I’ve been working overtime on snuggle duty! Consoling grieving humans is a big job, but I’m up to the challenge. Human companionship is, after all, my specialty. Along with being clever, cute, funny, and adorable!

It’s what companion parrots are for. We’re here for you through, through triumph and trials. Daddy has been taking advantages of my services this past week, and I’m glad I can be there for him. Chloe has been here for him too, but we decided that her primary objective is to keep an eye on mommy. We need to make sure the balance is maintained in the home, and she’s doing a great job of helping mommy to keep things moving and getting  back into our normal routine. The hens in our home are really good at running a tight ship here. Thank you, mommy! Chloe and I know you’ve struggled through this too, and yet you still keep your head on and keep it going. We’re here for you and we love you too!

Thank you all for your kind words and condolences over daddy’s loss of his own daddy. I think Chloe said it best in her last entry: you guys are always there for us, and you’re awesome. Friends online are just as real as friends in person. You’ve proven that, over and over again.

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

Luv,

Zack 

“The friends of Anipal Land accept your surrender and suit for peace,” Zack said, standing on the dias with Jeff Musk on his left and the recently knighted Ser Jinx on his right. “You are welcome to live where you please in our lands so long as you hold to our mission to live in joy, harmony and peace. You will identify and hone your specialty skills under our tutelage and care and use them for the advancement, comfort, and support of our community.”

“As recompense for the damage done in the crops and subsequent battle, you will assist us in harvesting these crops and planting new ones for future growing seasons,” Jeff Musk said. “You will also help to clean up the fields and castle.”

“Additionally, you will be trained in proper battle technique, just in case we need it in the future,” Ser Jinx said. “You fought well, and with honor.” He turned to Benny. “And now, I ask that Benny read the casualty list.”

Benny stepped forward. “There were no causalities, Ser Jinx. The nurse birds have already healed the members of the invading army that suffered frostbite and burns from the cans of whoop up. There were minor scratches and scrapes from the battle and a few got tangled up when they tried to attack yarn birds on the perimeter. And then, um,” he gulped, glancing at Chloe, “other various bruises from the castle breech and ensuing melee.”

Chloe cackled. “They needed a bath, too, after sneaking in through the sewer pipes!”

Jinx joined in the cackling. “Maybe Chloe should help with your training. The ladies held up just as well as we did in the field!”

“We live in an open community that welcomes and defends all anipals,” Zack said. “I was wondering, why did you attack us? All you had to do was ask and we would have been glad to help you.”

Queen Beak stepped forward. “Our aviary closed and they were going to sell us to a zoo. We didn’t know what to do or how to survive. All we knew is that we were scared that we’d go extinct if we were mixed in a strange place with all of those big animals. We’re sorry.”

“All is forgiven,” Chloe said, putting a wing around Queen Beak, “and we welcome you to your new home.”

“And now the celebration feast!” Jeff Musk announced. “Everybody outside to begin the festivities!”

All of the anipals stepped outside in the sun to see tables set up with fruits and vegetables. The farmer birds had managed to salvage most of the crops so far, despite the weeds. Lola shyly pulled on Zack’s feathers as he took his place at the table. “Sir Zack? I heard you were worried about me and the other babies.”

“It turned out to be a fruitless worry. You did an excellent job defending us and the castle. Thank you, Lola. I didn’t mean to underestimate you just because you’re young.”

“No sir, that’s not it. Actually, I’m flattered by your concern.” She turned motioned to Seamus and Rain, who rolled a wheelbarrow of peanuts forward. “This is a gesture from me and the young birds to thank you for your protection and care.”

Zack’s eyes widened. “Oh boy!”

“We have another gift, too,” Sassy and Morty said, rolling up four barrels of popcorn with Nena and Mesha. “Jiffy Pop for your gallant capture of Queen Beak and bringing the peace.”

“Wow!” Zack said.

“We helped too, you know,” Chloe said. “And thanks for helping to heal the ones I taught you to whoop up on in the castle, too.”

“Oh, you’re so brave, Zack!” the girls gushed, crowding around and snuggling him. Zack’s cheeks flushed a deeper orange.

