Conure Corner - Niblet's Blog

Side Effects and Fascinating Feet

4/28/2021

Spring has sprung! The world is alive with green trees and pretty flowers. Birds are singing, bugs are buzzing, and we are watching after parronts whose big, nasty human bodies just can’t take it.

Daddy has an ear and sinus infection, and mommy has been crashed out with side effects of the second Moderna COVID vaccine. You humans are too complicated. Your bodies react to everything and your immune system is a mess. My goodness! What are we going to do with all of your mucus, histamines, antibodies, and inflammation? At least daddy has medication that’s helping him. For poor mommy, the cure is the problem. She said that if the side effects to “protect” her are any indication, then she certainly doesn’t want COVID. Nobody’s got time for that!

She also says that, after going through all of this, she thinks vaccine recipients should have meta-human powers. She wants to be a shape shifter (so she can transform into a bird to play with me and Zack) or telekinesis (so she can clean house and unload the groceries with her mind). I don’t think so. You humans don’t need any more issues than you already have. Can you imagine the messes you’d get in with those powers? I don’t want to think about it.

Perhaps I’m too harsh. It’s easy to be judgmental when you’ve evolved from dinosaurs into our effective, cute little compact bodies wrapping up a bundle of joy and happiness. And my feet are fascinating, by the way. Sometimes I clean them and rub my own cheeks, marveling over how fabulous my feet are. Zack has cute little toes, too. Then again, conures are just all-around sweet cutie pies. You should see him snuggle the parrots. It’s adorable. But he does keep an eye on mommy.
We both do. She’s silly. You never know what she’s up to.

Anyway, the parronts are on the road to recovery and doing fine. They’ll make it. They always do, and we help. We love our parronts.

That’s all today. You take care, and have a great week.

Luv,

Bubbles

Laughter - And Vacuums

4/12/2021

Daddy’s spring break was last week, and he spent the time sprucing up the house and taking care of many items that needed spring maintenance. The house looks very nice now, and is in good shape for us to sit here and wait for him and mommy to come back from work.

Ok, maybe I’m being typically conure-dramatic. The truth is that Bubbles and I find a million ways to entertain ourselves while the parronts are out, either working or doing all of that silly human stuff they have to do. I must admit that it’s nice to be caught up on our naps, and to have time for some private play, chewing, bobbing to music, and being our birdy-selves.

We love them, but it was a job to keep an eye on mommy while she worked from home. She’s a character! I have to keep a close conure-eye on her to make sure she doesn’t sneak any silliness on us.

At least she is being silly again. We were worried about her last summer when her daddy got sick and passed away. She’s becoming more herself these days, and Bubbs and I are relieved. We encourage her by laughing with (and at) her frequently. She seems to like it, although I think she wonders what exactly we are laughing at sometimes.

It’s a birdy secret, but I can tell you this – it’s not the vacuum!

That’s how she got back at us for all of that chuckling! Mommy bought a new battery-operated vacuum last week to clean up after us, and she loves it. We don’t. Bubbles growls every time she turns it on, and mommy thinks THAT’S funny. I must admit that it does a great job of keeping the floors clean, and it makes for faster work for mommy. I guess if that makes her happy, it makes us happy too. Even if it is an evil vacuum cleaner.

At least the laughter is back in our home. That’s the important thing. We’re glad for that.

That’s all today. You take care, and have a great week.

Luv,

Zack

Unemployment

3/30/2021

I should file for unemployment. I helped mommy when she was working from home during the past year, but now she’s back at the office, and I’m out of work. If you remember, I snookered daddy into adopting me when I was a “working bird” in a science classroom at the school where he works. I’m used to being employed but now, I’m back to being a housebird.

The parronts say I’ve got the life. I say I’m bored. All I have to do all day is watch Zack play, punch my own toys around, snack, snooze, and listen to the radio. I’ll admit that it is nice to catch up on those naps. The parronts do have busy days, and they can be noisy when they’re at home. But I loved helping both of them at work. It was interesting. And if it got boring, I just went to sleep.

