Inara

Open hearts, can open doors.

Love these amazing horses! Got to see a group of them perform when I was younger, and fell madly for them. I had no idea that they were born brown then changed color as they matured until seeing the documentary. Thanks for the post!

Love hearing these stories, both salty and sweet! I can just picture them all. Dave, I could have used Smokey's hosting skills a few times with my in-laws. Miss GG is a heart tugger, for sure. She is a bit like Eliza Dolittle, tender hearted but puts up a tough front with her colorful language. Am typing on my tablet so am typing challenged, will be back for more when I am on my laptop.

How great to see your big, beautiful guy! He is really thriving. My first thought also is that he wants to go fishing haha. I can just picture him guarding his "fish toys." Great story, and love the pics!

What lovely news to tune into this morning! Miss GG's strand of pearls is ever growing. She is happy to have you and David both back where you belong. Now, time for my afternoon coffee, and to catch up on all the back Miss GG posts that I have missed. xo

She is saying: I am 'Zon Woman, hear me sing! See my feathers, and watch me fly and strut my stuff. Life is wonderful! Hey, how come no big, strong guy is taking me up on this? I'm staying out here until someone comes along. If you think I'm going back home without a date, you've got to be kidding me. :D

HRH Inara has been demanding to know, "Are you a girl?!" to the point of being over the top. So after answering her a scrillion times, last night I was busy cooking dinner and ignored her. She asked, "Are you a girl? .............. Are you a girl? .....................Are you a birdie? .......... Are you? ........................(I'm still ignoring her).................. 'Hey! Are you there??!" At this point, I just started laughing, and said, "I am here. I am just ignoring you, you little snicklefritz." This morning, I was having my coffee and catching up on email in the other room, and I hear this sweet little voice saying, "snick-el-fitz...snickel--fitz." Apparently, that caught her attention and I will probably be sorry as it may turn into her next "thing of the week." For the moment, though, it is adorable the way she says it. Am very glad that early on I instituted the "No swearing within earshot of the bird," rule. (I am included in that, because I was raised by wolves -- my dad and 3 older brothers -- and have been known to swear like a sailor at times) The way she zeroes in on things, I am certain she would *enhance* her vocabulary rapidly. Her favorite song is "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," and she loves it when I sing it to her. She will say, "Get the rainbow," when she wants me to sing it. Up until now, "rainbow" was my favorite thing that she says, because of the way that she says it (very lyrical) but I have to say "snicklefritz" has taken its place. Does anyone else have a very favorite word or something in particular that your pal(s) says or does that just melts you?

Around here we call it "Inara's thing of the week." When she figures out some new word or puts together a new phrase, she love to use it -- over and over. One week it was, "Hey girl," to the point that we started referring to her as Justin Beaker. What I find fascinating, is how they will put together an entire phrase, like "Drink of water," all at once, like your adorable Phoenix just did. I know that when I am practicing a foreign language, I try on new phrases and word combinations, too.

am not seeing a link or a vid -- is it my old eyesight or did I miss something?

I vote for putting a cage in your room, at least for awhile so that Sophie feels the companionship.

So very sorry, Nancy to hear such sad news. It is just so unfair that many of our non human companions have such short life spans. They pack so much love and loyalty into so few years that they touch our hearts forever.

It's hard not to take personally, and after all these years together your hurt human feelings are a natural reaction. You have already pinned down what you did differently, and now it's time to relax back into your usual self with Brutus. With the caveat being to give him a notice before smooching or reaching. Which you already know. HRH Inara loves beak kisses, but I always take her beak beteen my thumb and forefinger before the smooches. This way I have a grip on things in the off chance that she gets carried away, startled, or just decides to strike for whatever reason. Also, I've never given her food before or after a smooch, because I never want her reaching her beak toward my face to tell me she wants food, in case in her opinion I do not get it fast enough, or just don't get what she wants and then could wind up on the receiving end of a frustrated peck. Tricky, living with these guys, but worth every second. You and Brutus have a wonderful bond and he just had a moment.

what a heart pounding story. Am so very happy that your sweet Rico survived his great adventure, and that you did too!

Brat Birds, you are So correct! She still orders me to "Go get the cookie!" every chance she gets. BaileysPapa, Bailey is almost 2, and Inara had just barely turned two when she came to live with us. At that time, she was doing exactly what you've described Bailey as doing now at that same age range. So just keep talking to him, and refrain from falling into the "mimic" routine of just teaching him to mimic. Just do what you are doing, and when he does say words, find a way to repeat that word back to him in a sentence. Then just talk to him/with him as you would a toddler or foreigner. For example when Inara would say "cookie" I would say, "I like cookies. Do you like cookies? Do you want a cookie?" or when I would leave the room I'd say, "I'm going to the kitchen to cook." then "I am cooking in here, now." Just describing to her verbally everything I'm doing, and what she is doing, and where she is, etc. And I don't ever talk in shorthand/baby talk with her. I use complete words and sentences. So she does too now for the most part. Other times, she just does her R2D2 sounds and sometimes just gets stuck on her phrase or word of the week. When she comes up with something new, or when something strikes her fancy, she will perseverate on it for a few days over and over and then incorporates it into her overall language. It's very fun to see her learning process. I am betting that Bailey will start busting loose within the next 6 months. We all know that each bird is unique and some will enjoy language, some will enjoy snuggling, some will be escape artists, and some are the silent types, etc. She just likes conversing more than anything else. She'd rather chat than play with toys. For now anyway -- who knows what she'll be up to a year from now.

