"Kitchen!"

"Kitchen" means social time for both Chester and Picasso. Our family-size dining table is in the kitchen. Our  great room-kitchen is our gathering place to socialize and for meals. When it's time to eat, our pets migrate towards the kitchen, giving us their full attention.  Chester plays it safe, insisting only on seeing and smelling what we are about to eat. Picasso also observing with great interest, from the closest corner of his cage,  will nibble on the wee tastes we selectively offer him. To satiate his growing curiosity, Chester anticipates a few quick licks of an empty plate before it makes it to the sink. Picasso, has his eccentricities, too. He has a thing about licking the condensation off the outside of a goblet filled with ice water. We in turn, enjoy those times when licking our fingers while eating corn on the cob dripping with butter and other succulent foods demanding hands-on eating is part of enjoying good food to the fullest.

Picasso talks. His favorite phrase being "sweet"-"baby bird". He understands words that he can't speak; words that excite him, words like "Kitchen!" Besides seeds and nuts, Picasso has a regular diet of fresh fruits. When I say "Kitchen!" he knows I am about to serve him up fresh slices of apples, grapes and other seasonal fruits, and he might be invited into the kitchen to assist me. His favorite is a whole strawberry he can labor over to pick off and crack each seed as he eats them. Picasso is much like a toddler that won't eat his veggies, try as I may to get him to eat his vegetables. So, I hide them...

Here's Picasso's favorite recipe for Birdie Bread:

3 eggs
2 boxes Jiffy cornbread mix
2/3 cup applesauce
1 jar baby food - carrots or sweet potatoes
1/2 cup frozen peas (and corn)
1/2 cup pellets

Mix all and bake at 450-degrees until toothpick comes out clean. Freezes well.