Happily Ever After

*If you haven't read the post directly under this one. Do so, first. This is part two!*

....After last nights emotional ride, I couldn't sleep AT. All. It was really horrible. I kept thinking about Aspen and when I'd try to close my eyes, I would instantly invision having her on my finger for those few seconds. Only this time...kicking myself for not pinching her feet against my finger to trap her til I had both hands securely around her. PLUS...all the noises of the night kept jarring me from almost being in a sleep state. I planned everything I was going to do in the morning. Wake up with the sun when all the other birds were up and head back over to the park. We kept the large cage in the car for that sole purpose.

 When morning finally came, I dressed VERY WARMLY! and headed out with Dylan. Jax in the little cage. Of course. The instant I walked down the front steps... I could hear her! VERY CLOSE! Jax was chirping crazy too. I frantically searched the trees around my house and found her in this one....

 Yea, that BIG TALL pine. Nice! So I walked over to that drive way and peered up into it. You wouldn't think you could see anything in it because it's so thick. BUT I saw her! In that one little hole way up high. She could see us too! Of course. I had no idea what I was going to do now. As I was staring up into the tree, something caught my eye and I looked away for a split second and she was gone when I looked back. I didn't see where she flew to either. SO....I walked up and down this sidewalk, praying she hadn't headed back over to the park!  I found her on the other side of our house in those neighbors, trees......

 Yeah....those big huge one, right there! U.G.H.!!! I'm kind of sick of all the huge trees now! There is NO way to climb them because a good 20ft of trunk is in the way of that first climbable branch. I never could see her in these trees, but I could hear her. And Jax too. They were going off at each other. When Jax wasn't chirping, I had youtube parakeets playing on my phone to keep her noisy to try and pin point her. It wasn't until she started flying that I saw her again, heading in this....(see picture below)....direction! She headed toward the direction of the mountains you can see in the bottom right side of the picture then circled back around and landed in the tree that you see between the to skinny ones in the middle. That's two houses down from me and I headed over there.

By this time, she stopped chirpping. Nothing would get her going again. I walked back into their yard (the lady said I could go back there when I was looking yesterday. I extended that invitation into today. It was for a noble cause.) With Jax in tow we went back there. She was on the end of a branch, puffed up (cold obviously) and sitting there watching us. In that tree, is a treehouse platform that I attempted to climb (with Jax and cage), albeit very weakly and clumsily. I'm not as slim and limber as I needed to be. I did managed to get up into it. By this time she had tried to fly down to closer branches, but was still about a foot out of reach. I wasn't going to ruin this opportunity so I was talking to her really calmly and moving slowly. She didn't need to take off again! I climbed up a bit more and slowly reached out with a cupped hand. She was pretty anxious to hop on my finger but still pretty jittery as well. I reached up enough that I was able to pinch her tail quite firmly. She didn't like that one bit. It was more discomfort than trying to fight me. She was ready to be caught! I quickly got her in the cage and she was SO excited to see Jax! They greeted each other quick warmly. Smacking beaks together and chirping.We came home and she's literally been sleeping ALL. DAY. only waking to eat. Not one peep has escaped her beak. Jax chirps quickly, almost as to not wake her. So cute!

And that is the end of this story. 

And, YES! She will be clipped!

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This next picture is just a picture of the new sound barrier that they have FINALLY placed.No more ugly construction. Just landscaping. 

  I don't think I like it. Nothing like a big huge wall to stare at! Covers too much and I can't see the mountains on that side of the valley anymore.  

Aspen

Aspen got out today. I was in the back yard working with Jared when Eli came running around the corner telling me "the bird got away". I was in the middle of talking to Bonnie about wedding stuff when he interupted. Thinking back now, I totally feel bad because I cut her off and ran into the house to see if it was for real! Jax was loyally perched on top of the cage with all the doors shut. I let him in and went back out to look. (Aspen is the blue one in front)

Sometimes the boys like to get the birds out and shut all the doors so they can't get back in. Angers me to no end! But this time, she got out as Eli was standing with the front door open  and Aspen followed the light. Right out the front door! I was just sick! Another beautiful bird of mine. Gone.