“I had an army out there too, you know,” Jinx said.

“You saved us all with your clever planning and ingenuity!” the girls said, surrounding Zack in a massive snuggle.

“But Chloe and Jeff and Killer worked with him, too,” Jinx said.

“You’re the best, Zack!” the girls cheered as Zack turned brighter orange.

“You know, we all worked together,” Chloe said. “Even you ladies helped too.”

“And he’s so handsome!”

“Aw, shucks. Anything for my friends!” Zack said, his voice muffled in the snuggle.

“Oh, forget it,” Benny said.

“Hey, where did Jeff go?” Chloe asked, looking around.

They heard a horn honk from the road nearby. “Hey guys!” Jeff Musk shouted from the driver’s seat of the bus. “Guess what day it is?”

“It’s hump day!” the camel shouted, jumping in front of the bus. Unfortunately, Jeff didn’t see the camel’s sudden appearance and hit him, knocking Camel into a nearby field. Jeff stopped the bus.

“No, it’s French Fry Friday!”

The camel looked up from where he landed, unharmed and smiling. “Oh yea, I guess it is Friday.”

All of the birds cheered and rushed to line up as Jeff handed out prizes from the French Fry express. Chatter broke out as the animals mingled to enjoy the fruits of the land and the treats they created from them.

“It’s such a beautiful day, and wonderful to welcome so many new anipals,” Chloe said, looking at the Queen of Bavaria’s, raccoons, and squirrels shyly mixing with the anipals that kept handing them food and treats.

“It certainly is. It’s always wonderful to welcome new friends, don’t you think?” Zack asked, coming out of the snuggle with mussed feathers.

“Muuuh,” said Un Buey.

Everybody laughed, peeling open French Fries in the sun and enjoying a perfect day filled with friends, food, fun, peace, joy and happiness.

THE END.

I got something started. 

Mommy felt bad about her poor attempt at telling me a bedtime story in flash fiction format last week, so she started work on a better, more expansive tale. Well, it took off, and now she's got quite a story going. It has high adventure and includes many of our Twitter anipals. Daddy loved it and asked her to write it and post it through the blog, because he thought you'd enjoy it too. So here it is. The title is Invasion on Anipal Land, and this is the first installment. Bear in mind that this work will not be published for sale - it's purely for enjoyment through our blog, and to honor our anipals that brighten our lives. We hope you enjoy it!

And now, without further ado, here is Installment 1 of "Invasion on Anipal Land" by @sherrithewriter and @chloeconure.

Luv,

Zack

Invasion on Anipal Land, Installment 1


Once upon a time, there were two sun conures named Zack and Chloe. They lived in Anipal Land with all of their Twitter pals. Every day was filled with fun and joy in the sun, and all the anipals lived in harmony with one another. They feasted on the best crops, honed their speciality skills, and snoozed in safety under the protection of the rainbow bridge guards that watched over them. Rare disputes were settled with good natured beak wrestling matches, where both winner and loser feasted on peanuts and snuggled their problems away.

Until one day, when trouble came to their door.

Chloe was finishing her meditation and yoga session with Sassy and Morty when little Lola came running in the studio. Her feathers were mussed up where small green strands had wrapped through them.

“Miss Chloe! Miss Sassy! Miss Morty! Somebody sowed weeds in the crops! They’re tangled around all of our good wheat!”

“What?” Chloe said, falling out of her lotus position. “How can this be?”

“I don’t know. I was outside playing and munching on a mango when I thought I yellow heads in the fields. I ran to check it out and got tangled up in the weeds.”

“Oh dear,” Sassy said. “Are you alright, Lola?”

“I’m fine, just a little messy,” Lola said, still breathing hard from her startled flight back to the home castle.

Sassy and Morty helped Lola preen the weeds out of her feathers as Chloe went to find her brother, Zack. Sure enough, she found him in the fields with the gentlemen of the flock. They had seen Lola’s frantic flight and wondered what startled the newest member of the flock.

“I wonder who did this?” Zack asked. “Not only are the fields messed up, but they scared Lola, and now there’s chatter of an incursion. How can this be?”

“Somebody sowed these weeds out here. The question is, who?”

