glorious hair, pet sappage

[oiran]

Nothing fannish here. Hair. Animals. It's almost domestic.

I have natural chunks of blonde which we just made bigger, but they look brassy here...so the color is off a bit. It's very pretty in RL. And I'm prettier, too, I swear. Raise your hand if you think my nose is big ;)




I mentioned yesterday that today I'd be going and picking up a pair of parakeets that needed a home, and which my vet flattered me and Mr. Glove into agreeing to take. This made me realize that I have never done the massive posting of pet photos that is so prevalent, at least among those who have cats. The bird contingent has been under-represented, so I'm fixing that now.

Get it all over with at once: jed's pets, complete with photos and gushing from "oldest" to "youngest"
Huevo. Lovebird, age 6. Birthday gift from Mr. Glove. Actually, my gift was supposed to be a pair of parakeets. I was having massive yearnings to have a pet again, following a long, petless spell after having to put my 17-year-old cat to sleep, and the Mr. thought birds would be "ornamental" and thus would not tax his emotional stores. Mr. Glove was wrong. Huevo had already had one family when we got her. At only 3 months of age, she had already been returned to the bird shop due to uncontrollable feistiness. She been named Wazo (stupid person's idea of how to spell oiseau), and had had her leg band removed. She was a not-particularly-attractive dirty white color, but she had a REALLY!!! BIG!!! PERSONALITY!!!, and they didn't have any parakeets that were ready to go home with anyone, so... voila! We became family to a lovebird. Lovebirds are very aggressive. Whatever they do, they do with gusto. This means kissing, biting, eating, flapping, squawking and humping at 110%. If Huevo had opposable thumbs and could reach the gas pedals, she'd rule the world. As she has gotten older, her colors have bloomed. She has gorgeous mottled shades of green over her wings, and the orange eye streaks get more pronounced all the time. "Huevo" is Spanish for egg, of course.
Garuda. Meyers parrot, age 6. When we got Huevo, Garuda was also at the bird store, waiting for someone to take him home. Meyers parrots are smallish, don't have flashy plumage, and don't make all that much noise (for a parrot), so they tend to be overlooked by people who think they want birds as pets. I would visit this bird every time I went into the bird store for supplies for Huevo, and I became very attached to him, as he was affectionate and sweet. I'd pet him through the bars of his cage and he'd hold my finger tight with his foot and not want to let go. We went on a long driving/camping trip and boarded Huevo at the pet store. I missed her so much that I made Mr. Glove miserable and we came home a week early. I'd been trying to convince him for months that we needed to have this Meyers parrot, and he was totally resisting. When we got back to Seattle, we went to pick up Huevo right away. After I was reassured she was still alive and well, I went to visit the Meyers. There was some stupid woman from Connecticut and her friend looking at him, and the woman said, "Don't you think he'd look nice in my office? I wonder if they ship birds?" I pushed her out the way and said, "You can't have this bird. I came back from my vacation a week early to get this bird," and stood in front of the cage. Mr. Glove saw what was going on and just went over to the sales counter to start the bird-buying process. If I ever seriously complain about Mr. Glove, shoot me in the head. "Garuda" is Vishnu's battle eagle. Shut up. He looked kind of eagley for a minute there.
Obadiah. SKOW hound, age approx. 4-5. (SKOW stands for "some kind of whippet," which comes from the question, "What kind of dog is that? Some kind of whippet?" as asked by an old guy on the dog-walking trail). Part sight hound, part Rottweiler, part Lab, and...lots of other stuff, most likely. He is a sweet, nervous creature who is terrified of birds and guinea pigs, but whose bark is fierce and intimidating. He was about a year and a half old when we brought him home. He does not know how to play with people--is afraid of most people, actually--but loves to be around other dogs. He is omega dog to any other dog, which actually works out pretty well. We need a second dog to teach Obadiah how to enjoy life in a doggish way. The vet agrees with me. Mr. Glove is going to kick the vet's ass. "Obadiah" was the name of the naughty puppy in a book I loved as a very small child. There were Rags, Tags, Wags and Obadiah. This is actually the second Obadiah I've had--the first was a black female lab puppy that was given to me when I was about 5. My parents lost patience with her after about a month and sent her to the pound. My parents suck.
Kazoo. Canary, unknown hybrid. At least 2, possibly older. When I moved back to Seattle, I missed my birds and my dog like crazy. I got Kazoo to keep me company, and he did an admirable job of it. I purchased him from a pet shop I had frequented that had changed ownership in the interim. The new owner--one of the old employees--had no business running a pet store, actually, and I partly took Kazoo home to rescue him. The tip of one of his toes had been amputated somehow (on the cage, or via a bite from one of the other birds crammed in his cage), and it has since grown back with the toenail vertical. Kazoo has a voice that is...loud. Burbly. Like a ray gun being shot underwater. It is not exactly a pretty song, but it is loud and enthusiastic. You get used to it. In Seattle, he had free run of my tiny apartment and he actually spent a lot of time playing with me and jumping on my hands. Since moving out to Nashville, he can't fly free as often (though he has an aviary) and he's become wilder. However, when I let him out in the morning while I'm changing his food and water dishes, he follows me around and scolds me if I get out of sight. Kazoo made a funny buzzing sound when I first brought him home. He doesn't make that sound any longer, but it was a very kazooish buzz.
Tater. Guinea pig. About 2. My niece had a guinea pig that was the sweetest thing I'd ever held. I was lonely. I got a guinea pig for myself. They're a great little lap pet, except they pee whenever and wherever, so they're actually a great little lap pet on top of a towel. Tater was tiny and hot like a baked potato…also fluffy and white with brown spots like bits of potato peel, thus the name. Penny. About 2, but 6 months younger than Tater. Penny was brought into the fold because guinea pigs are social creatures and I worried that Tater was lonely. I didn't want to raise guinea pigs, however, so I got Tater neutered and then set out to find him a female companion. Supposedly, even neutered males wouldn't like one another, so it was important that I get him a girlfriend. Penny was really, really tiny and really, really cute. Shiny copper penny. Tater didn't like her, though. They didn't fight, but Tater ignored her. I was disappointed, but I wasn't about to take Penny back just for being…kind of a dud. When Penny was four months old, I had both pigs out running around on my bed and sort of on top of me. Penny was sitting on my chest, facing away from me, and I realized that "she" actually had really big testicles. Which explains Tater's initial lack of enthusiasm. Now both are neutered and they seem to enjoy one another's company. Tater is definitely dominant, but they both freak out if they can't see one another, so there's a bond there, even if it isn't true love.
Iris & Berry - brought home today. Formerly named "Icy" and "Blueberry." No idea as to how old, though they're adults. Probably a year or less. They are basic parakeets, but I think they seem especially pretty. Berry has especially clear facial markings and a deeper blue than I'm used to seeing. Iris is a unique blue--I'm calling her that because her color reminds me of a white iris--either that or skim milk. Berry is definitely a boy, but Iris might go either way... Iris seems to be the boss. They make darling chirpy sounds.

