Egg on our face

Our cockatiel Pepper is a female (though for years we thought she was a male). Some seven years after we bought her, she laid her first egg, and of course that settled the issue. Now every now and then she goes into what I call her ‘nesting mode’.

This is her basket. Now it may look like a waste basket to you, but not any more. Notice the ladder. That’s so she can climb out when she wants to. Anyway, the past several days she has been spending her days down there, and has had to be coaxed out at night so we could put her back in her cage. Yesterday afternoon I looked at her, and when she spotted me, she gave me her most aggressive look -- open beak, “don’t you dare touch me” look. When Cliff put her in her cage last evening, she started screeching at us, and would not stop until we turned off the lights and we went to bed.

This morning Cliff found an egg at the bottom of her basket, so it may be safe to assume that her screaming last night was “How dare you take me from my “child!”

Now really! The egg wasn’t fertile! There are no male cockatiels in this household, and while Chipper is a male, those two birds won’t even look at one another.

This morning Pepper is back to normal, climbing all around the place, sitting on my shoulder, getting her head rubbed, and the like, so it looks like egg-laying season is over for a while.

Incidentally, she has chewed nearly all the way through one of the rungs on her ladder, so I'll have to spring for a Christmas (or maybe Channukah) gift for her.


Other fun -

NEVER BE LATE!

A priest was being honored at his retirement dinner after 25 years in the parish. A leading local politician and member of the congregation was chosen to make the presentation and give a little speech at the dinner.
He was delayed, so the priest decided to say his own few words while they waited.

"I got my first impression of the parish from the first confession I heard here. I thought I had been assigned to a terrible place. The very first person who entered my confessional told me he had stolen a television set and, when questioned by the police, was able to lie his way out of it. He had stolen money from his parents, embezzled from his employer, had an affair with his boss's wife, taken illegal drugs, and gave VD to his sister. I was appalled. But as the days went on I knew that my people were not all like that and I had, indeed, come to a fine parish full of good and loving people."

Just as the priest finished his talk, the politician arrived full of apologies at being late. He immediately began to make the presentation and gave his talk.

"I'll never forget the first day our parish priest arrived," said the politician. "In fact, I had the honor of being the first one to go to him in confession."

Moral: NEVER, NEVER, NEVER BE LATE!