Patricia Sund put out a call for toys and perches- anything, broken, used, rejected, because:

I simply cannot thank you enough. This is one cause that is ripping me up. It’s bad. There’s birds who’s only perches are pvc and steel pipe with absolutely no toys. They had a fire not too long ago and it nearly wiped out the entire place. They now have a board of directors but they need help pretty badly.

So into the boxes I dove, knowing I’d find many things that had arrived all hopeful, ready to make some bird happy, but instead were sneered at and rejected. Even so, I was a little surprised at how much I found:

The Island of Shunned Swings

These, you see, are round. Round is entirely the wrong shape. Round is not to be tolerated. Oh, sure, our rope boings are twisted into spirals, but (apparently) that’s totally different.

The one on the left is a particular disappointment for me- it’s a snuggle ring, made of hundreds of bits of fleecy soft stuff to be rubbed on and preened and to keep you warm. Colorful and cute! I want one of those! But it seems that the birds do not, so into the box it goes.

Next we come to the terribly sad

Forsaken Isles

These toys were once beloved, including the once favorite of favorites- the caterpillars! But now that we are big birds and are familiar with every joint on their little bodies, we are no longer amused. Familiarity, they say, breeds contempt. Once you can take down a toy in under 15 seconds, you can no longer respect it, so off to find less informed owners they go.

Here we find the

Reef of Repudiation.

These toys were ones that “everybody” loves. ALL birds love to shred coconut husks! They can’t wait to work those bits of wood out of the metal bars! If the love taking apart the caterpillars, these ball puzzles will be a hit!

Oh yeah? We’ll show you. Rejected!

Our last stop on our tour of the Islands is Mama’s

Shoals of Shame.

I must confess that the birds aren’t the only ones who’ve misbehaved. Once upon a time I was filled with one of those ideas I get- “I need a PROJECT! I know, I can MAKE the birds’ toys- I’ll save money, have fun, use only the materials they like, it’ll be great!”

Yeah. Not so much.

You can’t really tell the size of the bowl from the picture (though you can see I haven’t dusted this week- sorry!), but it’s big enough to hold 5 lbs of meatballs on those rare occasions when I cook something other than birdie bread.

So now it’s off to the post office to send these to the rescue birds to hopefully make their holidays just a little brighter. As I go, I’ll be humming because while I’ve been writing the stupid song has gotten lodged in my brain:

Smearing a thin layer over a measuring spoon keeps him happily occupied for a surprisingly long time:

As a rule he’s not a nippy boy, but I’ve learned to only let him play with it if there’s enough time to let him have at it til he’s done, because he will defend his noms. He’s not interested in so much as looking up until he’s dropped the spoon to the ground and gotten every last scrap off his beak and talons.

“Cats are sacred,” said Dios.

“Long-legged cats with silver fur and disdainful expressions are, maybe,” said Teppic. “I’m sure sacred cats don’t leave dead ibises under the bed. And I’m certain that sacred cats that live surrounded by endless sand don’t come indoors and do it in the king’s sandals, Dios.”

As the owner of cats with unlimited access to outside, cats for whom the world is their toilet, I’d like to know why, oh WHY is the couch corner so irresistible??