Keeping the homefires burning

Chris and Holly enjoyed a very fun weekend at their Grandma Barbara's house.  It was very cold so we decided to light a fire in the fireplace in their room.  They've never seen a fire before and we weren't sure what to expect from them, but they LOVED it!  They sat on their swings in front of the fire and were mesmerized by the flames.  I think they liked the warmth it provided.  We did have a little trouble keeping the wood burning without a ton of newspaper kindling so we're going to have to find better wood.  And, yours truly spent so much time so close to the fire that my face and neck got all red and itchy!  A small sacrifice to keep the parrots entertained......Since they loved it so much we're going to make a lot of fires for them this holiday season. 

A cozy cockatoo fire

Holly (Rozy) was the first one to take an interest

Chris quickly became a full fledged firebug

At first he was very curious

Curiousity soon turned into contentment

They kept chasing each other off the swing closet to the fire....here's Holly taking a turn.

Finally they worked it out and settled in, one on each swing enjoying the golden glow.

Thanksgiving Cornucopia

Chris and Holly enjoyed delicious, nutritious fruits and veggies over the Thanksgiving holiday.  They always get a good variety of fresh food with their nutritional pellets, but this was an especially colorful Fall bounty.  The sugar snap peas are from their Grandma, Barbara.  And, the cooked carrots are because Holly is vitamin A deficient and his vet said he needs to eat orange veggies every day.  He prefers them cooked, because, you know, that's how they serve them in the jungle ;*)



Halloween Fun

Even though it isn't Halloween quite yet (and feels more like Christmas as it's currently snowing in NY) Chris and Holly have already had a lot of Halloween adventure.  A few days ago Chris attended a Halloween party at the famed Copacobana club in NYC hosted by Animal Fair Magazine to benefit the Humane Society of New York. The party was geared towards dogs, but Chris likes dogs and he likes the Humane Society, so we donned our Halloween costumes and headed over.  Holly won't wear a harness, much less a costume, so he wasn't really a great candidate for the party.  But, he gets very upset and hurt if he's left home without Chris so I arranged with a vet we know who lives nearby to babysit him for a few hours.  Luckily, she lives in the same building as my friend who was going with us to the party with her dog, so on the way to pick her up I dropped off Holly with some special snacks to keep him busy. 

Holly in his travel cage ready for transit

Chris dressed up as a hula dancer and I was an island girl.  As soon as we arrived at the party Chris was mobbed by the press that was there.  Being the only parrot in attendance, combined with his natural magnetism, kept him in demand for photos and interviews.  The dogs were all so adorable dressed in their costumes and most of their people parents were dressed up in matching thematic costumes.  There was a contest that was judged by the star of the new hit Bravo show "Mad Fashion", Chris Marsh.  Of course, my Chris got his photo taken with him.  And, some of his co-stars were also judging and they took my Chris' photo. 

Chris Marsh and Chris Minton

On the way home Chris had his usual adventures like getting his photo taken with people on the street.  Some security officers standing outside a hotel that was hosting a big party for GQ Magazine claimed they were Michelle Obama's secret service detail, but I don't believe them.  I think they were just security for the party and the celebs at the party (we saw Ashton Kutcher and Brad Goretsky go inside), but still Chris enjoyed meeting some new people.  Then Japanese tourists filmed Chris walking through Times Square and in the taxi Chris undressed himself and we somehow lost his hula outfit, which I don't think he's too upset about.

Chris with security detail outside a hotel

Back in the warmth and safety of my friend, Kara's, apartment Chris enjoyed a few moments with Kara and her menagerie before we collected Holly and went home.

Kara and Chris post party

Beautiful Olivier, a rescue cat Kara adopted

Adorable Chloe

More photos of Chris in his costume can be seen on both the Animal Fair and Humane Society of New York Facebook pages, as well as on Chris' Facebook page.  He is on FB under the name Chris Cockatoo.  Please friend him!!



Health Nuts

Chris and Holly like their junk food just like the rest of us, but for the most part they eat very healthy.  They love cooked vegetables!  Holly, especially, gobbles them up.  The other day I steamed kale, brussel sprouts and carrots and cooked tofu.  Chris loved the tofu and Holly really went to town on the brussel sprouts as seen below.  Then he snuck into Chris' cage and snatched a cooked carrot while Chris was busy playing.



