<![CDATA[BirdBoard.Com - Parrot Message Board & Pet Bird Owner Forums - Blogs]]> http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/ Online parrot owner commununity and resource providing information regarding parrot care information, parrot pictures, parrot parrot food, parrot toys, parrot message board, parrot forums. en Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:20:43 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.birdboard.com/forum/images/misc/rss.jpg <![CDATA[BirdBoard.Com - Parrot Message Board & Pet Bird Owner Forums - Blogs]]> http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/ Chase the Birdy... http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/352-chase-birdy.html Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:07:20 GMT I've read quite a few threads about how people have to chase their parrot around the room until the bird is tired enough to be caught. Usually they are attempting to catch the parrot to place the bird in a/the cage.

Having to chase the bird stems from two aspects of behavioural training. Yes - when you have to chase a bird it is being trained to run away from you.

Reason 1: The bird does not like what happens when you pick it up.

A parrot can easily recognize the signs we give off saying, "you are going in the cage soon." Night time, work time, going out on the town time. The parrot lives with us and watches us all of the time - they know! If the cage is a negative place for the bird then of course the bird is going to avoid getting put there!

Think about it from a bird's point of view... You've called a few friends, had a shower and spent a while putting on make-up. Then you go to get the parrot to put him or her into the cage.

Yah - right...

There is no-way a parrot is not going to recognize those signs...

Reason 2: The bird manages to avoid an associated negative stimulus - ie. a hand.

The hand has now become associated with a negative thing... for example being placed in a confined and unrewarding (or at least less rewarding) environment. So at this point the hand is a negative stimulus. The parrot now avoids the negative stimulus by fluttering away each time an attempt is made to pick-up the bird.

An even more unfortunate thing can happen at this stage. The bird may begin to generalize the avoidance behaviour for the hand to other situations. That is the bird may begin to avoid a hand when the result is not going to be negative at all.

Resolution to this is fairly simple:

First: Never play "chase the birdy." This simply reinforces the idea that the parrot can get away from you when the bird wants to get away.

Second: Make going to the cage and stepping up to the hand rewarding and not negative. Allow the bird to watch you place an almond (or other desired treat) into a food dish in the cage. In addition reward step ups often. Once trained step-up will occur (usually) without additional rewards - but it is nice to give a treat for "step up" just "out of the blue." Once in a while... just because you have the best bird in the world.

Third: Teach basic skills like "stay" and "come." Parrots learn these sklls fairly easily with just a bit of work and a few rewards. When a bird learns to "come" when called then there is no more playing, "Chase the Birdy." ]]> NotEnoughTime http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/352-chase-birdy.html <![CDATA["Is She Always Like That....]]> http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/346-she-always-like.html Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:52:44 GMT Or is it because she's just moulting?"

Gari visited my classroom yesterday. She does this on occasion both to give my wife some relief during the day and to give me the opportunity to work with her in a large (2000 sq ft) space and to talk to young people about the trials and tribulations of pet ownership.

So yesterday Gari went to work with me. Before class started I gave my speech about how it was OK to hold her if she would let you but not OK to force the her onto your finger - just a firm offerring. I also cautioned the students that she was moulting and was a bit sensitive if they tried to give her a "scritch." She has been known to draw blood - so I told them this in no uncertain terms.

Of course many of the students offered to hold Gari and she was just great with them. She would stand on an offerred finger for a few seconds - looking back at me - and casually flip back to my shoulder. We demonstrated her behaviours "to perch", "come" and "stay" and "dead bird", to show the students that even a small bird as intelligence enough to be trained in basic obedience. I talked about how interactions with the bird should be positive in nature and how negative interactions generate fear - although they may be successful in changing the behaviour.

Then it was time to get down to work. Throughout the day Gari had freedom in my classroom. She would fly from the cage to perch to me throughout the day. Then, towards the end of my six hour class, I had to sit at my computer (at the front of the classroom) to enter some marks while the students were engaged in labwork. Gari was persistant at coming to me. I would send her "to perch" and tell her to "stay" - but in her bird mind "stay" is not a permanent thing... At least I haven't taught it that way. So she would stay until I wasn't looking and then she would "flip" back to my shoulder, crawl down my arm and attack my computer's mouse.

This had happened several times when one student asked, "Is she always like that or is it just because she's moulting?" Ahhh - a flocking bird. I had failed to talk about the social nature and the absolute *need* for company of a flocking bird...

To me it is so much second nature now. Gari is out with us whenever we are home and she is always with either my wife or I - or at least in close proximity. She simply needs that closeness and it seems cruel to me to deny her that... So I don't.

"No, it isn't about moulting," I answered, "if you get a parrot then be prepared to have it with you as much time as you can - several hours a day. If not all day. Otherwise they will become unhappy birds and you can encounter behavioural issues." Which then lead me to a fifteen minute lecture on flocking behaviour and then pros and (mostly to my biased point of view) cons of wing clipping.

Oh - the responsibilities of companion animal owners... ]]> NotEnoughTime http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/346-she-always-like.html Cat napping... http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/338-cat-napping.html Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:02:31 GMT I've never been able to understand how keeping a bird in 'darkness' helps with unwanted sexual behaviour.

I've had a budgie, cockatiel, parrotlet and now a green cheek to enliven my life. I've never covered any of them when they "go to sleep" and I only noticed unwanted sexual behaviours in the budgie.

My budgie (or budgerigar if you prefer) was the first parrot I'd ever dealt with and, with my then "lack of knowledge," I went with the pet store recommendation for cage and toys. One of the toys was a mirror. "Budgies *love* mirrors," I was told. Little did I know how *much* the bird would love the mirror. The budgie "bonded" with the "bird in the mirror" quite quickly and lost all interest in being with anyone else.

Ever since this time I have never had mirrors for the birds - I teach about mirrors - but I do not encourage any standing in front of mirrors and looking at the "bird in the mirror."

When it comes to covering parrots I could see how there may be some "seasonality" issues with the Australian budgie and cockatiel - but the conure and parrotlet come from the Ecuador/Peru/Brazil area of South America where seasons are marginal if they exist at all. Ecuador and Peru, where the parrotlet lives, experiences little seasonal variation in the tropical Amazon basin.

My view is that we cover a bird's cage for our own convenience and not the parrot's. We like it when the bird is silent when we want it to be quiet and interacts with use when we want it to interact with us... But, in my opinion, this does not lead to a mentally healthy parrot.

So I leave my girl uncovered and she gets up with us and goes to sleep at the same time we do.

