Location, location, location....

The ducks are in the pond...... the ducks are out of the pond...... as many as 19, as few as half a dozen. We thought maybe the ducks were using our pond as a rest-stop on their way to their summer home. This afternoon, though, two of the neighbor's dogs (who usually run loose) were splashing and swimming around in the pond.... one very good reason for all the ducks to fly elsewhere.

I don't think the mama ducks will be building nests and laying eggs in a pond that can be invaded by two fairly good-sized dogs who were trying to catch the turtles today. If they'll swim after the turtles, they will certainly go after the ducks. And baby ducklings wouldn't have a chance. My husband will probably talk to the neighbor about his dogs..... but it most likely won't do any good. That man can't even keep his goats on his own property, much less the dogs. Even his cows get out from time to time... oh well... we'll see what happens.


The parakeets....... I thought they were getting a little bored with the cage they were in. When we bought this cage at PetCo, we didn't get the smallest cage, but we didn't get the largest one either. The lady said this cage would be fine for just two birds. However, she didn't know that BlueBell (the parakeet we bought) would have the attention span of a flea and would get bored with the cage, the toys, the perches, the view. Houdini (the parakeet we found in the yard) has always been quite content with the cage and everything in it. But it just looked to me like they needed more room.

I've been looking at the resale and thrift shops for bird cages....... and found one last week. Very tall, round like a cylinder...... much more room in that vintage cage than in the newer one from PetCo. (The new one was $59, the vintage cage was $14.... so much for finding a "free" parakeet.)

And how long does it take for two little birds to go from one cage to another? Too damn long...... I hated being out-smarted by two parakeets. I lined up the cage doors perfectly.... opened both doors..... watched them from outside the room..... not only weren't they interested in the new cage, but they didn't even go near the door. How could that be? I have to be so careful when I open the cage door because they've tried to fly out. And now they had an open cage door (which led directly to another open cage door) and they didn't go near it.

It took me two days to figure out how to get them into the new cage....... I took one of my husband's white handkerchiefs..... opened it up and dangled it inside the old cage. While the parakeets were inspecting that, my other hand came up from behind them and I gently folded them into the hankie..... one at a time, of course...... and then I just took the hankie-covered bird out of the old cage and into the new cage.

The new cage has taller branches that I got from the pecan trees.... they can climb and fly from branch to branch.... they have two mirrors now, a little swing, perches near the bottom and the top...... more things to explore.... and the new cage still fits on the little table by the window which gives them a perfect view of the gazebo and the pecan trees (which are always filled with sparrows and swallows and woodpeckers and bluebirds). What more could two parakeets want?

And the 'new' cage that cost us $59 at PetCo..... it's all cleaned out and sitting on top of the fridge in the pantry. It looks like a decoration.... I thought of selling it in my space at the shop, but I'm going to hold on to it for a while. Sooner or later, there may be another 'free' parakeet in the yard..... or a baby bunny that gets away from its mama.... or heaven only knows what could turn up out there.

Speaking of 'turning up out there'--- the wildflowers are beginning to explode........ bluebonnets and paint brushes and wild daisies and yellow stars. We've had so much rain that the grasses are growing as fast as the wildflowers. Everything is lush and green and beautiful.... and people are starting to drive around to take photos of the flowers... plopping their children and their pets into wildflower-filled pastures as they try to get that perfect picture. It makes me wonder why they all don't get covered with fire ants.