*Zygodactyl is the definition of a bird’s feet having two toes pointing forward and two backward.
When I cleaned out the basket I kept for when our nephew visited, long after he had outgrown its contents, I donated the bat and wiffle ball, the children’s books in good condition and puzzles with which we had spent seemingly endless hours, “Again!“. I did hold on to one item, the barrel of monkeys. It had been mine as a child, I kept it and a few board games, Barbie and Ken, as well as my roller skates, in a bin in the attic. I thought maybe Piper would like to play with the monkeys. By “play” I mean throw them to the floor from the table so mom and dad would pick them up, only to be tossed another time before we have even turned to walk away.
What I quickly discovered, however, is that he loved the barrel way more than the plastic primates inside. Sometimes I take the lid off and show him what is in there but often he is not interested. On occasion he will pull the monkeys out and fling them. But it is the container he is very fond of, perhaps because it resembles a bottle, which he loves in every shape and size.
After several years of use, the barrel cracked from its frequent impact with the wood floor. It was now sharp in places and not safe for Piper. Amazon, here I come.
I ordered a two-pack of barrels, but was unable to choose the color. You get what you get. I was hoping it would be the light blue color shwn on the listing as it matched the broken barrel I was replacing.
A darker blue and orange arrived.
Piper was displeased.
I left the barrel out, a safe distance from Piper, as he was afraid of it. Over time, he became curious and it didn’t take long for the new, offensive item to be taken under his wing. Once again, he would cuddle up next to it, rub his beak on it, push it to the floor. If he is being stubborn and refuses to be picked up by Mister Rain or myself, we use the barrel to bribe him, lifting that up first. He is then very happy to raise a foot to us.
Recently playing with Piper on the floor, he was perched on my finger near the barrel. His foot went up, I moved him closer to it and he stepped on to the lid. This was a first and he was thrilled. He looked so proud to be there, interacting with one of his favorite toys in a new way. He sat there for a long time, enjoying the view from the top.
Never having planned to have human children, I don’t know why I saved the things described above, relics from my youth. “You never know,” was probably in my thought process. I am so glad I did; it is fun to share my toy with my nephew, and then my own “little boy” in the form of a soul covered in feathers.
Now what to do with my wedding dress?
#sisterrain #birdmom #adoptdontshop #parrotsofinstagram #conure #ahelpingwingparrotrescue #piper #barrelofmonkeys #azygodactylmedown