I guess I’m lucky that I got to “experience” their work for a while. But in the end, my job is to be the best, supportive, spunkiest daughter-bird I can be to them, and to be a good sister-bird to Zack. It’s a good job, even if the days are boring and the action starts after 5:00 again. Well, at least I have Zack to chatter with during the day. But sometimes, I wonder if he’s listening. Mommy asks him sometimes, and all he does is give us that cute conure cackle (and usually goes back to playing or preening).

Oh well, I’m a happy bird. We both are, and as long as the flock is happy then we’re all doing our jobs well.

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

Luv,

Bubbles

Comedy Relief

3/22/2021

Mommy decided that we need some comedy relief since life is becoming hectic again. She has us watching funny stuff, like Seinfeld, The Muppets, Muppets Now, The Office, and That 70’s Show. The parronts usually like to watch scifi, mystery, and urban fantasy, so this is a bit of a departure from the norm.

I think it’s a good thing. You humans get into some silly situations, so it’s appropriate that you have TV shows and movies that highlight your foibles. Bubbles loved watching the “Muppets Lab” on Muppets Now, where they do science experiments that usually ended up making a huge mess. That doesn’t surprise me, since Bubbs is such a nerd-bird. I like Seinfeld. Boy, do they get into silly situations; especially Kramer. Mommy laughs so hard at this stuff. The Soup Nazi has been our favorite so far. That was great. No soup for you!

It’s good that you can laugh at yourselves. We don’t feel so bad laughing at you – or rather, with you. We love seeing our parronts happy and being silly. I think they are getting back to their silly selves, slowly but surely. This past year has been trying, but by the grace of God, we’re making it.

As for Bubbs and me, we’re adapting to both parronts being back at work. It really wasn’t hard. We fell right back in without missing a beat and honestly, it’s good to have some time without mommy interrupting our birdy-routines with her work, and catching up on naps. Next on the agenda for our flock is COVID vaccines. Daddy has his second one and mommy has her first one Thursday. She got the ok to get one this round since they called her back to the office. So Thursday is arm-sticking day, baby bird! We’ll keep an eye on them. We always do. Mommy and daddy can be quite interesting.

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

Luv,

Zack

Now What?

3/18/2021

If I find the bird that bombed mommy’s car at work, I’m gonna do some Quaker Kung-Fu on them. It’s bad enough that she had to go to the office and can’t work from home anymore, but to poop up her car? She wasn’t even parked under a tree.

How rude!

So the “new normal” has gone back to the “old normal” for us, as mommy returns to the office (daddy is essential and never left). Honestly, the transition has been harder for her than for us. We remember the old routine, and fell right back in without missing a beat. Her – not so much. She had completely rearranged her life after a year from working at home, and it’s a shock now that it’s suddenly been taken away. Apparently, humans don’t adapt as quickly as birds do.

I don’t know what the best way is to transition “back to life,” but it does seem to me that you humans are rushing back to get the normal that you said you wanted to make changes to a year ago. Sure enough, this “new normal” didn’t stick, as people are in a hurry to get out of the house and back to all of the same old, same old that you said you’d embrace a break from not so long ago. The vaccine won’t even be available to most people until May, but it seems to me that many are proclaiming the pandemic over, and pressing on to pick up where they left off.

But can you? I know mommy has changed. She doesn’t think or see things the same as she did a year ago, and that’s part of her struggle: being thrust into a world conforming to an old reality while she’s living a new one. And how many of you are in that boat with her? A lot, I’ll bet. I don’t think we can go back; not completely. The question is, what does it mean?

What are the consequences of trying to force things back to 2019 when we live in 2021? The world has changed, and a lot of people have changed with it. Now what?

I don’t know. All I know is that I’m glad to be a bird. We don’t worry about such things. We just love and support you through it. And so, we will. One thing Bubbles and I are good at is encouraging our parronts with our love, support, and sweetness.

