Elly

Time to vote for your favorite budgie picture. You can vote for more then 1 picture. Voting closes in 3 days The member with the most votes will WIN April Budgie of the Month!!! The winner will have a special post dedicated to their winning picture AND an emblem added to their signature for the month of letting everyone know they won!! Don't forget you can submit a picture every month...so this month is now open** A note, we had a couple links they can not be accepted all pictures have to be sized to 480x640, thank you . We ask no comments just voting please! If you have questions feel free to PM me PS. at the end of the year we will take all 12 winners for 2009 and will have a Budgie of the Year for 2009.

Put in your best entry for Budgie of the Month. Every one has until the April 30th to enter a picture. Members vote at the beginning of the month to chose who will be the winner. One picture per member per month. Please remember to keep to the board rules of maximum, pictures should not exceed 480x640 AND links will not be accepted ONLY images. If this is not met then you picture will not be accepted. Any post you make to this thread will not show up so please do not repost. Do not post questions on this thread if you have a question you can either PM me or post in the Competition Area, thank you. Good luck to all that enter. Winners are recognized for the whole month with a Budgie of the Month Picture (below) which is added to their signature line and it is removed after the month is over and is added to the next winners signature line. Also note that all monthly winning pictures will be automatically added to the Budgie of the Year. To check out "2008 Budgie of the Year" CLICK HERE and feel free to congratulate them. Important Information: if you are the Budgie of the Month and are entered in the Budgie of the Year your original photo most stay up and not be moved, deleted, or link broken, this is the only way we can verifiy that that photo was the winner, if you decide to move, delete the photo your photo is disqualified from the Budgie of the Year Competition. Interested in our Monthly 2009 Winners? CLICK HERE and feel free to look, this is a readme only post, to congratulate the winner feel free to click on the CLICK HERE to Congratulate Link in this thread under the photo. Read here on how to post pictures within guide regulation Photo Regulations/How to Post TIPS on taking good pictures that WIN Make sure you have good lighting Try and take your budgie's picture without the bar cages, many camera's will let you zoom in and you can put the lense between the space If it is a close-up use your macro setting (symbolized on some camera's by a flower) and then press the shutter button 1/2 way and let it focus If the picture is blurry check your setting and try again Make sure you resize your pictures to message board size (640x480) too small of pictures are hard to see

good luck, I look forward to reading your journal

awe, what a cutie inspite of the pot :rofl:

adding to Finnie, excellent advice, have treats out there they they really like too that encourages them. Also I had this same problem, when I let my birds out I actually covered the cage so it would get them used to being out or I removed the cage so I could redirect their minds to another place that is safe. Once you can do that make sure you have a good way to figure to get them back in ...make sure they are all at least dowel stick trained so you can have them hop on it and go back in, you may think you will never have that problem but you will once they gain confidence of the outside world.

I agree with Kaz, it is not a wait and see situation you need to take action.

fingers crossed.

splat your birds are just gorgeous, I am so happy they did well for you

yes

how adorable

great pics, keep us updated, glad everything went well

Welcome

if they only lived in our time they would see what real tyrannts they have become :rofl:

