Mooky's Hood

Pushing Boundaries

2008-06-26T14:52:00.000-07:00

Mooky loves to push his boundaries but I’m sure most of you have figured that out by now. Occassionally while I’m in the livingroom watching TV, DVD's whatever (BTW one of my favorite past times that is other than working in the yard) he’ll fly over and perch on the back of the couch. Every now and then I think whats the harm in this so I let him stay there. Usually after just a few short minutes I'll hear little faints sounds of parrot beak chewing on the upholstery of the sofa.

This is when the Sofa Ducky is needed not much different than the Blue Bathroom Ducky only he’s not light blue and he doesn't reside in the bathroom linen closet.

Mooky attempts to stand his ground with the Sofa Ducky Ducky but gives up and flies back to his perch only to try it all over again in about 5 minutes.

Kitty Patrol

2008-06-04T12:05:00.000-07:00

These pictures were taken in the parking lot of the Bakersfield Museum back in March. When we were leaving the museum I happened to spot the ducks across the parking lot behind a fence in a playground. And off course I immediately thought they would make a good post!

So I walked over to get closer to them and that’s when I saw the cats. Okay so I figured I’ll take pictures of ducks & cats... for I have nothing against cats except for that they eat birds!

But these kittys were protecting the ducks or either preventing the ducks from getting any treats from passersby. For the most part every time I got the camera positioned to get a snapshot of a duck a kitty would come along and hog up the shot... as you can see!

Simply Mooky

2008-05-01T12:22:00.000-07:00

Now that the fires seem to be over and the memory of the sad African Grey in the Plexiglas case has faded a bit I thought it was time for a post of just simply Mooky. Here he is in all his glory in the backseat of the car in his travel cage. It almost looks like I caught him midway through a sentence. I can’t actually remember if that was the case but when we travel with him he usually has a lot to chat about that’s when he’s not screaming, whistling, kissing or roaring like a Dinosaur. And being a bird he always takes time out during the trip to munch on a corn kernel or two.

The Hills Are On Fire

2008-04-26T23:35:00.000-07:00

I took these photos from our front porch just a few minutes ago. Many homes have been evacuated... luckily we're not as close to the fire as the photos make it appear.

I was watching the fire through the binoculars for quite some time and its odd how something so disastrous can also be so beautiful in its own way... well at least in my opinion.

Someone Save Me

2008-04-22T08:06:00.001-07:00

This is why I hate going into pet stores but my curiosity always keeps me going back for more. In this particular pet store called “Super Pets” located in Temple City, CA there were several birds… 1 large Cockatoo (Nothing seems to bother them!), several finches, parakeets, some cockatiels & last but not least this sad looking African Grey who looked just like Mooky. It saddened me because all I could do was picture Mooky in this Plexiglas box with nothing to do or no one to consider his flock.

You have to wonder who thought of keeping puppies, kittens, snakes & large birds etc. in plexiglas boxes and not to mention in pet shops period.

Saturday Morning Bath

2008-03-25T23:35:00.000-07:00

Well I have to agree with Mooky that last Saturday morning was the perfect day for a bath.

The sun was shining, all the other birds were bathing outside, the warm breeze flowing through the sliding glass door & a water cup filled with cool & clean water ... why not!

Hey if Mooky's dish was big enough for me I would have probably taken a bath in it myself!

The problem with Mooky's baths is that Mooky doesn't seem to get wet... just the floor, shutters and walls could you imagine the mess I would make!

Loopty-Loop Palm

2008-02-17T12:51:00.001-08:00

Hey I know this isn't a bird, creature or even something growing or crawling in my garden but when I went on a walk the other day for my lunch break I found this Loopty-Loop Palm Tree. I must admit I've never seen anything like it...So of course I thought it might make for an interesting post.

It was hard to capture with my camera since the Loopty-Loop Palm was so big... thus so many shots posted. I wish I knew the story about this palm to share but sorry to say I don't. Who knows maybe one day on one of my walks I will be fortunate to meet someone who can tell me the story behind the Loopy-Loop Palm!

Mooky at the Bottom & Crows at the Top

2008-01-27T22:17:00.000-08:00

The Crows are part of my Halloween decorations... I place them outside in trees or perched on a pumpkin! Nothing too elaborate I always like to keep things simple. The bamboo room divider ; which we call "The Barricade" is meant to prevent Mooky from wondering from the livingroom area into other parts of the house to help keep his destruction down to a minimum. The problem with "The Barricade" is that it has a pretty big gap between it and the doorway. For a while Mooky was afraid enough of the actual room divider itself that he wouldn't go near it but in time he figured how to fly through the small gap making his escape to the rest of the house.

These days thanks to the watchful eyes of the crows Mooky hasn't been able to get past "The Barricade" but that doesn't mean he hasn't tried. He'll walk over to inspect the situation hoping to find a gap he can squeeze through.