That’s all today. Have a happy Friday tomorrow, and a wonderful weekend.

Luv,

Bubbles

Passwords and Vaccines

3/4/2021

Mommy has been having a hard time with passwords lately. It seems they need changing everywhere she goes, and the problem is keeping up with all of them. It can be frustrating. She threatened to submit to the old joke of changing them all to the word "incorrect" so when it pops up "Your password is incorrect" she'll say "oh yea, that's right!"

Don't do it, mommy. Hackers are everywhere. Except Mars. I don't think they've figured out how to hack the robots on Mars yet. Oh goodness, could you imagine the drama if that happened? Real life Autobots. That's scary. Maybe mommy and Bubbles could write a story about that. Or not!

It is ridiculous. I don't know how you humans keep up with it all. Another tough one: whose eligible for the COVID vaccine in this round? It took the parronts a couple of days to figure out the "front line worker with increased occupational risk" thing. Bottom line: daddy qualifies because he works in a school. Mommy doesn't, because she's a too-young lucky duck paper pusher who isn't exposed to the public much. Good for her. But that quacker will have to wait for her vaccine until April - and she'll just barely make that one based on age.

Daddy is glad to be eligible, but expressed some concern over a conspiracy theory that the vaccine changes your DNA and might turn you into a metahuman or alien or something. Really? The scifi thing again? We seem to be stuck on a theme in this home/nest these days. It's not true, but I'm adding it to my "list of theories that amuse me."

Actually, I pick on mommy but I'm proud of her. On top of releasing a new book on Monday, she also learned that she won 5 silver medal "Recommended Read" awards in the 2021 Author Shout Reader Ready Awards. Congratulations, mommy! Monday was a big day for her. Way to go!

That's all today. Take care, keep track of those passwords, and get vaccinated if you can. Have a Happy Friday tomorrow and a wonderful weekend.

Luv,

Zack

Celebrating a Book Release

2/24/2021

Mommy has a new book coming out on March 1! It’s actually the start of a new science-fiction series and it’s titled Domino, Book One of The Sentience Series. She did a blog on what it’s about that you can read here. It’s deep stuff riding shotgun with a writer, but I have to say that I’ve enjoyed it. The Earthside Box Set was well underway when I was adopted in 2016, so this is the first book series that I’ve worked with mommy with from the very beginning of the brainstorming and development to publication. It’s exciting!

Zack and I should have a release party for her this weekend. She likes “pajama parties,” so we can get in our PJ feathers, pop some popcorn, and have fun binge-watching TV. Or boogeying to music. Or having a yummy dinner that we all can share and love.

Wait, we do that every weekend. Oh well. We can call it a party this weekend. Yay!

Perhaps we’re dull, but that’s alright. If you read her entry, then you see that we’ve had enough drama for now. Add the COVID-19 madness, and boring is alright. We’ll have our PJ parties and enjoy them, whether we’re celebrating or not. Heck, we are celebrating. Life itself is worth celebration.

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

Luv,

Bubbles

Lent

2/18/2021

The season of Lent is here, and people are talking about what they're giving up for this season of fasting and sacrifice.

That's something the parronts gave up long ago. Actually, I think they gave up giving stuff up for Lent seven years ago, when Ollie died the day before Lent. They said they gave up their beloved son bird forever, and just weren't up to any more sacrifice. I see the point in that! We all loved and still miss Ollie. He was a great little brother, and he sang beautifully. We have Bubbles now and she's a joy, but the parronts never got back into giving up stuff for Lent.

It's not a crisis of faith. I think it has to do with the parronts discovering that they weren't getting anything out of these Lenten fasts/sacrifices, so they decided not to waste their time. Combine that with how people tend to brag about what they gave up and talk about it all the time, and it seems to this parrot that giving up stuff for Lent is more drama and theater than actual spiritual development anyway.

