Fine together

I have been leaving Manzi and Maui in the patio cage unattended now, but just for an hour or so at a time. I am slowly increasing the time they are unattended. They stay out together for 6 hours or so, but usually I am working around the apartment meanwhile. The weather is cooler, so I am going to start leaving them outside while I'm at work.

Camera update:
The camera was working great, then the new router settings didn't work so well. It is back in commision though. The website is once again: http://Manziworld.hopto.org:8150
Post a comment asking for the user name and password and I'll be happy to share it.

Manzi scared

Manzi has been scared of something for many days now (4 - 5 or so). In the morning he doesn't want to come out of his sleeping cage and I have to force the issue. As soon as he enters the main room, he takes off flying and does several loops around my living/kitchen area till he tires himself out, and usually lands by the glass door on the carpet, huffing and puffing. I don't know what is scaring Manzi so much. I have been cleaning and moving boxes, bags, etc. but I can't find what exactly is scaring Manzi. I hope Manzi gets over his fear soon. He absolutely will not fly to his cage (he even leans back from it when I carry him to his cage, but will stay on it once I put him there), but has found safety in the speaker stand I made a few years back. He's on that now.

Today a bad storm came through. It was really sunny and nice and both birds had been in the outdoor cage for several hours. I noticed it began clouding up. I brought the birds in and within 5 minutes the wind was blowing so hard that the tree outside was blown to a 45 degree angle. Pretty soon, it began hailing marble sized-hail. I am glad I brought the birds in. The storm came in a fury and left just as quick. Still, when the hail was hitting my windows, the birds we pretty panicked. Maui cowered under her cage (I've never seen her do that before) and Manzi stayed right next to me flinching every time there was a bang. The lights were flickering, which didn't help.

I worry about free flying Manzi, because if he is out and a storm blows through like that, he would be in serious trouble. We never had storms like that in California. There were warnings a couple of days in advance and they never got anywhere near as severe.

I almost forgot. Maui picked up a new phrase, but does not quite say it on voice command. It is: I love you sweet heart. She learned it in two days and now says it over and over again once she figured out she gets rewarded for it. She still needs to connect the cue to the phrase though. I need a more clever cue. Like, "who do you love?" or something like that, but maybe cuter or funnier. Any ideas?

Cabinets

A while back Manzi found out that he could fly to the top of the kitchen cabinets. He apparently didn't like how they closed so softly due to the pads. Manzi quickly fixed that problem by prying the doors open with his beak and peeling the pads off in lots of little bits.

Meanwhile, Maui finally gave up on one cabinet just above the floor to switch to another. She is also shredding newspaper like mad and tossing half the shreds out of her cage (not up to standard or something?). It has been way too hot to leave them outside in the big patio cage. It will cool down over the next few days, so they'll be going outside again soon.

Manzi after the neighbors

It has been really hot here in Minnesota, so I often open the door to the main hallway (apartments here are hotel style where they open into a common hallway), which is cooled by a central system, as a cost-effective method to quickly cool my own apartment. Manzi and Maui never seem to pay the open door any mind and continue as normal (Maui chewing on my cupboards and Manzi clearing the top of the fridge of any unnecessary items such as cereal boxes and sandwich bags, including any magnets on the front within reach).

The door had been open for about 30 minutes and I was playing the piano, when I began to hear a commotion from a ways down the hall (outside my apartment). I glanced around and quickly noted Manzi was not in sight. I ran out into the hallway and saw Manzi on a woman's shoulder as she was hunkered over protecting her head while shouting. There were another three people watching, wondering what they could do to help. I quickly snatched Manzi from her back and issued apologies. Manzi didn't hurt her and I assured her that Manzi was just being "friendly," although under different circumstances, I would more accurately describe him as "terrorizing for a dramatic reaction."

I always wondered why Manzi never ventured beyond my front door, and he must have finally wondered it himself. I am going to have to abandon that method for keeping my place cool, at least as long as Manzi is out of his cage. He definitely had too much fun leaving my place that I can almost guarantee that he will do that again as soon as he is given the chance.