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Hello Fellow Grass Roots Readers,
This is a little anecdote you may find amusing and goodness knows we need as much humour as possible these days. Where I live, we have lots of little RING-NECKED PARROTS (the same darlings that chew my bamboo). Quite a while ago, I thought it would be fun to try and teach them to whistle ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’. I chose that song because it is fairly simple and I thought they might decide to mimic me. Wouldn’t it be cool to have a bunch of parrots flying around whistling ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’? Whenever I see parrots perched nearby, I whistle the song for them. They always listen intently and usually stop what they’re doing.
My cat, Kitty, gets jealous and comes running for a pat to reassure herself that’s she’s still number one. She does this every time without fail. Even if she’s having a nap, she gets up and comes over for a pat.
One day, I thought I would expand the songs I whistle to the parrots and since I like Hank Williams (the country singer), I tried whistling ‘I Saw The Light’. The first time I did this, the parrots flew away. I thought that was a bit odd, but they are birds and prone to just up and flying away. The next time, I whistled ‘Twinkle Twinkle’ and they listened avidly, I patted Kitty when she came running, and then when I launched into ‘I Saw The Light’, the parrots flew away.
Intrigued, I have tried this several times and always get the same response: they sit and listen to ‘Twinkle Twinkle’ and fly away from Hank. And Kitty comes running for a pat. Why the parrots don’t like poor old Hank Williams, I don’t know. I would be interested to know if the parrots in your areas show the same response. Give it a try and write in with your results. Perhaps we’ll jointly discover a foolproof parrot repellent - Hank Williams’ ‘I Saw The Light’. I have not yet heard a parrot whistling ‘Twinkle’, but I live in hope.
Maxine Sudol, YORK, WA.
A Big Elbow Bump To All Readers,
Seems to be the norm these days to ‘elbow bump’ a hello to people, a mate tried to shake hands this morning and it seemed so weird, but with this new state of affairs I guess our lives are changed forever.
Like many of you out there, I have questions and worries for our future and I hope someone can help answer the following?
First – should we be considering selling up in suburbia and buying a small piece of safe remote land to do the off-grid SELF-SUFFICIENT LIFE? I’m pondering if leaving town and doing this is a good long-term option as it’s safer to be away from others and crowds?
Tassie at the moment is safe, but I wonder for how long and will this virus follow us for years to come?
Second – how are those that have already done this? Have things changed or are they still the same for you? Do you truly feel safe being remote and staying away from shops and media etc? What are the good and bad of doing the self-reliant lifestyle?
I’m also pondering what will Christmas look like this year? No gatherings, no parties, no visiting in large numbers.
