“What is that chirping noise?” Howard called from his office.
“That’s Sweetie. We’re babysitting him for the next week.”
“What?”
“It’s a parakeet honey. We have a bird in our house. He’s trying to get someone to come talk to him.”
“Oh. I thought someone was torturing a computer.”
****
Yesterday Bob and Joe the grasshoppers were freed from their glass holding tank. They were quite the adventurous creatures, having been born in Idaho and smuggled home to Utah in a small girl’s suitcase. Gleek tended them lovingly for three weeks, adding daily doses of grass and water. But in the end she decided that they would be happier where they could jump and fly. So Gleek, Link, and Patch trooped outside for the momentous occasion. Bob and Joe consented to sit on hands and be examined for awhile before we found them a nice hidden spot where the birds would not see them.
****
This next week will also be one of Rat care. The rats don’t come to our house, but Gleek visits them daily and plays with them. She has even set up a special box so that the rats can have exploratory adventures.
****
Our first try with Sea Monkeys was extremely disappointing, leading to a jar that was completely empty. The second attempt reaped exactly one Sea Monkey. Gleek named it “It” and watched lovingly while It grew. So the third attempt included two packets in two different containers. Both succeed in little swarms. Yesterday Gleek decided that all the Sea Monkeys were lonely and wanted to be together, so we combined the colonies. Now we have a bowl full of a mult-generational eco-system. They really are kind of fun to watch as they swarm around the bowl.