We're all adjusting

Apparently it’s not cheating if you cheat at Nanowrimo. It’s called Being a Rebel. They even have Rebel badges and everything. Rebels are creating all kinds of books at Nanowrimo, including cook books, memoirs, short story collections, haiku collections, and more. I even saw that one person is doing the first draft of her thesis for Nanowrimo. So my blog post collection is entirely honourable.

Remember awhile back I told you about all the things the birds have destroyed since moving in with me? Well, the moment I published that post, they stopped destroying stuff. At first I thought they were just taking a break, but no. They really seem to have stopped eating the house and its contents. I’m thinking maybe it’s a seasonal thing. They get all constructive (or destructive, depending on your point of view) in the spring and summer when they’d instinctively like to be hollowing out trees and building nests. And then, as the days get shorter, their hormones abate and they ease up. The one thing they’re still destroying is books. Kazoo loves to eat spines, and Oboe loves pages.

A few people have asked how we’re all adjusting to the new work schedule.

I work Monday to Thursday, nine to five. So I get up between 6:00 and 6:30, and get the birds up soon after. (GC’s gone by then, and Duncan’s had breakfast and is outside making his pre-dawn rounds.)

It’s still dark out, so I wake the birds up gently and let them come out of their houses when they’re ready. They’re a bunch of sleepyheads for the first little while. They stretch and yawn and ruffle their feathers. Once I’m on the couch with my coffee, they’re ready to start socializing a bit.

Around 7:15 I make their breakfast (fruit, veggies, homemade birdie bread, nuts, seeds, cereal) and put them back in their houses. I get them fresh water and pellets and anything else they need for the day: wine corks, popsicle sticks, toys. Then I eat breakfast.  At 7:45 I let Duncan in, kiss all their beaks and noses, tell them I love them, and leave for work. Sometimes I leave CBC radio on, to keep them company. They won’t see me again for 10 hours.

The minute I get home, I open up all the cages and let everybody out and we all shout hello and yahoo and stuff. There are kisses and music and  major celebrations! It’s very exciting.

They used to go to bed when the sun went down. Not anymore. I’d never see them if I kept doing that. Oboe still goes to bed early because he needs more sleep. He doesn’t even mind that the others get to stay up late. I tuck him in around 8 and the big birds stay up (and out of their houses) for another couple of hours until GC and I go to bed.

Birds aren’t known for their adaptability, but it seems to be working out. We’re all adjusting nicely. (Turning back the clocks  tomorrow night might shake things up a bit though.)