Before... and After

[JerseyWendy]

Oh Trish, you just gave me a HUUUGE idea!! After seeing Stephen's awesome mats again, I realized summer has come to an end here, and I 'should' be able to find those sand castle building things quite cheaply in select stores.

"Sand castle building things"? I'd never considered that such things might even exist! What are they made of, Wendy? And where do you usually get them?

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! You're hysterical, I swear it! Look at your creation:

I see several 'sand castle' building things right there. (strainer, shovel and the fork) I will check Dollar stores, Walmart and Target for those 'kits'. Perhaps even shore stores....like in Belmar (IF they're still open).

 

[camo]

Some great ideas, Gizmo and Pebbles thank you all in advanced!

Stephen,

Just to check, are those mats just seagrass mats?

Cheers,

Cameron

 

[Anansi]

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! You're hysterical, I swear it! Look at your creation:

I see several 'sand castle' building things right there. (strainer, shovel and the fork) I will check Dollar stores, Walmart and Target for those 'kits'. Perhaps even shore stores....like in Belmar (IF they're still open).

Hahahahahaha! Ohhhhh! Okay, I reckon I've been working too many hours, lately. I thought you were saying that there are sand castle molds that can be used to shape a sand castle (hence the "Sand castle building things"), and that those molds were things your pterodactyls would enjoy tearing to shreds. ROTFL! I need sleep.

Stephen,

Just to check, are those mats just seagrass mats?

Cheers,

Cameron

Yes, indeed! For Maya's cage I hang it straight on one wall. And for Jolly's, I wedge it into a corner so as not to compromise his other toys. Very flexible toy. That's what I love about seagrass mats.

 

[Anansi]

Ha! Found that pic of what Jolly had done to the wiffle ball! It actually got a lot worse than this before I took it out a few hours later, but I was too busy laughing to remember to take a pic.

Though as you can see in the background, he used to be much nicer about demolishing the toys on the mat without harming the mat itself. Darn near surgical! Hahaha! He used to be so considerate. Sigh...

And here's an example of what I mean when I mention wedging the mat into a corner. This was an earlier iteration of his mat, before I started making them more busy looking.

 

[Scott]

Great job, Stephen! You've motivated me to get creative with toy-making for all of my birds. Neither of my Eclectus have shown much interest in toys, but I will first try something similar to what you have concocted for Angel.

Thanks, Scott, but you're about to get me in trouble with my flock. Get them thinking I'm seeing other parrots! Hahaha! No Angel, here. My girl is Maya and my boy is Jolly.

Oh gosh no, that was sloppy sentence construction on my part! Should have written ".....will first try something similar to what you have concocted for my Angel."

 

[Anansi]

Hahahahahaha! Yeah, that hit me last night when I looked at one of your other posts and remembered that you have an Angel!

 

[Betrisher]

Sorry - coming in late again - Stephen, it takes about a week for the Beaks to demolish a 'cut out' strip of wood from a pallet. That is, one in which large rounds have been cut out with a hole saw. If you consider how many bits of two-by-one make up a pallet, that's a lot of Beaky joy right there.

 

[Betrisher]

Wendy, other things to look out for in thrift stores - kitchen tools (eg. plastic spoons, egg-lifters, colanders, strainers etc as well as any bamboo or wooden items like salad tossers, wooden spoons/forks, sushi mats, trivets, chopsticks etc) and even various bathroom things like those wooden 'bathmats' or loofahs or wooden massagers or back scratchers. The Beaks' favourite op shop toys are the sort of baby toys that make a noise, so rubber duckies and other squeezy toys are always appreciated. Anything with buttons to press goes down very well, especially with Madge. She seems to have a very musical disposition, you know, so she'll spend ages pushing on a button that rewards her with a noise. Mind you, I had to disable the Tickle Me Elmo thing - that hysterical laughter nearly did my head in! :22_yikes: