Found!
You didn't know she was lost, but my Quaker parrot Puck flew off yesterday afternoon due to an error on my part and I have been trying desperately (with the emphasis on DESPERATELY) to retrieve her until about 2 hours ago. She wasn't trying to escape -- she was just spooked and confused and did the natural bird thing of going higher. The poor baby kept trying to fly to me or Evil Lurker but got scared by the unfamiliar vast open spaces and would dive into the heart of trees I couldn't climb high enough in. Trust me, I tried. I have abrasions, cuts, thorn punctures, and poison ivy, but had no bird until now. Did I mention Puck is GREEN? Why didn't I get a RED bird who wasn't perfectly camouflaged for Virginia in May?
Um, inlovewithnight , that's why I didn't come home last night and I'm sorry I didn't let you know I wasn't dead. Wasn't thinking too rationally until now.
One of the hardest things I've done was to walk away from the tree Puck spent the night in, because there was no point looking until the sun came up. The next morning, I told work they wouldn't be seeing me today and probably not tomorrow unless Puck came home.
Repeat the day before, with the addition of me standing in a ditch by the roadside in mud up to my ankles, picking ticks off my pants before they could reach flesh, attempting to convince Puck that she was a bird, thank you very much and needed to FLY to me, since I can't scale whippet-thin trees with no branches lower than 40 feet to fetch her, although I would in a heartbeat if I could. She kept talking, laughing, growling (she thinks she's a puppy I swear!), and squawking nearly the whole time. I think the message was: come get ME already, human!
The green fluffball finally got hungry and brave enough to fly off her safe perch to my hand and I took her back with much praise, coddling, and yes, baby talk. She's hungry and exhausted, but seems just fine otherwise and we spent a cuddly hour on the couch with treats and water.
EL was wonderful -- I was a freaking basketcase when I thought I was going to lose her though my own stupid carelessness, but he was calm when I was not and comforting and lost much sleep and time helping me track her. My dad, sister, and mom provided moral support and advice by phone.
I'm just so relieved that it turned out alright (I'm still taking Puck to the vet as soon as possible to make sure she's suffered no lasting harm from exposure) and thinking seriously about clipped wings. My poor baby was so brave and tough out there and I don't deserve for it to have turned out as well as it did.
Um, inlovewithnight , that's why I didn't come home last night and I'm sorry I didn't let you know I wasn't dead. Wasn't thinking too rationally until now.
One of the hardest things I've done was to walk away from the tree Puck spent the night in, because there was no point looking until the sun came up. The next morning, I told work they wouldn't be seeing me today and probably not tomorrow unless Puck came home.
Repeat the day before, with the addition of me standing in a ditch by the roadside in mud up to my ankles, picking ticks off my pants before they could reach flesh, attempting to convince Puck that she was a bird, thank you very much and needed to FLY to me, since I can't scale whippet-thin trees with no branches lower than 40 feet to fetch her, although I would in a heartbeat if I could. She kept talking, laughing, growling (she thinks she's a puppy I swear!), and squawking nearly the whole time. I think the message was: come get ME already, human!
The green fluffball finally got hungry and brave enough to fly off her safe perch to my hand and I took her back with much praise, coddling, and yes, baby talk. She's hungry and exhausted, but seems just fine otherwise and we spent a cuddly hour on the couch with treats and water.
EL was wonderful -- I was a freaking basketcase when I thought I was going to lose her though my own stupid carelessness, but he was calm when I was not and comforting and lost much sleep and time helping me track her. My dad, sister, and mom provided moral support and advice by phone.
I'm just so relieved that it turned out alright (I'm still taking Puck to the vet as soon as possible to make sure she's suffered no lasting harm from exposure) and thinking seriously about clipped wings. My poor baby was so brave and tough out there and I don't deserve for it to have turned out as well as it did.