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fajrdrakoI have four pets, all budgies.
Wisdom is the ringleader: green belly, yellow head, black markings. Unsure of gender when I first got him/her/it, I named Wisdom after Pete Wisdom in the X-calibur comic book. Created by writer Warren Ellis, Pete was a British black ops operative with a smart mouth, a chequered past, and a thing for former X-Man Kitty Pryde. I always thought of Pete Wisdom as being a benign Marvel version of John Constantine, who in turn is like Spike in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. But Pete Wisdom is dark-haired. He broke up with Kitty (bad move) and went on to run X-Force, which might have been okay if ... well, it turned out not to be okay, and Wisdom was (apparently) killed. Death at Marvel is never permanent and I expect he will be back, if he hasn't been already: the question is, will there be anyone capable of writing him properly?
If one thinks of Pete Wisdom from the comic as being unpredictable, wild and slightly dangerous; outrageously funny and too clever for his own good, then my Wisdom lives up to his name. Wisdom is the ringleader among my budgies. Wisdom is the quickest to explore, the quickest to react, the one who's the finest escape artist and who gets to the treats first.
I bought Wisdom at the same time as Pryde, so the names went together. Pryde is mostly while, with a pale blue belly. She doesn't hesitate to tell Wisdom what she thinks he should be doing, but he doesn't listen to her. She used to follow him into a lot of scrapes, but she was quite an explorer too, and would sneak away to forbidden zones like the bedroom of bathroom if I was foolish enough to leave doors open. Once she hid behind the books in my bookcase.
About six months ago, two more budgies joined the household. They belonged to a friend of mine, Madonna, who remarked to another friend at a party that she was looking for a good home for budgies. Knowing I was a budgie lover, she was pointed my way.
The new budgies had names from "Toy Story", given to them by their five-year-old caretaker, Madonna's daughter. I renamed them Simon (after the doctor in "Firefly") and Kaylee (after the mechanic in "Firefly".) Simon is roughly the same colouring as Pryde, without any black markings, and Kaylee looks rather like Pryde.
On first arrival, they remained in their old cages, Simon and Kaylee together, Pryde and Wisdom together. Then Simon decided to chase after Wisdom. They moved into the same cage, and when (by accident, I think) Simon and Kaylee got back into the same cage and I closed the door on the a few weeks later, they fought beak and claw. It's like a divorced couple. So now I make sure that Simon and Kayelee don't end up in the same cage, and they all get along fine. If and when I let all four birds out at once, they don't fight elsewhere. Not that I've noticed, anyway.
Now Wisdom has taken to laying eggs, and is spending most of her time on the eggs in her black plastic nesting box. I don't see much of her, but if I put parsley in the cage, or millet, she's up and at it in moments.
Inside the cage, Wisdom's favourite game is to run and run in her hamster wheel - at least it was, before the eggs. Sometimes she used to run inside the wheel while Pryde ran outside. One they both ran inside, one rightside up and one upside down, like feathery yin/yang symbols. Wisdom and Simon don't do that, but Kaylee and Pryde still play the hamster-wheel running game. Simon's favourite pastime is to hang upside down by his mirror, tapping the corner of it with his beak. He'll do this for hours. I think he's bored, with Wisdom sitting on eggs all the time.
Outside the cage, everyone likes to sit on the curtain rod, looking out at the world, occasionally chewing the ceiling plaster before I get a chance to stop them. Climbing down the outside of the curtains is something they like, too.
They all love Visitors, and TV, especially things with loud noises - they adored the battle scenes with cannon in Horatio Hornblower. On all occasions, they try to drown out the television and the conversation, and usually have to be banished to the bedroom, in the dark, before we can have any peace.
And sometimes, when they want to, they sing beautifully. They have a chirpy lullaby at sunset that is particularly nice.
They love the sound of running water.
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no subject
Date: 2003-06-22 10:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-22 10:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-22 06:43 pm (UTC)I have two Fur Children - Willum, aka Willie aka Wheelz, a brown tabby Maine Coon; and Snicky(fritz), a formerly feral tortie. Wheelz is the love of my life. I adore him to bits, and I do think the feeling is mutual, because he sure loves to cuddle up with Mama. He's also wildly jealous of his sister, even though she's lived with us for 5 years now. He's just about given up trying to boink her now, though...