I'm just curious to see how long it takes Mooky to befriend the crows... One day I fully expect to walk in and find him perched atop "The Barricade" with the crows!

Hello, Hello... Is anybody there?

2008-01-20T11:50:00.002-08:00

It's a new year and I started a new job so I've been a little busy however that hasn't stopped Mooky from his daily antics... it just means I haven't had the time to post them or to visit your blogs. I'm sure I've missed some good posts too! This is my first post of the new year and I plan to get back into posting & visiting on a regular basis.

See you at your blogs soon!

Merry Mooky Christmas!

2007-12-26T21:15:00.001-08:00

Once a year Mooky gets to enjoy holiday ribbons from our packages. He carefully unravels each one very intensely and then squeaks for more! He can be quite funny though because one ribbon may be fine for unraveling but the next ribbon may scare him and he wants nothing to do with it. Go figure... Mooky can be just a tad bit peculiar at times.

I hope you all had a great holiday!

BEAR!

2007-12-19T07:21:00.001-08:00

This morning when I was putting the mail out I spotted a bear in my yard. By the time I found my camera he was in my neighbor's front yard. This was my first bear sighting... how exciting!

Sorry I haven't been posting on a regular basis or visiting your blogs but I've been just a bit busy these days with work & the holidays. I hope to get back into the swing of things soon!

Junkyard Bird

2007-11-29T16:57:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we drove down the 605 Freeway in search of a down & dirty nitty gritty urban area for Bill to photograph and to later possibly paint. I think we exited on Valley Boulevard and parked in a Big K-Mart lot to unload our bikes and hit the road. We went through City of Industry, Puente Hills & Walnut just to mention a few.

The day was grey and so was the areas we biked through & that's fine with me but most of the bike ride itself was pretty uneventful. That was until we were headed back to the car down Valley Blvd. when we heard a familiar squawk and I might add a very, very loud squawk. We pulled over to discover a Red Macaw in the parking lot of some sort of auto repair business. The Macaw cried out for attention and seemed entertained for the few moments we spent with him. It was getting dark out so a lot of the photos didn’t turn out.

This Macaw was well protected by his junkyard dog buddy in the bottom photo who I nicknamed Cujo!

Happy Bird Day

2007-11-20T16:29:00.000-08:00

Old Mr. Diry Beak wishes you all a Happy Bird Day!

I hope you enjoy your meal as much as Mooky enjoyed his.

From Sink to Sack

2007-11-13T17:35:00.000-08:00

So I came home from work one evening to find this little fellow in the kitchen sink & I might add he decided to get himself stranded on the garbage disposal side... not too smart little guy!

As you may remember from one of my earlier posts "Lizard Rock & Crazy Wild Trumpet Tree" that these lizards usually frighten me because they move so quickly & seem to pop out of no where!

Bill came to my rescue and captured this little beast in a Ziplock bag & set him free in the backyard!

Mooky Monday

2007-11-05T12:25:00.000-08:00

Look at me I’m on the couch exactly where I’m not supposed to be!

Wait a minute... what's happening?

Hey this flying pillow game is fun! Wheeeeeee!

Let's do it again!

Mooky occasionally flies or walks over to the couch while I’m sitting and watching television. Now he knows he’s not supposed to be there but then again how much fun would it really be if he wasn’t breaking house rules. If he walks over to me I’ll pick him up and give him a love fest… that’s me petting him until he’s had enough & pinches me! But if he flies over I send him back to his perch without a love fest. I’m hoping this will teach him good behavior. My thinking is that maybe he’ll realize he’s allowed to visit me on the couch if he intentionally walks over for affection/attention but if he flies over just to be bad he has to go right back to his perch.

But as you can see Mooky has turned being sent back to his perch into a new game… the Amazing Flying Pillow game. Sometimes I have wonder who’s training who!

Coyote Calls In The Dark

2007-10-31T12:40:00.001-07:00

It's Halloween Night and the coyotes are out to play!

Watch out Mooky!

And He's Off!

2007-10-25T12:35:00.000-07:00

Down from his cage and seeking adventure! Where will Mooky go?

With endless options available… Mooky has chosen to perform his "Upside Down Head Foot Bop Dance" perched on the shower curtain rod!

Usually these little Mooky adventure walks have a more destructive outcome but luckily this day he only felt like shaking his groove thing on the shower curtain rod. Although I'm sure if I would have allowed him to stay up there for any length of time there would have most certainly been more than innocent bird dance performed.

You never know with this little guy!

Elephant Seals & More

2007-10-16T17:05:00.001-07:00

There were a ton of Elephant Seals on the beach... no pun intended!

This little Conure was on vacation with his family too!

2 Crows hoping to get a cracker from tourist!

Ground Squirrel enjoying a cracker!

