Alyssa Wood and Mack N Black
I noticed this story as I was changing cage papers about a girl who brought a horse back to the track and into the winners circle.
I’ve never been much of a horse girl. I like them and think they are amazing, but I never had that little girl’s desire to be around them. I think perhaps it’s because their body language has never come automatically to me. I could learn, but it’s always the been the birds that caught my eye, that I felt compelled to spend hours watching, studying believing there were secrets in the language of feathers.
How amazing that we live in a world where for some it is birds, others horses, dogs or even insects. I would certainly argue that Mack N Black has benefited from Alyssa’s great passion for horses.
Was it always bird’s for you too? Or has your menagerie grown from the love of all different animals?
News from the bottom of the cage (NBC) is interesting tidbits from the newspaper, read when cleaning parrot cages and changing the newspaper. It is in fact the ONLY time I read the dead tree version of the news so expect it to be outdated and only vaguely parrot related. Don’t laugh. I bet you do it too!
I’ve been “around” birds all of my life, but never had my own bird as a room mate, so to speak until I got Parker. I always had a thing for horses because i love the way they smell. Cows too.
I think I always liked the novelty of birds. I like the intelligence, the way they move, the way they communicate and I like their independence. You talk about your relationship with Anakin and how he doesn’t “love” you, but you have a partnership and a deep level of respect for each other. Not a dependence, but an “Interdependence”. That is, you don’t really need each other to survive but the relationship you have is dependent on your agreement to a partnership. Does that make sense?
Unlike dogs and cats, birds are far more work to care for and train. They require more of a commitment in the day-to-day. Birds are more of a challenge. And to achieve a successful, healthy and happy relationship with a bird is quite an achievement. But you have to work at it every day or you fall flat on your face. It’s quite the tightrope walk, actually.
My work at the Cincinnati Zoo exposed me to a variety of animals, but my heart is with the birds. What i found interesting were some of the answers I got from the Keepers on what animals they liked to work with. That was a real surprise!
I have just discovered your blog and I’m enjoying it very much!
I am a horse person, I connect with them on a deep level. I appreciate birds and love to listen to them sing, but it’s a different type of connection.
Isn’t diversity grand?
Harmony,
Janet