Stretching or Threatening?

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From the desk of Dianne:

I'm not sure she's stretching her wings or threatening to jump off the perch! David was sitting close to her perch and she'd been leaning closer, staring at him. Maybe she's ready to finally bond with him? Nah...

We always go downstairs to meet David when he comes home from work. I carried Sammie against my chest instead of putting her in the carrier. Of course, the elevator stopped twice before hitting the first floor and people got on and Diz ran out of the elevator, thinking we had reached our destination and I stuck my leg out to keep the doors from closing and it was hectic! From now on, a leash and carrier!

When David walked through the door Sammie said, "Hi Bird!" very loud. That's what she calls him...Bird.


From the perch of Sammie:

That's what Daddy Dave says to me when he comes home. I'm just identifying with him. He does have bird legs though.

The talking bird

From the desk of Dianne:

I'm often asked what Sammie's first word was and honestly, I don't remember! The first imitation I heard was when I took her out of her cage in the morning and she repeated the kissing sound. It excited me so much!

I would have to say her first word was probably, hello. Once she started talking, she said a lot of things. African Grey's practice when we aren't in the room. They are very proud birds and don't want to humiliate themselves by saying something wrong. I would stand in the other room and listen to her and she often sounded like ET on helium gas. It was cute.

But they don't just repeat. They know the name and face that go together. We had a cleaning lady and when she'd come in the house, Sammie would say, "Hi Ros." When we moved away, Sammie never said it again because Ros wasn't there. They know.

My daughter was staying with me and she would come downstairs and say, "Hi Sammie Girl. So Sammie started saying, "Hi Brandi Girl. I've never called my daughter that so Sammie made up that name herself.

The cable man was at the house, working on the television and he had to run out to his truck to get something and as he was walking down the hall, Sammie said, "See you later, babe." He stopped in his tracks and his head slowly turned around. I said, "It wasn't me, honest! It's my bird!"

Sammie starts saying that to me when she knows I'm getting ready to leave. I can get ready in the morning and not be planning on going anywhere and then, she doesn't say that but if I'm getting ready for going out, she starts saying, "See you later, babe." Amazing bird. When I come home she says, "Mommie's home!"

Mostly, she uses my husband's voice. I thought it was because is might be easier for her but after reading, they use the voice of the person they consider their rival. She's competing with David, which I find cute.

I had some electricians in the house for a few days putting in special lighting and Sammie was using her naughty language. One guy asked, "Did I just hear what I thought I heard?" I was laid back about it (it was the South, the Bible buckle after all) and told him, yes, it was what he thought he'd heard. He asked me, "What do you do when people come over with their young children?" I told him I didn't allow people with young children to visit!

From the perch of Sammie:

I love to talk (I'm a female, what did you expect?)"

Bad Bird!

From the desk of Dianne:

I thought she was too quiet. She was balanced on the door to her acrylic cage. What could she possibly get into? I found out soon enough. She reached behind and was chewing on the electrical cord to her cage. I'm just thankful she didn't get shocked!!

We found a new gadget to quickly clean up feathers and tossed seed. It's a great saver of time and energy.


From the perch of Sammie:

Those aren't Mommie Dianne's feet in the picture! EEEWWW!

Dusty Bird!

From the desk of Dianne:

I've waited to give Sammie her shower until she was adapted to the new home. Can you say Feather Dust? My word. Our air filters are full of it and it settles on the leather furniture, not to mention the concrete floors.

She usually gets angry with me when I first put her in the sink but the minute the warm spray hits her, she settles down and lifts her wings. She growls when I towel her off but that's par for the course with her.

From the perch of Sammie:

That warm water does feel really good on my "wing pits." We don't want to be walking about with body odor, do we?

Exploring the Bathroom

From the desk of Dianne:

Sammie loves to be with me in the bathroom while I'm getting ready in the morning. It's a great exploration for her. She taps on the faucet, mirror and sink and loves to walk around the bathtub.

I put her on her perch while I take a shower and she loves the steam.


From the perch of Sammie:

I'm a girl...I have a beauty routine too!

From the desk of Dianne:

Just received Sammie's new acrylic carrier. This means that when Spring hits, I'll be able to take her on walks with Diz. It will also be great for transporting her to the Vet for her yearly physical.

We went for a "sample walk" yesterday (not outside, it's too cold) and she didn't like it very much. Was even upside down on her back for a few seconds but she got up on the perch and was fine after that. She kept saying, "Hi Bird" something she always says when she's nervous.