    I kept trying to ask which way she flew because I wanted to try and track her. But his finger pointed in a different direction everytime! I was so frustrated! It was around 5:00pm when this happened and still very light out. All wild birds were still very active. And as it happened before with Kortanah and Selene, every stinking bird was chirping. Every car on the freeway was rumbling by twice as loud, and every freaking kid was screaming! I couldn't hear a thing. Or at least the ONE thing I WANTED to hear!
   
   I wandered from yard to yard, trying to listen so intently, but nothing sounded familiar. OH! I might add...it was FREEZING today. WINDY too! No ideal conditions to be staring up into the trees. I brought Jax out in the big cage (locked!) to see if his chirping and the presence of the cage would attract Aspen from wherever she was hiding. For a good hour or more...we wandered, waited, listened and nothing. I finally got cold enough to bring Jax in and warm myself up. Jared got dinner for the boys and I just sat in front of a heater thinking.

   I decided to try again and go with one of the directions Eli had originally pointed. I crossed the street to the park. Going from tree to tree. Staring, whistling, and listening. For those familiar with the park, I ended up back by the sandpit. By the "haunted house". I was calling her by name at this point and saying what I always said to her. "Aspen! Little one, Come here". And I SWEAR I heard her! For those who don't know...there are a TON of HUMUNGUSly tall trees. It was almost impossible to pinpoint a tiny parakeet. But I KNEW I could hear her! She'd respond everytime I called her name. And I DID FIND HER! WAY up high! I almost couldn't believe it! (the picture is from a LONG time ago. But this is the park. Minus the gazebo and CAT loader (tractor)m and blue dumpster. The trees....pretty much look the same!)

   I called Jared to tell him to bring Jax over in the little cage to try and coax her down. So, he did. All this time, she's still calling back to me. (So sweet!) I knew she was scared and exhausted and wanted to come down. Having never manuevered through such thickly concentrated branches, she was having a heck of a time trying to come down. But she WAS doing it. Slowly. I sent Jared back home for the big cage. If she came down, she'd definitely fly to that! I was ringing the bell in it to keep her focused on the objective "homebase".

   Little by little she had gotten down so close, I was able to stand on a stump and reach up to get her to hop on my finger. I couldn't believe it SHE WAS ON MY FINGER!!!! As I turned to walk back to the cage and before I could get a good pinch on her tail or feet so she couldn't fly away, she took off. Right back up into a stinking tree. And it only got worse from there!

(Picture shows the playground RIGHT by the trees she was hanging out in.)

   When the sun started to set, I decided to call a friend in our neighborhood who has a cherry picker. (crane like machine that reaches up high into trees for Tree Trimmers.) We had made the mistake of loosing Kortonah because we were too proud to call someone for a silly ol' bird. I was NOT about to do that again!

   He was so kind, he came over and attempted multiple times. I even went up with him to get her on my finger. SO CLOSE....but she'd get scared and fly away. After 5 attempts and 2 repositions of this massive truck... We were going to try one last time. She was in a good opening for the cherry picker to get to. He just had to move the truck again. And, Again....I was/a, supremely grateful for him to be doing this for us!

   Just as he put the truck into reverse, that loud beeping that large trucks have...scared her off back down into the thicker trees and we couldn't see her. She stopped chirping too. To tired I guess. I felt bad enough for asking the man to come out in the first place, I told him I would just come back in the morning to try again. Seriously, so thankful for his help!

   It was too dark at this point to keep straining the eyes AND NECK! OUCH! That we packed up and came home. I was shaking uncontrollably because of the cold and the boys were getting tired. It was 8:30 by that time and the sun, pretty much set.

   The one thing that kills me the most about all this, is that I KNOW she was wanting to come back. She made that very clear! And knowing that.....I HAVE to go back and try again! This time trying different methods. I have so many "if only's", that I have to have a second chance!

   SHE WAS IN MY HAND!

Introducing...

Selene.
She's definitely not Kortana, but still a sweetheart.

