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Tinkerbell at
JiangHu&LangTan
http://community.webshots.com/album/133484151gQWWEX
I
come to parrot groups as oasis to escape from
political
events in Taiwan or indeed, the world. My
apologies
for upsetting the tranquility here last week
with
talks of lima and navy beans and their impact on
my
life. Sorry too for having to upset you all with
the
events of that Rhino Beetle farm. Only damage to
me
was to my pride and deep in my soul but that got to
be
said on the off chance any of you flying fids on
harnesses
might have to bear in mind. I must admit
getting
that off my chest and to cry on your
sympathetic
shoulders help my own healing.
But
to people who just joined, they may be so shocked
that
parronts have so much to worry about that they
may
end up not being parronts as all. That will be
very
sad as parronthood is also full of fun and joy.
This
is now spring and the weather is turning warm.
While
I have traveled a bit since my return from NZ, I
have
not taken out Tinkerbell on the bike to further
away
places yet. It was too cold for long distance
travelling
on bike. You have not seen recent pictures
of
Tinkerbell specially taken for you. So over the
weekend,
I thought I would give a brief description
how
we go out and check out the countryside and
reaffirm
the joys of parronthood.
Folks
starting on clicker training may be amused to
know
that just 2 years ago, I was like you. I could
not
have imagined then how the road would led me to
what
it is now. You may have even more fun then me.
This
will also be a good time to bring you folks up to
date
with other weird but effective ways to keep a CAG
happy
on a motorbike.
Please
see URL below for the pictures over the last
weekend.
Tinkerbell
at JiangHu&LangTan
http://community.webshots.com/album/133484151gQWWEX
Saturday
got us waking up, courtesy of our third alarm
clock.
Tinkerbell had become more civilized in that
after
she woke up, she would first fly to her screen
perch
for her morning first discharge before flying
into
our bedroom and checking if we are up at 7am. A
simple
beak-up-the-nose is her guarantee that her
parronts
will get up and off the bed. It's a lot last
traumatic
than getting her off our head and over the
floor
as quickly as possible before she unload that
big
one.
We
were ready to go soon and I approached Tinkerbell
with
her harness. She knew what that meant, that she
will
be going out with us. She stood still and
cooperated
with me to allow me to put the harness on
and
flew to my shoulder so the line leash can be
attached.
If she did not accept the harness, she
would
have flown to all high perches leading me on a
merry
dance.
You
remember that I have a towel on the bike to keep
the
bike and bags somewhat clean. I also have
memories
of sitting in dining cars of Shinkanshen and
high
speed trains in Europe and eating and watching
the
countryside roll by. There are two Velcro strips
on
the front of the bike so the small towel can be
velcroed
on. I induced a small fold in the towel by
safety
pins. All so that I can tip some sunflower
seeds
on the towel. Tinkerbell loved to ride on the
perch
tied between the rearview mirrors. Now while on
that
perch, she can get a seed, de-husk it, and munch
away
while looking at the countryside passing by. She
get
to have a great time while I do all the work.
I
now take to wearing a fanny belt pack with
Tinkerbell
essentials, pill boxes of sunflower seeds,
tissue
paper, clicker and target stick (to get her
back
if she ever fly free), extra harness and lines
and
sharp folder knife. Karabiners are clipped on
that
fanny pack to clip the reel and the rod.
Recently
however, I stopped dismantling that reel
setup
and you can see the rod/reel hooked on that
karabiner.
A simple rubber band is used to hold the
reel
and line unless I released it to allow the line
to
flow. That setup also served as a impromtu perch
for
Tink as can be seen in picture near the end.
Photos
are self explanatory.
5
months or so ago, I mentioned on my first trip to
Tsaoling
that I saw a place that I wanted to go back
to.
That was a road to Tsaoling until an earthquake
brought
down the side of the mountain on the road.
We
rode over to that place, JiangHu . Scenic places
are
common in Taiwan . Still, JiangHu is a
beautiful
place to have a picnic and to look at the
huge
fossil deposit of sea shells in a matrix of shale
and
mudstone.
We
got off the bike and walked ten minutes down a
track
to the valley floor. Joy then noticed and asked
why
is my line dangling behind me. Tink had quietly
managed
to free the swivel joint from the harness
clip.
Later on, you will see some closeup photos of
those
fishing clips and swivel joint. If you are into
fishing,
I need not say more as you know how difficult
it
is to put those in or to get them out even if you
got
two hands. If you do not fish, its no point to
ask
friends of yours who fish as they will never
believe
a parrot with a beak and a blunt tongue can
get
those out. In the recent weeks, she showed me she
could
remove a loop from that clip. But as I use two
loops,
I did not think further as the odds of her
freeing
two loops without my noticing is slim. I also
loop
each loop a another turn to increase the work for
her.
I did not realized she would up the ante by
removing
that swivel joint and line this time.
Tink
turned to look at me and bob and bob her head.
From
the outings with her, she never showed she wanted
to
leave me which in turn gave me the confidence she
will
remain with me. I clip the line back on again
and
tried to maintain a nonchalant attitude to her so
as
not to encourage her to try it again. Even as I
type
this to you, I decided I will add yet another two
clips
to that swivel joint, another above to the
harness
and another linking the fishing line leash to
that
swivel joint. Better to play it safe.
In
between picnic and eating, Tink hang around us.
She
have 3-4 meters of leash line freed for her. If I
want
my peace, I will tell her to stay and she would.
If
I do not move more than 2 meters away, she normally
will
be content to stay around with me to preen
herself
and to fly to my shoulder now and then.
If
I walk away from her to explore a bit, she will fly
to
my shoulder and join me to check out the area.
Now
and then, I put her through her recalls.
For
the photos, I recalled her from about 7-9 meters
away.
Further than that, she will only be a grey
speck
in the photos.
The
next day on Sunday, we were over at a favourite
spot
about 20 minutes ride from my apartment. It is
LangTan,
a reservoir just on the outskirt of Chiayi.
Again,
you see Tink quite happy to preen herself
content
to be near me. I read a bit, take her through
her
paces, relax again, read more and just enjoy time
together
with her.
Tink
had about 3-4 meters of free line but she hardly
ever
make use of that. Stay cues again would be
heeded
by her provided I do not move more than a
couple
meters away. If I move further away and if I
keep
my eyes on her, she would stay still but
trembling
with effort waiting for my cue to come to
me.
On longer recalls, I needed to keep telling her
to
wait or she would take off to me. If I want to do
long
recalls , 30-40 meters and beyond, Joy need to be
by
her side bribing her with sunflower seeds to allow
me
to get that far away.
You
see her flying on recalls to me. And I have no
problems
in entanglements or snagging the line on a
tree.
Crowds
come and go. I feel it my role to explain to
all
who ask just how to keep a parrot. After two
hundred
or so answering "Does she talk?", I try my
best
to remember the one asking me is asking for the
first
time and one day, he remember Tinkerbell and me
when
he buys or his friend buys a parrot. And that
they
need more than water and sunflower seeds. And
what
wonderful companions they can be giving us more
than
what we give them.
Last
few pictures were taken just an hour ago when we
had
our dinner. Tinkerbell get to take a couple of
bites
of my sashimi.
I
get to eat her leftovers.
Tinkerbell
at JiangHu&LangTan
http://community.webshots.com/album/133484151gQWWEX
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