If you've been on Twitter, then you know that mommy is on a 2 week hiatus from Facebook - and the hot gossip on why is right here! Actually, gossip is why she left. There are some "lurkers" over at Facebook, and they've been trying to make things out of some of her posts that simply aren't there. For a while, she enjoyed messing with them and posting stuff that she knew would put them in a tizzy, but that's not fun for her anymore. In fact, it's stupid. She noticed that some of her other (not guilty) friends have been posting less over there, so she decided to do the same.

Truth is, she got less out of Facebook than other social media outlets. She's on Twitter and Goodreads a lot more, and frankly she has more "sincere" interactions on those sites. In fact, the only reason she's keeping the profile is because she's been encouraged to have it for her writing (but it's not even helpful there). So she's on "posting silence" to see how long it takes for the lurkers to squirm, and to see who reacts.

You may think it's paranoia, but others have complained about similar things on Facebook. And honestly, it's probably a good idea for her to make an honest assessment on what she wants and gets out of social media and invest her time and attention accordingly. If she likes Twitter and Goodreads better and finds her interactions there more relevant, then why bother with Facebook? We'll see if it makes any difference. I can say that just after the past 2 days, she's been in a much better mood. Of course, her blog is still up, so all of those lurkers are going to have to dig up the link to get their dirt (such as it is), which may be a bit more of a challenge since she cut all of her cross-links to Facebook.

No worries, I'll keep you updated! And, of course, you're all good with us, because our friends are the best!

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

Luv,

Chloe

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

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

The weekend after a vacation is usually low key and restful, which is something we all enjoy. Sure, it's good to take a trip and get away, but it's also good to come home and spend some time enjoying it's comforts. And after a full week of work, I know the parronts are ready to take it easy this weekend.

We're happy to spend the time with them. Wherever they go and whatever they do, we want to be with them. We're a flock! We love spending time together. Friends are welcome too, you know. A friend of daddy's called a little while ago, and we enjoyed talking to him. They can't come to visit for a while because of schedules, but it was good to hear from them and know they're doing good.

We hope you're all doing well too. Online friends count as our "honorary flock" too! We love seeing your posts on Twitter and keeping up with you online. We love how the Internet helps you make friends all over the world!

Happy Friday to you and have a great weekend.

Luv,

Ollie

Hi everybody! Well, it started out as a joke on Twitter one night when I was bored and throwing out amusing tag  lines for stories. Guess what? The sci-fi story stuck and mommy helped me write it. She posted it on Writing.com today to see what kind of reaction this tongue-in-beak story gets.

Mommy's actually written several stories pondering what adventures we have while she and daddy are at work every day. This is the fourth story in what she calls "The Avian Adventures Series." She's considered putting them together into one volume when she has enough stories to do that. Now, pray tell, how many stories would that be? Given that these silly adventures average 3-4 pages a piece, I'd say a lot.

Well, I'm proud of us having worked together on this one and now I proudly bring you an early draft of Avian Aliens!

Luv,

Chloe

Zack gnawed at the wood log toy in his cage, determined to break through it’s core. He didn’t know what secrets lay inside the toy that mommy jokingly called “the monolith,” but he was determined to find out. And if it was just wood, finishing it off was a surefire way to get a brand new toy in here once she and daddy got home from work. 

“Zack, can you keep it down?” Chloe asked from the back of her cage, where she snuggled against her cozy corner. “I’m trying to get in a power nap before mommy and daddy get home from work.”

“I’m almost there!” Zack said, continuing his voracious chewing. “Soon, we shall behold the secrets that lie within the wooden toy.”

 Ollie emitted a series of chirps that sounded like laughter. Zack gave Ollie a warning glare. Ollie squawked and resumed his preening. 

“Have at it, big brother,” Chloe said, resting her head against her back for a midafternoon nap. 