From the perch of Sammie:

That rig reminds me of an incubator! I suppose I'll get used to it and can go along for the doggy walks. They will then become doggy and birdy walks! It's about time for some equality around here.

Shake Your Tail Feathers

From the desk of Dianne:

Actually, I've been told that AG's don't really have tail feathers, they are simply a part of the back feathers.

The color of the red feathers makes me pause because they are so beautiful. When she sheds one, I'm always tempted to save it. And, the combination of the gray and red is spectacular.

Does this mean Sammie is a redhead like me?

From the perch of Sammie:

We do have something in common. Her hair is red and gray too. She hides her gray hair though.

On a more serious note, please look at the attached link and support putting an end to this awful killing of my relatives:

http://www.worldparrottrust.org/news/tradenews.htm

Strange Activity

From the desk of Dianne:

Sammie is normal except for some really strange behavior and it always involves...Apples!

She doesn't do this with any other food but give her an apple and she has to kill it before eating it. She throws it into her water dish and drowns it, stands on top of it and makes a huge mess.

Her instincts kick in and she fluffs herself up like a bowling ball, to make the apple think she's bigger than she actually is.

I asked her Vet about this and his answer? "You got me, I don't have a clue. They're like people, all have different personalities."

The picture says it all.

From the perch of Sammie:

She doesn't get it. That apple is alive! It's kill or be killed.

A Face to Love

From the desk of Dianne:

How could your heart not melt when you look at this beautiful, innocent little face?

If I pull out my camera and sit on the floor while Sammie is playing, she walks toward me very quickly and it's difficult to take a picture before she's climbing up my leg. She always wants to "taste" the camera.


From the perch of Sammie:

I can't figure out what that things is! It flashes and beeps-- everything I love.

I overheard Daddy Dave talking to Dianne last night about blogging. He just doesn't get it. "Why would anyone want to read about other people on the Internet that they don't know?" If it doesn't involve business, he doesn't understand. Men!

A message from Sammie

From the desk of Dianne:

We're having some technical problems today with loading Sammie's latest picture.

From the perch of Sammie:

Now fans, I want you to visit MY favorite website and see some of my friends.
http://www.thebirdforums.com/forums/index.php

Tell em' Sammie sent you.

The Acrobat

From the desk of Dianne:

As you can see from the pictures, Sammie is a very good climber. She has climbed up bar stools that amazed me. She pulls herself up by her beak and sometimes, with food in her beak at the same time!

From the perch of Sammie:

After you fall in love with me and decide you want my species for yourself, please buy from private breeders/hatchers and not from unreliable sources that have captured my cousins in the Congo. Thousands of my relatives die because of the way they are captured.

Sammies New Thing

She suddenly decided she didn't want to stay on her perch and continues to jump off and follow me all over the flat. She's having fun exploring and I put a paper bag on the floor for her to demolish.

I have to watch her around wood. I've been told it's part of the mating ritual to chew on wood and it means, don't you think I'm sexy? I guess this is the way they show off for the opposite sex. We had to have some repair work done on the house in TN where she had been showing us just how sexy she was!

There is something under the dishwasher that fascinates her. She stands there for a long time looking at it. I think she sees her reflection. She was on the floor watching me clean her perch this morning...supervising I'm sure.

When I sat at my desk, she hopped up on the lower rail and perched until I was finished. It was a struggle for her to climb and at one point, she was hanging upside down. I tried to grab the camera but by the time I did, she had uprighted herself.

Never a dull moment.

Nightly Loving

From the desk of Dianne:

Since the day I brought Sammie home, we've had a special bonding time every night. I hold her for a minimum of one hour and we kiss and work on her vocabulary. Right now, we're working on "Go Steelers." She knows how to say, Go Titans. I was never a loyal fan of that team but since we lived in Nashville, I felt she needed to learn how to cheer for the home team (they needed all the help they could get last year!). So, she's trying...she now just says, "Go" and you can see her thinking about which team she wants to cheer for.

The "t" sound is difficult for her since her words are formed in her throat and some words just have to have the tongue involved. Titans comes out as Kikans.

I think we moved from TN just in time. They were building a house to the side of ours and she was learning all the construction noises...hammering, hammer gun and the alarm on the trucks backing up. I not only heard these sounds all day but into the night as she repeated them!

