Gilbert is home

[Talon]

Now that's what I call an UPDATE...SHE SURE PUT YOU IN YOUR PLACE!!

[Acappella]

Dorian also slams his door when he's seriously cheesed off at me, like when I tell him I have to leave to shop or go to a Dr.'s appointment. It always makes me smile (after I turn my head so Dorian can't see me smirking). They're very good at communicating their moods aren't they.

[katana600]

Little Miss Gilbert is on the move again. When I cleaned her cage yesterday, I leaned the bottom grate against the side of her cage to dry on a towel. We are iced in and my husband and I were watching the news when I said "hey, she is quiet, where did she go?" She had climbed down the grate and was in the dining room pointing out that it was most definitely not my house "cleaning" that was a bother to her. She was pointing out a cobweb under my buffet table. She was swaying back and forth, shaking her head and making a tsk tsk clicking noise and saying mmm hmmm in a disaproving tone. David went into a discussion with her on my lack of attention to detail and commiserated with her and she was so funny. It sounded like a real conversation. I told them I put that cobweb there to catch her before she could chew another hunk out of the leg of my furniture.

[Ray P]

Miss G. dose not believe you put the cobweb there to stop her from chewing the table leg. She KNOWS where cobwebs come from.

[katana600]

When you're right, you're right Ray. We had a talk about that this morning. Now that you mention it, I do know where those cobwebs come from and it isn't that I put them there purposely, but I might try that now. Nope. In fact, they were probably put there by the survivors of the dramatic little mafiosa princess when she gave me that spider eating message a few months ago. I had completely forgotten about that week of mayhem when Miss Gilbert was staking out her territory to chew the furniture in the dining room. Thanks for a good laugh Ray, I needed that.

[Inara]

So loved catching up on the latest Miss Gilbert news!! I still have so much to read, in chrono order, to completely catch up on your little charmer. She was just meant for you, and you for her. It's so exciting to know that Miss G appears to be turning a major corner. It's only going to get better from here. What a character!!

 

As for the cranky days, I don't know about Miss G, but HRH Inara will cranky down when a storm is approaching and/or is here. She reverts to natural behaviors and wants to just be safe in her cage on her favorite roosting perch. She prefers to be quiet and unbothered, with an extra food supply close at hand in her dish. Once the weather passes, HRH is back to a picture of sunshine and sweetness.

 

I'm wondering if you've seen any similar connections with the lovely Miss Gilbert? Or perhaps may now begin to see connections now that she is turning a corner and those days are not simply blending in with the others.

 

Now, off to read more posts closer to the beginning of the thread so that I can get completely caught up with this special gal.

[katana600]

Our divine Miss G came in with a extreme fear of stormy weather. She spent her first decade or so on the Gulf coast and I thought it was probably that she weathered a few hurricanes. In early days, I slept in the living room with a light on so she would be comforted and so the flashes of lightning were not so dramatic for her. Gradually with each storm she had fewer panic attacks and in the past year, she doesn't even blink or make the siren sounds during a fierce thunderstorm. The ice storm we are having in Atlanta isn't giving us any issues as long as we stay home and having David home durning the day is a wonderful treat. Gil has come off her cage in the past few days and it is a rare and much enjoyed experience. David travels a lot and even when he is working from the Atlanta office, he leaves by about five thirty am and doesn't return home until past seven or eight pm. Weekends are time for yard work, car washing, running errands etc. With us in our second day of him setting up a home office in the living room, Gil is really on the move! Today she came off her cage quietly and cautiously and made her way across a large new area rug to get to the farthest corner to perch on the wooden crossbar of his wooden tv tray. That's where her photo was taken in my signature. Her real object of desire is the small wood and leather trunk that the dogs use to get up and down from the sofa. When she was chewing the wood trim, we covered it with a quilt and she was biting the quilt, trying to pull it off and then scratching it. Since she couldn't chew it, she perched next to David and has been there most of the day. I cleaned up after her a couple of times, then put a paper towel down under her. That upset her so she marched back to her cage, climbed up the grate all by herself and in about an hour, she quietly and cautiously made the trek back to sit by him. It is so unusual for her to go on these adventures that I am just feeling blessed to be shut in from the ice and snow. I think her quiet spell was because I was getting her to step up and come sit by me every evening and the anxiety got the better of her. She also has these quiet spells right before she has a major breakthrough. Whatever the cause, I respect her space and keep a wide berth when she needs a quiet spell. Days like today are a reward for the patience and for letting her move forward at her own pace.

