So much has happened in our lives since the last play date on February 5th and now. Angie and Finnigan have spent some extra time at our place. They came to visit and hang out just for the fun of it without any plans. They came in the evenings after work, on a Friday night or two and we even had a spend-the-night party where Angie stayed in the guest room and Finnigan stayed in the den with Mercury and slept in his travel cage. Then, he stayed there all day while we went to work. While the visits were just because Angie was coming over to visit anyway, the spend-the-night party was in preparation of something else in our lives.
In a matter of the same timeframe, Angie and I had changes happening in our personal lives. Steven and I decided to be friends after a long relationship starting before Mercury had come into our lives. He still loves Mercury and me both and said he would come visit Mercury if she needed him, but it was time for us to go our separate ways. Angie and her husband had decided the same, so it was time to get a divorce and sell their house. Finnigan is still young, and hopefully his adjustment would go well. After much discussion, Angie and I decided if she sold her house before my apartment lease was up, the timing would work out for us to find a place together.
As timing would have it, we were able to find a town house close to both of our places of employment that met our needs within reason. We took possession April 1st, 2005, and started making adjustments. We were concerned about Mercury the most, being a sensitive grey, and we were worried about Finnigan the least, being a hearty eclectus � king of everything. Oddly enough, we had it all backwards, as we have proven to have things before.
I was worried about Mercury not seeing her new home before moving and leaving Steven suddenly. It was late the evening of April 2nd before I brought her over in her travel cage, as we had been moving my things all day. Angie and Finnigan had already moved in days before us. Mercury slept in my room in her travel cage until I had her regular cage all set up. She seemed fine. Even though her stand in the living room was surrounded by boxes and unorganized furniture, she flew right to it like �what�s that doing there, great, she brought my perch on vacation.� It was like any other day for Mercury. I was shocked and almost confused by her calmness. She just used her contact call a lot. That was wonderful. It was two days and she was flying up the stairs. Maybe all the traveling I had done with her made this move easy. As for Steven, I don�t know. He�s dropped by to visit a couple times over the last few weeks. She spends all of that time with him, perching on his knee, silently.
As for Finnigan, he has been a mess, and I mean that in so many ways. In the beginning, it seemed he was out of the swing of things. He was a little moody and wanted to see me like I was a visitor. That lasted for a week or so. Then, he started settling down and enjoying his mommy more. I think he was a busy body who couldn�t figure out what had happened and was bothered by the whole mix-up. He didn�t get it and was letting everybody know it. But, also within the first week, he said �Mercury� and picked up on several of her whistles and sounds, including her contact call, which he uses all of the time, even though he has his own. So, their time together has obviously had an impact on him, and we don�t think it has been a negative impact. He had started talking a good bit before they came together, but I think his talking and sounds, for sure, has greatly increased. I think he really enjoys Mercury�s company, at least during the day. I think Mercury enjoys his too, but it�s not as evident as he has made it. They do whistle back and forth from room to room and floor to floor.
Summing it all up, we�ve decided we live in a bird house. It�s a 2-story town house. We have at least two of everything. The dining room is the bird room. It has 2 large bird cages in it with one web cam and a second on the way. We have 2 bird supply closets in there along with a window perch and a rope circle hanging from the ceiling by it. The living room has 2 floor stands and 2 boings. Upstairs, each of our bathrooms has a shower perch and Angie�s bedroom has a boing and polly perch. Mercury�s polly perch is downstairs right outside the kitchen. The way I see it, our nests are upstairs and they allow us to perch on the furniture and feed them in their bird house. Storing our stuff there is just a generous gesture on their part, don�t you think? It�s just space they aren�t currently using, right?
When Angie and I met in the pet store back at the end of the summer/beginning of fall last year, we were just so excited to actually be having play dates. Neither of us knew the directions our lives were taking. We had no idea we had been preparing our parrots to live with each other. That thought had never entered our minds. Life is a journey that we obviously don�t know the route of. I think Angie and I are thankful for each other at this point in our lives and it is neat that our parrots are able to benefit from this, as well. We would never compromise the well-being of our parrots. They come first. If I wasn�t living with Angie and Finnigan right now, Mercury and I would definitely be on our own, as ordinary people would not be expected to understand the homelife I provide for Mercury. Living with someone as dedicated as I am is a wonderful support system. We both can learn from each other and give each other support. It�s like having a Yahoo list member in your own home but better. Finnigan and Mercury have been learning to play together, supervised, of course. Mercury knocks on Finnigan�s beak with hers and says �who�s there�. That�s pretty cute. Finnigan talks and whistles with Mercury. And, he loves his new play stand. Angie and I are doing well, balancing out and enjoying our birdies. It�s one big, happy bird house...
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Well, Mercury did finally pick up a couple things from Finnigan. They were chatting back and forth pretty much and were doing fabulously well. Both handle groups of people really well and enjoy the company in their own individual ways. Finnigan dives into people and wants to be in your face. Mercury wants to take her own time before she flies your way and wants to be on your knee or shoulder, especially if you have food. Then, you're guarenteed a friendship and much faster. But, good things don't last forever. The time came for Angie and Finnigan to move on. Sometimes, things don't work like you want them to and choices aren't as plentiful as you would like them to be. Since November of 2005, Angie and Finnigan have been living elsewhere, Steven moved back in for a bit to cover the other half of the rent and Mercury was in heaven. She really liked that and started saying all sorts of things. Then, my landlord decided she wanted to live in the townhouse. So, guess what... We'll be moving ourselves. I'm not too happy about that, but we're doing it. Am I worried about Mercury this time? Nope. I figure she will probably like moving. It will be more stimulation for her, new sights and a whole new set of adjustments. She'll enjoy it. That's what I learned. Steven is moving back to his apartment and Mercury and I will be on our own. Angie says Finnigan still calls Mercury. And, Mercury still talks like Finnigan sometimes. Right now things are very hectic in our lives, but hopefully, we will be able to get them back together for visits one of these days.
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to visit!!