Day Trip

Chris and Holly took a day trip up to Barbara's house today so they could enjoy the beautiful Indian Summer weather on her porch.  It's nice they had one more day of unexpected warm weather up in the country, but it's always so sad knowing they will be stuck indoors for most of the next six months.  If only we lived in a warmer climate! 

Chris was very excited to see Barbara (it had been a few weeks) and both boys enjoyed nutriberries and rice pudding alfresco.  Barbara sent them/us home with pasta, which they enjoyed when we got back home. 

Below are a few photos of them enjoying the porch from earlier this summer:



Sayonara Summer '11

Chris and Holly bid farewell to summer today with their final (probably) day on the porch.  They seemed to sense this was their last hurrah and were a bit subdued as they quietly enjoyed the beautiful, warm day.

Chris enjoying his beautiful view

Holly relaxing on his spiral swing

Holly in the shadows

Contentment



Bird Road Trip

Finally, the much talked about bird road trip to Maryland that was conceived over a year ago has come to fruition!  Last weekend I packed up Chris & Holly and a ton of supplies, food and toys and drove them four hours to Dr. L's new house in Maryland.  Dr. L used to board them when he lived in NYC but he moved a year ago.  We hadn't seen him since.  He invited us down for a visit and offered to keep the chickens with him for a couple of weeks so yours truly could have a little break (some break so far, with cat surgery and a broken down car!).  The boys did extremely well in the car and have adjusted nicely in their temporary new home.  They have one more week in MD and then I go get them for the road trip back home.  Here are a few photos of them after we reached our destination.

Chris sitting on his travel cage in Dr. L's kitchen

Better view of little Disneyland in a cage

Holly trying to get Dr. L's undivided attetion by sitting on his laptop

Not giving up...

Mission accomplished!  Holly gets his head scratched.

Their old doggie buddy, MacKenzie.

Maestro

Chris loves to wave a 'baton' around like he's conducting an orchestra.  He also loves when Barbara sings to him.  So, Barbara grabbed the baton and attempted to conduct Chris in some singing and dancing to one of his favorite Disney songs.  Often when she hits the word 'duck' Chris will quack.  But, on this particular night Chris wasn't all that focused.  He did a lot of dancing initially, but by the time I got the camera he was a bit scattered.  Still, you can see the Star Search potential.

Who's the Leader of the Band...

We tried to get Chris to focus on his dancing for a second video, but after a few seconds he got interested in something else.  Unfortunately, that "something else" was eating the baton.

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck...

So we took a final shot at a video:



Zero Attention Span

Meanwhile, on the street, he dances up a storm, but that's when he's got a captive audience.  I think my friend got a video of it on her cel phone so I'll have to try to get that from her.

Pizza Toppings

This is probably self-explanatory but there's a pionus in my pizza!  Some friends took me to dinner and I ordered a soy cheese vegetable pizza.  I took the leftovers home to share with Chris and Holly and while I was putting it in their bowls Holly disappeared.  I found him standing on the pizza eating away.  I know Holly loves to eat and I know he isn't shy about helping himself, but I was stunned to find him literally in the pizza!  Needless to say, the section he's standing on now belongs exclusively to him.  I draw the line at bird feet in my food!



Nuts for Coconuts

Since Chris and Holly love coconut sorbet I decided it would be a good idea to give them some fresh coconut so I bought one at the local health food store.  Little did I know how difficult it would be to crack it open.

Intact coconut

Barbara (Chris' grandma) said that Poppy (Chris' late grandpa) used to use a nail and a hammer to open them, so I improvised and got a hammer and a screwdriver out.  I hammered a hole in the coconut but nothing happened.  I could hear a lot of water/juice splashing around so I stuck a straw in the hole and drank it.  It was actually very good.  But I still had to crack the coconut so I hammered the screwdriver into a few more spots until it cracked and after that I was able to break it in half.

Making significant progress........