I found it on another message board

I got this as an email to forward on but really liked the story and though I would share it. At the prodding of my friends I am writing this story. My name is Mildred Honor and I am a former elementary school music teacher from Des Moines, Iowa. I have always supplemented my income by teaching piano lessons - something I have done for over 30 years. During those years I found that children have many levels of musical ability, and even though I have never had the pleasure of having a prodigy, I have taught some very talented students. However, I have also had my share of what I call "musically challenged" pupils - one such pupil being Robby. Robby was 11 years old when his mother (a single mom) dropped him off for his first piano lesson. I prefer that students (especially boys) begin at an earlier age, which I explained to Robby. But Robby said that it had always been his mother's dream to hear him play the piano, so I took him as a student. Well, Robby began his piano lessons and from the beginning I thought it was a hopeless endeavour. As much as Robby tried, he lacked the sense of tone and basic rhythm needed to excel. But he dutifully reviewed his scales and some elementary piano pieces that I require all my students tolearn. Over the months he tried and tried while I listened and cringed and tried to encourage him. At the end of each weekly lesson he would always say "My mom's going to hear me play someday". But to me, it seemed hopeless, he just did not have any inborn ability. I only knew his mother from a distance as she dropped Robby off or waited in her aged car to pick him up. She always waved and smiled, but never dropped in Then one day Robby stopped coming for his lessons. I thought about calling him, but assumed that because of his lack of ability he had decided to pursue something else. I was also glad that he had stopped coming - he was a bad advertisement for my teaching! Several weeks later I mailed a flyer on the upcoming recital to the students' homes. To my surprise, Robby (who had received a flyer) asked me if he could be in the recital. I told him that the recital was for current pupils and that because he had dropped out, he really did not qualify. He told me that his mother had been sick and unable to take him to his piano lessons, but that he had been practicing. "Please Miss Honor, I've just got to play" he insisted. I don't know what led me to allow him to play in the recital - perhaps it was his insistence or maybe something inside of me saying that it would be all right. The night of the recital came and the high school gymnasium was packed with parents, relatives and friends. I put Robby last in the program, just before I was to come up and thank all the students and play a finishing piece. I thought that any damage he might do would come at the end of the program and I could always salvage his poor performance through my "curtain closer". Well, the recital went off without a hitch, the students had been practicing and it showed. Then Robby came up on the stage. His clothes were wrinkled and his hair looked as though he had run an eggbeater through it.. "Why wasn't he dressed up like the other students?" I thought. "Why didn't his mother at least make him comb his hair for this special night?" Robby pulled out the piano bench, and I was surprised when he announced that he had chosen to play Mozart's Concerto No. 21 in CO Major. I was not prepared for what I heard next. His fingers were light on the keys, they even danced nimbly on the ivories. He went from pianissimo to fortissimo, from allegro to virtuoso; his suspended chords that Mozart demands were magnificent! Never had I heard Mozart played so well by anyone his age. After six and a half minutes he ended in a grand crescendo, and everyone was on their feet in wild applause! Overcome and in tears, I ran up on stage and put my arms around Robby in joy. "I have never heard you play like that Robby, how did you do it?" Through the microphone Robby explained: "Well, Miss Honor .... remember I told you that my mom was sick? Well, she actually had cancer and passed away this morning. And well .... she was born deaf, so tonight was the first time she had ever heard me play, and I wanted to make it special." There wasn't a dry eye in the house that evening. As the people from Social Services led Robby from the stage to be placed into foster care, I noticed that even their eyes were red and puffy. I thought to myself then how much richer my life had been for taking Robby as my pupil. No, I have never had a prodigy, but that night I became a prodigy .... of Robby. He was the teacher and I was the pupil, for he had taught me the meaning of perseverance and love and believing in yourself, and maybe even taking a chance on someone and you didn't know why. Robby was killed years later in the senseless bombing of the Alfred P. Murray Federal Building in Oklahoma City in April, 1995. And now, a footnote to the story. If you are thinking about forwarding this message, you are probably wondering which people on your address list aren't the "appropriate" ones to receive this type of message. The person who sent this to you believes that we can all make a difference! So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people present us with a choice - Do we act with compassion or do we pass up that opportunity and leave the world a bit colder in the process? _________________________

I didn't write it just copied it but fanny = bum for those who didn't know.

I'll tell you one thing, if things keep going the way they are, it's going to be impossible to buy a week's groceries for $20.00. Have you seen the new cars coming out next year? It won't be long before $2,000.00 will only buy a used one. If cigarettes keep going up in price, I'm going to quit. A quarter a pack is ridiculous. Did you hear the post office is thinking about charging a dime just to mail a letter? If they raise the minimum wage to $1.00, nobody will be able to hire outside help at the store. When I first started driving, who would have thought gas would someday cost 29 cents a gallon.. Guess we'd be better off leaving the car in the garage. Kids today are impossible. Those duck tail hair cuts make it impossible to stay groomed. Next thing you know, boys will be wearing their hair as long as the girls. I'm afraid to send my kids to the movies any more. Ever since they let Clark Gable get by with saying DAMN in GONE WITH THE WIND, it seems every new movie has either *** of DAMN in it. I read the other day where some scientist thinks it's possible to put a man on the moon by the end of the century. They even have some fellows they call astronauts preparing for it down in Texas! Did you see where some baseball player just signed a contract for $75,000 a year just to play ball? It wouldn't surprise me if someday they'll be making more than the President.. I never thought I'd see the day all our kitchen appliances would be electric. They are even making electric typewriters now. It's too bad things are so tough nowadays. I see where a few married women are having to work to make ends meet. It won't be long before young couples are going to have to hire someone to watch their kids so they can both work. Marriage doesn't mean a thing any more, those Hollywood stars seem to be getting divorced at the drop of a hat. I'm afraid the Volkswagen car is going to open the door to a whole lot of foreign business. Thank goodness I won't live to see the day when the Government takes half our income in taxes. I sometimes wonder if we are electing the best people to congress. The drive-in restaurant is convenient in nice weather, but I seriously doubt they will ever catch on. There is no sense going to Lincoln or Omaha anymore for a weekend, it costs nearly $15.00 a night to stay in a hotel. No one can afford to be sick anymore, at $35.00 a day in the hospital it's too rich for my blood. If they think I'll pay 50 cents for a hair cut, forget it. Amazing how some things on this list have occurred, lol.

