One week down, one to go

Setting sun over Carroll county, Ohio.

We have finished up one week of vacation and are starting number two. We have accomplished a few one-day trips here and there. I am letting my daughter guide the days. I had the cook-out/fireworks party and I told her the rest was up to her.

We have started working on her bedroom. She is going with a black and silver theme. The main problem is moving the bird back into my bedroom. She will not stop chirping. That loud shrill chirp that appears to be a calling out to my daughter. When my daughter speaks the bird chirps. Not when I speak. I read somewhere years ago that this is a sort of "pecking order" for the bird. I am the protector of the bird, and she sort of looks out for my daughter. If she cannot see her, then she is constantly calling out to her to ensure that she has not become prey.

I don't know about this. She also chirps whenever anyone else in the house speaks. She is better than a watch dog if she can see out the window that somebody is coming up the sidewalk or pulling into the driveway.

My cats are perplexed. They are used to running into my bedroom and looking out the windows. They run in now, see (or hear) the bird and they stop dead in their tracks with a look of "What the...." on their faces. Except for my big baby Casper. He doesn't run at all. He saunters. The others turn on their tail and run back out, afraid of the bird, me or both. Not Casper. He flops down at my feet as if he owns the place.