I also often see her napping during the day...

Perhaps a cat nap. ]]> NotEnoughTime http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/338-cat-napping.html The Approach of Winter... http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/332-approach-winter.html Sat, 24 Oct 2009 12:53:08 GMT It is the time of year where I let Gari's flights grow out.

The beautiful cobalt blue primary flights are peaking through her wings. And she's re-learning that she can climb and turn. What a wonderful time she's having! So far only one of the primaries on each wing has grown out - but the change in her flight ability is amazing. As a few more feathers moult out I am expecting here flight skillz to become even more amazing. Last year we were building 3D obstacle courses for her to navigate in the house.

Lately we've been watching a TV dorama (a Japanese TV series). Television isn't really a big thing for us - but we do watch the odd movie, TV news, and - when possible - a dorama or two. Gari joins my wife and I for the hour-long show each evening. She sits in the warm spot between us as the evening winds down for her. Occassionally she asks for a scritch - but most of the time she just "hunkers down" and simply, and happily, grinds her beak.

Our evenings are (at least for these eleven episodes) made up of the entire family (two dogs, a cat, a bird and a couple of humans) all cuddled together in the cool fall evenings - watching a TV dorama...

Winter is approaching... This evening activity will likely become more common...

I think we are all looking forward to this... ]]> NotEnoughTime http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/332-approach-winter.html <![CDATA[Rocky's come to visit...]]> http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/329-rockys-come-visit.html Sat, 17 Oct 2009 13:29:38 GMT Rocky, our friend's cockatiel, has come to visit for a few days.

Gari usually stays over at Rocky's place since the family seems to have taken a liking to her. They seem to have fallen for the Green Cheek character. Well... So have I, so I can understand it...

This is the first time that Rocky has had an extended stay at our place. A day or two is the most he's been here before. This time he is going to be with us for about a week.

And this is Gari's place!

When Gari goes to stay with Rocky she's pretty mellow. It is a new place and she's into exploring. She seems to accept that Rocky's extended flock is not her own flock - but is a tolerable substitute for her own family/flock and she gets on well with the young girl (about eight years old) and her parents. She even seems to enjoy being with Rocky. Chatting to him and putting her head down for preening - although Rocky doesn't do anything. He simply backs away...

Rocky is nine years old and has lived with this family for his entire life. He's watched the young girl growing up and he's pretty set in his ways. So having a new bird invade his space seems not exactly comfortable for him. But he takes it in stride.

Having Rocky come to stay at our place for a lengthy stay has given him, and Gari, a new experience. This is Gari's space and she's a Green Cheek - which means that initially the space is defended from an invading bird! For the first day we had to keep the birds somewhat separated. Otherwise Gari would spread her tail, fluff up her feathers and chase poor Rocky about. It was somewhat comical since Gari is about half Rocky's weight... But Rocky doesn't seem to have an aggressive bone in his body...

After that first day the two birds seemed to find their own place. But one very interesting thing happened...

Gari has never really explored the floor - she's always been on the table or on a perch. Floor landings have been accidental. That is accidental up until now.

Rocky is a "floor" bird. He has no trouble walking around the house flipping his toy in front of him. This has lead Gari to land on the floor to try and figure out what is so great... And now she's discovered a new world in her own home... The floor.

Yesterday I caught Gari peeking under closet doors, exploring behind the toilet in the bathroom, and looking under the bed... All because of Rocky. She's also a bit of a challenge for Rocky because she'll come along and steal his "flip toy" and walk away with it. Rocky doesn't seem to know what to do about that...

I should note here that both Rocky and Gari are "flight capable" but Rocky simply chooses the floor as his favourite spot. I don't know why this has happened over his nine years of life - but he doesn't seem to need the safety of heights... And now Gari seems to figure that the floor ain't so bad...

One conclusion I have come to though... One I've said in the forums... Cockatiels are noisy birds. Green cheeks arn't. Gari may squack on occasion but my girl does not produce the constant whooting, whistling and chirping that a cockatiel emits by just "being."

That being said - it is nice to have two birds in the home. Very entertaining! ]]> NotEnoughTime http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/329-rockys-come-visit.html Pizza! http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/325-pizza.html Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:53:58 GMT This weekend Sunday was pizza day. And man does Gari like this day. She helps make the dough (we make it from scratch) and she helps check the pizza sauce (made from scratch as well - with garden fresh tomatos) and she helps check the freshness of all the toppings. Our pizzas are pretty much... This weekend Sunday was pizza day. And man does Gari like this day. She helps make the dough (we make it from scratch) and she helps check the pizza sauce (made from scratch as well - with garden fresh tomatos) and she helps check the freshness of all the toppings.

Our pizzas are pretty much vegetarian in nature (with the cheese used for the topping as the only animal fat). So toppings include garden fresh peppers, Brocolli (we don't grow it - so it comes from the store), home grown corn, with (unfortunately) canned black olives and mushrooms from the store...

Gari loves the sweet taste of fresh bell peppers - especially if they've been allowed to turn slightly red. Brocolli is a standard staple of all of our diets here, and there is nothing like a piece of sweet corn picked fresh from the garden. Black olives and mushrooms are for the humans... Gari doesn't like them - which is a good thing.

This time of year is a special time of year when we make pizzas. The basil is just at the end of its life - and the plants are ripe with leaves. In another week or so there will be frost and the basil plants will turn black. So we strip the plants of all their leaves and make one pizza with just a pile of basil, a few black olives, and a light cheese topping.

When cooking the sweet scent of basil permeated our house.

Gari couldn't understand why there was one pizza without her favourite veggies on it. She kept looking at it with her sideways... What's that weird thing glance...

Last night was another of Gari's favourite activities.

We cracked walnuts.

My wife, who is from Japan, can't believe the people in this town. There are walnut trees all over Kelowna. They grow in yards, they grow in boulevards and they grow in fields... Many of the walnuts from these trees simply fall to the ground and rot.

In Japan a handful of walnuts is worth several dollars. So for the first year of our life together in Kelowna this strange Japanese woman went from house-to-house in our neighbourhood asking to collect walnuts. We had boxes and boxes of the nuts and have spent quite a few years cracking walnuts.

We now have our own walnut tree in our own yard so there is no need to go around collecting them - so we will engage in "wild bird rescue" by stepping on walnuts as they fall from the trees. We crack that hard shell so the sparrows and swallows can get to the nutritious and fatty meat of the nut.

But cracking walnuts (and hazelnuts - which also grow in abundance in this area) is an activity that we do every few months. When our kitchen nut-supply runs low.

Gari loves walnut cracking. She flys over and tries to take a large nut with her. It seems she cannot make it through the hard walnut shell without a bit of help - but when I give the nut a slight crack she can make mincemeat out of the shell and devour the meat inside. I try to limit her intake - but she is very persistant and insistant so she usually ends up with a couple of partial shells that have some meat stuck in them. She has no problem getting the meat out and the shell makes a great shredding toy until she realizes that there is more walnut meat to be had....

There was another first for Gari this week too.

The sunflowers actually had seeds left. Usually we lose all the seeds from our sunflowers to the sparrows. They will often eat the seeds when they are very green - and not leave one seed in the sunflower head. This year there was an abundance of sunflower heads in our garden. A few grew wild (probably from past heads that were turned into the ground) and a few were planted. So one small head had no seeds removed from it.

We took this sunflower head and dried it and presented it to Gari. At first she was very scared of this big, black round thing - but when I picked out one seed she recognized what it was... And there was no stopping her... She attacked the head with vigour, popping out seeds and breaking open each one to get at the sunflower seed meat.

Many of the seeds had no or very little meat - only a few are productive - so it takes a lot of work to pull apart a head and find the good seeds.

What fun Gari has had this week.

When the pizza was cooked Gari had to sample a piece. She likes breads and likes the way the pizza sauce goes with the veggies and the dough. She only eats a tiny bit of the pizza before she's full - but she can't wait for the next pizza night... Or the next walnut night... Or the next time we have a sunflower head left...
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]]> NotEnoughTime http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/325-pizza.html Party!!! http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/317-party.html Tue, 15 Sep 2009 12:05:08 GMT Last Friday night we had a party.

We don't really have loud music, drinking and dancing parties at my place. Our parties are usually somewhat sedate affairs where our friends and their families come over and we watch movies with the kids and all the adults sit around the table, drink wine and beer... And eat...

Gari loves a party!!

There is so much company (we usually have about 12-16 friends and family over) and food that she can hardly decide what to do. Quite often for the first hour or so she sits on my shoulder just watching in wonderment as the small plates of food come out of the kitchen and all of us take small samples...

Everyone says "hi" to her and the occassional "bird person" offers her a finger. She either attempts to take a chunk out of the finger or steps up - depending on her feeling for the person.

I believe she bases her decision on the likelyhood that the person will give her food.

One of our friends is (or perhaps was) looking for a hand-raised cockatiel. She had a cockatiel for 20 years and misses a bird. I, of course, totally understand the feeling. Once you become a bird person there is no going back...

Now, though, she asked me who Gari's breeder was and if she could get on a wait list for a Green Cheek. I told her the breeder was pretty picky about to whom she sold her birds - but that I would inquire about the green cheek status. It is about an hour-and-a-half drive to get to the breeder's place - and she (the breeder) would have to meet and talk with a potential buyer first... So at least two trips to the breeder before she would sell the bird. Quite a process... It didn't faze my friend - which is a good sign... We'll see...

Back to the party... Gari is up with as as we are eating. People are told to avoid giving her this and that food - but that others on the table are OK for her to eat. Gari makes the rounds. She visits each person and asks to sample their food. Some she likes and takes back to her bowl (on the table) and some she just ignores... Laughter at bird behaviour around the table.

At 11:00pm the Okonomiyaki pan comes out. Okonomiyaki is a japanese pancake (huge) that has meat, seafood and vegetable cooked into it. This huge pan sits in the centre of the table. Gari is relegated to another room while we cook the pancake... There are a few cooking fumes that are not particularly good for her from the frying meat and seafood (not to mention the large, hot, pan).

When the pancake is done Gari comes out of the room and we promptly offer her a cooled peice of the pancake... She takes it and flys to her perch to "chow down."

By 1:00am everyone is full. The conversation is starting to slow. The kids are all sleeping on the futon by the television screen and even Gari is starting to close her eyes on her perch. Everyone helps to load the dishwasher and we all say our goodbyes...

Gari goes, quite happily, to her sleep cage.

Both Gari and I are up at 7:00am the next morning. We don't wake anyone else up... But we are early birds...

I don't know about catching worms... But we were both in bed by 8:00pm Saturday evening. ]]> NotEnoughTime http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/317-party.html Moulting... http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/314-moulting.html Mon, 07 Sep 2009 14:29:01 GMT Outside the temperature is dropping to 11 degrees overnight (or about 52 degrees Fahrenheit).

With the change in temperature comes a major moult. And Gari is really itchy, somewhat crabby and maybe a bit confused.

I'm picking up feathers from all corners of the house. It is funny to think that sucha small bird (weighing in at a full 60 grams) can produce soooo many feathers and still look completely covered in feathers. Along with the hair from the dogs and cat we have our hands full trying to keep the floating hair and feathers at bay in our home.

Gari's lost a few of primary flights during this moult and cannot fly as well right now too. She's actually landed on the floor a couple of times - which is very unusual for her. No tailfeathers have come out (yet). Last moult she lost a couple, but I believe she's lost the majority of the feathers she's going to lose now - and the pinfeathers are starting to come in heavily.

She has three pins overtop of her nares. They are "unripe" right now (just a little white on the tip - the rest dark), so if I scrach there she will squack and nip. It seems she has a bit of a dilemma... She wants a head scratch - but occasionally I'll hit a pin and then it hurts... So she squacks. I've learned to scrach lightly - but sometimes she just leans into the scritch and then I hit a pinfeather... Sigh... She still asks for scritches though - so I don't think it is causing any long-term damage to our relationship if I hit a pin feather or two.

She has four or five pins coming in on her back - between her wings. I can see them when she "fluffs" up. She takes care of those by removing the white sheath as the feather is growing in. It is quite the process - almost a full time job - taking care of so many feathers.

A feather is an amazing thing. Feathers provides good insulation against the cooler weather, they are aerodynamic, they are shaped to provide lift when the wings are flapped and they are strong enough to hold a bird in the air when in flight.

Twice a year I get to watch the production of new feathers as Gari undergoes her spring and fall moults. I am amazed every time. ]]> NotEnoughTime http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/314-moulting.html Animals on Campus... http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/312-animals-campus.html Thu, 03 Sep 2009 19:45:25 GMT Well - it is the first day back to school on Tuesday, September 8, 2009 and a proposed "Animals on Campus" policy has not yet come into being.