LOVE these! What darling pics, and well worth the wait. But I agree -- more please!

Hi everyone! It has been ages since we've been here. Had some wonky problems getting onto the site awhile back, then I completely forgot my password, and finally thought to have it reset. Inara is now 3 years and 8 months old and is just such a little smarty pants. She continues to be healthy and happy as a little clam. Still not a snuggler (don't expect her to be) but she loves to be near, and adores beak kisses and having her toes and feet played with. She talks up an absolute storm and loves to carry on conversations. One afternoon a couple of weeks ago I was in the bathtub, the house was super quiet, and this little voice piped up with: Inara: Are you there? me: Yes, I am here. Inara: Are you in the shower? me: Yes, I am in the shower. (I don't differentiate between bath and shower) Inara: I like a shower. me: Yep. I like a good shower too. Inara: I like the tree. me: Yes, you have a very fine tree. Inara: Do you want to go to the tree? me: No, because I am in the shower. Inara: Do you like the tree. me: Yes, I said it is a very good tree. Inara: Let's go to the tree. me: No. I am staying here. Inara: How about a cookie? Want to share a cookie? me: OK, I give up. We can share a cookie me <---- leaves a perfectly good bubble bath to go share an ok almond butter sandwich This week she began asking me, "Are you a girl?" Something that we don't ask her, because we know she is a girl. So I say, "Yes, I am a girl. You are a bird, Dezi is a dog, and I am a girl." then "Is Dezi a girl?" "Well, Dezi is a girl dog." "OK. Hi Girls!!" -- Pretty concrete thinking. But where she blew me away was a week recently when it had been very cold and snowy. She knows what snow is and what snowing means, and has used those words since she was 2 when she either sees snow, or feels snow coming. She also makes a "whooshing" sound for when it is really windy (her own sound). She was on her tree (see above photo) which sits in front of 2 story high solar windows so she can see from ground to sky. She was looking up at the sky, and said, "It is cold up in the sky." and a heartbeat later it began to snow. She felt it coming and verbalized it in a way that showed that she knew it was going to come from the sky. She also sings a little made up by herself song that goes, "up high, way up, in the sky." That is the entire song and she sings it to her own made up tune. In any event, she continues to talk her pretty little beak off, and is the most cheerful little gal going. She's been molting like crazy, which does make her a bit more stand offish than usual. She loves her tree that she got around Christmas, and often when she wakes up she will say, "Good morning tree." She tells me when she wants to go to her tree, and she will ask me, "You want to go to the chair?" which is where I sit when she is in her tree. I drink my coffee, and look at things on my tablet, while she putters around in her tree. She has also over the past few months, begun feeding our dog from her cage. Our dog now treats Inara with starry eyed love and cruises by her cage as if it is her (the dog's) own personal drive up snack bar! Have missed everyone, and have been enjoying catching up on posts and to see who has been up to what. Never a dull moment with our fine feathered companions! I've taken a lot of video lately with my tablet, and once I figure out how to edit it down and upload somewhere will share. Until then love to all from HRH Inara and me, Inara's human.

Awww.. that Sophie. She might be little but she loves BIG!

Seriously, I was coming in for a landing when....

Two already?!! Time and greys fly! Happy Hatch Day!

So glad to know that your beloved Misty is not the culprit -- and I so understand, dealing with chronic respiratory issues myself. I would never give up HRH Inara under any circumstances, unless I was so drastically ill and weak that I could not literally care for myself or her.

Would never clip Inara's wings, she loves to fly and that is as it should be for her. When she was younger, it was as if she didn't know how to take care of her beak, so her avian vet just did a quick buff on the tip to blunt it a bit, and also filed her talons down which were like little razorblades. However, in my opinion, she filed them down too far, causing Inara to lose some of her natural grip when perching, but they soon grew back to a good length. It was at that point that I began using just a regular emery board on her talons when she would cling to the side of her cage while we would chat. She actually loves this. I also would give the tip of her beak a very light buff with the emery board also, which she loved. I no longer need to do either now though. I put a concrete grooming perch (short one) on the inside of her cage door and she loves to perch on it. When she perches there, it makes it so easy to open her cage door and have her step from that short perch onto my hand or arm. It also makes it a breeze to put her back in her cage, as she just steps right onto it and then I just easily can shut the door. She's very amenable to that. It also gives her an easy landing place when she chooses to fly back to her cage. It keeps her talons blunted, and she loves to rub her beak on it to groom it. So she now is all about good self care. As others have indicated, feel comfortable asserting yourself with any vet and/or groomer. If they don't like it your views and philosophy then shop around and find another. I'm lucky. My avian vet has birds of her own and she's just a doll. Inara goes to her freely and easily.

Loved this!! Both my Kindle and my Tablet have this same issue! It's intermittent, though, and is often preceded by a flapping noise.

Gorgeous photos of a beautiful bird. Great description from Dave to file away for future use.

YAY!!! Such a wonderful aviary/environment. I loved catching up, looking at the pics and especially the videos! The best part was hearing you talk with your adorable fids!

Do you hire Dorian out during Tax Season as a Professional Shredder? I'd be first in line!