~Ziggy~

IN MEMORY OF ZIGGY
Saturday November 10.2007 Ziggy passed away. There was no apparent cause. She lived with us from the time she was one month old and she would have been sixteen years old on May 4. She was our first "babie" When we first got her she had a fatty tumor on her keel bone. The vet said that she would be fine, other than looking a little lop-sided! She was never sick the entire time that she lived with us. I think that maybe, all these years later, that tumor turned into something more. We will never know. It was a privlege to have her live with us. She will always be missed and she can never be replaced in our hearts.

~Stevie~

Guess what?... I'm back!! I hated it down in the Keys. I don't know why they sent me there. I missed everyone really bad and I sure am glad to be back. I spent my fourth birthday there and I sure was lonely. I have a new favorite person and that is dad. I have given mom some scars on her fingers. She can feed me and clean my cage but that's it. She thinks something bad happened to me in the Keys ...but I'm not saying. I know that it hurts her that I won't let her pick me up or play with me but I don't care. She should not have sent me away. I know that she thought she was doing the right thing but she didn't even ask me! The only people that I like are dad, AJ and Austin ( he is our new grandson, born in the Keys) the rest better just leave me alone. If anyone comes into the house I come off of the playpen and try to bite him or her. Of course I come off of the playpen whenever I want to. I don't have the nickname "kamikaze bird" anymore because I lower myself down now and gently drop to the floor. I know I am not supposed to do this and I get put back everytime, but I keep trying. I learned to say "lay down" and "no Casey" while I was in the Keys. That's all I ever heard because they have a dog that is really out of control!! Maybe one day I will forgive my mom for what she did but I am just not ready to right now.

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~Shadow~

I'm the favorite, I'm the favorite!! At least that is what I think. Feb. the 12th I turned four years old and I am still the apple of mom and dad's eyes. I'm smart and cute and still as cuddly as ever. I can say so many new things that it would take more room than this whole page has and I know I have to share with the others. Elvis thinks he is smarter than me but I know it is not true. I can do anything that he does and I can say anything that he says. Mom and dad do not try to follow the Dr. Irene Pepperberg's way of training any more. They say that I am not a circus animal and I will do tricks if I want to and learn new things if I want to. It seems to them that Alex, Dr. Pepperberg's bird, doesn"t have much of a life outside of the Lab, and they don't want that for me. They love me just the way that I am, cute and cuddly (Did I already mention that?!!). I love mom and dad equally and don't really have a favorite among them. I still won't go to just anyone, but outside my immediate flock I do have a favorite person and that is Charlie. He lives across the street and stays with us when mom and dad go away. I know all of the right things to do so that he gives me a lot of attention when they are away. My favorite trick is to lie on my back when I am in my cage and get him to pick me up. That gives me extra shoulder time while he is cleaning bowls and taking care of the other birds!! I have him trained well. I still love to go outside and bathe in the hose and just hang out around the pool while everyone else is swimming. To stand on mom or dads shoulder and play the "catch the birdie" game is "pure heaven". I flip off of their shoulder and they catch me before I fall. The only thing that they would change about me is mom says I am very passive when it comes to the other birds. I duck my head when they come around me and either yell or run like crazy if they try to touch me or pick a fight but like I said before I'm a lover not a fighter!

(Shadow imitating neighbor's dog: shaddog.wav) (Shadow doing his chicken: schicken.wav)

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~Elvis~

"Bow down to me, bow down to me I am the king" and everyone knows it!! Last Sept. 17 when I turned four years old I really came "alive", or so that is what everyone is saying. I sure was not going to let Shadow steal the whole show! I know that I am smarter than him and that I can say more than he does and that I can just about out do him in everything. I have a girlfriend who just adores me and a family who thinks I am the best looking Blue and Gold that they have ever seen! I am the "king" of this flock and get to do just about everything that I want to. If they go outside and forget to take me I just yell "help" until someone comes and gets me. When they leave the house and I am in my cage I can yell help so loud that our neighbor across the street can hear me when she is outside!! I almost got her to come over and see if anything was wrong, but mom told her that I just wanted out of my cage (darn foiled again!). Mom and dad told me that when they go out I have to stay in my "birdie jail" so that I am safe. I try to convince them that I would be fine left on my playpen... but my pleas have fallen on deaf ears. I must admit that I showed them I am an escape artist and got out of my cage one time. There I was just sitting patiently on top when they came home... see no harm done. But I couldn't explain the new chew marks in mom's rolltop desk or the slats missing out of the blinds. So for now I have to stay "locked up" when they are gone. The other day mom and I were outside with the others and of course, I was sitting on her chair , and she was scratching me under my wing and I said "feels good" and I thought she was going to fall off of her chair. No one else was around and she can't prove it... but I did say it. I also taught her something new. Now when I am grooming her and I bite a little too hard on her finger she says "doesn't feel good", I stop because I know what she means!! I seem to be having all of these funny feelings in the springtime. They make me be mean towards Priscilla sometimes and I get really loud. They pass after about a month and I am back to normal but it sure disrupts this household. Mom says that when I am older I will understand why I feel that way. I know that during this time I get really jealous of anyone showing any attention to Priscilla. Normally it doesn't bother me as long as I am getting attention too. I really don't have a favorite between mom and dad. When I am with one I want to be with the other one so that their feelings don't get hurt. I love them both so much. I still adore going outside and frolicking in the hose. I just can't get enough of the water it feels so good. I could stay outside all day if mom and dad would let me. I watch over everyone and when a bird flies over I say "it's okay its just a bird". My favorite thing to do is if mom or dad is laying down in the grass I run over to their side flip on my back and lie down with them!! Life just doesn't get any better than this.?

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~Priscilla~

Have I come a long way since moving here! I love it here, I have been here since I was about nine months old and I have never known another family. I vaguely remember Norma, the lady I use to live with ,but mom and dad are my true family and it just took awhile for me to get here. Since they don' know the exact day that I was born they gave me August 1 for my birthday so I am about one month older than Elvis. Speaking of Elvis he thinks that I am his girlfriend. To tell you the truth I have not made up my mind!! I like him enough, we groom each other and feed each other but there are certain times of the year when he is so mean to me that I can't stand him!! I know that at four years old, I am to young to start a family, but if he doesn't watch out he may be looking for a new girlfriend! Of course there is no pressure from mom and dad. They have told us, if when the time is right, we want to have a clutch of our own, that was okay with them but if we don't want to that is okay too. I still am a lady of very few words. I prefer to just sit back and watch what goes on rather than participating. I don't say those bad words anymore and mom is real grateful. I guess if I had to say I had a favorite it would be mom. I am not mean to anyone and I like dad just as much but I love to be with her. I also have another "boyfriend" and that is Charlie from across the street. During those times of the year that Elvis is jealous, I make it a point to get him to pick me up when we are outside, just to see Elvis go nuts!! Speaking of outside...I adore it as much as the others do. I love to bathe in the hose, I have to almost wrestle it away from Elvis to get my fair share! Just sitting outside on the chair is as close to pure bliss as you can get. I do have a problem with Ziggy. I don't know why, I just can't stand her! Maybe because she is older than me she thinks she is my boss...well she isn't and I let her know everytime she tries to boss me around. Of course mom and dad come running when she yells out but I really wouldn't hurt her, I don't think. I know that I am ten times her size so I guess they feel they have to watch out for her. If I could change anything about myself I would talk more. I know the words are there is just seems so hard to get them to come out!

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~Sammy~

Well guys I'm still here. I come every morning and afternoon just to see my "human family". Mom yells out "Hey Sammy how are you?" I just sit on the wire and listen to her talk to me. After that big storm blew me out of my nest and mom hand raised me, I decided that this was my home and I would stay here forever. Everybody in the neighborhood puts out good things to eat for all of us doves and all the other birds that live here. There are birdbaths in every yard for us to bathe in and it just is the nicest place. I don't have a mate, mom thinks it is because I am smaller than the other doves, I don't really know why, but I am a loner. Oh I have my flock that I hang out with but I don't have that "special someone". It doesn't make me unhappy because I think my life is great. There has been a problem lately with a Periguin Falcon that has taken up residence in this area. The other day mom was sitting outside and she saw him and yelled a warning and everyone flew, but unfortunately one of my friends didn't make it. So now when we are around the whole neighborhood watches out and if they see him they yell out a warning and we take cover. I know that it is nature and all that...but we are entitled to live just like everyone else.! I wish every wild bird could have a nice place to live like this one.

