I stopped by my work this morning to bring Snoball lots of goodies and spend some time with him before leaving to visit my siblings. David and I are spending the night at my dad's house tonight so we won't be able to see Snoball until tomorrow night. We took video and pictures while we were there - we got a great video of Snoball talking and bouncing but my computer is being stubborn tonight. I'm going to continue to try to upload it but it may have to wait until I get back home and have the better computer.
Snoball's treats and goodies consisted of a baked sweet potato, a HUGE container of purple grapes, two kiwi - cut into bite-size pieces, an orange - sectioned, two types of pasta with a smidge of olive oil (good for feather/fur/skin), and some organic flaxseed crackers with cheese flavoring. He loved the grapes of course, but he also took to the crackers right away. He likes picking the individual flaxseeds off the crackers and eating them before eating the cracker itself. He does it so carefully and daintily that its comical to watch.
The real action of the day is the project that David and I have embarked on. We've decided to make our own tree stand for Snoball, rather than buying one for $300. So we took a hand saw and some tree clippers and went "stick hunting" in the woods behind my dad's house. We were able to find several bird-safe trees in the area, and we got a few great branches from them. We cut them all off and dragged them back to the house where we stripped the leaves and bark off. I took pictures of this, but - again - my computer is being stubborn... Anyway, after stripping the bark we baked the branches in the oven at about 200 degrees for almost 2 hours. The wood turned a light, lovely color and any blemishes and bacteria were taken care of. We're letting the wood cool tonight, but first thing in the morning we're going to the hardware store to get some screws, bolts, washers, etc. and some hardwood for the base of the tree stand. Once it's completely finished I'll take more pictures and post them. :)
The goal is to have a play stand that I can keep at work for Snoball. As it is right now, he has to take turns with the other birds or sit on top of cages/furniture. Honestly, I think Snoball would rather sit on the cages and furniture but it makes the owner of the store mad. -lol- If this works out well, Snoball will have AT LEAST two gyms - one for the house and one for work. I'd love to have one for every room of the house so that Snoball can always be with me, but that might be asking a little much from David... -lol- We'll see.
Pictures and videos by tomorrow night - scout's honor!
-Haylee
Image credit goes to: http://maticgolob.deviantart.com/
