Tag Archives: cockatiel care

Just in case I haven’t yet emphasized with sufficient clarity how much my little gal loves waffles, this should clear up any confusion. Last Sunday we gathered for family brunch. Pearl, as always, was invited. Mom made homemade waffles on her gourmet waffle iron. Then she set the pile o’ waffles out on the counterContinueContinue reading “Escape to Waffle Mountain”

In addition to bird jewelry, bird watching, and, well, birds, I also love bird art. Because I have spent the greater portion of my life to date recovering from an eating disorder (along with a host of attendant hangers-on like depression and anxiety) sometimes it takes me awhile before I really “get it” about howContinueContinue reading “What a Bird and a Gourd Have in Common”

Every few months or so, Pearl does something called “molting”. It starts gradually….a feather here, another feather there. Then a longer feather – let’s say a tail feather – suddenly drops out. And it’s on. It is worth mentioning that Pearl seems as mystified by the process as any of the rest of us.

It is always a big event when a child experiences their first lemonade stand. So like any proud Mama, I was bursting with pride as Pearl “helped” me to make our first spring batch of fresh lemonade. Pearl (naturally) assigned herself the role of supervising.

If I’d had a tree house when I was little (which I didn’t – I was way too clumsy to manage to hoist myself up an actual tree) I imagine this is the sign I would have hung on the door. “For Bird Lovers Only: All Others – KEEP OUT.” So when I first heardContinueContinue reading “For Bird Lovers Only”

For 10 years I have had a birdie companion. For 10 years that birdie companion has tried to bite my nose whenever I pick her up and go to kiss her soft feathery belly. For 10 years I have been trying (clearly unsuccessfully) to break her of this unwelcome habit. But after reading more booksContinueContinue reading “Beak to Beak”

IMO, you haven’t truly lived until you’ve taken a car ride with a cockatiel. I am going to spare you the audio version, but while Pearl gets revved up when she thinks she is going somewhere, and she is super-excited when we arrive (unless we are arriving at the V-E-T), the getting there can beContinueContinue reading “Are We There Yet?”

When I was 6 years old, I began begging my folks for a bird. By the time I turned 8 years old, I had my first parakeet, Perky. Perky and I spent hours together each day – he taught me about handling and understanding birds (some days I was a better student than others) andContinueContinue reading “The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill”

The other day I tried to brown one of my mom’s homemade veggie burgers on my stove. I almost burned my head off. Let me tell you, burning hair smells just TERRIBLE. When I told my good friend Monica about the incident, the one and only question she asked me was, “And what were youContinueContinue reading “Shiny Tasty Things”

I don’t know if all birds have the kind of love affair with the toothbrush that Pearl does, but there is definitely something special going on there. Mine is electric. It looks like this: It is long, slim, and two-toned. So I suppose my long, slim, and two-toned avian might be forgiven for assuming thatContinueContinue reading “My Toothbrush, My Friend”