As usual, whenever there is a complaint or an issue in an organization the first response of administrative-type people is to stop or restrict the activity. Never, it seems to me, is the first thought, "how can we get people to work together on this issue?" Or, "how can we train people to deal with this issue?" Nope. The first response is, "stop doing that!"

And I work in an 'educational' institution where one would think that 'education' *would* be first response. Naw... "Restrict it," is always the first response...

This response penalizes all those people who "do it right." Those people that "do it wrong" are not likely to care about a policy like this anyway... At least this is my opinion (based on a bit of experience though).

So, because a couple of people have left their animals in cars, and some people have not picked up after their animals, and because some instructor left their dog locked in their office (a small barky dog - I was tempted call the instructor some derogatory names, but I don't know the entire situation and, after a bit of thought, I came up with a couple of good reasons for this action), the first knee-jerk administrative reaction was, "all companion animals, except service animals, will not be allowed in buildings on campus."

Yup - they sure dealt well with the animals locked in cars and defecating animals! You bet!! We'll just keep them from pooping in the buildings!!! Sigh...

Well - of course - that initial policy proposal lead to a lot of negative feedback.

I bring my Goldens in to work (one at a time) to visit with the students (I bring poop bags too). Bringing a dog into class gives me an opportunity to talk about responsible pet ownership and the differences between dog breeds. I also bring Gari (the greencheek) in to work. This gives me an opportunity to talk about the differences between parrot species as well as trials and tribulations of parrot care and the responsibility such care entails. The students are surprised (usually - unless they have pets) at the amount of planning a simple vacation requires.

I don't view my job as an instructor as just teaching students academics or skills. It is also part of my job to give the students some basic life-skills so that they know what they are getting into when they end up working for a living. Pet ownership is a part of life. About 40% of households have dogs, and the percentage is much higher if you count all pets (apparently - as of 2006 - there were over 360 million pets in the USA http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/03/10/modern.pets/index.html). It seems that students could use a little "education" on pet ownership...

So... On Tuesday, September 8, 2009 Gari and I will be going to school to visit with the students. She'll also get to fly in the classroom - which is one of her favourite activities. Hopefully the administration will not take this activity away from us... ]]> NotEnoughTime http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/312-animals-campus.html Watching... http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/302-watching.html Thu, 27 Aug 2009 03:19:44 GMT I've been working on my deck. Redoing the flooring and putting up new aluminum railing. The old wood railing was starting to rot at the bottom and rather than wait until there were problems I thought I would do it now.

When I'm outside on the deck I leave the door open but close the screen door between the house and the deck. During the demolition of the deck railing and pulling up of the old carpet decking, Gari would fly to the screen door and perch on one of the supporting slats in the door.

She seemed to enjoy watching me work.

When she's on the screen door she will climb up the screening looking something like a gecko as she crawls up the door. She calls to me and I ask her what she is doing there. After a few minutes she gets bored and flys back to her perch for a snack and a drink of water. Then she flys back to the screen door to watch and climb.

The vinyl decking I put down required the use of contact cement. I had to close all the windows in the house and (especially) the door between the deck and the house to keep the fumes to a minimum. For one day Gari could not watch my work. Nor could I come in since everything had to be timed...

Gari was *not* amused. She managed to chew through the hanger of her nighttime hut. I found several holes in important sections of the newspaper with small balls of newspaper all over the floor. In addition there was poop on the countertop. I guess this was her way of telling me something.

At the end of the contact cement day I went to bed with a sore throat - I'm glad Gari was kept out of the fumes! Even if she did create a bit of a mess...

Now that all the vinyl is in place there are no more fumes. The aluminum railing is a fairly easy install - although I will have to wait for a couple of special order patterned glass panels that my wife wants put in.

Gari loves to hang out on the screen door. She can watch what is going on in the neighbour's yard and, when we are on the deck, she can talk with us. It is much more exciting to her than sitting on the perch chatting with the wild birds at the bird feeder...

I guess I'll have to build an outdoor aviary for her... She seems to have so much fun just watching.... ]]> NotEnoughTime http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/302-watching.html Sun Dried Tomatoes... http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/299-sun-dried-tomatoes.html Thu, 20 Aug 2009 16:37:57 GMT After a huge rainstorm (5cm in one day - which is an all-time record for this area) we are back to sunny, hot, days. The days are shorter than they were by about one hour. Gari is going to bed at 10:00pm or so and getting up in the dark with me at 5:30am or so... I'm sleeping in :-)

All the forest fires seem to be out. And the rain caused everything to grow at tremendous rates. It is tomato season now...

Gari seems to love this season.

In addition to canning them, we dry tomatoes as another method of preservation. I cut them into thin slices and let them dry for about eight hours in our food dryer. We end up with buckets and buckets of "sun dried tomatoes."

There is nothing like a salad with balsamic vinegar, olive oil and sun-dried tomato dressing. Especially when all the ingredients are fresh from the garden.

Gari likes to help with the drying process. She climbs on my shoulder and tells me when I've cut the tomatoes too thick or thin. She also tells me when I've left space on the dryer where additional tomato slices can go. After about four hours we "turn" the tomatoes and she tells me which rack should go on which shelf.

She is a great help.

When the drying process is complete Gari has to sample the finished product. She takes a dried tomato slice and checks it for texture and palatability. She has yet to tell me that the dried tomato product do not pass her test.

Tomato is part of the "nightshade" family of vegetables - which include potato (but not sweet potato) and eggplant. The greens of these plants can contain very toxic alkaloids and should never be given to birds (or consumed by any animal)... but... Tomatoes themselves provide many nutrients and are a tasty treat.

Gari sure loves her sun dried tomatoes... ]]> NotEnoughTime http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/299-sun-dried-tomatoes.html Scritches... http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/292-scritches.html Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:54:26 GMT No birds are singing this morning...

Rain is coming down and the thirsty ground is soaking up every drop. Everything seems to have stopped. We need the rain. Rain has been 35% of "normal" over the summer. Snowfall in the mountains was below normal - so water has been an issue.

All the wild animals are *basking* in the rain!

Gari is sort-of sleeping in the warm spot on the laptop by my left hand - over the fan where the warm air comes out. She asks for a scratch... I say, "scritches," as I scratch her head...

Gari has a new feather growing on her neck. It seems a bit itchy - so she wants me to scratch, but when I hit the feather she squacks and tells me it is too hard... It isn't quite *ripe* yet.

I often see pictures of conures with white pin-feathers sticking out on their head. Gari has never had this situation. Usually she's asking for a scratch to get the sheath off the feather - much before the white starts jutting out of her head feathers.

