Category: Toy

Relevant Questions

8/15/2014

Sometimes, mommy poses questions to me and Zack to “tickle our brains.” Often these questions have absolutely no relevance whatsoever to anything that matters – it’s just to work our brains. “Your brain is a muscle like everything else,” she says, “so use your noodle frequently and you’ll be both smart AND pretty birds.” That’s just it; we’re birds. We don’t think about the same things that humans do. For example, here are some recent riddles she posed to us:

·         What if Mars was actually the Garden of Eden, and Earth is humanity’s true banishment?

·         What if the alien invasion has already happened in the past, and what we call “evolution” is actually a merger of human and alien DNA?

·         How do probes have enough light to take pictures of the outer planets, like the recent pictures of a storm on Uranus?

Zack and I talked about it, and we decided that more relevant questions are:

·         Are you going to buy us new toys this weekend?

·         Are you going to give us tasty snacks soon?

·         Are you going to stop asking us questions soon?

We love mommy, but even daddy agrees: she overthinks things. She says that’s the peril of being an artist. Maybe. I just wonder if all writers ask their pets questions like this while they’re planning a new book (or, in her case, a trilogy). Zack and I are glad to be her muse and watch her stories develop from her shoulder. It’s interesting and fun. But these are questions for Google, not sun conures.

Humans, what can you do? They’re so silly. But one thing’s for sure – we can always count on mommy to amuse us.

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

Luv,

Chloe

Toy Philosophy

6/28/2014

As you saw on Twitter, Chloe and I have different philosophies on toys. She believes toys should be cherished and made to last. She thinks true appreciation comes from treating the toy with respect and courtesy, and making it last as long as possible.

I, on the other foot, believe it should be destroyed immediately. How else are your parronts going to know you loved it? Nothing says love like a kabob destroyed in 20 hours. Plus, the faster the toys are destroyed, the faster you get new ones to enjoy!

I tried to explain this to her, but she goes on about self control and discipline. Good grief we're conures, not ninjas. What did they teach her in the aviary? I don't know. She's come a long way, but it seems my baby sister still has a few things to learn about domestication.

She'll learn. She's playing more vigorously than she did before, so I believe she's getting the hang of the playing thing.

That's all today. Take care, enjoy your treats and toys, and have a great weekend!

Luv,

Zack

Slow Weekend

9/15/2013

It's been a slow weekend for us. Daddy is sick with a cold, and mommy has been tired from a hectic week at work. They didn't even go out yesterday, except for mommy to pick up lunch. And there was an incident with that - a man was having a tirade at the place over not liking where his cheeseburger was. He was leaning over the counter, pointing and screaming that it should be in his hands and not on the counter being made. She said that's it, people are crazy. I'm going home. People always go looney when there's a college game downtown and it seems yesterday was no exception. I mean, geeze people. Football is a game. To allow it to dictate your mood like that is silly, even to a bird! I can only imagine how stupid that must have looked. And really, it was dumb to go to the most crowded burger place on the way to the stadium - at noon! - if your fuse is that short anyway.

I guess humans really like their recreation, but sometimes they get a bit too involved in it. Then again, mommy says that Zack can attack a chew toy with a lasar focus that rivals the biggest college football fan on game day. He can. He can tear up a yucca toy in hours. He calls it focus and precision. I don't know what I call it. Scary? I don't know. It's fun to watch him gnawing and grunting with that single minded determination sometimes too. That's our Zack - small bird, huge personality. There's not another bird like him in the world. And we do love our brother.

I guess I'm a more somber, balanced bird. I like to savor my toys and enjoy food and fun with an even keel. I'm more mellow and take life as it comes, which is also good. There's no need to get stressed or upset over things. Unless there's a predator around, or my tail is stepped on. Then it's on at a whole new level!

That's all today. I hope all of you are having a good weekend. Take care and have a great week.

Luv,

Chloe

Differing Opinions

6/27/2013

We have differing opinions on toys in our home. I believe a toy should be savored and enjoyed. You treasure it and take your time to unlock all of it's joys and secrets. But Zack believes that if you love it, you destroy it. For example, mommy and daddy gave us both chew kabobs on Monday. Mine is still hanging in my cage. I've only sampled 2 of the kabobs so far.

Zack's was gone Tuesday morning. It was shredded in the bottom of his cage. Mommy had to clean it up and put one of his older toys in the cage.