She was only about 2 months old when we got her and very "cuddly." She would let me rub my cheek against her and would hide up under my "wing". Every time I held her.

Just like a momma.

And I loved it. I was even able to lay on the floor with her, laying flat against the ground, under my arm.
She now has a friend: Jax. And they've become quite fond of each other. Desperate "cries" piercing my ear drum whenever they are separated discourage any "human bonding" time for a long period of time.
I'll post pictures of him soon. He looks A LOT like Kortana.

Missing

I keep checking my blog for really no reason at all. Maybe it blogged itself. But the horrible reminder of the previous post has gotten to me enough that I'm pushing it down so I don't have to look at it anymore.

For those that don't already know, Kortana flew out again saturday evening and we weren't as successful this time around. Many hours have been spent looking for her. And I now find myself constantly staring at the trees when I leave the house or even looking out the window.

The first night was SO hard for me to even come in because I KNEW she was out there and waiting for me to find her. But it was cold. I was wet. And had kids to put to bed. We found her once, in a tree but our attempt to get her out resulted in her disapearing for what is going on day 3. Really hard to see a bird flying in a dark sky. Outside the beams from our flashlights and spotlight.

We were SOOOO close. And then she was gone.

I spent most of that first night laying in bed, wishing I could've done things differently. Knowing it was snowing, wondering about her. I even got up to go stare out the window sometime past midnight. I would've thrown my snow clothes back on if I knew it would result in a good way. But it would've just lead me back to the many prints I left many times before. Where there were trees, I would look.

It may seem silly to you how I'm reacting to "just a little bird". And to be honest, I'm kinda suprised as well. I DID love her but am just now learning how important she was to me and my daily routine. It's quiet now. And I don't like it. Even with the noise from the kids.

I miss her flying to my shoulder and purring softly in my ear.
I miss how she would INSIST on eating my food. Even if she had to stand in it. (the little pain in the butt!)
I miss her calling for me when I was away from the room for a long time. With her flying into the room I was in.
I miss her talking. How cool it was to teach an animal to talk.
I even miss her pooping on my head, .
And her regurgitatied seeds stuck to the mirror on my fire place. She was a good "momma" to the bird in the mirror. Weird.
And I will most certainly miss her "preening" my hair.
I will miss her "baths" in the sink when I would wash the dishes. (I do have video of her talking and bathing and will post it once my computer allows me to. I've tried MANY times but still won't.)
And I will miss how people became so intrigued with her when they came to visit.
She truly was extrordinary.
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In hopes of lifting my spirits. I was given a new parakeet. A little yellow baby. It's still too soon. But to have a bird to perch on my finger is nice. It's not Kortana. But this one is a sweet heart.

We named her Selene. She's still so young that she lets us pet her and hold her in our hand. Last night I was sitting in my chair and she cuddled right up between my arm and side and kept trying to burrow her head deeper into my armpit. Too cute.

Then today when I had her on my shoulder walking around she would hide up under my ponytail as if it were her momma's wing. You'd see her little head popping out as I went about my business.

She doesn't chirp much and I hope that changes with time. I like the noise and "singing".

I'm not giving up on looking for Kortana. Probably never will. Walking down the streets. Laying in a park on a warm summer day or just driving will always pull my eyes toward the branches.

My little Kortana bird pulled a fast one on us yesterday and it's only through luck, love, and frigid temperatures that she is still here w us.

The kids were coming in and out of the house so often, she decided she wanted to go out and see what the big deal was and slipped past when, once again someone was going out. (We let her roam the house throughout the day.) She soared right out and up, over the back of the house (she escaped through the back door for those of you who wanted to know.).

