BELLA & PIP
It is now January 15th.
A gorgeous Saturday here at the nest.
The sky is stunning in it's 'blue-ness'
and the temperature outside has warmed a bit.
Most AZ dwellers would consider this
a perfect day.
And in many ways it is.
But I would prefer the temps to remain
a bit colder
to match my Christmas tree
that is still standing.
Yes.
It is still up and I am not even close
to hiding that fact yet.
And I suddenly realize I have not shared something with you.
came in Christmas Eve
after being gone most of the day
proudly carrying a birdcage.
Happily announcing "Merry Christmas!!"
with a big smile.
My eyes bugged out of my head
as I looked at the cage
and then at him.
"WHAT?!"
and in his other hand, a box.
with strange noise coming from inside.
I may have said "What have you done?"
And in a flash my mind raced back
to a tiny blurb of a conversation
we had months ago
about the sad story
of Lala and Petey Pie
a pair of finches I had when I first met Mr. J.
Sadly, I had lost Petey Pie first
and the whole incident remains a mystery
because I came home from
shopping one day to find their cage overturned
on the patio where they were sunning......
and Lala was beside herself shreiking
...Petey Pie was .........
GONE.
Lala was never the same
and when she got away from me
while cleaning her cage
one day many months later,
and flew
off towards the neighbor's house...
well, she was not good at flying
and crashed into the chimney.....
perhaps in despair over her lost love.
It was sad.
Back to Christmas 2010.............................
May I introduce you to Bella
and Pip
a pair of Zebra Finches
that Mr. J. picked out for me.
Look at those gorgeous stripped tail feathers on Pip!
Pip is just that......a pip.
He makes a lot of noise and is rather hyper
Bella is just the opposite.
She is the poster bird for Calm & Collected.
Pip will jump all around...up and down...
squawking like crazy.
Bella just stands in one place watching him...watching me.
They are quite fond of each other
and began mating the second day here
so I set about building them a nesting box
from a Trader Joe's quart container
of half & half.
First going to YouTube for a tutorial.
And purchased nesting 'stuff' for them to arrange
as they wanted inside.
This is the cage hanging with all the bells and whistles
The red contraption that sits in front
of the nesting box is their new swing
Well, the 'kids' love their nesting box
and Pip was the very first to check it out
and he appears to be 'in charge' of making the nest
And each and every night as I begin the 'good night routine'
of lowering the lights and covering them up
they both fly up into the box and settling in
their tiny beaks, the only thing I see from within
and they sleep for 12 hours
a blissfully quiet 12 hours.
Now today (Saturday) is Spa Day
for Bella & Pip
I hook on this birdy tub
and in they go and fluff around and bathe
It's quite fun to watch.
Then it's time to clean the messy cage
because they are the messiest things I've ever seen!!!
But the hardest thing
is having to retreive these from the nesting box.
Bella lays them constantly.
Probably about 9 since Christmas!!
Probably about 9 since Christmas!!
And IF they were actually fertilized,
I would have a bzillion baby finches
before summer even got here!!
So out they come...........and in several days
we will go through the same process.
Right about now
you might be wondering how Pia is
handling all this commotion???
Well, at first not too good...........
but now she realizes she cannot get them
since they hang from the ceiling.
And she barely looks up anymore
when they start their squawking!!
But I still shake my head and wonder...........................................
"What was Mr. J. thinking????"
exhausted!!!
but take a breath
or tiny break
and click on the little video
to watch and hear Bella & Pip
in action
but don't forget to turn off
the music playing up there on the right.
My favorite part is toward the end
when Bella pecks on Pip
After such a long post you no doubt feel like
my little kitchen angel
exhausted!!!
but take a breath
or tiny break
and click on the little video
to watch and hear Bella & Pip
in action
but don't forget to turn off
the music playing up there on the right.
My favorite part is toward the end
when Bella pecks on Pip
Don't they sound like mini geese?
The good news is that they are not always
making that noise.
They have a variety of sounds
13 comments:
Oh my gosh, Rella, what a sweet gift from your husband. They are adorable. You will have so much fun watching them.
I find the little eggs so touching!
xo
Claudia
What a delightful story, Rella...and you made it so funny, especially the end with the photo of your little kitchen angel.
I am sorry about your first birds, but it seems that Mr. J knows you very well, and was waiting for the right moment to make your heart sing again (along with your tiny, winged friends).
By the way, I like their names very much...I haven't heard the word 'pip' in a long time. My grandmother always used it (and my mom), but you are the first I've heard use it since).
Enjoy your lovelies!
Marianne (O)
Oh My! Two sweet little birds! They are really adorable. I love the names you picked out for them. So sorry though to hear about your other bird's fates.
They do sound like geese!
I enjoyed watching the video.
Hugs,
Terri
hi rella,
i lot the new additions to ur family. Birds are always a welcome gift. I hope these two behave for you and neither escapes.
hugs
How wonderful!! Enjoy your sweet birdies!!
Oh my gosh if my husband ever did that, I'd faint. I love birds, but he isn't a fan. I've had them here though, but now I just feed them outside and watch from the windows. I love your finches though and how fun and sweet are they!!! Such a cute post Rella...and I do remember the messy cages so well...but they bring much joy and entertainment too! I have dogs and fish now...also quite messy but so it goes and they are all worth it...I think. :)
Great little video. I just got a flip from Mr. K for Christmas...have yet to read the darn directions! Enjoy your birdies...
What a lovely gift from your hubby! He must have known how much your previous birds meant to you, I was sad reading about their demise :-(
I love birds so much, and had many over the years and I would be heartbroken to lose them like that.
Enjoy your new babies!
oh, and my Christmas trees are still up, lol! maybe next week or the week after I will finally put them away
:-D
how sweet they are. I have a bird too, an african grey.. hes my buddy.. but I did catch my cat on top of his cage today.. which is very concerning!
anyways.. I have your doll done and ready to mail. probably wont send her for a week or so.. thats how long it'll take me to remember to go to the post office!
LOL!
enjoy your sweet finches.. what a thoughtful gift from mr. J.
xo
vivian
Hi sweet Rella....what a precious gift from your husband!!! I just love them!! I think I need to buy me a few of these wonderful birds ~ will they really reproduce for you??? Have a great week sweet friend, hugs and love, Dawn
Hi Rella, When I met Steve, we got some finches, we also built a large cage from wood a pagoda, two story, we worked for weeks on it. We still have it in the attic. We had finches for so long, I loved their peeps. But the girl kept getting egg bound, oh I did not like that. So when we had kids, we did not get anymore. But they are so cute. Thanks for sharing. Hugs, Terri
Oh I love Bella and Pip and Pia the kitty! Do the birds get to come out and fly around? ~Mandy
-^--^- thinking of you
and pia, bella & pip. sigh. xo zU
how utterly sweet!
i love your blog.
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