Zack resumed his chewing and was soon surprised when a piece of wood broke off, exposing the center of the toy. He peered inside and saw what looked like a lever in the center of the toy. Curious, Zack grabbed the lever and pulled it with all of the power in his mighty conure beak. A pink light erupted in the room followed by a bang. Zack disappeared and a large, pink parrot with blue eyes appeared in the center of the room. 

“Well, I’ll be darn,” Chloe said. “So that’s what happens when you get to the center of the wooden chew toy!”

“Greetings, Earth birds!” the pink bird said, raising his foot in a standard salutation. “My name is Eeagor. I am from the planet Orthea.”

“It sounds like a pesticide,” Ollie said. 

Eeagor turned to stare at Ollie. “Ah, a budgie! And a green and yellow too! Those are the finest specimens. You’ll make a fine addition to our budgie-bot brigade.”

“The budgie-bot brigade? What’s that?” Chloe asked. 

“We assimilate our finest budgies into a cybernetic avian lifeform that serve as our defenders and protectors. The one you call ‘Ollie’ is the best specimen we’ve seen in all the worlds we’ve visited.”

“Thank you,” Ollie said, “it’s good to be best at something. I’m the littlest one here.”

“Young friend, you will soon behold power beyond your wildest dreams,” Eeagor said, lifting his foot. Their cage doors opened and Ollie flew into Eeagor’s foot. A metallic talon ejected from Eeagor’s foot and he poised to poke Ollie with it. 

“No! Leave my brother alone!” Chloe screamed. Chloe leaped from their cages in a coordinated attack. Chloe grabbed Eeagor from behind with her wickedly-sharp beak, drawing green blood from his neck. 

“Ouch! You wicked little hen!” Eeagor yelled, dropping Ollie and turning to Chloe. She stood tall, her beak open and poised for another strike. 
 
“Wow, I haven’t seen her that mad since Zack stepped on her tail!” Ollie said. “Go Chloe! Sock it to him!”

“Come on, pinky! Meet the beak! Say hello to my little friend!” Chloe screamed, her eyes pinpointing and her feathers flaring. Eeagor stared in shock as she charged him, launching across the floor in a blur and jumping headlong into Eeagor. He pounded against the back wall with the force of her hit. They rolled on the floor in a blur of yellow, orange and pink feathers until Chloe pinned Eeagor, pounding him with her beak and breaking open green oozing wounds in his pink feathers. It looked like the battle was won until he emitted a shriek and swung at Chloe with his talon. She knocked against the wall. 

“Nobody hurts my sister!” Ollie shouted. “And I’ll never be a budgie-bot!” He grabbed Eeagor’s foot with his beak and lifted him off the floor, slamming Eeagor against furniture and the floor until the metallic talon broke off. 

“No, stop! I yield!” Eeagor screamed as blood dribbled from where the talon broke out of his leg. 

Chloe ran back to Eeagor, pinning him to the floor with her foot again. “Who do you think you are, coming here and threatening to turn my baby brother into a cyborg bird?”

 “I’m trying to free you from the tyranny of those ugly, wretched bipeds!” Eeagor said, staring at the picture on the wall next to Chloe’s cage. 
 
“Those are our parents,” Chloe growled as Ollie climbed into Zack’s cage, studying the toy for the lever.

Eeagor’s blue eyes widened in shock. “But how? You’re birds. They’re human. That’s impossible!”

“We’re adopted, you idiot,” Ollie said from Zack’s cage. “And your time here is over.” He pulled the lever in Zack’s toy. The pink light erupted again with a flash. Eeagor and his talon were gone, along with the green blood and mess on the floor. Zack reappeared in his cage, looking shocked.  


“Oh, thank goodness!” Chloe said, climbing back into her cage and pulling the door closed. 

“What just happened?” Zack asked. “I was in the strangest place that had pink birds with blue eyes. They had a horde of cybernetic budgies that tied me with something that looked like mommy’s cross stitch yard and carried me through their streets. They said they were taking me to their leader. I was so scared.” 