When she's moulting she doesn't know what to do.... She asks for a scratch, squacks and sometimes nips when a pin feather is hit, and then she asks for more....

I've learned to try to avoid the "unripe" pin feathers. The ones without any white on them. Those are the ones that cause her the most discomfort if I hit them. If there is a white tip I can usually remove the tip by gently squeezing - but if I squeeze too far down then she'll let me know that it is not comfortable.

The tiny feathers over her nares and eyes cannot be squeezed (squozen? squozed? are these words?) - but a simple scratch seems to remove most of the white sheathing.

I watched her preen a tailfeather as it was coming in and that's what she did - she slowly removed the white sheathing as the feather grew in. It was quite a process - that's a long feather! She didn't want to get her tail in anything during the time that the feather grew in... She was quite cautious - but now that the feather is in she's not so concerned about where her tail goes...

It was hard on her when there were seven or eight feathers coming in at the same time on her head... She really didn't know what to do... She would ask for scritches *here*, then say, "too hard," then ask for more *there*...

I guess I have to scratch... She's asking right now - it is itchy... ]]> NotEnoughTime http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/292-scritches.html Chewing... http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/289-chewing.html Tue, 11 Aug 2009 18:29:24 GMT One can tell this is a "birdhouse."

Everywhere you look in my house there are signs of bird... Poop stains on the throw rugs, dried poop on the hardwood floor, moulted downy feathers floating in the air currents, and - most of all - chew marks.

The tops of the doors have chew marks in them. The table top has beak shaped gouges. Shirt collars are all shredded and shower curtains have detached hooks from investigative beaks...

Chewing is the bane of every parrot owner. And chewing is what every parrot loves to do...

Although it could be "trained out" chewing is what parrots love to do - and chewing occupies the time when their loved ones are gone. Instead of getting into other mischief, happy huts are destroyed, perches are wrecked, and toys are rendered to shreds...

Recently I discovered popsicle sticks.

My wife was eating an ice-cream bar and set the stick down on her plate when she was finished. Gari immediately ran over and picked up the stick - then she ran to my shoulder and promptly started chewing. The popsicle stick occupied her for several hours... She chewed and turned and chewed and dropped - flew down and picked up and chewed again...

She didn't grow tired of the stick even at bed time...

The next morning the stick was as interesting as it was the previous evening... It is now hanging from her clothespin treat holder on her outside perch and she is still occupied with it.

Maybe there is some residual sweetness from the ice cream. Or maybe it is because of the softness of the wood...

Whatever it is - I'm going out to purchase a box of popsicle sticks later today...

What a wonderufl toy!! ]]> NotEnoughTime http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/289-chewing.html Quick Kashi Meal http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/ashbirdlady/288-quick-kashi-meal.html Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:08:45 GMT This meal takes under 3 minutes to make. My birds even love it cold! Come and take a look. Comments welcome! Quick Kashi Meal (http://www.botherthebirds.net/apps/blog/show/1542230) This meal takes under 3 minutes to make.
My birds even love it cold!

Come and take a look. Comments welcome!

Quick Kashi Meal ]]> ashbirdlady http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/ashbirdlady/288-quick-kashi-meal.html Bonding http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/285-bonding.html Sun, 09 Aug 2009 14:21:08 GMT OK - I was out camping again.

This time it was only the two dogs, my son and I... Gari stayed home with my wife.

Gari is fine with other people... usually... She is bonded with me and she doesn't attack my wife at all. My son is a different matter. He is an "invader" in the home. At 15...going on 16... he comes and goes at will. He is also not a "permanent" member of the household since he lives with his mom - that is; elsewhere - most of the time.

Gari figures he's just an invader.

Green cheeks can draw blood when they bite. I know this for a fact since when my son and I left to go camping he was sporting two bandages. I asked how he had managed to injure himself and he told me that a certain "guard bird" had informed him he was not welcome to type on the computer that I regularly use.

I guess that makes sense in a parrot mind.

When I'm not around Gari does not usually attack people - it is only when she can see or hear me that she decides someone (or thing) should not be nearby. She fans out her tail, puffs her feathers, and goes on the offensive. All the signs are there - and my son should know them and should probably not have challenged the bird - but being a teen... No more needs to be said...

Bonding is an interesting thing. All my birds have bonded to me over the years that I've had them... Never to anyone else.

What is bonding?

To me bonding is a trust relationship that develops between a human and an animal (or human and human). Bonding is not simply a "liking" relationship but goes beyond that to some level of emotional attachment. This emotion is built out of the trust.

It is hard to build trust with an animal if the trainer is not consistant with the animal. The animal must know what kind of reaction to expect whenever it engages in certain behaviours. Once this consistancy is achieved then trust is built and a bond can develop.

Some people never bond with an animal and whenever I've visited these situations I've found that the parrot (or dog) does not have a consistant environment. Consistancy involves deciding what to do when a behaviour occurs (usually based on some theory of animal behaviour) and then doing it... Consistantly.

This method builds trust and increases the bond between the trainer and the animal.

Now we have to work on the consistancy of a teenage boy...

That's going to be a challenge. ]]> NotEnoughTime http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/285-bonding.html In the heat... http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/283-heat.html Tue, 04 Aug 2009 14:36:27 GMT We're all tired.

It has been hot (38 degrees or around 100 degrees Fahrenheit) and smokey from the over 700 forest fires that are burning throughout the province for the past three weeks. We sweep the ash of the car when we take the dogs swimming each day.

Gari, the greencheek, pants. The smoke can't be good for her.

When the afternoon heat starts to really kick in Gari will start to show signs that it is really hot. Her mouth is open and she pants like a dog in the heat. For some reason she doesn't like a misting bottle - I've read that when they are hand raised and misted regularly they like it - but right now a spray bottle is just a punishing stimulus for her.

I will offer her fresh, cold, water that we keep in the refrigerator. She takes a sip or two and them promptly starts to bathe... That water is darn cold!! But she seems to love it.

It cools her off...

There is nothing like a wet bird - they are so cute. She knows she can't fly well when she's wet so she climbs to the top of her perch. She fans out her feathers to dry. No panting now.

After drying off she heads down to the basement to stay cool. It is much cooler there and she enjoys her time at her downstairs perch.

Everyone is hot. It is the hottest summer on record so far. And, with the warming of the world, there are more to come... ]]> NotEnoughTime http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/283-heat.html Raspberries... http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/282-raspberries.html Fri, 31 Jul 2009 13:00:21 GMT Someone in one of the forum topics on this board said they would blow "raspberries" on their bird's foot. I thought I would try this with Gari and see how she would react.