Not to say it's useless. It's survived over 2,000 years because it must work for somebody - just not anybody we know.

I guess the bottom line is that you have to be true to your heart and know what's right for you. If giving up the usual list of of things (caffeine, sugar, salt, sweets, red meat, social media, smoking, biting your nails, soft drinks, junk food, etc) isn't working, then don't waste your time. Try something else instead, and see if that works. For example, a couple of years ago somebody suggested to mommy that you take up some new, good habit instead of giving up a bad thing, like contributing to charity, exercising, saving money, getting organized - basically, taking back up or revamping those New Year's Resolutions. She loved that suggestion, and got a lot out of it. In fact, this year for Lent she has a goal of getting releasing her next novella (set up and due for release March 1), getting a beta read for the next novella in the series, and finishing a cross stitch pattern she's so close to getting done. I think meeting goals beats giving up stuff that's going to make you cranky anyway.

Why not try a new thing this year? It can't hurt and hey, Lent will come back next year. Like all holidays, it always comes back around, every year.

That's all today. Take care. Have a Happy Friday and a wonderful weekend.

Bye!

Conure Pep Talk

2/5/2021

Ok everybody, I'm a cheerful ray of sunshine, so I just have to ask this:

What the hell is wrong with you people?

Ever since the holidays ended, people have either been massively depressed, or angry. There is no middle ground. It seems everybody is either fighting with other people, or with themselves. The parronts have had too many dinner conversations over how to deal with people with problems. I know it's winter and not the greatest time of year, but folks, this is ridiculous. The state of the world can only change if the individuals in it take positive action to improve and do their part to plant the seeds for a better tomorrow.

I'm no therapist, but I have cuddled, comforted, and coached my parronts through many seasons in life, and can give you one invaluable piece of advice that will improve your life, your relationships, and your circumstances:

Be a decent human being.

That's it. The olden, golden rule of doing unto others and you'd have done unto yourself, and not growing weary in doing good because you'll eventually reap a harvest. It can't get better until you get better. So please, take some time to take stock. Meditate. Talk to somebody. Go to the doctor. Go to church. Get help if you need it. Get that kick in the butt or pull your head out of your rear end and take a look around. Whatever it takes, just do it. You can't control the world, but your perspective can change your world which, in turn, can have a domino effect for good - and that's something we all could use.

All of this anger, rage, and depression is making more chaos. Going with the flow has led to an ocean of crap, so maybe it's time to be a rebel. Crawl out, clean up yourself and your attitude, and start anew as the person your parrot thinks you are.

So do it. Be a decent person. And if anybody asks you how or why, tell them a little bird told you.

That's all today. Have a Happy Friday and a wonderful weekend.

Luv,

Zack

Insulted

1/19/2021

Well, mommy has insulted me! She's writing her February article for The Roost about managing hormonal behavior in pet parrots. We've been having some squabbles of late over territory, sleep times, and unauthorized cage cleanings and rotation of toys. And she says I'm hormonal? How rude! As if she's always Miss Congeniality!

Truth be told, she's keeping it general. I snuck a peek at her rough draft, and she didn't mention me or Zack specifically. At least she's being fair. She also admits in the article that there are some things about human homes that aggravate us, and encourages parronts to deal with these issues. So she didn't call me out. Still, you know how it is. It's like everybody being scheduled for training because of something you did - they don't call you out, but the instance is clearly mentioned as "this happened" and you know it's about you. It's chastising, and ruffles the feathers.

I forgive her, I suppose. She has had her head in the sand working on her writing lately, and just completed getting her latest novel ready to publish on March 1. You can read more on that journey here at her blog, if you're interested. I'm not. Ok,. maybe that's too harsh. I've been living through it, so I've seen it first hand and it's not surprise revelations to me. Hrmph.

I'm going to have a snack and preen now. I'll get over it, but I think I do need to keep her on her toes just a bit longer.

That's all today. Stay safe, take care, and have a great week.

Luv,

Bubbles