“Sir Zack! Madam Chloe!” Tuscon rushed from the fields, dropping yellow feathers at their feet. “We found these in the fields.”

Chloe growled at the feathers. “Lola said she saw what looked like yellow heads out there. I know who did this. It was the Queen of Bavaria’s.”

“Who?” Tuscon asked.

“The Queen of Bavaria conures. They live on the outskirts of Anipal land.”

“Why the outskirts?” Zack asked. “We welcome everybody here.”

“Yes we do, but the Queen of Bavaria’s are different,” Chloe said. “They’re rare, nearing extinction. They spend most of their time in their nesting boxes trying to protect the few young they have and don’t let mix with the rest of us. They’re afraid we’d ruin the ‘purity of their race.’ I had dealings with them in the aviary.” Chloe growled again. “Long have they envied our joy and peace. They’re jealous of us because we don’t live in fear, but embrace the happiness that is life. Still, I never thought they’d be bold enough to attack.”

“Well, there’s not much we can do about it now,” Zack said. “If we pull the weeds, we risk losing the good crops we have. We’ll have to separate them at harvest time.” He rubbed his chin. “We need to make sure they don’t sow anymore weeds out here, though. From the looks of it, they’ve done quite enough. If they plant any more out here, we could use everything.”

“Maybe something like scarecrows would help,” Chloe said.

“I think I know where we can get something that will work,” Tuscon said. “Strategy and communications are my specialty. Let me tap my network and get on it. We’ll have a perimeter set around the fields soon.”

“We’ll need extra help keeping an eye on the crops as well,” Zack said, “but everybody around here works as hard as they play, so that shouldn’t be a problem.”

Over the next few weeks, the friends in Anipal Land worked together to tend the fields and set a perimeter around the land. Within a month, Coco Parrot had a find yarn bird army surrounding the land. “That way, we won’t have to post guards and we can keep tending our own land without worry,” she said.

“Thanks, Coco,” Morty said as they anchored the last yarn decoy in place. “This is perfect. You did a fine job.”

“We’ve worked together well to salvage our food supply,” Coco said. “We won’t let those Queen of Bavaria’s starve us out.”

Meanwhile, Zack and Chloe sat at castle window, peering over the land bordered by yarn bird decoys. “I hate it came to this,” Zack said, “but maybe this will let them know that we won’t put up with their shenanagins. It’s a shame. All they had to do was ask for our help if they needed it. The Anipals never turn out those in need and welcome all!”

“That’s true, Zack, but they have too much pride to ask for help,” Chloe said. “Remember, they’re scared. They’re acting out of fear. I just wonder what made them do this. Don’t they realize that a threat to us is a threat to everybody? Sabatoging the food supply could hurt anipals much further than just our land. It could have hurt them too!” Her feathers drooped. “I’m afraid they won’t stop at this. I’m afraid they might do something more to hurt us.”

“I don’t know,” Zack said. “If they’re that scared, won’t they just tuck tail and run back to their nest boxes? There’s a lot more of us than there are of them.”

“Oh no, that isn’t necessarily so,” Sammy the Beta, the chief advisor of Anipal Land, said from his aquarium. “Remember there are lots of lands outside of Anipal land, filled with unsavory kinds. If they join forces with others, they could be a terrible threat to our security.” Sammy bubbled. “I believe this was the first step in a bigger plan. It’s good you set up defenses. You might need them. Once they find out that starving us didn’t work, they’ll get bolder.”

“What do you mean?” Zack asked.

“I mean your sister is right. I believe they plan to attack.”

Hi everybody! I want to start by thanking all of you for your overwhelming support and words of kindness over the past few days. It's been tough losing our baby brother, but you have really helped. Now I understand what they mean when they say "blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." You certainly have comforted us, and it warms our hearts to have such wonderful, kind, compassionate friends. We're so thankful for the Internet and social media. It really made us feel less alone these past days.

We're plugging along. It's still strange not to have Ollie around, but we're getting through. Zack and I have been hanging out with mommy and daddy a lot, trying to comfort them. I'm sure we'll get used to it being just the 4 of us. It's going to take some time. Today has been better for all of us. Mommy and daddy went out to lunch and did some shopping today, and I think it did them a lot of good. They're supposed to help with the church services in March too, and I think doing that will be very good for them too.

