Busy Birds

Thursday, August 24, 2023

Yesterday, I was in a clean-up mood and running around looking for a “quickie mop.” I’m referring to a simple stick topped by a sponge and a squeegee. Home Depot doesn’t carry the small item, that’s no surprise. I went down the hill to Lowe’s and found that mop type, and only a few of them. Maybe small mops are scarce because many others, too, are in clean-up moods.

Could be, “Tis’ the season.” Or maybe there are shortages because of supply-side issues.

Anyway, I brought home that mop and roared through the “bird room.” First, clearing the floor beneath Gilber’s cage of dropped seeds and shaken feathers and dander. Gilbert, a pigeon, is an easy bird; but his frequent wing spreads and body shakes release and float lots of feathers and dander into the surroundings.

Next, I turned my attention to Cockatoo Peaches. His always-messy area seemed worse than usual.

Peaches is a Citreon Cockatoo, the smallest of the Cockatoos; he’s about the size of a Raven. Size doesn’t matter because he’s as noisy as any giant Cockatoo. Peaches constantly is talking, screaming, or singing, and making his presence known. Honestly, he sometimes makes me forget he’s only a bird and we have conversations.

Peaches tosses most of his food onto his cage floor. And lots of it onto my floor. I overfeed the guy because he weighs only 11 grams. I figure he needs lots to eat. However, he wastes nearly everything offered in his dish, and afterward, works intently at “pulling and “killing” the empty food vessel. I’ve had to do some clever anchoring to keep the dish put, which so far is working.

After scolding both birds for being untidy, and after cleaning up from them, I felt happier.

I’ve tried out many types of mops and for my purpose, a stick, sponge, and squeegee style works best. By the way, a day or two earlier while also at Lowe’s, I picked up a small rolling bucket that accommodated nicely my frequent sponge dippings.

Dear Friends: Next week, another appointment with birds, mop, and bucket. Diana