I asked the Lord to tell me Why my house is such a mess. He asked if I'd been Computering', And I had to answer 'yes.' He told me to get off my fanny And tidy up the house. And so I started cleaning up... The smudges off my mouse. I wiped and shined the topside. That really did the trick... I was just admiring my work. I didn't mean to 'click.' But click, I did, and oops I found A real absorbing site. That I got SO way into it. I was into it all night. Nothing's changed except my mouse It's very, very shiny. I guess my house will stay a mess... While I sit here on my hiney.

Went to the doctor for my yearly physical. The nurse starts with certain basics. How much do you weigh?' she asks. '135,' I say. The nurse puts me on the scale. It turns out my weight is 180. The nurse asks, 'Your height?' '5 foot 4,' I say. The nurse checks and sees that I only measure 5'2'. She then takes my blood pressure and tells me it is very high. 'Of course it's high!' I scream, 'When I came in here I was tall and slender! Now I'm short and fat!' She put me on Prozac. What a &*^&^*

New Dog Breeds Recognized The following new combination dog breeds are now recognized by the AKC: Collie + Lhasa Apso Collapso, a dog that folds up for easy transport Spitz + Chow Chow Spitz-Chow, a dog that throws up a lot Pointer + Setter Poinsetter, a traditional Christmas pet Malamute + Pointer Moot Point, owned by....oh, well, it doesn't matter anyway Great Pyrenees + Dachshund Pyradachs, a puzzling breed Pekingnese + Lhasa Apso Peekasso, an abstract dog Irish Water Spaniel + English Springer Spaniel Irish Springer, a dog fresh and clean as a whistle Labrador Retriever + Curly Coated Retriever Lab Coat Retriever, the choice of research scientists Newfoundland + Basset Hound Newfound Asset Hound, a dog for financial advisors Terrier + Bulldog Terribull, a dog that makes awful mistakes Bloodhound + Labrador Blabador, a dog that barks incessantly Collie + Malamute Commute, a dog that travels to work Deerhound + Terrier Derriere, a dog that's true to the end Bull Terrier + Shitzu Bull..... Oh, never mind

good to see you pop in, awesome pics

I think the biggest concern (and I am no expert) is that your budgies can drown in the pond, many people use shallow bird bathes or nets to keep their budgies from drowning. That would be one of my concerns along with the fact that turtle can carry disease such as samonella which I assume can transfer to budgies. I would be more concerned about the budgies pecking at the tortiose poop then the other way around.

Wonderful news on getting a new place how exciting. I know we will see you back you will miss us as much as we will miss you..you can always hop over to the library until you get net.

Thank you so much for the detailed advice, Elly. It really helps. Not a problem, please check out my detailed article in the FAQ on how I trained Pretty and Merlin. Pretty was a single bird for almost a year and sounds very much like your budgie but once you hit milestones you will see his personality flourish. Pretty was very quiet his first 6 months. Sailorwolf, he is quite used to sitting on the BF's hand, and he never flies out of the cage on his own so that's no problem. The cage is shut whenever we're not home to prevent accidents, too. Thanks for reaffirming that Django is a-okay! I'll probably post an update later on to give you guys an idea how things are. That would be wonderful.

very lovely