The least favorite thing my kids do for me? Leave hairballs where I can step on them barefoot....
My most favorite? When Wheelz sleeps on my head.
no subject
Date: 2003-06-22 07:34 pm (UTC)Unfortunately they love setting up these stories. With the utmost innocence.
When Wheelz sleeps on my head.
Oh, what a great mental image!
I am reminded of the wonderful, wonderful Pros novel by Rhiannon ("The Larton Chronicles") in which Doyle had a cat that used to sleep on his neck.
no subject
Date: 2003-06-22 07:40 pm (UTC)Oh, what a great mental image!
There are times when, between the two of them, I only have a tiny corner of the bed!
no subject
Date: 2003-06-22 07:44 pm (UTC)Budgies of course do not claim bed space, but they do like to hang out on the curtains over my bed and chew the edges.
Seven Circles of Parakeet
Date: 2003-06-22 09:46 pm (UTC)Re: Seven Circles of Parakeet
Date: 2003-06-23 03:03 pm (UTC)I'd rather go back to X-men names, or Firefly names. How about Rogue, Gambit and Magneto? Wolvie, Jean and Scott? Sage (that goes with Wisdsom!), Bishop and Spike? Sam, Tab and Sunspot?
Re: Seven Circles of Parakeet
Date: 2003-06-23 04:26 pm (UTC)Sage, Bishop, and Spike sound great -- ditto, Sam, Tab, and Sunspot. (Tab? Can only think of that in the context of Professor X giving Kitty Pryde her first alias, Sprite, at which she acquiesces and then remarks, "Okay, but none of you better joke about pulling my 'tab'!" Soon after that, she became Shadocat, a vast improvement.) Sunspot! That was his name -- the Brazilian boy, the soccer star. I glimpsed him in the second movie, but couldn't think of his name or his superhero alias. Thank you!
So, um, as you've proposed names in groups of three, does that mean that Wisdom is now sitting on three eggs? Or just that they sounded good in threes ?
Re: Seven Circles of Parakeet
Date: 2003-06-23 05:49 pm (UTC)an idea that sounds better in the general than in the specifics.
Unfortunately, because I like the idea in principle.
Sage, Bishop, and Spike sound great
Do I really mean Spike? I meant Bishop's sister, the one who was killed in the future and came back as a hologram. She was cool but I don't really recall her well. What was her name?
Tab was Tabita Smith, also known as Meltdown. She was in X-Force, and was Sam's girlfriend until he caught her fooling around with Sunspot. You're right about who Sunspot is - his name was Roberta DaCosta.
Yes, Wisdom is sitting on three eggs. The books says they lay eggs in clutches of nine, about two days apart. Remember how I was throwing eggs out for a while? I must have thrown out six eggs. Wisdom is sitting on the remaining three.
Re: Seven Circles of Parakeet
Date: 2003-06-23 09:46 pm (UTC)Three eggs? Goodness. Yes, you did mentionn about six eggs, each a day or so apart, when you were first talking about them; but at that time, Wisdom didn't give them any special regard after having laid them, in great contrast to her behavior now!
Clutches of nine. Well, I can barely imagine little Wisdom sitting on three, much less nine. That boggles the mind. Thus, you contemplate new names in groups of three. Any thoughts on what colors the little ones might end up having?
Re: Seven Circles of Parakeet
Date: 2003-06-24 10:15 am (UTC)If they survive. Mustn't count my baby parakeets before they're hatched.
Karaj etaj papagetoj.
Re: Seven Circles of Parakeet
Date: 2003-06-25 01:20 am (UTC)(Where did I put my Esperanto dictionary?...my kingdom for an Esperanto dictionary....)
Re: Seven Circles of Parakeet
Date: 2003-06-25 07:03 am (UTC)What I really learned was how inadequate all the online dictionaries are, and how much I need a Plena Ilustrita Vortaro.