On our way to Cambria we stopped at the Elephant Seal Vista Point off of Highway 101 not far from Hearst Castle. There were plenty of seals but they were on the far side of the beach as you can see in the first photo.

I actually found myself enjoying taking pictures of the crows & ground squirrels. One tourist, the Conure’s owner, was feeding them crackers even though there were signs saying,” Please Do Not Feed The Animals”. Apparently the signs don’t work too well because the crows & ground squirrels were very friendly… at one point a ground squirrel tried to crawl up my leg hoping to get a treat.

Where's That Daddy At?"

2007-10-09T22:44:00.001-07:00

Back from vacation already… why does the time seem to go by so quickly while on vacation? I bet I’m not the only one to ask that question!

I took lots of photos while on vacation but haven’t had the time to go through them to see what’s worthy of posting.

Just to get something new up here’s a video clip of Mooky on vacation with us standing on his travel cage asking “Where’s that Daddy At?” and “Where’s that Daddy Addy Addy At?” This is his new thing to say when Bill leaves the room or just isn’t in his sight. He says it very quickly in a sort of baby voice. Hopefully you can make it out! And for even more entertainment value he throws a fart sound in there for you too!

Lizard in a Crack & Be Back In a Week!

2007-09-30T22:53:00.001-07:00

This is a photo I've been trying to capture for some time now. I've noticed this little fence lizard sunbathing in between the cracks of our redwood fence several times but this is the first time I was lucky enough to get a photo of him... I only wish it could have been a bit more of a close-up shot! He is quite the cautious little fellow!

We're off to San Luis Obispo again this year! See ya in a week!

Don't have too much fun without me!

Ring My Bell

2007-09-20T22:11:00.001-07:00

If you listen closely in the very beginning of the video you can hear Mooky say, "Kiss"! He says it so sweetly and usually he leans over and gently pecks me on the lips with his beak. Now as far the bell ringing goes that's a whole other story. He rings his bell to either get attention or to let Bill or me know it's time to shut-up or leave! Mooky also likes to attack the bell as if he's honing his fighting skills... not quite sure why he needs fighting skill!

The noise in the background is the fan... this was filmed during one of the really hot days we were experiencing in California. Hopefully in the future I can get him to talk while I film him sans the fan noise!

A Deer Post

2007-09-16T11:04:00.001-07:00

These are a couple of deer I spotted up in the Sierra Madre canyon on one of my early morning walks. In the first photo they’re eating a lovely purple plant in someone's yard... luckily I haven't had any problems with deer eating my plants but that’s probably because we live below the canyon and the deer usually don't come down from the canyon too often.

On occasion they do visit searching for food when it’s really hot. I’ll spot them across the street in the settling ponds standing under the big oak trees chewing on plants. I love to watch them and of course I always try to get a snapshot of them if possible. They usually ignore me and go about their business or they move to another spot where they can't be seen.

Beating The Heat

2007-09-08T22:29:00.001-07:00

Thank goodness the heatwave finally broke this week! The temperature in the house was as high as 94 degrees. We actually have central air conditioning but in these extremely high temperatures it is basically worthless. Every time I go to turn it on the breaker switch is flipped... so I have to go outside and flip the switch to make it work. I have a problem with this since we had a complete remodel done on the house just 4 years ago. All new electrical and all new air conditioning unit.... go figure!

I think Mooky has the right idea. He'll fly to his room which is mostly dark because the shutters are closed to keep the house cool and sits on the fan. He'll stay there for hours not making a sound. When he has to poop, eat or have a drink of water he'll fly to his perch in the living room to do so. The temperature in his room is always a few degrees cooler than the rest of the house and Mooky is smart enough to take advantage of it!

Praying Mantis Update

2007-08-30T16:10:00.001-07:00

The other day when I went to turn the lights on in the garage I found the Praying Mantis again! I say again because I believe it’s the same Praying Mantis from my post titled “Garden Visitors” but of course I have no way of knowing for sure. But I’m pretty convinced it’s the same one since the garage door is just a few feet away from the planter where the cone flowers are planted & we usually keep the garage door open all day.

I put a piece of paper towel near him to crawl onto so I could place him back in the garden. He seemed happy to get back to the cone flowers but since then I haven’t seen him… maybe he snuck back into the garage!

Tomatoes and More Tomatoes!

2007-08-21T16:37:00.000-07:00

Let me start this post out by saying that I love tomatoes... the more the better!

In the past seasons I planted my vegetables in containers because of those little critters called Gophers. I can remember one year weeding in the garden and just like in a cartoon I saw one of my green bean plants disappear down a gopher hole. Since I didn't see many traces of gophers this year I decided to plant my tomatoes directly into the ground. The only problem was that the plants grew so fast I never got a chance to stake them properly as you can see in the first photo.

After getting such a bountiful harvest from these messy looking unsupported plants I’m considering never taking the time to stake again!