Mykaael and I ran after her, screaming, "Kortana got out!" launching Jared and the boys into a panic as well. She had flown over into my neighbors huge TALL trees. We were all yelling, "WHERE IS SHE?" "CAN YOU SEE HER?" "RIGHT THERE! I see her!" "SHE WENT THAT WAY!" "I CAN'T SEE HER!"... and other stuff like that. We were purring, calling/whistling, and saying, "Kortana pretty bird" in our sweetest voices to try and coax her down to us. She started chirping back at my whistling. (She does that when she "calls" for me in the house when I leave the room.) And tried to fly down but then took a turn towards the freeway and my heart dropped. BUT......thankfully.....turned right back around when our panicked excitment elevated. Trying to manuever through the branches to get to us, proved to be harder for her than what any normal bird could do. So she opted for a smaller apple tree in the back of the yard to land in till we could rescue her. Mykael jumped the fence and started to climb the tree. Jared decided that I needed to go as well, so with all the agility I could muster, I scaled that fence and pounced over it like a stalking cat. (I can make sick jokes now because she's home safe and my heart rate is now back to normal.)

When I got to the tree Kortana was definitely shaking cold, fluffed up and scared, and wet. Mykael was having a hard time climbing a tree that was covered in snow and was trying to coax her out with a tortilla. I reached my hand up and called to her and she attempted to fly down to me, but landed on Mykael instead. (Those branches were really throwing her off.) I told Mykael to, "Grab Her!" Even if she threw a fit. Her struggle lasted only a second, and then was content staying wrapped in Mykael's warm hands till she was warm and safe at home.

So that's just what we did. Rushed her home and when we got into the house, she flew right to her cage where she stayed for a few hours. Even when I tried to let her out, she hopped right back in. I worry that this small but frightening moment of freedom will only turn into more curiosity once the terror has left her. Or when the weather warms up. Whichever comes first.

For now, "STOP! Kortana! DON'T LET HER OUT!!!" Signs have been posted at every door leading to the outside.

It really would've been sad if she never came back. We all have gotten quite attached to her.

I just can't leave these two alone...

.....Maybe because they can't leave each other alone. They do this on a daily basis. I was just able to FINIALLY capture it on 'digital' film.

He really is quite tolerant of her. He even gives her a warning. "Don't taunt me!"


So she does a little song, a little dance,


a little pigeon impersonation.....


and flies away


to come and annoy me!


She gets bored and returns to the more "exciting" side of life? Monet.



But he refuses to fall into her trap. He knows the consequences.


But since I'm sitting right here and haven't stopped him from doing anything to her yet...he gives her another warning. (He's good like that.) Or maybe he's getting a really good whiff of that sweet sweet meat under all those beautful feathers.


He'll even tease her a bit. But that doesn't stop her.


She's like a carrot on a string. SO close, but not close enough.


She is REALLY good at testing her bounds.


And with his cat like reflexes, he's REALLY REALLY good at smacking her right back to where she belongs!

Believe it or not, she came back for more. He just wasn't in the mood. He had a nap to take.

*No animals were harmed in the making of this blog posting.

Who said they couldn't live together?

Since getting Kortana, I (among others) have worried about Monet feeling 'displaced' even more than he already is. With Korah (dog), all the kids that invade my bed in the night...one would think he would be feeling neglected.

So when the birds came along, it was a cruel joke to him.....or so we thought. In the 2+ months since they've been here, I would say that Monet has adjusted quite nicely. At first he would pounce 'towards' them but never in a serious way as to catch them. (I think he's a dairytarian) At one point Kortana actually landed on his head while he slept.

Then, just last night, she hopped onto his back and sat there for awhile. And he even stayed put. He knew she was on there, but didn't move until I got up to get the camera. (of course!) But I promise, it happened! I WILL get that picture.

And then this morning, Monet was in an extra playful mood and so was Kortana. I had the camera with me then and was video taping them. She now "purrrs" like he does. I did it to him and she mimicked perfectly! I'm not satisfied with the footage I've got of her "purring", but I will get a good one. Just give me time. I look forward to the time when she hops on his back and goes for a 'walk' around the house with him.

I have to say that it has been SO fun having her here. And just as annoying. She can be pretty persistant when she wants something. (like your breakfast!)

Kortana

This is our newest addition to the foul in our home. Ashton named her Kortana off of the game, Halo.

I offered her a drink and she took a bath instead.



I've come to love this little sweet heart quite well.



So has Monet. But he's a bit conflicted. He doesn't know if he wants to eat her or play with her.