“Are you alright?” Chloe asked. 

“I’m fine,” Zack said, breathing heavy. “Are you both okay?”

“We’re fine,” Ollie said. "One of their birds got through. He wanted to make me a budgie-bot, but Chloe and I put up a great fight.”

Zack cackled. “I’ve taught both of you well. Thanks for pulling that lever and bringing me back. Zack gave the toy a punch, sending it swinging. The bottom portion of the toy broke off, severing the switch. “Remind me not to pull any switches inside my toys anymore!”

"I don’t think we’ll have that problem anymore,” Ollie said, climbing out of Zack’s cage and returning to his own.

They were silent as the garage door lifted, signaling that mommy and daddy had returned home from work. “Hi guys! Did you have a good day?” mommy asked, pulling them from their cage. 

“Oh, it looks like Zack finished another toy,” daddy said, reaching in to take out the broken wood chew toy. “Goodness, you destroyed that thing! Are you ready for a new toy now, buddy?”

 Zack cackled and winked at Chloe and Ollie, who cackled in return. Yes, they were ready for him to have a new toy. One with more fun and fewer surprises this time!

Last week was an interesting week for me. It started with Chloe letting me take over her Twitter account last Monday. I've had a lot of fun with that even if I don't tweet as much as she does. She's enjoyed her "week hiatus" from online activities but I'm sure she's looking forward to returning to her account tomorrow.

Mommy and daddy went to Ash Wednesday services last Wednesday, so they came  home a bit late. Fortunately, they were home in time to watch Arrow and Supernatural, so all was well. Daddy was off work Friday, so he made up for the lost time by playing with us a lot then. Mommy is off tomorrow for President's Day. It's a shame they couldn't be off on the same day, but that's how it happens sometimes.

They yesterday we got snow. In SC! I know, that's pretty rare. We even had "thundersnow" which was very interesting. I watched from the big sliding glass door in the kitchen where they sit my cage during the day. Zack and Chloe got pretty upset by it, but I thought it was neat to watch. It didn't last long but it was a sight to see all those huge, snow pellets bouncing across the backyard. Wow! Of course, it's all melted away today - which is also typical for SC. It rarely snows and when it does, it doesn't stick around long because it always warms back up quickly. The weather this weekend has been insane. It was sunny and in the 60's Friday, a wintery mix yesterday, and sunny, windy and 49 degrees today. That's winter in SC for you. If you don't like the weather then just wait a minute and it will change.

Now I'm sitting in the window singing a song along with the dishwasher and just happy for this wonderful day. I hope all of you are doing well. Take care and have a great week!

Luv,

Ollie

I come before you a humble conure. I never meant to hurt Ollie on the playgym last Friday. Ollie and I made our peace shortly after the incident and all has been forgiven. In fact, mommy shared that story because she wanted to express that she admired Ollie's courage, spunk and tenacity at getting back up there and refusing to let one incident get him down. Unfortunately, the focus wasn't on her optimistic view of the rebound but on me as a bully.

I won't plead my case. I don't have to. We've worked it out and everything is okay with us. Zack and I love Ollie and would NEVER hurt him. By and large, Ollie keeps to himself and rarely comes out of his cage, but occasionally mommy and daddy like to take all of us out. Ollie has his own playgym, but he always jumps over to our playgym because he doesn't want to be left out - nor do we want him to be left out. They will certainly monitor us more closely from now on during "mixed breed free play."

But I can be fair, and I feel a more public peace offering is in order. We thought about it and decided that it would be a good idea if I let Ollie take over my Twitter account for a week. He agreed, so for a week if you visit @ChloeConure on Twitter, you'll find my baby brother. This is HIS week to have HIS say. I won't poke my nosy nares in, or rebut, or rebuke anything. He is free to say and do what he wishes on the account. And if this works, we may do "trade off's" more often. If there's one thing we've learned, it that's you guys don't know Ollie very well. Maybe we need to give him more of an opportunity to interact with you guys.

