Keet Speak

Hi--it's Jay-Jay. Geoffrey is sick today, because he ate too much Christmas cactus, so he's asked me to blog for him. Sometimes, he puts parakeet words in his posts, so I thought I would do an English-Parakeet "dictionary" for all of you who follow the blog. I've been told that lonely parakeets sometimes learn human language. We aren't interested in learning English, but if you want to learn parakeet, I hope this is helpful.

"Jah-Jah!": See you later, sucker!
"CHIRP": I'm here! Where are you? (also known as the "ping")
"CHEEP! CHEEP! CHEEP!": Grackles on the lawn! (or) Cat on the lawn! (or) Hawk in the sky!
"Chutter, chutter, cheek!": Affectionate gossip about our day-to-day lives with the flightless ones.
"Cheep.": Move over, and make room at the seed dish.
"SQUWAAAK!": Fight! Fight! Fight!

A lot of keet speak is body language--stretches, regurgitation ("I love you"), bobbing, bowing, etc. I think humans would have trouble getting fluent in that part, because they are wingless, their necks don't rotate enough and the knees don't bend backwards.
Bye-Bye!

Algebra

I read more than you think. They put fresh newspaper on the bottom of the cage frequently--and the local county paper fits best. A recent article reports that those who wish to receive a high school diploma will soon have to pass an algebra test! Apparently a legislated mandate. I doubt that the majority of legislators could pass such a test. In a previous life, I was a professor of mathematics at a distinguished northeastern university (it is a long story, involving reincarnation, and failure to merit elevation to a higher plane, but I digress....), and I opine that most humans are incapable of learning and retaining algebra. But if the legislature think it is a necessary part of high school education, they ought to demonstrate that they retain their skills--or relinquish their high school diplomas!
Jah-Jah!
Geoffrey

Jary chirps up!

Yo! I'm the green and yellow parakeet in the picture--aka Jeekins. Sep is the "boss bird", but I'm out front when we fly through the house. I'm also the best looking of the three--classic good looks. I wanted to say a few words about vegetables, so when you go to the grocery store you know what to get for the birds in your life. We like spinach, iceberg lettuce, and spicy mesclun--in that order; well washed and with water beads on the surface. That way you can wash your face while you eat your breakfast! I hear that romaine, Boston, microgreens and other exotic types of lettuce are very popular in posh restaurants, but birds don't go there (except the poor dudes who come out of the kitchen covered in a sauce).
Jary

Introductions

Hello. My name is Geoffrey ("Sep" to my close friends...). I'm a parakeet, living with 2 other parakeet friends, and 4 heavily-constructed, flightless birds. I will be posting my observations intermittently on this blog--which should surprise one of the flightless ones. She said to a dinner guest recently, "I never fully appreciated the term 'birdbrain' until we got these guys.". Humphh!