[katana600]

Our girl is on the move again today. She is learning to climb to the floor and back up to the cage again with a ladder that has been in place for six weeks. She likes the metal grate from the floor of her cage to climb much better than the ladder, but it is on the side away from the object of her desire, so she is using the ladder if he is in the room. Today she came down and carefully and ever so slowly made her way first to the small wooden trunk to see if she could pull the quilt off. She soon gave up on that and perched on the crossbar of the tv tray again. When she is flat footed, she is silent and wary. Although her "roost" is only two inches off the floor, once she gets there she is vocal and animated. She can't seem to get back down without help and soon enough she is shivering and holding out trembling wings and asking if it is time to go night night. When I offer her a lift to go back to her cage she is ready. This morning she came down for the third time and I put a table top perch next to David's chair and soon enough Gil had come down and was climbing her way to his shoulder. What a wonderful new milestone! When she starts getting nervous, looking around wide eyed, she lifts her foot to show she wants up. These forays seem so natural for an adventurous grey, but this timid little Timneh is making huge strides to reach out to us. After a half hour out of her comfort zone, she has really loose, green droppings that are not her norm. It doesn't last long. It seems to be just a temporary show of the anxiety she is overcoming. Slow little baby steps and then rest is getting our girl out and about. I have a great temptation to allow her to splinter that wooden chest as a reward for her hard work, but that might set a precedent. I would kind of like to have chairs in my living room so I don't have to sit on the floor. LOL. You Go Gil Girl~

[katana600]

We have new neighbors next door and we have been sharing during the snow and ice storm. When Jeff came into my house yesterday for the first time, he told me he has a love of parrots and has a deep scar on his finger from a yellow nape Amazon to show for it. He asked about my two being friendly and I told him Java would be a good start but probably not on the first visit. Wouldn't you know she proved me a liar? She stepped up and even permitted him to rub her head and was far more sweet than I have ever seen her to my family members much less a visitor. Next he asked Gil for a step up and she hunkered down and prepare for a lunge and a bite and he recognized her posture and removed his hand from her cage. I gave him some pine nuts to see if she would make ammends from the outside of the cage and she gobbled them right up. I wish I could think the number of times she has been offered a treat by someone, or even me, and flings it down in disdain. She was like a puppy eating from his hands. He was here just a couple of minutes and when he left, I offered her another pine nut and she was testy. I guess she was cranky that I let a stranger into the house while she was still in her nightgown with her hair in rollers.

[Timbersmom]

The neighbor must be a "bird whisperer"

[Inara]

It is so heartwarming to tune in with my morning coffee for The Adventures of Miss Gil Girl. She is really getting quite adventurous. No small feat when one has had such major trepidation. What a brave girl she is, and how well it speaks for your patience, and your really being tuned in to the subtle shifts in Miss GG's demeanor. It was nice of her to have shown a modicum of politeness to your visitor, even if she was not dressed for the occasion. One can hardly blame her for giving you a bit of the cold shoulder for not having given a girl a bit more of a warning, so she could have at least taken out the rollers and put a bit of beakstick on.

 

All of those wonderful moments, where you see how far she has come, and how much she is stretching herself are like beautiful pearls being strung together one by one.

[Ray P]

Nicely put Inara.