Comments

[teot.livejournal.com]

Bird lovers! I didn't know anyone else on my friends list had birds. I have a senegal and an african gray.

Re:

[velvetglove.livejournal.com]

Ooh, Senegal! You probably know then that a Meyers is basically the same bird with different coloring. And we'd love to have a gray some day (though I worry about the fact that it would likely outlive us, and who would take care of it then?).

Trying to explain to people who don't know birds how incredibly engaging and smart and funny they can be is really difficult, because their personalities don't really "show" in their faces the way a dog's does. I love all our "kids," but the birds are special.

Re:

[teot.livejournal.com]

Ooh, Senegal! You probably know then that a Meyers is basically the same bird with different coloring. And we'd love to have a gray some day (though I worry about the fact that it would likely outlive us, and who would take care of it then?).

Meyers tend to be more quiet than senegals, no? Or have I got that mixed up? But my senegal is a screamer so I don't know how meyers could be louder than my birdie, at least.

My senegal has attached himself to me, and tolerates the rest of the family (sometimes not at all). He's a sweetie.

And beware of grays - they tend to attach themselves to one person, tolerate the next, and snub the rest. So if you're hoping that a new gray is going to be your sweetie, you might be in for a surprise if he/she attaches to your hubby instead. I'm in the snubbing category with our gray right now. And they do tend to have a long life, so make sure that you've decided firmly on a gray, because if you do, you'll have them for the rest of your life.

Re:

[velvetglove.livejournal.com]

Garuda speaks primarily lovebird these days, which is harsh and grating and LOUD. The few Meyers noises he makes are much quieter. Lots of oinking and happy mumbles.

Huevo has always been my bird, and Garuda started out that way, but then he became Daddy's bird and has only recently become fond of me again. He actually seems to prefer me a little in just the last few days, which is kind of nice. In the heat of the Daddy's bird phase, however, he was violently opposed to my existence. For a smallish bird, he can bite very, very hard. Kazoo is mine, the dog is mine, and the guinea pigs belong to whoever brings the green leaves.

The prospect of dying and leaving a pet without proper care (emphasis on the proper) is a huge block in the way of getting a gray or a cockatoo. We're very protective of our pets and don't really trust anyone with them. We love both the vet (an avian specialist) we have here in Nashville, and also the woman who we leave the birds with when we travel (who used to head up the bird program at the zoo here). We weren't nearly so happy with the vet and pet sitter we had in Seattle. Even though I really miss the West Coast and would like to eventually move back, when we thought we'd actually be doing so, we were rather concerned about having to leave the good pet resources we've found here. When I'm feeling particularly down on Nashville and trying to make myself feel more positive, these points are always high on the pro-Nashville list.