As for Zack and I, we still have each other. We're being kinder to one another, too. And in case you're wondering - yes, mommy has been asked the "are you getting another parakeet" question, and the answer is no. For now and the foreseeable future, it's just the 4 of us. She wrote  more about this in her blog today.

So we're plugging along. You just have to take these things a day at a time. And we are.

Thanks again for being great friends and for your kindness and support! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Luv,

Chloe

P.S. - here's a video in honor of Ollie.

So far, we've weathered Winter Storm Pax alright. We got less ice than they anticipated, and thank goodness the power held up. It's moved on now - warmed up and the ice is melting. It's supposed to freeze again overnight, but it will be in the 50's tomorrow so hopefully that will get this stuff melted.

Thanks to all of you for your prayers and support. We appreciate your concern and for checking on us through Twitter. We're fine, and so far, so good. Ollie's even held up great through it. The cold snap didn't seem to affect him as much this time as the previous ones have. Let's hope that's a sign of healing! His right foot seems to be better, and he's using it a little. We're glad to see progress.

Pax is moving on northeast, and we're keeping our northern neighbors in our thoughts and prayers. Let us know you're ok!

Thanks again to all of our wonderful friends. You guys are the best!

That's all. Have a Happy Friday tomorrow, a Happy Valentines Day, and a great weekend!

Luv,

Chloe

Mommy just wrote a blog on how it’s been exciting to watch technology develop over her lifetime. I know she’s glad for it, and so are we. We could only take so much of her writing novels by clacking on a typewriter before some serious screaming fits commenced. No folks, that wouldn’t do at all. But perhaps a cassette tape would be an interesting thing to pull apart and play with? Not that I’ll ever know. Alas, I hatched too late to enjoy the quaintness of yesteryear.

Bah. Sounds like a pain in the vent to me. Getting up to change the channel? I don’t have thumbs, and the lock on my cage door keeps me incarcerated. And I’ve seen some of those old movies. You can tell the aliens and monsters are plastic dolls. Their mouths and arms don’t move. Good grief, it’s lame. It’s hard to imagine that once upon a time, that’s the best we had.

You know what I like best? The Internet! It allows me to be friends with lots of birds and anipals all over the world. It’s fantastic to get to know and chatter with you online. Can you imagine otherwise, when your existence would be confined to your siblings and the tree trash – ahem, I mean, wild birds – outside?  But all I need to do to find interesting, like minded anipals is get on the parronts computer or phone, and right here you are. Hooray! You guys are the best.

Yes, technology is great. It brings us together in a unique community that you just don’t find outside your window. It helps you to see more of the world, right from your cage. And there’s nothing wrong with that. It expands horizons without ever having to take off and flap your wings. Which is good, because that sounds like work to me. I’m too busy playing!

That’s all. Have a Happy Friday and a great weekend.

Luv,

Zack

Hi everybody, it's Ollie here. I wanted to update the blog myself so I could thank each and every one of you for your care and concern while I've been recuperating from my illness this past week. Kidney infections suck, but thankfully the antibiotic is working and I'm recovering. I'm eating, singing, and more energetic each day. Hooray!

The antibiotic is yukky, but it does seem to be helping a lot. I'm getting better and stronger each day. I should finish it in a couple of days, and that will be good.

Thanks again to all of you here and on Twitter for your prayers, winghugs, care, concern, and checking in. I really appreciate it. You're all such great friends! We'll certainly keep you posted.

I hope you have a great end of the week and a wonderful weekend.

Luv,

Ollie

Finally, I took the last dose of that antibiotic last night. Thank God! It left me worn out and irritated my tummy sometimes. What's up with having to take medicine for days after you get better? I don't understand that. The parronts said it's to make sure that all of the infection is good and dead and gone. I certainly hope so. No more yuckies in me, and I feel better! My voice is back, I'm playing and active, and I'm back to my old self. Chloe, Ollie, and the parronts are very happy for that.

