Monday, April 26, 2010

Meet our new friend! (and a new give away!)

We have a brand new addition to our little family! This sweet little parakeet just came into our lives by accident, and he needs a name! Ben has been calling him "Creampuff", which is terrible on so many levels. And I've been calling him "Ralphie", which is simply the first thing that came to my head, but it doesn't fit him that well. Then I thought...maybe you guys would be able to come up with something good and something that will stick. Therefore I'm having a bird naming contest! Scroll down to the end of the post for more details and to see what you could win! :)

Now for the story! (Feel free to skip this part if you want and just read the contest instructions below.)

We've had this new guy for about a week and his arrival couldn't have come at a better time. My wonderful goldfish Frasco just died. :( He was about 14 years old, so he had a good long life, but we still miss him! He left behind Little Guy, who is only about 3 years old and will need some new friends soon. I'll go to the pet store this weekend probably and rescue some more healthy feeder fish, but until then it's sad to see him in that giant tank all by himself. In addition to that, we brought Magic our kitty to the vet because of a bloody nose and found out that she might have a brain tumor! It's really hard to think about her being gone too...but we're enjoying her being well for now. Those two things happened on the same day! Talk about a double whammy. :(

But back to the birdie. It seemed like it was meant to be! A few days after the pet fiasco, I was walking to the post office and right on the side of the building on the sidewalk, I noticed something near my foot, looking up at me. It was this sweet little parakeet! It was a frigid and rainy day, and the poor thing was shaking (he is a tropical bird after all!). He was only about a foot away from me and I figured he might be used to being touched since he was so close and didn't try to fly or run. But I was wrong and he flew into a nearby driveway. After some back and forth and a bit of chasing, I finally caught him in someone's backyard by using my hat. I brought him home and after a few days of quarantine to make sure he wasn't sick, I introduced him to our other parakeets, Sam and Michelle. They get along swimmingly! Yay! The new guy is still too afraid to leave the cage, but in time he'll come around. I leave the cage door open all the time so they can fly freely, but they choose to spend 99.9% of their time either in their cage, or on a milkglass pedestal dish in front a mirror in my dining room cubby.

This sweet boy must have flown out a window or door and was probably lost for at least a day. I checked the message boards online, but no one was looking for a missing bird. So he is now a welcomed addition to our family!


So yes...the new guy needs a name! Leave a comment on this post with your suggestion for a name and if Ben and I pick yours, I'll send you this sweet spun cotton birdie! I'll leave it open for a week - So next Monday evening I'll annouce the winner and send this spun cotton birdie off to his new owner! And I'll give you a couple of hint about names. He is a boy...so boy name suggestions would be great. And I personally prefer real names for pets. I'm not really into "Socks" or "Snowy" or "Sky". Granted my cat's name is Magic...but that was almost 17 years ago when I was 9! :)

I really am so excited to see what names are suggested!! Good luck! :)

36 comments:

Anonymous said...

We have a parakeet names Paula! I asked my boys (they are 5 and 7 years old) what they thought would be a good name and they said Marvin!

Me said...

How about Claude?

Terri S said...

How about Widget, Ollie, Keeper or Crispen (sort of like crystal and ben together)?

vivian said...

I've had lots of birds, but I always name them something fairly odd.. I've had Ferd the bird, buttercup, baby, mortimus (mortie), dusty and a few others that I cant seem to remember their names right now. Lets see.. names for your sweet new friend...
albert, otis, oscar, mr. keeters, Parker, Mr. feathers, Mr, french, (now Im stuck on the mister thing.. ) Mr higgins! Mr marshall, little dude, chester.. I could go on for hours.. if I do think of a good one, i'll come back! Ive been wanting to get a new bird for a while, but I dare not with these crazy kittens that I have!
have a great week
vivian

sMacThoughts said...

For me, he's Levi. :)

darryl moland said...

I'm going to go out on a limb (ha!) and call him Freed (short for Frederick) because he found freedom at and animal lover's feet.

A Rose Without A Thorn said...

Hi Crystal, As soon as I saw him I thought he looked like an Archiebald and could be called Archie for short. This very dignified old British name and I just think he looks British to me. Must be the way he holds his beak :)

I also think he could be Gambit as he took a gambit that you would feel sorry for a very cold little bird!

Maureen......

Unknown said...

