Oh, wonderful Fourth of July week! :)

Hello again!

Hmmm, let’s see…. What has gone on this week that our awesome followers would want to read about?

Well, there was the fun of the Fourth of July. The birds got a break, sort of, for our country’s Independence Day. They only had to do one program, the main 11:30a.m. Survival Strategies program. There are, however, a couple downsides of the fourth festivities for our splendid birds: their mew is located very close to the horse-trailer and parade float set-up area, so there was lots of noise of the unusual sort for our birds, horses complaining, trucks and tractors revving, and people yacking and yelling away. (Well, they hear US yacking all the time, but that’s slightly different…) Teasdale was the most interested/annoyed at the proceedings, but as usual, that made for a good picture!

The other downside to the celebrations was the fireworks; as awesome as we humans think they are, the show was set off within sight of the mews, not extremely close, but definitely loud enough. When we came to the mews the next morning, no one had thrown up or had a heart attack, but neither were they completely calm; Haya was particularly princess-y that morning, and did NOT want to be bothered! She eventually cooperated and was enjoying her time among her public, but it was a close call.

The weather has been cooling off for the last week or so, but as the temperatures start climbing again, Teasdale and Kateri are getting warm! Suli, however, loves to soak up those rays! I am getting more and more time with her, and I think she is getting over her “Katie is a toy” phase. She is getting better at not helping me when I take her swivel and leash, which is definitely a good thing! After her turn on stage on Sunday, I took her back to her mew, and she is starting to like me so much, she didn’t want to fly off my arm. I am standing there in her mew, with my arm stretched out all the way and holding her above my head, and she is perfectly content to stand there, with gravity making her four pounds, four ounces feel like fifty pounds! Finally, she let me have my arm back and flew to her perch. What a goofball! 🙂

Good ol’ Isham had to have his beak and talons trimmed yesterday, and he was so good about it, I was shocked! I watched Melissa and Brandon trim Haya’s beak a couple of weeks ago, and between her screaming and squirming and unhappy attitude in general, you’d think it was a terrible ordeal! Isham handled it with such grace and calm, only struggling once as I held him; so patient. He looks so much better now, after only about a five-minute beak-icure and pedicure; his beak was getting way too long, according to Melissa.

Kateri is soooooo photogenic!! Her beautiful golden and brown feathers, poses, and her rouses! During the Fourth of July, Nicole and I didn’t have to work, so we sat in the audience to watch the show, and while everyone was asking questions afterward, I took frame-by-frame photos of her rouse. It was so great; she certainly knows how to wiggle her body! So beautiful!

One last highlight of the week: My awesome boyfriend, Ali, came up here to visit me, and was almost immediately put to work with me: carrying boxes, helping with show setup, painting Suli’s mew, and almost anything else except handling the birds. He’s been a great help and has definitely enjoyed seeing the birds (and I love seeing him!). We are painting Suli’s mew in preparation for the new perches for everyone’s mews! More on that next week.

Thanks for reading this slightly shorter entry! Comment if you have any particular requests for another topic, and I’ll write you next week!

P.S. I also had the chance to see some awesome friends purely by chance, and caught them just in time for them to see the program! Thanks for coming Steve and Rhonda!