Birds Like Friends Too

After writing a post about the friendship that my dog and rabbit share, I thought about the friendship between my family's two birds: a budgie name Nasa and a cockatiel named Sundo. Nasa is around 8 years old and Sundo is around 14 years old but we only got Sundo recently. Nasa used to be all alone and she was kind of crazy. She was scared of hands and she also freaked out if she got out of the cage so you can imagine how hard it would be to take her out. If she was out of her cage, she would fly all over the place and crash into walls. We were afraid that she would kill herself but it was so sad that she was stuck in her cage all the time. She didn't play a whole lot with toys and just sat there every day. There wasn't any excitement in her life, except for when we would go up to the cage or put our hand in the cage to change her food and she would shy away from us.

When one of my Aunts was visiting, she brought along all of her dogs and Sundo since she didn't really have someone back home that could look after them during that time. During my Aunt's stay, my Mom suggested leaving Sundo here so that there'd not only be less for my Aunt to take back home, but both Nasa and Sundo would have a friend in each other. It would be nice since both of them are older and are both alone. Plus, Sundo always had other birds, specifically budgies, with her in the past but she was the only bird that my Aunt currently had left. We experimented having them together without putting them in the same cage. We simply sat both cages beside each other to see how the birds would react. They really seemed to like each other, going as close as possible to each other as two separate cages would allow, so we put both of them in a nice big bird cage that we had stored away in a shed. We transferred all of their toys, perches, mineral blocks, food and water dishes, and individual foods into the new cage and waited to see how it would go.

It turned out that this was the best thing that we could have ever done for Nasa! She became a completely new bird. It was amazing how much she changed. Nasa and Sundo became good friends. They would groom themselves at the same time, sleep at the same time, and they were willing to go close to each other. Nasa tried new things that she never would have done before. She played more with toys, chewed on mineral blocks, and tried new foods. I guess she observed Sundo doing all of these things and decided to copy her. Sundo was already tame and used to doing all sorts of things so it really encouraged Nasa to be the same way.

Nasa even started taming down. She wasn't as afraid of hands anymore. Eventually, we could take her out of the cage. Sundo was already really good for taking out of the cage so it was nice to be able to take Nasa out as well. She still flies around a bit but she isn't as spooked as she would have been before and she's better at staying in one place now. She likes to fly over to our rabbit's cage and sit on top. I guess she just likes the feeling of the bars of the cage because it reminds her of her own cage. She is improving so much at taming down that I even saw her jump and sit on top of Sundo's back once while they were both out. It was so funny!

When it comes to birds that we have in the future, I definitely think that my family should have two birds and not just one all by itself. It really makes a difference in the life of a bird. Nasa went from being crazy to being much more tame in almost half a year! So, not only does having two birds give each one a friend, but they learn from each other as well. Nasa is pretty old and we don't know how much longer she will live so I am glad that she has a friend for the last part of her life and I'm glad that Sundo has a friend like she used to always have.

Cheers,
Kaylie

The Friendship of a Dog and a Rabbit

Since today is the 2nd anniversary of the day that my brother and I rescued our rabbit, Geronimo, I thought that I'd share the story of how Geronimo and our golden retriever, Finnlegh, became best friends. You'll also learn a bit about how Finnlegh came to live with us as well as a quick description of Geronimo's rescue story, although you can read more about his rescue story in the post that I wrote last year on the first anniversary of the day that we rescued him. Enjoy!

We bought our golden retriever, Finnlegh, from a breeder in 2012. We had lost our beloved golden retriever, Angel, at the age of fourteen when we had to make the tough but caring decision to put her down. We didn't think that we wanted another dog right away but she had left a space in our hearts to give to another dog. We searched for a good breeder and brought Finnlegh home. He grew into the perfect dog for our family; hyper and active at certain times and sweet and quiet at other times. Sometimes he'd race around the yard but then in the house he would curl up and nap or give us tons of sloppy kisses. During the Winter of 2015, there was a new addition to our family. We rescued a rabbit. He was born from domestic rabbits that had been breeding outside in my Grandma's neighbourhood. He was approximately two months old and was hopping around in the snow in -18 degrees Celsius weather so we brought him in out of the cold only to find that his eyes were stuck shut. We got him some help and found out that he had been dehydrated but he was going to be okay. We made the decision to keep him instead of him going to someone else and we named him Geronimo.