Bonjour Crystal! je suis perdu-et tres froid, et tres, tres, avoir faim! Je m'apelle Axel le Plume! Qui! Axel LePlume! Enchanté et j'taime votre' studio-et parc ornithologique.
Ahhh, bonne ami-bon nuit!
Axel LePlume

laurie -magpie ethel said...

Good rescue mission Crystal - glad you were persistent with the hat! Ira, Walter, Felix or Toby...I can't decide between them!

featherStitch said...

Hi
How about Pete (Pete the Keet) or Petey.

featherStitch said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
kerry hawkins art and photo said...

I like the name Maxwell, he is cute

Heather said...

Copenhagen, Noir, Monkey, Rogue, Drifter, Hiccup, Roald

:)

Shara said...

I pick Hattie because you caught him in your hat. Corny, I know, but that is how most of my pets got their unique names.

Sam, Michelle and Hattie - it works, dontcha think?

Babsarella said...

I think he looks like a Tristan.

AquaMarine Queen said...

Vinny


It makes reference to Vintage or Vincent (Van Gogh)...

or you could call "Hey Vinny!" with italian attitude!

mimi k said...

I was thinking Oscar or Milo. What a cutie! And a lucky bird too.

elizabeth said...

I think he looks like an Oliver or James. What a fun addition to your family!

Grace said...

Tweetles! Too stinkin cute. Grace

ScrapAddict said...

Aww, he's a handsome thing! Congrats to him and you! I personally think he loks like a Phil. Yep, plain simple Phil. Goes well with Sam and Michele doesn't it??

Vintage Fairy Tales Rebecka said...

Dear Crystal!
This is a lovely and happy little story and I have two suggestions...
I guess your little bird is a good singer so I have two names of two great american sing and songwriters that I LOVE.
The first one is Ben....Mr Ben Harper....and the second one is Jack.... Mr Jack Johnson!
Some years ago I went for a concert in Copenhagen,Denmark with Ben Harper, it was MAGIC!
XX
Becky

natalea said...

I say "Aloysius" (is that how you spell it? "Al-O-Wish-US")
xo natalea

Elaine said...

I Love pet stories especially rescues, I have four of my own. I suggest Freeman, Jacob, Jonah, Alex or Alvin.

VintageCrafter said...

How wonderful that you now have a new "addition"! How about Scooter or Wriley. If you want a french twist...how about the French translation for my friend or "Mon Ami".
Anyway you name him...I'm sure that he will be loved!
*smiles*
Carol

lifespassion said...

Well, I'm weird - my cats are named after actors or characters ~ Spencer Tracy (tuxedo cat), Stanley (tough guy - from Streetcar Named Desire) Sidney Poitier (slinky funny black cat). My names would be Buddy or Ebsen, Spencer (those names due to the white hair) or Norton. Love your stuff -

paperbird said...

I'm thinking Sidewalk Sam- but Cicero would be cool too!

Anonymous said...

Call him NORRIS but Buster for a nickname

Stephanie said...

harrison :)

Jillian said...

Finn or Rolland (Rolly for short).

Birds of a Feather said...

hi crystal - he's so pretty! are you sure it's a boy? i'm not convinced...how about twyla?

xo h
ps i got more babies today - cute, cute, cute! we're having a hard time coming up with names for them too!

miss lynn said...

i'm thinking
he would
like to be
called
jack.

i love the
new pink girls!

Alison said...

For some reason I am thinking of the name Cholmondeley (which is pronounced Chum'ley) because he will be such a sweet new chum for you and your other birds

Anonymous said...

Hello. My suggestions would be Olivier, Quincy, or Raleigh.

Good luck in naming your cute little fellow!

April said...

How about "Captain Bill" or "Lord Alfred"? He reminds me a bit of Alfred Hitchcock...I think it's the look on his face.

miss lynn said...

ok, so i thought
some more about
it...and maybe
he would like
to be called
steven.
: )

Jennifer said...

My aunt found 2 birds that way, one was a cockatiel that was hopping around a grocery store parking lot, and the other was a green parakeet that flew onto the 2nd floor windowsill of her classroom when she was a teacher. She opened the window, stuck her hand out, and he hopped right on. I often wonder what happens to lost pet birds, probably most die or are caught by predators, such as hawks (their bright colors do not hide them well outside of the jungle) I have read that in a panic, they can fly up to 30 miles a day.
Anyway, what a happy story, glad you could save this little guy! I always love these kinds of stories!