The Rickeybird Scrapbook, 1984 - Updates

[BIRDIGIRL]

I have really enjoyed reading this and seeing the pics...what a wonderful treasure trove of laughter and fun filled memories you and the Rickeybird have in that scrapbook. Thank you for sharing it I enjoyed reading it very much ...keep them coming

 

[GaleriaGila]

Thank you, Birdigirl... and congratulations again on your Bird-ID win... that was a feat!

I love sharing. Don't get me wrong... it was a very enjoyable (yet solitary) task, but sharing it with people who love birds as much as *I* do... priceless!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[GaleriaGila]

And nexxxxt, in the Rickeybird's Scrapbook...

Not all of you will remember these two magazines... "Bird Talk" and "American Cage Bird", but back in the day, they were staples of bird-lovers' reading material. I think the internet dragged them under. ANYWAY, I loved replying to their surveys and such.

Here are contributions from 1985, 1990, 1992, and 1997. If you have trouble reading parts, worry not. I was just pretty much droning on about his loudness, his antics, his rivalry with my husband, how he reacted when I got a job after completing school, etc. The picture of him was taken in early 1985.

Here's something funny: I spell the Rickeybird's name with an "e"... not sure how it got started, but that's how I do it. The well-meaning editors changed it to "Ricky", figuring I didn't know how to spell my own parrot's name!?

 

[RavensGryf]

That's so great Gail! I loved Bird Talk!

This scrapbook is such an awesome idea. I wish I had something like this for my past 2 decades with Robin. Then again he hasn't really "done" much as compared to The Rickeybird! He (The Rickeybird) is definitely someone who is worthy of a scrapbook of his most colorful life! Thank you so much for sharing!

 

[Terry57]

I loved Bird Talk!! I was just given about 50 old issues and I am going to go through them to see if I have these!
How cool is it that the Rickeybird is famous?
How funny they corrected his name, sheesh.
I am so enjoying this trip with you down memory lane.

 

[GaleriaGila]

RavensGryf... I honestly think just about ANY bird's history is as cool as the Rickeybird's. It just takes a loony owner to hype it up and slap stuff in a scrapbook! And that's where I came in! Yeah, I miss the Bird mags, too... I would wait for them, and then settle down on the couch with the bird, luxuriating in the glossy lovely pages and tales of other people and their birds.

Terry... you're so wonderfully appreciative. 50 issues??????????? I would be hiding in the attic to read them in peace. That way, my oooohs and ahhhhs would be private. The name spelling was so funny. I am quite sure I spelled all other words correctly... but clearly, in their thinking... I was getting my bird's name wrong.

 

[Minerva]

What a wonderful thread and scrapbook! I love seeing the pictures of Rickey through the years. He is SO handsome! And you haven't aged a bit! You must be one of those fortunate ageless creatures.

I can't wait to see more of Rickey's scrapbook!

 

[Blancaej]

This thread is totally awesome! I love seeing and hearing all your adventures with Rickeybird! Looking forward to more!

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

[GaleriaGila]

Minerva... you're a sweetheart to say that! He's starting his big moult now... all tail feathers, wing flight feathers, and most body feathers, as far as I can tell. The new feathers are as vibrantly colorful and glossy as when he had his "big boy" moult into adult plumage. Lady Clairol and I try to keep up with him.

Blanca... thank you so much...I usually have to bribe people with coffee and cookies to get them to look at the Rickeybird's scrapbook. Here, people do it of their own free will!

I love following y'all's bird picture histories, too. It's kind of like a weird family reunion with relative I didn't know I had.

 

[BIRDIGIRL]

Wow what a treat...you and the Rickeybird or stage name Rickybird are famous ...its so lovely you had these mags sadly I never saw them here. Its just so nice that they printed real stories about birds and their owners. This is a really lovely keepsake for you and the Rickeybird and thank you for sharing...its always a special treat to hear about people and their birds

 

[Nicky76]

This scrapbook is great [emoji3][emoji3] I'm just showing Archie what a fully feathered cousin looks like [emoji6]


Animals are like little angels sent to earth to teach us how to love

 

[GaleriaGila]

Birdigirl... yeah, it was so sad to see the old magazines fade away, but... places like THIS (thanks to the 'net) just really out-did them in terms of community development, immediacy of interactions, all that. I do miss the glossies, though. And the center folds were out of this world. Really!

Nicky... that makes me feel so great. Your story has been one of the most touching and inspiring I've ever read. You know I dote on every post about "The Archiebird", as I call him.

 

[GaleriaGila]

Annnnnnnnnnnnnd...

More from the Rickeybird's Scrapbook. This is from 1996. Sometimes I get a little bit OUT THERE... here's an example. I *DO* tend to be a bit of a free-lance mystic, but this page is in jest. The strange photograph put me in a playful mood! The Rbird has a fresh green chile every day and RELISHES it! And if you are what you eat...

 

[GaleriaGila]

If you couldn't see the Spirit-World-Chile in the previous photo, I should have mentioned that a couple of Margaritas greatly facilitates the experience!


Another couple of pages from the Rickeybird's Scrapbook. I had bypassed these originally because it only showed the bird, not me, but Wrench's thread about Salty's bath inspired me to post these. They are images from our first few years together... 1988-9. He was 4-5 years old here. That was 26-7 years ago.

The first page is just Rickey being beautiful... posing outdoors (yes, clipped, no harness... the breeder assured me that was fine... plus, WERE there even harnesses back in the dark ages? Anyway, rest assured this happens NO MORE).

The second page's first photo shows him mugging and giving you his little beady stink-eye from within a home-made cage. It was all the rage in New Mexico in those days to buy chicken-wire and related fixings, and make a cage right there inside the room. It could be HUGE. It was tricky making it. My husband and I cut ourselves a bunch of times while building, and then ensuring all edges were bird-safe. We had help from experienced friends, and the cage really was an amazing thing... the cage was by a huge picture-window, and its size was a good 6 x 6 feet, leaving room for all manner of branches, toys, bathing areas. We moved later that year, and opted for a conventional cage. Looking back, I'm amazed we ever did such a thing, but we did.

The second page's second photo shows a dripping wet Rickeybird. I love that little "unibrow" he gets when his head is soaked. Somebody who doesn't know birds would be horrified, I expect,wondering what had happened to that poor creature. Salty, I wish the Rickeybird put on a show like yours, but hey, he prefers just to get soaked by diving and even rolling briefly on his back. Maybe it's a Patagonian thing.

 

[BIRDIGIRL]

Ha ha I love the green chilie spirit...whst Gorgeous pics you have...its so lovely to see them Thank you for sharing. The Rickeybird is quiete the celebrity

 

[GaleriaGila]

He's a HAM, and I'm his enabler, Birdigirl!

Ummmmm... if you don't mind, I can kinda figure how your other birds got their names, but... how did Mr. Biggles come by his, if I may ask?

 

[GaleriaGila]

Birds the Rickeybird has known over the years...

 

[GaleriaGila]

The Rickeybird moves from Las Cruces, New Mexico to Shaker Heights, Ohio...

His room...

 

[Piasa]

Love seeing all of the fun memories! And reading about the home made cage and other aviculture trends of days gone by. Very interesting. I am so happy you decided to share!

 

[BIRDIGIRL]

Its wonderful following the Adventures of the Rickeybird and honoured to meet some of the feathered friends he has had over the years ...lovely pics and nice room too Rickeybird