Of course, we had a challenge to face. Finnlegh was a golden retriever: a dog bred to retrieve animals for their masters while hunting. Naturally, he chased small animals and birds but could never catch them. This situation was going to be different. If Geronimo was running around and playing in the living room, Finnlegh might bite him or scare him too much for his little heart to handle. We had to teach him to be gentle with our new rabbit since we wanted them to get along and not have to be separated. We would let Geronimo hop around and play on the couch and if Finnlegh went to nip him or play with him in a rough way, we would stop him and tell him to give kisses. He eventually caught on and would give Geronimo such a sloppy kiss that our little rabbit's fur would be all wet. As Geronimo learned to hop off of the couch and play on the floor, we helped Finnlegh adjust to that too. All of the encouragement paid off.

With continued commands from us, Finnlegh learned to be gentle with Geronimo. Finnlegh would go and sniff our rabbit or give him a kiss. Sometimes Finnlegh would be lying on the floor and let Geronimo hop right on top of him. When our rabbit became playful, Finnlegh would become playful too. He would chase Geornimo a bit and sometimes they would play a mix between a game of hide-and-go-seek and tag around the old trunk that we use as a coffee table. Finnlegh and Geronimo have become best friends, which would fascinate people who see a relationship between a dog and a rabbit as being extremely difficult. It also teaches us a lesson: If a dog and a rabbit can become best friends, maybe it's possible that we humans can get along better with each other and we can make the world a more peaceful place.

Cheers,
Kaylie

Introvert Alone Time

Introvert Alone Time. That's what I call all of those times when us introverts need some alone time in order to recover from social situations. I touched on this a little bit when I talked about being an introvert in another post but I felt that it was something that I needed to talk about in more detail. Being social can really tire you out when you're an introvert. Actually, just being around people can tire you out! I can handle a social situation or being around people for only so long. After a while, I start to feel overwhelmed and then I need to get away.

That's just how us introverts are and I hope that no one takes it the wrong way. It's not that we don't like you or other people, it's just that our personalities can only handle so much when it comes to being social. After hanging out with a friend (yes, it could be just one friend), I need some alone time to recharge. After spending time with family, I will often go off on my own, usually to my bedroom, to just do something on my own like go on my laptop or read a book. Sometimes I can't wait until I'm done spending time with family and friends to spend time alone and I will spend an extra few minutes in the bathroom during a bathroom break just being, well, alone.

Maybe this sounds strange to some people but ask an introvert and they will most likely tell you that they too need some alone time. Being social and being around people can be really draining. It feels like I get zapped of energy or that I get stressed out from all of the interactions. Being alone gives me time to just breathe and think all by myself. When I'm alone, even in just a bathroom, it feels like I finally have some space. I finally have some room to breathe and relax my mind. I don't have to focus on what other people are saying or on what is happening around me. I don't have to contribute anything to the conversation or activity. I don't have to think about specific things. I don't have to do anything, really.

So what does it feel like after having some introvert alone time? I personally feel recharged. I feel relaxed and refreshed. It's like how you feel after taking a nice shower or waking up from a great sleep. You feel happy and full of energy. It's amazing! I think of my alone time as a form of meditation, in a way. It relaxes me and energizes me, much like deep, slow breathing does during meditation. If I need to go back to a social situation after my alone time, then that's fine because I feel ready to go back. If I don't need to go back to a social situation, then that's even better because it means that I can have a longer session of introvert alone time.

We all need to be alone sometimes. Introverts just need it more than others.

Cheers,
Kay

International Geek Girl Pen Pals Club

Hello, Bonjour, etc.

If you've never read my About Kay page, then you won't know about something special in my life: I have a pen pal! Her name is Andrea and she lives in Vienna, Austria. Awesome, right? We became pen pals through a website called International Geek Girl Pen Pals Club. I found out about it from a vendor at Sudbury Graphic Con in June 2015. I signed up for an account and then signed up for a round to be matched with a pen pal based on my geeky loves. My five geeky loves were books and reading, Doctor Who, Harry Potter, music, and art. On July 12th, the day before my birthday (awesome birthday present!), I was matched with Andrea and we started emailing each other to get to know one another. After a few emails and agreeing that we wanted to be long term pen pals rather than just one round pen pals, we exchanged our mailing information and added each other on Facebook. We have been corresponding by Facebook and snail mail ever since!

We both like Doctor Who, Harry Potter, Once Upon A Time, art, music, and books! We have sent each other various letters, fun postcards, small gifts, and we even exchanged Christmas parcels full of little presents! It has been fun learning about each other's country and just getting to know each other in general. Having each other on Facebook really helps because we can let each other know when we send and receive our letters since postal systems can be weird sometimes. I always look forward to receiving snail mail from Andrea! In a world where we can correspond with people instantly and don't receive as much fun mail anymore, it's nice to take a step back in time to when snail mail was all the rage.

It's free to sign up for IGGPPC and then you have to pay for your own postage. If you've ever wanted a pen pal, IGGPPC is a great way to meet a new friend!

Cheers,
Kay