Perches

On the last sunny day we had (which seems like forever ago) I was enjoying time in my garden (of course). I had Captain the cockatiel outside with me as usual. He was feeling especially needy this day and didn't want to sit in the tree like normal. I took an old piece of a broken plantation shutter and made a little swing for him to sit on.




I think he quite enjoyed it. At first he didn't like the swinging motion. After he got used to it he swung in the sunshine and sang songs to the wild birdies who were at the bird feeder on the other side of the porch.

Captain isn't allowed to play with the feral birds because they might have illnesses or parasites. Plus, he can't fly. So, if a bully bird like a stellar jay comes along, I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to defend himself or get away. I don't worry about it too much because he is bigger than most of the birds in the yard, plus, I've got his back.

It wasn't long after I had hung the bird swing under the porch that Chopper the garden eating dog began to feel left out. "Dogs don't perch", I told him. He begged to differ and when I still refused to build him a perch, he commandeered one of his own.




Sammy, my last dog, used to weed my mom's garden. You only needed to point to the weed an tell him to "get it". He would tear it out of the ground, shake off the dirt from the roots, toss it aside and wait for the next one. I think he only ever pulled the wrong plant once. Of course, by the time I get to gardening, I've got a dog who sits in a chair and watches me while I do all the work and he eats all the veggies.