Do you know about Bobby Pacino, our parrot? I’ve written about him before, surely. He is a blue and gold macaw, almost ten years old. And he is craaaaaaazyyyyyyy. Not that crazy, we do love him to a million feathery little pieces. He knows upwards of about 130 words and phrases. He is interactive and affectionate. He is really smart. He is extremely noisy and messy and demanding, and for all the animals we keep at the farm, he is the only one allowed indoors. But as self-centered as he can be, Pacino does loves us more than we give him credit for.
Well, friends, my Lazy W update this week is that we have a new development in our life as a parrot-centered family. Pacino has figured out how to depart from his open perch in the living room and just wander the house.
Here’s an example.
I was in the kitchen tonight cooking dinner, just minding my own business, with my laptop open in the adjacent dining room so I could write here and there. I heard a click-click-click… Then a little whispered “Hi mama,” and then… He peeked his smooth green and striped head around the corner. Way down on the floor. He climbed that chair you see and started working on stuff. He had parrot business, apparently.
Fine by me.
He’s been doing this for a little while now, maybe a week or so. Sometimes he waits until Handsome and I are settled in the green room watching a movie or something and he just eases his way down his metal perch (we can hear this activity) and click-click-clicks across the wood floor to our carpeted floor. He definitely thinks he’s sneaking up on us, so we allow the charade. Once he hits the carpet, he announces himself and we’re all one big parrot-centered family again. Then he climbs up the couch where I’m sitting and perches directly above me with his longest tail feathers either over my shoulder or in my face. It’s how he rolls.
So this is how I’ve been spending the cozy evening hours lately. With a super fancy parrot stole. Honestly, it’s like having a toddler. After a long day in the house just Pacino and me, his high volume and general antics can be a little much. So thankfully Handsome helps keep him busy and does stuff like hold him upside down (this sort of hypnotizes him) and mostly makes me laugh about it all.
But I digress. That’s for another post.
The big headline here is that Pacino no longer calls from his perch and waits for us to come get him. He just goes where he wants to go. We’ve even heard him click-click-clicking around the kitchen while we’re upstairs. A few days ago Handsome walked downstairs early in the morning and surprised Pacino, who was walking around freely. Just walking. Pacino said “Uh oh,” and scuttled back to his perch.
Not even kidding you.
We’re not upset about this at all, because it means slightly less parrot screaming. We do have to baby proof things a little better, knowing that at any unsupervised moment Pacino could eat and/or destroy anything in sight. This has definitely added a new dimension of surprise to daily life.
And a much more feathery way to watch movies.
Do you have indoor pets? What have they done to surprise you lately?
He owns us.
Send help.
XOXOXOXO