To each his own, I suppose. It happens to humans too. Mommy's job requires her to travel twice a year. People tell her "oh, you're SO lucky!" and she emits something that sounds like a cross between a groan and a growl. In fact, she just said that her life goal is to burn her travel bags and never load up anything more than groceries again. I think that scared daddy a little.

Everybody's entitled to their opinion, I suppose. We all like (and dislike) different things. I guess that variety is what makes life so interesting.

That's all today. Happy Friday tomorrow and have a great weekend.

Luv,

Chloe

Our Parents Are Too Busy!

9/19/2012

Mommy and daddy are too busy! What's going on? It's always work, work, work. Meetings or other things that need doing. Mommy's been trying so hard to catch up at work since she got back from San Francisco, but it's been hard because she's had 3 meetings in the office since then and had to plan for 2 more over the next 2 weeks. And daddy is at church having to rebuild one of the computers because every attempt to fix it has failed.

Oh, humans. You have way too much going on. It makes me so glad I'm a bird!

I had a busy day Monday. Mommy and daddy bought me a new toy, and I got right to work shredding it. 24 hours later - done! I was so proud of my handiwork. I had to let them know I appreciated it by playing with it intensely until it was gone.

I wish mommy and daddy were busy playing. Well, maybe later. Mommy said she's close to getting caught up, and hopefully things will settle down for daddy soon too.

That's all today. I hope you're all doing well, Take care.

Luv,

Zack

My Favorite Toy

8/10/2012

I'm a bit miffed at mommy. She did our "big cagecleaning" last night. She changes our newspaper and spot cleans regularly, but once a week we get a really good scrub down. She also rotates our toys too. Well, I've had my favorite preening toy, a puffy ball of string that I love to snuggle, for the past week. She took it away last night! She said it needs cleaning and gave me wood blocks and play hoops!

Now the wood blocks are nifty. And what bird doesn't like play hoops? Noah probably had play hoops on the arc for the birds. But I love my string toy with the blue bell. I wish she'd bring it back! But no, in the interest of "intellectual stimulation," she insists that we all have our toys changed once a weel.

Intellectual stimulation? Bah. I'm a smart bird. I don't see how pissing me off by taking my favorite toy out is making me smarter. Sure, we get to keep our swings all the time (and I would raise the roof if that went away - ever!) but why are we only allowed those one regular toys? She says it's because Ollie and I sleep on our swings and "I wouldn't take your bed away!" Maybe I ought to find a way to sleep on that string toy, but I haven't figured that out yet.

Oh well. There are some things that can't be helped. She promised it would come back, clean and soft and snuggly again, one day soon.

That's all today. Happy Friday to you. I hope you have an excellent weekend. Enjoy that baby picture of me above that was taken "back in the day" (2000 - 2001).

Luv,

Zack

Surprise Toys!

7/31/2012

Daddy stopped by the store and brought us home some surprise toys! It's not a birthday or holiday or anything - it as just goodies for us. Zack got a cuddlebone, Ollie got a mirror toy, and I got a bathtub.

Sometimes mommy and daddy surprise us with goodies like this. They'll bring home treats or toys "just because." Those are good surprises and we like them! It's the bad surprises - baths, specifically - that we could do without. Thankfully, most of our surprises are good ones.

I think we're gonna get a popcorn snack soon too. Hooray! Today is a good day. I hope it's a good day for you too.

That's all today. Take care.

Luv,

Chloe

Toy Sorting

5/24/2012

Mommy brought home a big box from work today. We didn't know what it was for until she started sorting toys. It turns out, we've outgrown what we have. We have so much that she had to get a second birdy toy box!

Of course, Zack was taking up most of the space. I suppose I understand because he's been here the longest, but I was amazed at how many worn out and broken toys he had. Why did they hang on to those? It's not like mommy. I guess she thought he might get one more use out of them. Well, not anymore because she cleaned them out, and boy did he squawk. As if he still doesn't have plenty! He has his own toy box and Chloe and I share a box (although mommy said she expects this will change and we'll each have our own box one day soon).

Really, it doesn't matter. I have more than I need. I'm a blessed budgie. I'm so happy. I sit and sing all day long. I just like to tease Zack. Yep, life is good. We have clean cages. Our toys are sorted, the house/nest is clean, we have a long weekend coming up and friends are coming to visit. Yes, we are blessed birds.

That's all for today. I hope you have a good and safe Memorial Day weekend. Stay safe and take care. Remember those who serve our country and protect our freedom. I'm singing a song for them now.

Luv,

Ollie