[katana600]

Yes, Inara you made all of us smile as little Miss Gil girl is in there putting on beakstick right now. Stringing pearls is such a lovely metaphor as we watch this slow process of evolving from a bit of irritant to a glorious unique gem. I think about holding a pearl and all by itself in a little box it doesn't seem magnificent. But when you put it on a string, wear it often, it becomes a part of you. When you turn it in the light it comes to life and glistens with an irrdescence that defies description. Now there is no way I would call my little Pearl an irritant, let's just say she was easily irritated. LOL. Miss Gilbert is affected by every kind word, every small bit of advice and all the love of our grey forum family cheering her on and making every milestone cause for celebration. When she walked across the new rug and tried to pull the quilt off to get to the wooden chest, we watched with great excitement and anticipation. It seems like such a mundane everyday occurence but it is more like climbing Mount Everest for her. I am definitely going to let her chew the trim off it. LOL... My husband was aghast when I suggested it. He is out of town again. Hahahahaha.. You know, maybe if I turn it so its just the trim on the back? It's not as if it's made of the finest hardwood or anything. Maybe Miss Gil is a fashion designer and she has something more unique in mind.

[katana600]

Yes Karen, I think he may be a bird whisperer. I plan to invite the family over often and get to know them and let them have access to Miss G-bird. She seemed very interested and anything that will draw her out is a valuable part of her process. Most people will spend a few minutes and walk away muttering. Some will get it with her just because she is special to me. Few have embraced her as she is and want to get to know her better. They are the lucky lucky few.

[Greywings]

I like the Pearl description, after all she is the Swamp Queen and those fresh water Pearls are part of her domain. What a stride forward allowing the neighbor to gift her a pine nut or two. Perhaps when the ice melts you can find her a furniture project of her own at a thrift store or resale shop. Then she can customize it to her hearts content and you can give us photo updates. If it turns out as well as we all expect then maybe you could start a gallery of Miss Gilgirls works.

Edited February 20, 2014 by Greywings

[katana600]

This little trunk is the next best thing to a thrift store find, so I think I will let her redecorate it. Although I bought it when our little dog had a back injury to give him a shorter distance to maneuver getting on and off the sofa, I have used it for less considerate tasks. He is a ball playing maniac and he will drive me crazy when my husband is out of town. So, I hide his five orange "chuck-it" balls in the trunk to get peace. Once hubby permitted Mick to see him retrieve the ball from it, now he goes and barks at it when I refuse to play ball. He knows it is in there. Come to think of it, Miss Gilbert may be chewing on it to get the dang ball out of there to make him be quiet. Hahahaha. A week or so ago, I realized how putting the bottom grate from her cage against the side as a ladder has given her more confidence to climb off and back onto her cage, so I left it there. Yesterday she was hanging out on it and I started hearing a soft clanging sound. I slowly walked around from the dining room side so I could see what she was doing without disrupting her progress. Her cage and Java's are identical, sitting about eighteen inches apart with a UV lamp between them. Gil was holding the grate, leaning way over toward Java's cage and rocking that grate until it slowly tipped and was held by the lamp giving her the opportunity to pull herself up and climb onto Java's cage. I chased her back to her own territory and fixed the grate. Within the hour, she was back down there pulling, pushing and by golly she got it loose again and used it as a tool to get to Java's cage. I had to move it to the other side and anchor it with zip ties. I think the first time was coincidental, but the second time she knew just what she wanted. Little by little, she is gaining courage. Just a few short months ago she was completely frozen in fear by Java and now she is seeking out a confrontation. Of course, thwarting her plans has done nothing to get on her good side. We were just getting back to our nightly head scratch session and last night she gave me the cold shoulder. LOL. This too shall pass.

[Greywings]

Progress marked by pouting sessions, it gives you a measuring device.

