Meet Niles

This is Niles (he is named after Frazier's brother). My cousins Scott and Jennifer have had Niles for about 7 or 8 years and ever so often Alvaro and I are the happy sitters of this awesome bird. My favorite thing to do is to feed Niles. He loves fresh fruit and veggies, peanuts in the shell and his newest love (they've just informed me) jalapenos!! I had no idea!! Can't wait to buy some of those and watch him eat 'em. He loves to imitate noises like the phone, my cousins' cats (yes, he actually meows) and a woman's laugh...it's uncanny. He makes our home feel very tropical! I have an unexplainable hankering for something served in a coconut shell with an umbrella.

Before I got married and I lived in a small apartment, Niles would come to visit then too. I let him out of his cage just so he could stretch his wings and be naughty by landing places where I couldn't reach him again. I remember he always landed on the ceiling fan (it was turned off of course). I really didn't care about him being on the ceiling fan but I remember that he would land, then there was a big POOF with dust flying everywhere then his unending sneezing! Hysterical!

I mentioned recently that I used to have cat and how much joy Martin always brought me. And having Niles in our home is a reminder of how much joy all pets bring many people. If you do not have a pet (as we do not), may I recommend taking a little trip to the SPCA or a pet shop and, if nothing else, just stay a while and watch an animal. Be amazed how at they do things. Right now Niles is grasping a carrot and just gnawing away. I'll let you know if he picks up any new impressions during his stay at Hotel Cabal.