Pickles The Parrot: A Humorous Look At Life With An African Grey Read Online Free PDF

insisted.
    Crap.
    Time for drastic measures. “Daddy’s home!” I
hollered with excitement and out pops a head saying “Huh?”
    “THERE! SEE?” I ask them.
    “Is that a REAL bird?” one asks.
    “Forget it” I said and went out on the floor
to help them, thinking these guys are thick.
    Most people got a kick out of Pickles and
Pickles fit right in with the fly shop. He seldom disappointed
anyone with his antics and he enjoyed the social interaction. I
think it really helped him in becoming a well-balanced, albeit
pushy, bird. Later on, he would start picking and choosing the days
he wanted to come to work. I guess everybirdy needs a day off
sometimes.
     
     

Chapter 3
     
    The Yard and The Neighborhood
     
    Months had gone by and it was like Pickles
had been with us forever. Everything was going well. I had
purchased a screened bird backpack and Pickles would go for walks
with us or sometimes just shopping. He loved accompanying me to the
grocery store and while in the produce isle, would pipe up “Wanna
buy a bean.” Green beans were his food of choice these days.
    He was quick to chat it up with people and
that was often embarrassing because Pickles was behind me so people
in front thought I was talking to myself and making strange noises.
For weeks, he had been making weird beeping noises but only while
in the grocery store. I didn’t know what it was until one day,
while standing in line at the check out till; the sound was coming
from both infront and behind me. He had picked up the sounds of the
lottery terminal and the clerks found this highly entertaining.
    Pickles would willingly get in his backpack
or recently purchased travel cage. He was interested in seeing new
places. This included our trips to lake cabins for our fishing
trips. By now, we had 3 different cages other than his travel cage
and backpack. We would set up a cage at the cabin, next to a window
so that Pickles could watch the wildlife. He loved to watch all the
birds and bugs and quickly picked up 4 different loon calls. He
would announce to us “There’s a bug!” if one flew by and this
included hummingbirds. We would correct him but he was pretty sure
that anything that small, had to be a bug.
    Pickles is a good traveler and he loves new
places and new scenery. This was a blessing since we spent so much
time staying in cabins, tents or our RV and fishing different
lakes. He was perfectly happy to be set up in a window where he
could not only watch nature, but also watch us in our boats on the
water. We never went far enough that we couldn’t keep an eye on
him, in case there were bird thieves in the area, and we could
always hear him.
    We’re not bird watchers in the sense that we
take our binoculars everywhere and hunt around for different
species but we take great pleasure in watching the wild birds
around us and everything else that nature provides. There’s nothing
better than waking deep in the outdoors. You lay there, still
dozing, reluctant to rise and dreading the alarm clock. Slowly your
eyes flutter open and reality sets in. You're not at home! You're
at the lake!
    A small campfire comforts you as you sip your
coffee in your favorite torn and tattered Lumberman's jacket.
Coffee taste so much better in the crisp, clean air just as the sun
rises. You know with certainty there's a lake only feet from where
you sit but it's hidden by the mist rising from the water. You know
there's fish because you can hear the soft splashes as they sip the
morning chironomids off the surface.
    A sigh escapes your lips as the sun slowly
makes it appearance, struggling to free itself from beyond the
grassy hillside; glorious colors bathe the sky and blanket the
ground around you, giving the grass a soft velvety appearance.
Whisky Jacks, the friendliest birds in the forest, are gliding into
your campsite to perch patiently in hopes of breakfast. Beef Jerky
is the only food within reach and before you can rip it from its
package an especially