Greys love to mimic noises like the door bell, the telephone, belching and some things even worse! You have to be very careful of what you say or they will learn it and never forget. And yes, Sammie does say one swear word and quite loudly! I just ignore her when she says it.

From the perch of Sammie:

I might decide to cheer for the Dallas Cowboys! That should irritate Dianne.

And excuse me, where do you think I learned that naughty word? I'll give you a clue...it's always said in Dianne's voice!

Sammie's butt

From the desk of Dianne:

I love Sammie's butt. It's hard to get a good picture of it because she won't let me get behind her with the camera!

Now, they have a way of looking at the tail feathers on their bottoms to determine the sex. I had her DNA'd and that's how we discovered we had a little girl. I thought for sure, it was a boy with the attitude!

In the beginning, I had named her Uncle Sam, after the NY tragedy and her flight there but after I found she was a girl, she became Sammie. Sammie Sue Schwartz.


From the perch of Sammie:

I have to agree. I do have a nice looking butt.

Now, let's get to the real truth. She was so upset over NY she was going to name me America. Can you imagine? Thank you, Daddy Dave, for stepping in and suggesting the Sam name.

From the perch of Sammie:

Hello fans. I got an email from my old friend, Blue, the parakeet and his new soul mate, Skye. Real original, huh? Blue--Skye--get my message?

Anyway, they sent me this joke and I'm gonna share it with you.

A burglar broke into a house one night. He shined his flashlight around, looking for valuables. As he picked up a CD player to place in his sack, a strange, disembodied voice echoed from the dark saying, "Jesus is watching you."

After nearly jumping out of his skin, the thief clicked his flashlight off and froze. When he heard nothing more, after a bit he shook his head, promised himself a vacation after the next big score, then clicked the light back on and began searching for more valuables.

Just as he pulled the stereo out so he could disconnect the wires, clear as a bell he heard, "Jesus is watching you." Freaked out, he shined his light around frantically, looking for the source of the voice. Finally, in the corner of the room, his flashlight beam came to rest on a parrot. "Did you say that?" He hissed at the parrot. "Yep," the parrot confessed, then squawked, "I am just trying to warn you."

The burglar relaxed. "Warn me huh? Who are you?" "Moses," replied the bird. "Moses?" the burglar laughed. "What kind of stupid people would name a parrot Moses?"

The bird promptly answered, "The same people who named the Rottweiler Jesus..."

Helping in the kitchen

From the desk of Dianne:

I have to tell you, it's difficult taking good pictures of Sammie because her movements are so fast and she doesn't like having her picture taken to begin with!

She grows tired of being on her perch or in her cage so I let her explore the kitchen counter and sink. She taps on things with her beak to understand what material they are made of. She's helping me load the dishwasher.


From the perch of Sammie:I wanted to be sure she was loading that dishwasher correctly.

Speaking of "from the desk of Dianne" check out that desk was I talking about that is so messy. And she complains about my bird seed. Give me a break!

Alex, the Stud

Sammie's got a boyfriend...nah-nah-nah-nah- nah, nah.

Well, in her dreams. His name is Alex and he's known to be the smartest African Grey in America.

If you log onto his site, watch the videos of his studies. He's amazing. But, his trainer/owner travels a lot and he goes into the feather-plucking mode when she's gone so he doesn't always look real handsome.

You can order books on Amazon through Alex's site, which help support the research:
http://www.alexfoundation.org/

Sammie's Digs

From the desk of Dianne:

After feathers and dust flying through the air, my husand and I found the perfect solution. An acrylic cage with a special air filter and lighting system. A plus, it keeps the volume of her voice to a minimum.

Sammie doesn't like to poop in her cage (don't poop where you sleep?) so other than food and feathers, it stays clean. All seeds, etc., drop to a sliding drawer at the bottom. She likes to be on the floor with me while I clean it...supervising, no doubt.

Speaking of the volume of her voice, when the phone rings, she starts her own ringing sound. Then, she carries on with her own phone conversation:

Hello?
Hey, how ya doing?
Laugh, laugh.
Okay, see you later.
Click, sound of turning off the phone

It's cute but sometimes, I can't carry on my own conversation and she starts making fun of me; laughing when I laugh. And, if I'm on a business call, I always have to explain that it's my bird in the background, which always starts an off- the- subject talk about Sammie.

At one time, we had a speaker phone and to me, the most amazing sound was Sammie imitating a dial tone. It reminded me of the movie, Adaptation.

