative leave now because of the incident.
 
A few hours later, a car caught on fire on the other side of the same Interstate, around the same location, shutting down traffic going the other way. You were going nowhere fast on I-26 yesterday. Then there was a high speed chase last night. The moral of the story: if you think you’ve going anywhere fast around here, you aren’t. Expect traffic. Expect emergency vehicles. Expect insanity. And the police stations and funeral homes are expecting a lot of business out of these criminal shenanagins. 
 
Meanwhile, as the adventure unfolded yesterday, mommy was in active shooter training at work. They aren’t allowed to conceal carry in the office, so somebody with the sheriff’s office came in to teach them how to correctly respond to an active shooter in the building. They learned that the greatest threat are peeved coworkers, discerning where the shooter is, when to hide, when to correctly assess your ability to escape, and how to surprise an attacker or defend yourself with pens, fire extinguishers, tables, chairs, and belts if you can’t escape or hide from an active shooter. They also learned the warning signs that somebody might be about to snap, discerning if somebody is trying to sneak guns in the building, that you can't talk to an active shooter (so don't try), that begging for your life will get you shot, and that lying dead in a pool of your own blood is not an acceptable resolution. They also learned not be a jerk, because all active shooters have been bullied or mistreated by the intended targets. Yes, even the adults. You humans don’t evolve much from middle school to adulthood. She said it was great training.
 
I hope that the Holy Week/Easter services over the next few days speak to people, because they’ve most certainly lost it. Maybe, somewhere in the Maundy Thursday/Last Supper, Stations of the Cross, Tenebrae/Good Friday, and Easter Sunday services, something the pastors say will resonate. I pray it will, because from the looks of things, there’s a need for a lot of spiritual healing around!

I'm glad to be a bird. Bubbles and I are lucky, and awesome. 
 
That’s all today. I hope you have a Happy Friday tomorrow, a wonderful weekend, and a Happy Resurrection Sunday/Easter.
 
Luv,
 
Zack

​Our condolences on the loss of Trixie this week. We hate to see our pals pass on from this world. Death sucks. Our condolences to Tracy and flock at this difficult time. Boy, do we understand!
 
In more ways than you can imagine. Mommy and daddy have actually been struggling with Chloe’s loss lately. They passed the dreaded “90 day mark,” when the sadness gives way to anger, and everything pisses them off. Add the fact that I’m hormonal, and let’s say there’s been a lot of emotional management happening in the nest these days. (But mommy deserved her bite this morning. She was playing with my feet! I didn’t want my feet messed with!) It’s not easy when the world moves on, and you’re still struggling with a loss. Mommy’s working on an article for the April 2 issue on BirbObserver on the later stages of grief, based on her experiences this month. I think it’s a good idea. We need to realize that grief doesn’t go away just because the world keeps turning. It’s a process, and people need help and support through every stage of it.
 
Thankfully, we have great friends to help us along the way, and we thank you for that. You’ve created a wonderful and supportive community on Twitter, and we know we can always turn to you, and are glad to offer our own support when you need it. Thanks goodness for social media! You guys are a perfect example of how to do it right.
 
That’s all today. Take care. Have a Happy Friday tomorrow and a wonderful weekend.
 
Luv,
 
 
Bubbles