The Lovebirds

Last summer, Mom came back from the family reunion with a pair of lovebirds that she won.  When she told me this last year, the picture that popped in my head was a plywood table on saw horses with jars that held birds and people throwing ping pong balls at the birds to win them.  I never asked if this was accurate, but judging by these birds, it would not surprise me if they have taken a few ping pong balls to the head. 

Since they arrived here on Sell Street, they have made a home in their cage in the laundry room.  I used to love the smell of clean laundry until I started sniffing in bird feathers with each whiff.  And they are naughty.  The little shits figured out how to open up their little food window and dump their food dish out onto the floor.  It is as if they know the vacuum cleaner is my arch-nemesis.  It kind of bites them in the ass, though.  They are deathly afraid of the vacuum.  I've explained to them that the best way to avoid the big 1970s suck machine is to leave their food dish in the cage where it belongs.  They wouldn't listen, so we put little plastic hoods on their dishes.  Now they can't push them out.  I thought maybe having a little cover on their water dish would also solve the problem of them pooping in their water.  Well...... nope.

But, Grandpa seems to enjoy their company so I am trying to warm up to them.  Grandpa whistles at them and they whistle back.  Sometimes they just whistle for hours non-stop.  (The birds -- not Grandpa!)  This morning I found them huddled in the corner of the bottom of the cage and wondered why they were in a timeout. 

I used to have parakeets when I was young.  I didn't mind the mess, but those birds were also tame and would try to amputate my hands when I'd clean the cage, or change the food and water.  These beasts have drawn blood a few times, so now I use a pair of Grandpa's gloves whenever I need to enter their nest.

Unfortunately, these little stinkers have been ruling the roost for over a year and still do not have names.  They really should have names.  Here are a few I've come up with:

• Dan & Roseanne 
• Porter & Dolly
• Bill & Hillary 
• Bird 1 & Bird 2
• Fred & Wilma
• Weezer & Weeza
• Hookline & Sinker
• Prince & Fielder
• Lloyd & Harriette
• Fu & Manchu

I will have to run these by Grandpa...