Hi all, my name's Beth and I live near Seattle, WA. I'm a former research scientist, now "just" a stay-at-home mom of two (3 and 6 years old). My daughter has been doing lots of chores and saving her money because she wants a budgie. I imagine she'll have enough in a few more weeks. She's already collected enough for the cage and food, etc., just needs the bird now.
I had a budgie when I was a kid too. His name was Perky and he lived to be 11. I know my mom ended up doing a lot of the caretaking for him, so now it's my turn to do that for my own daughter when she's slacking. :) He was a great little bird.
Anyhoo, all the gearing up for our new family member has made me remember how much I've always wanted one of the bigger birds. And it dawned on me that I'm in a pretty good position to get one now. I'm home most of the day, and once both my kids are in school, it'd be nice to have some company. Eventually I'll be working from home (making ceramic tile) and having someone to chat with would be nice while I'm working. We have the space, we have the money, we have the time, and we're all crafty over here, so any bird would have an endless supply of homemade toys.
So I've been reading, reading, reading. I'm definitely leaning towards one of the african greys - I think it's my science background - I'd love to see what one is capable of firsthand, and I can totally see myself coming up with challenges for him/her. I'm no stranger to mischief - I have a young son, and tons of patience. lol I think it'd be a good fit.
Oh, I've also volunteered for a summer at the local wildlife shelter feeding the baby birds. That was the coolest job! Totally have a special place in my corvids (baby crows are so very sweet), but I'm happy just watching the ones in my yard.
I'm a bird person without a bird. Soon we'll have a budgie for my daughter, and then I'll start thinking about a bird for me. We're going to be doing some remodeling and I want to wait until that is all done. But I still look! I definitely would prefer to take in a bird that needs a home rather than a baby. I wouldn't mind if they were a little ornery - I work well with ornery. :)
Someday...someday. Just wanted to introduce myself if you see me lurking. I'll be visiting a lot! If anyone is in my area and can point me to bird clubs, etc., it'd be nice to meet some bird people in person and I can get the real scoop.
