I had a fantastically fun day today !

[gbird]

Today I went with Karen from TGF to help her do a presentation at The Denver Dumb Friends League, an animal shelter and adoption center. Mostly dogs, cats & small animals. They have Critter Camp, for young kids to educate them on caring for animals. I felt so special, because she asked for me personally to go with her.

We brought 2 Scarlet Macaws, Red & Baby....they are "husband & wife". Red is around 30 & Baby is around 27. They are in love. Karen did the presentation all about Parrots, owning parrots, caring for parrots, parrots in the wild, and about TGF. There were about 13 little young ladies around the age of 10 - 12. I was really impressed with how many questions they asked. Good questions as well.

All the way back to TGF, Red kept us entertained from the back of the car in his carrier. He was on a roll, and had us cracking up. "Cracker!" "Hi Guys" "bark bark bark" "what" "hahahahah" "woooooooo whoooooo" etc etc.

When we got back to TGF, I helped bring stuff & birds in to Julies house. Karen took me downstairs to Julies BIRD ROOM! OMG....it is HUGE. There I saw her 5 Hy's, a Black Palm TOO, 2 Galahs (Romeo & Juliet), a Major Mitchell TOO (is that right?), The 2 Great Billed Parrots, A rare Blue Mutation Amazon, and of course a bunch of Macaws. I don't even remember what else. I was in Awe....Simply awe struck. It's one thing to see these beautiful birds on TV and in pictures, but to see them up close is amazing. I feel so honored to have been there. They are all so happy & healthy. Sadly I didn't have my camera with me. I didn't feel right taking pictures of the birds at her house without her permission. Maybe next time.

This woman is truely dedicated to these birds. I am exhausted, and still a bit awe struck.

All in all it was a fabulously birdy day.

[meandem]

Are you trying to make us all jealous - you are doing a great job at it! Good on you for having a wonderful day, we wish that we could have all been there with you.

[gbird]

Not anymore jealous than I am. I would love to have the space & money to have a bird room & outdoor flights like that..

The Gabriel Foundation is a wonderful place. The birds are so well taken care of. I'm glad to be a part of it, even if it is only by volunteering. I wouldn't give my time if they were any less than a wonderfull place for the over 500 birds they have there.

[meandem]

I think if we all had our way, we would all have a place like that. It is a shame there are not more places like that for all animals. And it takes a special kind of person to love these friends of ours. I live in a State Park and I am trying to convince the boss in to letting me build a big aviary in the park, so that when I do find an injured bird, I can then house it there until it has regained its strength and then let it go again. And of course, if it didn't regain its strength, it would then be loved for the rest of its life in that aviary!

[gbird]

Thats great....good luck with that. It could be very educational as well. Thats whats missing most in the bird ownership world, education. People need to be educated that birds aren't just pretty things that sit in a cage and eat seed.

[meandem]

I'll just keep asking - hopefully it will pay off in the end. He keeps telling me, that they are OK at my house, but the problem is I have 89 birds, and running out of room. I would love more aviaries, but you have to stop somewhere. I agree - education is totally lacking!

[Ashling]

Wow, that's amazing. Yeah I'm more than a little bit jealous too- just to see all those birds in the same place must have been incredible! And a military macaw- my favorite :D It's great that they are educating young people! I wish I had of been more educated at that age with all my birds to care for. It's very important to get the younger generations interested because birds are so important for the environment (and they're gorgeous!) I brought Ash to my sister's class today (7-8 year olds) and they asked a whole lot of questions and went away with a little more knowledge with luck- I hope Ash inspired some of them :) I know it sometimes takes one look at a tame talking bird bird to be hooked- especially with kids.

That's a good idea meandem, keep at it! :D When we win the lotto and get a huge farm with horses, we're going to build a few great big domed aviaries and have lots of rescued native birds and parrots and some exotics like macaws, and maybe even bats (they put down bats with torn wings!) Life could be a dream shaboom.

[kali]

lol

shaboom

[gbird]

I made a mistake.....it was not a Military Macaw.....it was a Major Mitchell Too.....I have corrected it....so many birds, so little time.

I love bats. Some of them have the cutest little faces. Also they are so interesting.

I know, why don't we all put our penny's together, and build a world aviary.......

[meandem]

I bought a powerball ticket last week, in hope of winning a whole load of money so that I could buy some land and build lots and lots of aviaries, and make it a place where people can come and enjoy my birds as much as I do. Well the good news is - I WON. But the bad news is..............I only won $11.20. So it looks like back to the drawing board of nagging the boss again!