I'm happy to have such great friends too! You guys have been great. Very supportive and I appreciate your care, concerns and prayers during my illness. Thank you so much. I love Twitter and this blog because it allows us to have our own community of great birds and people to help and support one another!

I wonder what mischief I can get into now that I'm restored to health and energy. It's time to get back to living to the fullest! It's great being a bird, and to feel good again.

That's all today. I hope you all have a great end to the week and a wonderful weekend.

Luv,

Zack

Zack, Chloe and I had some good snoozing weather today! It was in the mid to high 60’s and raining all day. That’s about 30 degrees below our normal temperatures this time of year (and 40 degrees below our typical heat index!). What a pleasant day! Most people would say “oh how gloomy,” but we enjoyed the break from the scorching heat of summer. It was a refreshing reprieve. Plus, some time for “power naps” did all of us birds some good. We have some visits and celebrations
ahead.

Daddy’s birthday is next Wednesday. Last night, mommy and Chloe disappeared upstairs for
a little while to order his present from us. So much for Chloe being mad at mommy about that bath on Wednesday. Those giggling girls never really get mad at each other. They go together like mashed potatoes and gravy – or macaroni and cheese, if that’s more in line with your idea of a culinary delight. But the gift is ordered, confirmation received, and daddy should receive it Wednesday. I can’t say what it is because he reads this blog. I’m no dummy. I’m a smart bird. We’re all smart birds.


And now it’s the weekend! Yay! Mommy and daddy’s friends are coming to visit tomorrow – a couple from the lower part of the state. They’re happy about that. They haven’t seen Joe and Elizabeth in a couple of months, so I know they’re all happy to have a chance to hang out again. We like them, too. They’re good folks, and they’re always nice to us.


I think the visit will be good for mommy and daddy too. It’s daddy’s busiest time of the year and he’s been stressed out this week. And mommy’s been busy with book edits for her sci-fi novel coming out in November, so it will do her some good to get out from behind the computer, between that and work. She finished the edits and turned them in Wednesday, but I think her brain’s still a little scrambled. I guess it takes her brain a while to get from the moons of Jupiter in the year 3001 back to Earth in 2013. She’s so funny in “writer mode.”

I hope you’re all doing well and had a Happy Friday today. Have a great weekend. 

Luv,

Ollie

I want to thank all of you for your care and concern over the weekend. I know that daddy tweeted that I wasn’t feeling well. It turns out that it was sleep deprivation. We got in a bad habit of staying up too late around the weekend, and it caught up with me. Thankfully, mommy and daddy have worked hard to get back on schedule, and I’ve been doing much better the past couple of days. 

I think one thing that’s been an issue is that daddy switched work schedules recently. In June and July, he works longer days Monday thru Thursday and has Fridays off. That’s thrown me off and mommy said she noticed that each Friday I seemed a bit more “off.” Daddy’s back to working his regular, 5 day week now. I’m sorry he doesn’t have Fridays off any more, but being back on our normal schedule has helped me. We’re going to have to figure out a way to make that schedule work better for me, Zack and Ollie next summer. We love having our parronts home more, but if our sleep schedule gets disrupted too much then we get snappy. They’re working on making sure we have a more consistent daily schedule now. 

Plus, I lost a few feathers over the weekend. I’m not sure if my fall molt is starting or if that was a side effect of the sleep deprivation. Even though it’s still summer in South Carolina and will be for at least another 6 weeks, I suppose the “nature cycle” is going into the late summer patterns and molting time is upon us. Ollie just finished his molt last week and I guess Zack and I have turns coming soon. That always makes us feel kind of blah too. 

Thanks to all of you for being such great friends! I’m flattered that you were concerned about my well being. You guys are the best. I couldn’t ask for better friends than you. Thank you and God bless you all! I’m sorry that I didn’t blog sooner, but mommy is my typist and she’s been very busy trying to keep things going at  home lately. It seems the chores and errands avalanche on her every now and then, and it happened over the past couple of days. Plus, August is a busy time for the parronts with work, lots of birthdays, family and friend visits, etc. Sometimes, keeping the routine business of day to day living is a job in itself! 

That’s all today. Take care.

Luv,

Chloe