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~Mia~

I was rescued from a fate worse than death!! My previous owner was going to open my cage and let me take my chances with the pigeons! He thought I was about the size of one? Well my red tail would have made me an out cast from the moment that I tried to join them not to mention I am no where near pigeon size!

I am about 20 years old, that is the best guess that my new mommy can make with figuring all the places that I have lived. There was a woman named Michelle, and some men, and before that there was another woman whose name I just cannot remember but I did not like it with her! I was there for much too long and I did not like it one bit. I became a biter and was mistreated in ways that made me start to pluck myself so that my chest is permanently devoid of feathers in one area. Shame on me, but my new parents don’t seem to mind! My last home before this one was with the man who was going to let me go. He was the maintenance man of an apartment building and I learned how to mumble really well! In fact I can carry on entire mumbled conversations!!! I really liked him but he decided that I did not fit his life style. Can you believe that he tried to sell me? Mom and Dad thought I would make a good companion for Shadow so they came to look at me but decided that I would not fit in their “flock”. About a month went by and he could not sell me and that is when he called my mom and told her that he was going to let me go and the rest is history.

I had a really bad “potty” mouth with words that mom and dad did not want the other birds to learn. So my quarantine was a little longer than normal. At this time I was also DNA sexed and my name was changed to Mia because I was a girl. I was finally introduced to Shadow and as it turns out he only has eyes for mom! But that’s okay because I am really shy and prefer my own cage next to his anyways!

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~Cayenne~

Cayenne's New Home (Nosy Rosy)

Today August 6 starts a new chapter in my life! Mom and dad realize that they are not going to live forever and that I will out live them by a number of years! They then began the pain staking process of finding me a “forever” home. They wanted to have a say in where I went and to my continuing happiness. Enter Chase and believe it or not, his wife Alexis. They are a young couple and I will be with them for many years. Chase and Alexis came to my house to get to know me. I was stand-offish at first but I slowly warmed up to them. In fact I became very comfortable around them and started to talk! Oh yeah they also got to know Sophia because she will go with me! Chase had a really neat aviary waiting for us. Of course I have to be a little stand-offish with him, I mean I am still loyal to mom and dad! I think that with time I will do just fine with my new family.

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~Sophia~

02/27/07 Photo	01/21/07 Photo	01/12/07 Photo
01/07/07 Photo	12/31/06 Photo	12/24/06 Photo
Sophia's New Home

Well I went with Cayenne to live with Chase and Alexis. It has been hard on me since I was born with mom and dad already there! It is very difficult for me but I understand why mom and dad found a new family for me. I am sure over time I will warm up to Chase and Alexis because they are very nice to me! Being with Cayenne has really helped me. Mom did not want me to bond to my brother, Niko, so I spent about a month sharing a large cage with Cayenne. She is definitely the bossy type! But her and I get along just fine. I know over time I will get to love Chase and Alexis like I loved mom and dad! Well maybe not as much as I loved dad!

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~Niko~

03/27/07 Photo	02/27/07 Photo
02/20/07 Photo	02/14/07 Photo	02/07/07 Photo

Well here I am! Mommy and daddy took me from the nest on Feb. 3, 2007 one day after they planned to because it was raining here and they did not want me to get wet. I am twice the size of Sophia! I weighed in at 416 grams when dad pulled me from the nest! Seeing how Sophia weighed only 200 grams I would say I am a big boy. Mom affectionately calls me “Chunk”. When she was feeding me my second feeding she went to gently wipe my beak, where some formula had gotten and when she reached for the cloth to wipe it, I slurped it in! Mom was so surprised, she was laughing so hard, she could not feed me and I was sitting there with my mouth open, ready and willing! One thing I will not do is miss any food! I mostly just eat and sleep and “poop” a lot. But that’s my job for now. I’ll catch up to Sophia soon enough!  

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~Picture Album~

Baby pictures		Our kids playing in the sprinkler.
Stevie.	Shadow.	Both	Priscilla.	Elvis.
Action Photos
Sophia "Rattle Toy"	Sophia "Dog Chaser"	Sophia "My Wings"	Sophia "Fly Me"	Sophia "Chew Toy"
I'm still Hungry!	Ain't I just too cute!	I don't want to step up!	What's this?	" DANGER Will Robinson "
It's mine! I got it!	Easy Open Package my foot!	HELP! I rolled over and can't get up!