In the morning and in the evening Gari likes to be held. I put my left hand over her body and she grabs my little finger with one claw, my thumb with the other claw. She then lets me lift her up and she lies back in my hand - she looks at me and says, 'what?'

I often play with her like I would a baby. "Tick, tick, tick," I say as I tickle her belly. She lets go of my thumb and tries to grab my fingers with her right claw.

I tickle the pad of her right claw. She grabs my right forefinger.

Last night, when she let go of my thumb, I blew a "raspberry" on the small pad of her right claw - the way you might blow on a baby's feet to make them giggle. "Phfuuut." Her claw opened wide... She looked at me. "What?" "Raspberry," I said.

I blew one again - her head lolled back... She turned slightly on her side and she grabbed my lips with her talons... Then her claw opened wide again...

I think she liked it...

"tick, tick, tick," I said as I tickled the pad of her claw...

"What?" she said...

"Raspberry," I said...

Her claw opened wide. ]]> NotEnoughTime http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/282-raspberries.html <![CDATA[What's in a name?]]> http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/281-whats-name.html Wed, 29 Jul 2009 13:45:29 GMT A rose is a rose by any other name...

As paraphrased from Shakespeare. This sentiment comes from the play Romeo and Juliet and actually reads:
What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title.

Names are, to some people, extremely important and to others... well... A rose is a rose... I've sat through endless name discussions in business meetings - much of which seemed like a waste of time and money to me...

In our family we choose names... well... just because... Because of Japanese relations the Japanese language plays a large part in our names.

Gari is japanese name for that pink pickled ginger that is served with Sushi. Although Gari the green-cheek is definately *not* pink - she is sweet in a pickly sort of way... The name fits. We shorten it to GaGa or Ga... And Gari responds to all versions of her name.

TaTa is a east indian steel company. Tata Steel makes the cheapest car (in the world?) in India right now and, it seems, virtually everyone who lives in India, and who can afford a car, drives a Tata... TaTa is the name of our six-year old golden retriever. She seems to love the name. We shorten it to Ta - which seems to confuse the kids in the park when we say, "Ta, come here."

VuVu is the name of our new puppy - now eight months old. He is a golden retreiver as well. The name has no meaning that I am aware of. We like the song, 'Me and You and a Dog Named Boo," as sung by Lobo. So VuVu has become the Japanese name (Vu for short), since that's how the Japanese would pronounce BooBoo. His English name is Boo or BooBoo. He responds to all names - but then he responds to just about anything... He is a puppy... Even, "hey, you!" will get his attention...

Then there is Uni (pronounced oooni). Uni is the name of our cat. Uni is Japanese for "Sea Urchin." Uni hides most of the day and only comes out to play with our toes in bed at night. She doesn't care so much about names - although she knows hers and Boo's... She avoids Boo who wants to play with her...

All of our animals are roses... And they all smell just as sweet no matter what their name - unless they poop.

But, I have to say, bird poop is better smelling than dog and cat poop... ]]> NotEnoughTime http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/281-whats-name.html Little Birdie Instincts http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/suzhouchen/280-little-birdie-instincts.html Tue, 28 Jul 2009 22:23:04 GMT [FONT="Comic Sans MS"]My birds love going outside which is to be expected so I try to oblige whenever I can. Weeble likes to forage, true to his "native tongue " lol ( no pun intended). So he plays in the grass while I lounge on cat watch.

Christian my little Green Cheeks like to climb around on my rose bush that climbs the porch railing. There is one dead branch on that bush and I leave it in just for that reason.

Recently Christian and I were enjoying some afternoon time on the porch while Weeble was inside. I was in my cushy patio chair and Christian on his rose branch. Soon he was climbing around and up the metal rail on the porch he went.

I was watching him play as he was having a grand ole time, chattering and talking as he played. All of sudden, he let out a screech to high heaven....he's NEVER done anything like that before. I looked up and thought for a moment that his tail feathers had gotten lodged in the scallops on the railing. As I leaned forward to see what the matter was, he took off flying like a hummingbird straight toward me. This was a major surprise and I reached my hand out and caught him mid flight. I put him on my shoulder and asked (as though he can carry on a converstion but you know how we do) what was wrong. He began running around on my chest like a mad bird. :weirded: I had no idea what his problem was.

Finally I looked up to see what he was afraid of and overhead above my street I saw two large vultures:upset: circling as they moved up the street. An unusual sight to see as I live in town. Evidently when Christian first spotted them they were still over the porch where I could not yet see them.

I grabbed my little guy and stuffed him in my shirt so he would feel safe and went in the house. There in the safety of the front room I took him out and talked to him and he calmed down. I put him on top of his cage and he seemed none the worse for wear although he was panting.

When your wings are clipped and you have to fly like you have never flown before, I guess you can wear yourself out. I got him a little water and soon he was fine.

He never had a mommy to tell him about vultures and hawks and big bad birds that could eat him for lunch. All he has ever had is a human mommy and daddy. Yet his little birdie instincts took over and he knew what to do ...RUN TO MOMMY.:14:

Bless his little birdie heart!:wub:[/FONT] ]]> suzhouchen http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/suzhouchen/280-little-birdie-instincts.html Healthy living... http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/279-healthy-living.html Tue, 28 Jul 2009 13:41:55 GMT I left the treat jar out last night.

It is sitting on Gari's outside perch table. Gari is sitting on the jar (it is an old plastic mayonaise jar full of what is supposed to be small parrot food - but is mostly seed). Gari pecks at the lid, then looks at me... She says, "what?"

Gari's outside perch is an old hamster cage, turned sideways, with some grapevine branches sticking through it - and a Douglas Fir branch leading from the top of the hamster cage down to her food dishes. All of this housed in a Sterilite(tm) plastic container in an attempt to keep a reasonable handle on the mess she makes.

It is situated by a window (between the kitchen an living room) and is her main perch area and "poop place."

We have three food bowls... Her pellet bowl, which is an unfinished terra-cotta bowl, her treat bowl (which is the same type of bowl) and her "breakfast and dinner" bowl in which she gets her veggies and fruit - which is finished inside and partially finished outside -and washed with our regular dishes...

Hollyhawkz says that Gari has us well trained.

Breakfast involves chopping carrot for my wife's and my morning banana/carrot/milk drink. Gari usually gets a banana/carrot/brocolli/pea/yogurt mash as well.

She joins us for breakfast and has some rice or other item we're eating for breakfast. After all a parrot is a person too...

