…or was it merely coincidence that this was the day the bird decided that — gulp! — HE LIKES ME!
I was squatting down beside the cage today, making a cooing noise because Astro seemed a little bored.  He had been squawking quite a bit, using the screech generally reserved for “Is anybody out there?”
So I […]

Oh, sure, I know people, dogs, cows, and all sorts of other creatures do it all the time, but I was more than a little surprised to have it come from a parrot.
“It” is a fart.  Astro was sitting there on BJ’s shoulder, happily chattering away.   Then we heard him break wind, and yes, […]

I have to admit it:  I’m more than a little frightened by this latest development.
Every time I go into the bathroom now for any reason at all, the bird flies onto the top of my head.  No, really — he sits on my head and plays with my hair.  Then he flies back to his […]

…as in van Gogh. No, I’m not suddenly a great if troubled post-impressionist painter. I was thinking more about the missing ear thing.
At my insistence, BJ put the bird on my shoulder. I figured (a) he trusts BJ, and (b) I had a rescuer if necessary. It was necessary.
The little brat […]

I think I now know how Tippy Hedron felt in Hitchcock’s The Birds.
Astro the Evil Sun Conyer still doesn’t like me. He’s very gentle when I feed him peanuts, and he’ll allow me into his cage to clean and freshen his food and water dishes. But he still wants to pluck out my […]

Valentine’s Day sure was busy for my brother’s bloodhounds.
Ellie and Clem are the proud parents of nine — count ‘em — NINE! puppies. Aren’t they precious?

This was Ellie’s first litter, and she’s doing so well. She’s a very doting mama. She’s proud of her babies and doesn’t mind at all if somebody […]

That’s how BJ and I both take our coffee. So too, it seems, does the bird.
BJ and Astro were in the recliner. The little Dickens was walking around, first on one shoulder, then on the other, then down to the belly, then back up to the neck, then — well, you get the […]

I don’t usually find myself speechless, but this moment was one of those times.

A lot of the loss for words had to do with the intense fear that I was about to lose an ear, I think, but I was also immensely pleased that Astro finally trusted me enough to step onto my shoulder like […]

Astro the evil sun conyer still would rather bite me than not, but he’s getting on fairly well with all the other members of the family.  All, that is, except Buddy.
The bird doesn’t talk yet, but he has quite a list of squawks and calls he uses for different purposes.  Our little mini dachshund is […]

We had a major development today in the neverending saga of Astro the sun conyer.
BJ still wasn’t feeling well this morning, and since it was about two degrees F outside when it was time to leave for church, I went alone. Afterwards, we had quartet practice, so it was close to four pm by […]