I then managed to break off some smaller pieces, but Chris and Holly didn't seem to know what to do with them, so I took a grapefruit spoon and scraped off coconut shavings for them.  Chris loved it, but Holly rejected it (odd since he'll eat almost anything) and said "apple" which meant he wanted some apple. (He's so smart!) Apparently Barbara had been feeding him apple earlier.  So, while Chris enjoyed fresh coconut Holly munched on an apple slice. 

A coconut mustache on Chris' lower beak

Holly at the porch food station finishing his apple slice

When I put the boys back into their cages in the evening so they could eat dinner, I sprinkled some shaved coconut on their fresh food.

Chris' fruit and veggie bowl topped off with coconut shavings

There is still half a coconut left, so more for Chris to enjoy tomorrow and maybe Holly will warm up to it.



Red, White & Cockatoo!

Chris is having a very patriotic 4th of July today.  He and Holly are in the country, enjoying fresh air and lots of time on the porch and today we went to a nearby country fair.  Chris wore a red harness with a blue leash, and, with his white feathers, he was quite the patriot.  As usual a crowd gathered around him and he put on a show, holding his leash and dancing.  Before we went home he enjoyed a coconut ice pop. 

When we got home he helped take the dog for a walk, had a snack, a shower and is now taking a nap.  Later he's going to get some corn on the cob.  All in all a very good day.

Red, white and blue cockatoo

Maintenance Man

A couple of weeks ago we needed to have one of our locks changed so the maintenance man came up to do it.  As usual Chris and Holly got involved and had to monitor the process.  Their jungle gym is behind the door, but since the door had to stay open during the repairs the jungle gym wasn't as taught, but they hung on anyway. 

A bird's eye view

Watching like a hawk

Holly in the upper left corner

Holly not happy about the  invasion of his space or his loosely hanging jungle gym

In Memoriam

A friend of The Cockatoo Chronicles passed away this week and we would like to send our condolences to his family.  Bravo had the best pet parents any dog could hope for and we know he had a wonderful life and a peaceful passing.

Bravo and his mom

Happy Birthday to Holly

Sweet little Holly celebrated his eighth birthday (hatchday) over the weekend.  He enjoyed a carrot cake cupcake and strawberry ice cream.  Holly is a big foodie and he lit up like a Christmas tree when he spotted his special treats!  Chris enjoyed some, too, and there was even a mini chocolate peanut butter cupcake for their mom (yours truly).  Word on the street is that Barbara has some special treats waiting for Holly at her house as well. 

Holly's birthday treats about to make their surprise appearance...

The birthday boy very interested in the arriving treats

Birthday beak dripping with ice cream

Playtime in Katonah

Chris and Holly enjoyed last weekend at Barbara's house in the country.  Although it wasn't warm enough for them to be outside yet this season, they had plenty of fun in the house. 

They each set up camp on a shelf of the bookcase

and groomed each other's heads over the partition.

A reflective moment enjoying the wonders of nature.

Chris was impressed with this pink dogwood tree outside his window.

Both Chris and Holly are now spending the rest of the week at the Veterinary Center for Birds & Exotics having a little vacation.  They love the attention they get there from the all-female staff and they have befriended two female parrots who live there, an African Gray named Target and an Eclectus named Stop.  I think Chris and Stop have the hots for each other.  They make a cute couple!

Easter Chickens

Chris' beloved Barbara (his grandma) came to visit us for Easter.  It was also her birthday over the holiday so we celebrated both occasions with dinner out and then some presents (for Chris & Holly, too.)  Chris was very attentive to Barbara when she was opening her gifts, in fact he stayed by her side the entire time.  He even serenaded her with a chorus of chicken noises.  Holly can be heard in the background clicking for Barbara and then they both whistled at/for her and, of course, Barbara makes all of the noises back for them!  All the video and photo coverage is below:

Chicken serenade

Holly having Easter fun with mommy's money and the cats' ball

An Easter gift of a candy filled bird for Barbara from Chris & Holly

Chris and Barbara looking at Easter cards

Checking out a new cd

Chris admiring Barbara's new necklace

Holly checking out his new Easter chick Pez dispenser