[katana600]

It sure is. Being on the outside for a while also gives me a well needed distance for objectivity. We had the opportunity with Jeff stopping by to see Gil interact pleasantly with a male stranger and then my friend Lydia came. She usually only comes down to my sewing room from the basement entrance so Gilbert doesn't see her. When she talked to Gilbert and offered a pine nut, Gil was nasty. She lunged at the bars and showed her ire by dumping her water dish and then flung pellets. Java stunned me by offering Lydia a step up and cooing and that set Gilbert off again. During this pouting session, she has gone back and forth. Sometimes it looks as if she is over it and back to normal, then she has a bad moment. My measure is always the feathers on her chest. They are currently full and healthy, so regardless of the mood Gil is not nervously chewing away. David has been kidding Gil and telling her to be nice to me. He asks her when was the last time she saw him cook her beans or spend time in the kitchen stirring up good food for her. When she walks to him and when she offers him step ups he tries not to show how much pleasure it gives him to be "chosen". Then last night, she showed him a minute of the other side of the coin when she refused my overtures for a night night almond and head rub. She tucked her head and was so sweet to him, then in a flash she grabbed his finger. That is another measure of success, her nips have gotten to be poison pen messages instead of fierce onslaughts. Soon, we will be progressing to the ole drive by email. Every day is a new day with our girl and progress is certain albeit at a grey pace.

[Ray P]

Your understanding of the grey pace benefits the both of you.

Three years, Now that`s a real understanding of grey time.

Edited February 21, 2014 by Ray P

[katana600]

The tide turns, the ice melts and the grey time ticks and moves us forward. This morning for the first time in weeks, Miss Gilbert postured and elicted a scratch when I came out of my room first thing in the morning. She was nervous about it and only could stand still for a few gentle touches but didn't attempt to bite me. This may have been a slight conciliatory gesture after she caught me off guard last night when I leaned over to pick up something near her cage and she came like a cobra strike to pull my hair. This morning we have a fresh new outlook. The dogs startled her off her cage and for the first time, she flapped hard and made landing on the third step of the carpeted stairs. Generally when she comes down, I watch her make her way back to her cage and climb the ladder to get back to her comfort zone with dignity. Sometimes she is really upset and rattled and then I will offer a step up and carry her back. This time is different. I am guessing it is because she has a good grip on the surface and she is elevated so she doesn't feel vulnerable on the floor. It could be because I put things on the stairsteps on the way to be carried up on my next trip. LOL. Regardless, after a few minutes she was not in any hurry to go back and she was attempting to pull the carpet up. When I approached to offer a step up, she politely declined. Since I am trying to encourage her to broaden her horizons, I had an idea to put a puzzle foraging toy over there. It's too big, to bulky, too bright and too intimidating for her to tolerate it in her cage. But, on the carpet she had an advantage and enjoyed playing. Next she started making some gestures that signaled she was approachable and she stepped up willingly. She is now sitting on the arm of David's chair, sharing some oatmeal and punching holes in junk mail. What a turnabout in one morning! When she goes through a downturn, I try to remain consistent and give her opportunities to emerge when she is ready. Today she is ready.

[katana600]

After a pretty good day yesterday, Miss Gilbert is showing signs of wanting more direct attention. It helps tremendously to give her some warm, soupy oatmeal in the morning before I get my share. She makes yummy noises, eats her fill and it has been the best time of the day for her. About three am, something made me stir and I heard her outside my bedroom door say "hey" very softly. After a few minutes she made a soft "whooo". I couldn't resist. Whenever there is a window of opportunity, I have to try again. She doesn't exactly choose when she is vulnerable, when she needs just a little affirmation. I turned on a small lamp so it was just barely light near her cage and she was making happy little whistle sounds and closing her eyes completely surrendered and relaxed to have a half hour head rub. She has done this before when she is trying to make a turn back to being more pleasant and engaging. Her periods of withdrawal are conflicting to her, she seems to want to come forward but is jumpy and easily spooked. It seems like such a wonderful and warm time with her that I don't mind coming out in the wee hours to give her a little comfort. How I wish she would sit on my warm lap and just relax for such a head scratch instead of having to contort myself to get in just the right spot to touch her through the bars of her cage. Someday I believe we will get there.

