pet connection

Not a week after Velocity the Rabbit decided to explore the Greater Backyard, Eddie the Parrot jumped out into the even more exciting and dangerous wilds of the Front Lawn Savannah. I had the front door open while unloading groceries and had forgotten he was on his playstand.

Apparently, he walked out right behind me. The dogs know better, but Eddie plays by his own rules, like any parrot.

I didn’t know he was outside until I’d put all the groceries away and realized he hadn’t walked into the kitchen to demand some of the fresh fruit. Some things were in my favor, primarilly that I knew he didn’t have enough feathers to get very far. But he’s a fast walker and a bold little bird, so he could have gotten a few houses away, and into some pretty heavy brush.

So I grabbed a towel, his food bowl and some of his most favorite treats, stepped out the door and asked, “What are you DOing?”

From the tall hedges between my house and the neighbor’s, I heard the response. “What are YOU doing?”

“Looking for you, you black-headed freak,” I muttered, as I started whistling in our single-note call and response game. I whistled. He whistled. I whistled. He whistled. After a few minutes of this I finally spotted him, some 10 feet above my head in the bay tree. He’d crawled up there and seemed to have little interest in crawling back down. Not for seeds. Not for an almond. Not for an apple.

“Last chance, Eddie,” I warned him.

He flapped his wings, threatening to take to the skies. I knew he couldn’t, but I also was getting the feeling he had no intention of giving up his newfound freedom.

So I grabbed the hose, turned the water on full, and sprayed him right out of the tree as he screeched in fear and fury. After he hit the ground, I walked over to where he landed and offered him my finger. “Step up,” I told him. He flashed his eyes and raised his head back, ready to nail me but good.

There’s no reasoning with an enraged parrot. I dropped the towel over him, folded him in it like a parrot burrito and it was over.

He’s now back in his cage, eating a slice of apple,flipping his wet feathers and glaring at me.

You’re welcome, Eddie.

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