Rest assured that I'm not pouting. I'm going to spend this week helping mommy with her writing, or reading, or just hanging out. I'm just trying to be a good bird. Yes, I lived in an aviary for 7 years, but I've been domesticated for nearly 3 years and I've learned a lot in that time - thanks to mommy, daddy, Zack and Ollie. 

That's all. Have a great week! The boys will blog again later in the week. 

Bye! 

Dear Friends:

Christmas is almost upon us, and at this time of year, we feel it's a time to tell you how much we love and appreciate all of you for being our friends. We know a lot of people say that online friends aren't really friends, but they're wrong. You guys are just as important to us as everybody else we know. We realize there's a real person/bird on the other side of that computer screen that chose to follow us and read this blog, and we are so happy to share our lives with you.

Social media is great because it helps us to connect with people we wouldn't have met otherwise. It really expands your horizons. This really hit home when Zack hurt his foot a few weeks ago. You guys really pulled together and supported us so much. Mommy and daddy were so thankful for your care, concern, and comments. It meant a lot to them and to us.

We are very fortunate not only to have good parents, good families, and good homes, but to have you as friends as well. Thank you so much. All of you are awesome! We have so much fun here and on Twitter chattering with you. There have been a lot of good times and good conversations, and I know we're going to keep the fun rolling through the new year and beyond!

We also like to bow our heads in memory of a dear friend that passed away recently, Kira Conure. Kira was a sweetie pie that brightened our days and our lives and she will be missed. We love you, Kira! We miss you a lot, but we know you aren't sick or hurting anymore, and we know you are in a place of joy and peace that we can only imagine. You enriched our lives so much. As mommy says to those that pass on, see you on the other side our dear friend. And to Kira's mommy, know that we are thinking about you and care. We aren't mommy's first birds. She had birds before when she was younger and they died, so she knows exactly how Kira's mommy feels.

Merry Christmas to all of you, feathered, furred, and human! We hope you have a wonderful Christmas full of joy and that your new year is filled with prosperity and happiness.

Luv,

Oliver, Zack and Chloe (signed in the order that we appear above)

Well, it seems I'm the only one around this nest that isn't on the computer. Mommy has her writing and all the Internet stuff with it: website, Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads, amongst other things. Zack and Chloe are on Twitter (with mommy and daddy's help, of course - birds don't have thumbs and therefore can't type). Daddy likes playing games online and on his Xbox, and streaming music and videos. And me? I'm just here, sitting in the window, singing a song.

I don't know if I'm pathetic for not being "up on technology" or free from the chaos of it all. I just don't have that much to say. Really, my life is simple. I sing, I play, I eat, I groom, I hang out with my flock. It's great, but I don't need to post about every stray feather, seed hull, or squawk in this house, do I?

No, I think I'm ok. Mommy's the writer. Daddy's the computer person. Zack and Chloe are the parrots, so naturally they have a lot to say. And me? I'm just a singing. Life is simple. Life is good.

That's all for today. I hope you have a great start to the new week.

Luv,

Ollie

Uh oh, Chloe's on Twitter now too! She's @ChloeConure. Nobody's safe! I didn't realize my baby sister could be such a chatterbox! She embarassed me by talking about me liking the pictures in Bird Talk - and then she told everybody that mommy opened a bottle of wine last  night! 

Heh heh. I think mommy was surprised.

My little sister's getting spunky! She's really developing a unique personality and coming into her own. I'm so proud of her. I've taught her everything I know, and now she's ready to take on he world. Go Chloe! Just remember who alpha bird is in this flock. That's right, me. Kneel before Zack. As long as you remember that, everything will be fine.

So look for us on Twitter if you want some silly parrot banter. I'm @wazzupzack.

That's all today. Happy Friday to you.

Luv,

Zack