[katana600]

Little Miss Gilbert has been on the move again. She has been launching herself off her cage and onto the stairs or toward the dining room. She hasn't been startled, it appears to be deliberate and preplanned. She walks around a little while and with the dining room, she will chase me if I come to observe and protect my furniture. When I call her bluff, she will sweetly step up and allow me to carry her to a spot to sit and visit a little. I think our oatmeal sharing ritual every morning is encouraging her to give me a little latitude. She also has been a busy little character both with playing with toys inside her cage and on the playtop above. I bought a case of adding machine paper tape nearly three years ago. One lone little spool on an acrylic holder inside her cage was no temptation all this time. I put a loose roll on top of her cage and she has had a couple of sessions of playing with it. I had to give her another roll and she has gone through three now in the past week. She unwinds it and shreds it and flings pieces off onto the floor. She has adorned her cage so it looks like Spanish moss hanging between the bars on her "roof" and she has wound it in and out of the vertical bars on the side of her cage. At bed time she has been resolutely refusing to be bribed down from her play area. I tried shuffling her "spanish moss" and she seemed to want to play a little. I ripped off a piece about a foot long, folded it to help stabilize it to reach a piece out to her. She was playing tug of war and ripping pieces off and I thought what great fun she was having. Actually, she was luring me in, ripping a piece and bringing her closer and closer to my hand. She is so clever and cunning. She held herself back and lulled me into a sense of complacency and when she saw her chance she lunged so fast and unexpectedly she nearly tumbled right off the edge of her cage. I told her "poor form" and she laughed. Then she went right inside and asked for a cracker. LOL. Even when she shows a contrary side, I just find her so fascinating and loveable.

[Acappella]

Little Miss Gilbert has been on the move again. She has been launching herself off her cage and onto the stairs or toward the dining room. She hasn't been startled, it appears to be deliberate and preplanned.

 

Wouldn't it be amazing if both our fids got up to courage and self assurance to use those wings of theirs the way they were meant to be used, not only when something scares them?

 

Adding maching tape is Dorian's favourite way of making work for me. I really scored in a second-hand shop in the fall. I got a box of around 70 rolls of tape for $15. That will keep him busy for awhile.

[katana600]

Oh yes, it would change Dorian's and Gilbert's lives and level of confidence if they were to learn to fly. Quoting Dr. Seuss "Oh the places you'll go". There is nothing expresses that quite like the perverse "enjoyment" in seeing bird poop on my dining room floor because it means Gil has been brave enough to seek out new territory. Of course, I am on my feet watching from a distance, giving her the freedom to find new things to get into and the supervision to make sure she doesn't get into too much trouble. What a great find on the box of paper tape! Gilbert is now chewing one like a birdie bagel. Maybe she is getting creative with her art installation. LOL. I know it really upsets her apple cart if I pick up the paper "mess". I have reached a compromise, any on the floor or bottom of her cage are mine. The ones on the cage top are hers. Anything that draws her out of her shell and brings her closer to having confidence is a bonus. We had a happy first this morning, it is the first time Gilbert said my husband's name, David. We were talking and she was jabbering louder and louder when she shouted his name. She blew it a little with me by using her favorite cuss word, but we know she at least can say his name and will celebrate wildly when she says it without prefacing it with an expletive.

[Inara]

Sounds like Miss Gilbert is preparing for tax season with all that paper tape. She does seem to be moving toward Spring with growing sense of energy and increased confidence. What a mixed moment that must have been, for sure, when she said David's name coupled with a choice swear word. She no doubt wanted to make sure that everyone heard her correctly, the little stinker. It did make me laugh, because in my own mind I envision Miss Gilbert as a chic and bit aloof French girl named GiGi who wears pearls. Imagine my dismay in discovering that she swears.