Pepper

This is Pepper, who is a cocketiel. When we first bought Pep, we thought the bird was a male. The breeder thought so, too. SEVEN YEARS LATER Amalie hollered to me one morning, "Pepper's a female!" Huh? What are you talking about? "She laid an egg!"

At first I could not believe this. I suggested that perhaps Pep was smuggling some female bird into HIS cage at night, and it was HER egg. But nobody was buying that.

I have a 3-wheel walker that I use at home, and I have a carry bag with a long strap that I can carry over my shoulder when I go out. At home, I sling it over the handles of the walker. Pepper likes to ride on my walker, and in this photo she is standing on the blue strap of the bag. She likes to ride so much that the moment I touch the walker, there she is clamoring to get on. Now she is perfectly capable of climbing on all by herself, (I've watched her do it) but she would much rather I pick her up. Okay, okay, I need the exercise.

While Chipper is a very quiet bird, Pepper is the resident clown. Her wings are clipped, but she runs up and down the ladder that goes from the floor to the counter, or climbs up my leg when she wants her head rubbed. It's not that I'm allowed to rub her head; she demands it. It's hard to describe her antics, but another time I'll give it a try.

For today's humor I have something I can't post on Alison's blog: