Summer Bounty

This is the time of year I think my parrots like the best but my local produce merchant maybe the least! When I go through the checkout line with a dozen or more bags, each containing just a few fresh items, I usually get a raised eyebrow. One word, said with a smile, gets either an understanding, amused, or sympathetic response: "Parrots."

But since our produce stands in northern Michigan are only open seasonally, and since I don't trust imported "fresh" (yeah right!) produce in the winter, I really load up in the summer and the birds love it!

It's interesting that my pickiest eater when I got him, will now devour anything I offer him by hand. At first, I had to hide seeds in mashed veggies so he'd have to get a taste of the veggies when he dug out the seeds; gradually I added chunks of veggies in with the seeds, and within a few weeks he was a confirmed veggie (and sprout, of course!) addict! But they all will eat them, to one degree or another, even though some will only eat them in their chopped "salad" (sprouts, veggies, and greens run through the processor to make a slaw).

Anyway - pea pods are a HUGE favorite here! As is squash - nearly any kind of squash including pumpkin. Corn of course (but I feed it in limited amounts), and peas - anything they can "shell". Red bell peppers - bring 'em on! In fact, the seed balls from any peppers are a HUGE favorite of the little lovebirds especially! I'm not a fruit eater so we don't do much with that usually, but berry stains on birdie faces are pretty common in the summertime - lol.

A walk around the produce stand provides lots of goodies that add tons of interest and nutrition to the birds' diets this time of year!