One of my favorite birds is the bright and lively parakeet. They are active and playful, and come in a variety of beautiful colors. Though much quieter than larger parrots, they can become good talkers.
Originally from Australia, parakeets were taken to England in the 1800s and became very popular. This beautiful little fellow belongs to my mom. After Mom lost her little companion dog, she found the house very quiet. She considered getting a new dog, but her area has coyote problems, and she was no longer comfortable walking a dog. In July I wrote a post titled, The Coyotes Are Back, after I spotted a coyote through Mom’s living room window.
Years ago Mom owned a parakeet and I thought she might enjoy another. At first she said no, but eventually warmed to the idea and one afternoon we took a trip to the pet store where Mom chose Gilligan.
. It has been amazing, and a joy to watch Mom and Gilligan form a bond. When Mom leaves the room Gilligan strains his neck and practically falls off of his perch looking for her. When Mom eats, Gilligan goes to his food dish and also eats. The funniest thing is after lunch, he starts chirping until Mom takes her nap and then Gilligan takes his as well. He certainly has her trained. He signals Mom when he wants out of his cage, and from there he flies to the top of the china cabinet. Mom reaches up to him with a wooden perch and uses the command words, Step Up, which is a command bird owners use to teach their pets to step onto a perch. I visited Mom today and took these photos. You can see him perching on a picture frame, and the top of the china cabinet. He is becoming quite tame and will sit on Mom’s finger. Recently he sat happily on her shoulder while she walked around the house.
He really is a beautiful little fellow and lives up to the title Companion Bird.
While our little dog, Annika was looking up at me, I grabbed my camera and took her picture. She wanted to go for a walk, so we did. We’d had an early morning rain, but it had stopped and the roads were dry. We walked around the RV park and I took the photo below of one of the cozy cabins available to rent. We are in our 5th wheel trailer, but maybe next time we’ll rent a cabin.
After our walk, we went home and I had a cup of coffee. Seemed like another good subject for a monochrome.
Tomorrow I plan to move on to the sepia setting, but this won’t be the last monochrome photos you see on Plum Bird Corner. I think I’m hooked.