Supper is pretty much the same thing. A bit of unsalted whatever we're eating is put in Gari's food bowl and she joins us for dinner...

I've always fed my birds a bit of meat - they seem to love it. Chicken, pork, beef, salmon, tuna, crab... Actually - they will pick at a crab shell for a long period of time. I said to Chapala that parrots were "opportunisic carnivores" and she challenged me to find research on this. I looked and came up with some sites that said this - but no hard research.

After looking futher I think I have to agree with Chapala... Meat isn't part of most species of parrot's natural diet. By feeding meat, at least on a regular basis (not part of the "treat" category - ie less than 10% of the diet), we are not promoting "healthy living" for our birds.

I've cut down on the amount of meat Gari eats... But then I've cut-down my own meat intake as well.

We're all probably better off with a bit less meat in our diet... ]]> NotEnoughTime http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/279-healthy-living.html <![CDATA[Where's my girl?]]> http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/278-wheres-my-girl.html Mon, 27 Jul 2009 13:49:29 GMT All toilet seats are kept down in our home. It is a requirement.

As Gari has gotten older she's become more and more adventuresome. We kind-of trust her in the house - but sometimes it is hard to find her. She has her usual haunts - the ensuite bathroom, the main bathroom are two of the usual haunts.

In the ensuite bathroom she likes the top of the medicine cabinet which has a raised wood panelling and a metal top. She likes to run from one end to the other either tapping her beak on the metal or dragging her beak along the metal. We can't tell she is there if she is still because the raised wood panelling hides her completely. When she runs we see tail feathers pop-up over the panel at one end as she turns to go to the other end. Every so often a green cheek head pops up over the panelling to check on the room...

The other day one of the mirrored doors to the cabinet was left open. I was working away in the living room and heard a loud "clunk" from the bedroom... As I got up I heard another clunk...

I hurried to the bathroom and found a hairbrush and a pair of nail clippers on the bathroom countertop. I opened the cabinet fully and Gari was looking at me, holding a nail file, as she voiced "what" in her grunting way. Fortunately we don't keep medicine in a medicine cabinet... She was just systematically exploring all the bathroom utensils and then dropping them on the counter.

Recently she's taken to flying downstairs into the laundry room and landing on a plastic clothes hanger that we have down there. She sits on the hanger picking up plastic clothespins with her claw and exploring each one. This can occupy her for quite some time...

I say, "Where's my girl" a lot. She will usually call when I say that - so I can find her.

Green cheeks are known to be exploratory type birds and can get themselves into trouble... Gari is proving no exception - I will have to keep a close eye on her... ]]> NotEnoughTime http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/278-wheres-my-girl.html Fostering... http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/277-fostering.html Sun, 26 Jul 2009 13:26:09 GMT The smoke has finally cleared. All of our small and large animal carriers have been returned by the SPCA and the evacuees from West Kelowna have started to return to their homes. What a couple of weeks! The SPCA had people going into the evacuated areas picking up stray animals and entering... The smoke has finally cleared. All of our small and large animal carriers have been returned by the SPCA and the evacuees from West Kelowna have started to return to their homes.

What a couple of weeks!

The SPCA had people going into the evacuated areas picking up stray animals and entering houses to get the family pet that was left behind. The need for small and large animal carriers was huge!!

West Kelowna is also a more "rural" area and many horses were evacuated with all the other animals. Unfortunately we couldn't keep a horse... Our backyard is just not large enough... And the neighbours might complain.

Having a strange animal in your home is not for the faint of heart.

I've babysat animals for other people ever since I can remember. Dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, hamsters, the list goes on... People are always appreciative when they can arrange for care for their pet when they go on vacation and it often works well as a "two way" exchange.

When we babysit pets in this way we come to know the pet and the animal seems to look forward to going "camping" at someone else's place for a few days. The environment and rules become familiar.

This isn't true for an evacuated pet.

From the pet's point of view the family has just "up and left" with little preparation. There is confusion, smoke in the air, unfamiliar people, long waits in too small a space, and all sorts of activity. An evacuated pet is pretty nervous, no matter how well behaved, by the time they make it to a foster home.

We usually take in a dog (or two if we can) because of our large fenced yard. Our two goldens are very accepting of almost any dog except pit-bulls and related bull-terrier breeds (another story to be told later). They encourage the animal to run and play and back-away if there is any sign of aggression (related to the pit-bull stories). They are also not toy possessive - which is also a benefit when looking after a strange animal...

It was only a couple of days this large, nameless, black dog occupied our backyard... At first he was very cautious, sniffing every corner of the yard. Our goldens kept their distance as he became familiar with his new quarters. Soon Boo couldn't resist offering him a toy (which he ignored) and trying to engage him in play. After a half hour or so he started to engage with the goldens and soon there was a great chase game going on in the back-yard. Boo is supposed to be on low exercise - so I had to call him in... Too bad, he was having so much fun!!

The foster dog was tattooed and we got a call from the SPCA saying his owners were looking for him... So we took him back.

Our goldens will miss him... ]]> NotEnoughTime http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/277-fostering.html The call of the wild http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/276-call-wild.html Sat, 25 Jul 2009 13:41:07 GMT The birdfeeder is busy these days. Sparrows and other small birds come every morning at this time (6:00am or so) to feed at the bird feeder just outside our patio door. The screen door is kept closed but the glass door is wide open. A bamboo curtain is rolled part-way down the screen to block... The birdfeeder is busy these days.

Sparrows and other small birds come every morning at this time (6:00am or so) to feed at the bird feeder just outside our patio door. The screen door is kept closed but the glass door is wide open. A bamboo curtain is rolled part-way down the screen to block the morning sun. The birds can be heard clearly and their shadows flick across the wall of our living room. They make quite a ruckus.

Gari is fascinated by some of the calls.

Green cheeks are not known as great mimickers. Gari does mimic, she says, "Good Girl" or "Good Gari" and "Kiss" in her own way. It seems she's also saying, "What" now (it comes out as kind of a low pitch grunt sound - but the context is correct). But a couple of the birds on the bird feeder it seems to me she can mimic very well.

Gari flew down to the floor... Hopped up on the lower patio door rail, looked up at the bird feeder, and called to the birds there. To me the call was just like the noises they were making.

The birds all scattered...

I guess they knew it wasn't a call of one of their "kind." I think Gari was a bit disappointed. She waited a couple of minutes, hopped off the rail, wandered over to my foot and climbed up my robe - not using her wings. Unusual for her.

I had an interesting experience at my neighbour's yesterday. Another neighbour's poodle got out of their yard and went into my across-the-street neighbour's yard. Four of us tried to catch the dog. Poodles are already pretty flighty, run like deer, and if not trained are pretty hard to catch. The four of us were trying to herd the dog to a location where he could not escape and were calling to each other as we did this.

Gari, who was sitting at her window perch, heard my voice and called to me. She's pretty loud when she wants to be - and I heard her clearly. I said to my across-the-street neighbour, 'oh - I can hear my bird.' He couldn't distinguish the call from the natural background noises of the birds in our area. That's nice to know...

She was calling pretty loudly and clearly to me. At least I won't get any complaints from the neighbours if they can't distinguish her calls from the wild bird's calls! ]]> NotEnoughTime http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/276-call-wild.html <![CDATA[From a dog's viewpoint....]]> http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/275-dogs-viewpoint.html Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:26:10 GMT Sierra, my neighbour's dog, jumps over the fence whenever I take my two goldens for a walk.

I'm the only one she jumps over the fence to go for a walk with. In my neighbourhood many people walk past Sierra's yard to go to the neighbourhood park. Sierra sits at the fence and watches (and sometimes barks) at the people going by. But she doesn't jump the fence.

When I take my two goldens for a walk, Sierra litterally leaps over the four foot high chain link fence. She goes into the park with us and walks with our dogs until it is time to return home. I then walk Sierra to the neighbour's gate, open it, and Sierra willingly goes back into her yard. No fuss.

Sierra sometimes runs away from my neighbour's place and runs to our house. I can hear them calling, 'Sierra, git over here,' in loud irritated voices... Which she, of course, ignores while she explores our front yard. I go out and say, 'Sierra, come here' and she trots over and I walk her back to the neighbour's home.

I often get questions about why animals will listen to me and not their owners. Some people seem to think it is just because I'm different. Some people think I have a "way" with animals. But, in my opinion, these people need to look at *their* behaviour and see what *they* might be doing to cause an animal to behave in a certain manner.

All animals are gifted with a sense of reason. In addition all animals know what they like and what they don't like. Every animal has a certain amount of problem solving capability so that they can obtain what they do like and avoid what they don't like. Our job, when training an animal, is to ensure we understand the cues and behaviours that are causing the bird or dog to do whatever it is they do.

It is clear that Sierra loves her family. There is no question about that - she returns home willingly and is not hand-shy so it is unlikely she has ever been "hit." But she does not respond to her owners in the way that they wish her to respond. Let's look at the way they call her back when she comes over to my yard...

"Sierra, Git over here!" in an irritated voice...

OK - #1 the word "git" is usually used with a dog to mean "go away." For instance at the dinner table we may say to a begging dog, "git."
#2 when is an irrated voice (loud and clearly frusterated) used? Usually when the dog is in some trouble... Who wants to return to trouble?

When I call her I say, "come here" and then tell her she is such a good girl for coming. She has no problem to come to me... She walks beside me all the way back to her yard...

Now - I am reinforcing her behaviour in jumping over the fence. My behaviour, a walk with her friends (my dogs), is giving her an incentive to jump the fence and walk with me. I have not discouraged this behaviour. I attempt to not encourage it - but there is a very positive aspect to walking with my dogs. Social and exercise - which for working dogs is very important. To me it is not a problem to walk with Sierra, but her owners see it as a problem - especially since she *may* jump over the fence to go with other people (to my knowledge this has not happened - but it could). Instead of attempting to train her to not jump the fence (which is quite easily trained) the result is attempting to make the fence higher...

Sigh...

Sierra just dug a hole under the fence.... ]]> NotEnoughTime http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/275-dogs-viewpoint.html Fire! http://www.birdboard.com/forum/blogs/notenoughtime/272-fire.html Sun, 19 Jul 2009 13:30:34 GMT There's a smell of smoke in the air!

At about 3:00pm yesterday afternoon (July 18, 2009) a small fire started just above Gorman's sawmill. At the time it was reported and the fire crews responded it was 3 hectars in size or about 7 acres. The fire jumped over highway 97 (our major artery for travel into and out of Kelowna) and by the time I went to bed last night the fire was 200 hectars in size (500 acres) despite being pounded with water bombers of all types (helicopters and our massive air water bombers).

To make matters worse another fire started at approximately the same time about 20Km north along Okanagan lake.

We live in a pine forest.

Well - it is not exactly "in" the forest... But we are surrounded by forests that are made up of pine and douglas fir (which is really a pine tree in disguise). Pine forests in western Canada have been under attack for some time. The mountain pine beetle gets under the bark of a pine tree and slowly drains the life from the tree. Thousands of hectars of pine trees stand dead from pine-beetle kill...

The only way to kill the pine beetle is to have an extended period of cold weather since they have a form of "anti-freeze" in their system. We're talking -40 degrees (at that temperature both the F scale and Celcius are the same) for a couple of weeks. With the warming of our climate we are not coming near this temperature in the mountains. The result: standing dead trees.

Prime timber for fires.

Add to this a below average rainfall for the past three months (I think we've had two days of rain - and the largest measured amount in the day was 1cm, or a half-inch, in our rain bucket measuring device) and we have prime conditions for fire.

Take a third factor - the carelessness of man... And a-voila - no thunderstorm needed... Large fires that are hard to get under control.

The Okanagan Mountain Park that made international headlines in 2003 ended up at 40,000 hectars, 45,000 people evacuated and 245 homes destoryed. It was started by a lightening strike. There is no such excuse this time - there were only a few "puff ball" clouds in the sky when this new fire started.

These fires that are near our homes are called "interface fires." They take place at the interface between the urban living that we seem to need to survive and the forest and nature that we all love. That place where we can find peace and rest after our hectic days.

That is, peace and rest until we are evacuated because of a fire.

This morning, as I read the news reports, the fire has jumped to other locations in the evening resulting in more evacuations added to the large number that have already been evacuated. To make matters worse a second forest fire is burning out of control a few kilometers away. This second fire started at approximately the same time yesterday. It is higher in the mountains and doesn't threaten any homes (yet), so all the municiple and provincial fire resources are being concentrated on the interface fire.

So today, for my wife and I, we will be off at the animal evacuation centre with food and supplies, and we will probably foster a few animals for a few days as the evacuees get themselves sorted out. We're on a list for this sort of thing - since we have the facilities (a fenced yard, an animal resistant home, and so on).

This is life in the Okanagan...

Pictures from castanet.net:




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