We decided to name the new parakeet "Dorothy". That comes from the name Dorathea which means "Gift from God" and also brings to mind the movie connection of getting blown by a storm into another world. And Dorothy probably really does feel like she's "Not in Kansas anymore" at our house!

Some birds like fresh fruit to eat as a supliment to their seed diet. I had some blue berries left over from a fruit salad I made for family dinner, so I put three of them in the cage to see if the birds would like them. I even showed them that they were food by biting off part and offering it to them. "Look! Fruit! Full of anitoxidents!" I said, which is a stupid thing to say to parakeets.

They looked at them with deep suspicion, but, after awhile, they did seem kind of interested in using one as a bowling ball of sorts.....

so I left them in there. I went over to take care of Island Girl. When I came home The Hub was telling me the whole story of how he resolved his latest problem with his customer, and we were talking about that before we went to bed.

This morning I got up and heard The Hub yelling "Oh NO! Come quick! Dorothy laid an egg!"

"Already?!" I asked, astonished.

"What are we gonna do? I don't think I can support a family!" The Hub said, standing in the doorway.

"Don't YOU lay an egg. We'll think of something. After all it's not like I'm pregnant."

"I know, but we've got to consult Dr. Hatchling! How expensive is that going to be? How soon do they hatch? Jeeze, Buckbeak! You didn't waste any time!" he said, crossly, turning back to the parakeets.

"Where's the egg?" I asked coming in and looking into the cage with him.

"There in the bottom."

"Oh, Lord, honey! That's not an egg. It's a blueberry! I put them in there for them to try last night."

"Oh. Oh, I see, it IS a blueberry." he said and, belatedly took off his eyeglasses to clean them. "Thank God. Well. All right you two. No fooling around in there!" he admonished, and went on to work.

My heart is still beating too fast.