Big Bird Cage 2

We put the lovebirds into their new cage yesterday and they took to it straight away. I think we got the timing about right. They had started to try to fly earlier in the week, but were quite hopeless at it and would probably have hurt themselves if they had the space, but there weren't so used to their small cage that they found the move stressful.

I spent a happy hour last night 'decorating' their cage with toys. We found out, when we first got Larry, that you can spend an absolute fortune on bird toys. However as they enjoy nothing more than ripping the toys to shreds, cardboard tubes, bits of gift wrapping, pine cones etc all make great things for them to play with. Therefore their lovely new home now looks like a recycling bin.

They are very funny to watch as they are getting to know their new home. Their flying skills aren't finely tuned yet, so they are inclined to miss their perches or land on each other. We've put them next to Larry, so they can see each other. Larry fluffed himself up when he first saw them, to intimidate them and let them know who's boss. He's now glowering at them from the bottom of his cage. He still has a bad foot and can't climb, so hopefully being able to watch the lovebirds will keep him entertained.

I have a horrible feeling the lovebirds are going to remain 'the lovebirds'. I've tried out a few names which haven't stuck. One of the problems is that they are pretty much identical. I can tell them apart when they are together - otherwise they are the same. Ian reminded me that Barry and Gary remains a possibility for names...

Big birdcage

Here the lovebirds in their cage. they are the the small yellow things in the top left-hand side!

Election Fever

On Monday the village woke up with a new mayor. Obviously I'm not suggesting that the last Mayor's final initiative was one large municipal bed, but the local election count took place over night and there was a change in council. The new council is the PSOE, which is the People's Socialist Workers of Spain, and is a national party. The last council was also left wing, but was an Extremaduran off shoot of the IU green party, which itself was an offshoot of the IU party. Which is why I can never get far in the elections without thinking of this from the Life of Brian (apologies for bad language):

The vote was quite conclusive, with a 20% swing to the PSOE. While I think the old mayor did a great job, after winning three elections I think there is something to be said for having a change in council. The PP, which is the party in national Government at the moment, doesn't have much of a showing here, and this time lost 10% of their vote: but given that their vote went from 34 to 30, that's not really significant.

The elections are always close. The one before we moved here when the old council was voted in had only 4 votes in it - hence the very high turn out of well over 90%.

I noticed when I looked at the new council that I don't think I give any classes to any of their families, so I wonder if this will have any implications for me. For example the old council paid for me to go into the school, so this may change next year (if we are still here, which, although I hope we're not, currently looks likely...).

Messy Chicks

This is what happens when you mix paste like chick feed, small seeds and small parrots.

Roll Up, Roll Up...

...the circus is in town. Gary and Barry (apparently not their real names) are starting to fly, hence their presence on Kate's head.

class

This is my class at the school. Yesterday was my last class , I didn't think they were too sad!

Another lovebird pic

Hard to believe that these are the baby lovebirds from from a couple of weeks ago

New lovebirds Pic

Here is a lovebird showing its new feathers I think they going to be a mix of orange yellow and green.  The flaky stuff on it is food. They are the messiest of eaters. They fill up their beaks with food and then shake their heads. No wonder they are known for preening each other.

They are now in the house, and are garnering a little too much interest from Rosie, but she'll get bored of them soon. I put them in the bathroom to sleep - and goodness me they're noisey. I had to get up twice to find out what the noise was. But each time I opened the door they were stock-still and just looking at me, in an 'it wasn't me' way.

They've started flapping their wings, but it's a reflexive action and they can't control it. The look of shock on their face is quite pitiful. I'm also trying to get them to eat out of a bowl, but at the moment they just stand in it.

Larry has been back to the vet as his foot infection hadn't cleared. We're getting more used to handling him now - and he' getting more used to being handled - which is good.

Lovebirds

Here are the lovebirds showing off the new trick they have learned to perch

Hot weather starting early....

Today's weather is forecast to go to 39. Hot for may...

Feeding baby lovebirds

Communion, Funeral and Baby Lovebirds

We went to two communion parties last Sunday. Both are my students and we were invited to the afternoon do - after the after church family meal. It was fun, the girls had changed out of their dresses, so I didn't see them in their finery, however I'm sure I'll see photos soon.

Yesterday we sadly went to the funeral of Montse and Manuel's dad, Manolo, and grandfather to a lot of my students. He died Wednesday morning and was buried Thursday morning - but we're pretty used to the quickness of it all now and the way things work. We went to the funeral in the church, and similar to Mike's funeral, there was a lot of milling around and people coming and going. While it seemed odd at Mike's funeral, as people were coming in from the swimming pool, again it's something we're now used to and rather than it feeling disrespectful, I've learned it's actually a big mark of respect that people stop doing what they were doing and come into the church, even if it is only for a few minutes. I noticed the ladies from the day center came in for just a couple of minutes - no doubt in between preparing food for lunch. Unfortunately, both of the doors of the church creak, so noone comes and goes quietly.

The men wait outside and come in after the coffin, but we went inside and sat near the back, but a lot of people stood. At the end, the family stand behind the coffin and people parade around past the coffin and the family. I feel uncomfortable with this, however it is people's way of showing respect to family and their last goodbye. The doors of the church were opened wide when this took place and lots more people came in just for this and to pay their final respect. We didn't go to the cemetery. We did with Mike, because he had no family there other than his children, however Manolo has such a big family and friends we headed off home.

It was the first time we'd been inside the church, other than once briefly before with Jim and Viv, when Adelardo showed us around. It is very grand - lots of gold. One thing we both commented on was that there was no organ or choir, although the singing was obviously led by some ladies in the front. This seemed oddly moving, as the voices bounced around the inside of the church.

Our little lovebirds are doing well. They have got used us and are eating well. They've both put on weight, The bigger one was 25 grams and is now 31, which isn't a bad weight gain for one week. I put some apple in the cage, as we are determined that we are going to introduce them to a wide range of food so we don't end up with finicky birds like Larry. I left them this morning stood on their apple, so that didn't go quite as well as I hoped. It won't be for another few weeks before they start eating properly, so we don't need to worry just yet. They are living in my workshop at the moment,however next week we'll probably bring them into the house. We still have to keep them away from Larry until we are sure they have no bird diseases.

I'm counting down now till the end of classes before the summer. I'm planning what I'll do during the summer. I definitely want some time to spend on modme, so what I'd like to do is to just do three days of classes. We'll see...

Introducing...

This is one of two baby lovebirds who have joined our household. The other is similar but a tiny bit smaller. He is on the palm of my hand, so you can see how small he is. Eventually they will be friends for Larry, however they are living in my workshop at the moment and need to be kept in quarantine away from him for a couple of weeks to make sure they don't have any baby parrot diseases.

I'm feeding them by hand - which so far has resulted in baby lovebirds and my covered in baby lovebird food. Hopefully it will get easier. Luckily they came from a very nice person in Llerena, so if we have any problems he's just a few minutes away.

They don't have names yet. I am sure when their personality develops we'll get some good ideas for names.