You might notice in some of the pictures that our walls are bare. We just moved to a sky flat and haven't hung the pictures yet...oh Lordy...that's another blog in itself! Moving from 4000 Sq Ft to 1115!


From the perch of Sammie:

Are you diggin' my crib? Pretty nice, huh?

As for the phone conversations, if she didn't talk on the phone so much, I wouldn't know how to imitate it! Get my drift?

Breakfast with Sammie

From the desk of Dianne:

We have an established morning routine. I get up and start the coffee brewing, Diz doesn't budge from under the covers until she hears the familiar sounds of her food being put in her bowl. Sammie's cage is covered at night and she wakes when she's ready.

She starts out nicely..."Good morning!" Then, she goes into her charming French girl mode, "Bonjour." After a few minutes it's "DIANNE!!!!!" That's when it's time to uncover her cage, let her get on my hand and give me my morning kiss. Sometimes, she doesn't feel like kissing so just makes a smooching sound, while looking toward her perch, where her breakfast awaits.

She doesn't get much bird food or she'd become a seed junkie. Her favorites are scrambled eggs and cheese. She likes toast and pizza crust too (unsalted) , but African Grey's taste change on a regular basis. Sometimes it's blueberries and another time it might be grapes. For a treat, I give her Nutriberries.

When we lived in Tennessee and owned a cat, Sammie would watch as I prepared the cat's meal and then, she would say, "Here Kitty-Kitty!

If I feed her scrambled eggs, Diz waits for what might be dropped on the floor so she can eat the left overs.


From the perch of Sammie:

I'm a morning bird but sometimes, my patience wears thin. How long does a girl have to wait for her breakfast anyway? No wonder I start yelling her name!

Sammie's Best Friend

This is Diz, the Italian Greyhound. She's seven years old and like Sammie, completely spoiled. Sammie not only imitates Diz barking but tells herself to shut up afterward! When Sammie sees Diz get up in the morning she says, "Wanna go pee-pee?" She bosses Diz around quite a bit. "Diz, get over here!"

Sammie can imitate someone knocking on the front door and I can't tell the difference from the real thing. After going to answer the door only to find that nobody was there, I realized that Diz could tell the difference so, if Diz didn't react, I knew it was Sammie and I didn't need to go to the door. The dog is smarter than me!
Dianne

I do like that little critter! She's so cute and she eats food that I don't want and sling to the floor. If she would only eat bird poop, Dianne's job would be much easier.
Sammie

I hate that freakin' bird.
Diz

One of her many talents

Sammie loves to sing. In the picture, she has her head held high and neck stretched out, singing a song.

She sings the beginning of one of Ushers' songs (I don't know where she learned it because I don't listen to Usher but I think she heard him on Oprah), The Mayberry theme song is her favorite whistling tune, the Yahoo theme song, Bird is the Word, and an off-key ballad of some kind.

She also dances to music but I never know which song she'll dance to. It's usually television commercials for some reason. We did have a little singing Christmas tree that made her dance.

All In a days work

From Dianne:

This is just a small example of the mess I clean up three times a day while Sammie is on her perch, outside of her cage. I can't say I wasn't warned that birds were messy but I had NO idea! It's usually worse than this.

From Sammie:

Like she's so clean herself! You should see her underwear drawer. And anyway, cleaning up after me might get her off that computer! She really needs a life.

As you can see, Sammie is beautiful. Her hatch date was July 27, 2001.

Sammie was in the cargo compartment of an airliner, on her way to NYC when the terrorists struck and her plane was forced to land at our airport. Being only three months old and still being hand fed, the crew was worried about her and called a local pet store to ask if they would take her, which they did.

Three days later, we met. The employee taught me how to feed her twice a day and I really rushed to learn how to do this because each time I would put her back into her incubator cage, she would cry and spread her wings out. It really bothered me so I learned extra fast and soon, was able to take her to her new home.

As I mentioned earlier, she has an attitude and in the above picture, she's saying, "What are you looking at?" She is "ruffled" up, resting on one foot, getting ready to take a nap and was irritated with me for taking her picture.

It's a bird's world

And it's a great world at that! Sammie is a seriously spoiled little girl with an attitude. It's nice to know she has boundaries and I think she should give seminars for single women on how to do just that! Sammie's Boundary Setting 101.

I will be sharing, oh I'm Sammie's Mom, Dianne, how I came to buy this wonderful bird and how she's enriched our life.

I want to add that Sammie has her own fan club in Las Vegas. Now, how many birds can claim that?