Skip to main content

Parrots

When I first bought my house, I took a picture of the front. On later inspection, I saw perched on one of the wires -- phone or cable -- a green bird. I treated it like some sort of cryptozoological study. I had a jeweler's loop out in moments, saw it was some sort of parakeet or maybe a lovebird. I assumed at the time that someone's pet had become free.

Later I learned that New Orleans has a population of parrots. My bird book suggests they are monk parrots, a feral population established from escaped pets.

For the last decade, I've treated my occasional sightings of them with joy and wonder. I would see them in palm trees, hear them as they perched on wires or squabbled in the neighbor's magnolia tree. Most of the time, I saw them up around Elysian Fields, near UNO, in the palms that lined the median, bright flashes of green midst the dark foliage.

This year, though, it seems a population has finally made the permanent move into the Bywater. I see and hear them everyday now. I love it. It makes me feel as if I'm truly in a tropical setting. I munch on my pina colada snow ball and watch them dance on the power lines and try to invade the purple martin nesting boxes. They eat dates from a laden tree. Their shrieking -- not as articulate or ensnaring as a trained macaw's -- fills the air.

I know I shouldn't enjoy invasive species, but could something so cute and comical really deserve my rancor? I'll save it for the starlings.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Book Review of "The Dare Club: Nita" by Laurie Bradach and Kim “Howard” Johnson

Laurie and Kim will be awarding a $20 Amazon Gift Card to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour, so make sure to leave a comment here and visit the other stops on the tour: http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2012/11/virtual-review-tour-dare-club-nita-by.html Series:  The Dare Club Format:  E-book & Paperback Genre: Contemporary YA, Mystery Length:  330 pages in paperback Blurb: Nita Conroy has relocated to the most boring town on the planet. That is, until would-be boyfriend Brad Keeley spills the beans about a secret group of girls known as The Dare Club. During her subterranean initiation below the high school, Nita overhears a plan by contractors and school officials to embezzle millions of dollars in grant money. When she is betrayed, The Dare Club's pranks become deadly serious. With the clock ticking, Nita will need the help of her new friends to expose the chilling plot--and hopefully survive long enough to snag a date to the homecoming dance. Exce...

An Honest Lie Two!

I got word yesterday that my story, "Independence," will be included in An Honest Lie Two: Delusions of Insignificance. I am, of course, quite pleased since this will be the second story from my unpublished California collection, All Along the Pacific , to appear in print. Everyone knows that a collection with stories that have already seen publication has a better chance of getting taken. Of course, I have quite a bit of work to do on some of the other stories before they would be ready. Currently, I'm working on a few science fiction stories. Also, I've got my NaNoWriMo novel -- I finished it, but it was only 26,000 words -- with another author. If we can bump it up to 50,000, I'm certain we can find a place to get it published. This is a historical YA novel written specifically for eighth graders in Louisiana, but I think it has a wider appeal.

Exposition: One tool the author has to tell a story

Exposition is used in two ways when talking about fiction. First, it is the set-up at the beginning of the plot arc. Where we learn the basic who, what, when, and where. This is a necessary part of plot to ground your reader. I'm going to address the second way exposition is used in a story. This is when an author gives background information, description of characters or setting, or summarizes events that have already happened. It can happen at any point in the story. This is a necessary, key element of writing and one of the three tools an author has to tell his or her story, along with scene and dialogue. A good author does this without slowing down the forward progress of the plot. That is, the exposition makes sense in the context of the scene (or action) of the story and does not trip up the reader or bore him or her. She turned her blue gaze toward him. Here, we get the fact that she has blue eyes in the context of the action. That's the best way to give description. One...