Carol of the Bells, Parts Un et Deux

Carol of the Bells

Traditional Ukrainian folk chant, with modern lyrics by Peter J. Wilhousky

This ancient Ukrainian folk chant tells of a prescient swallow trumpeting the coming of the new year, which in pre-Christian Ukraine fell in spring. Peter J. Wilhousky, an arranger for the NBC Symphony Orchestra, wrote the modern lyrics in the 1930s. The carol quickly became a holiday favorite:

Hark how the bells,

sweet silver bells,

all seem to say,

throw cares away

Christmas is here,

bringing good cheer,

to young and old,

meek and the bold.

Ding dong ding dong

that is their song

with joyful ring

all caroling.

One seems to hear

words of good cheer

from everywhere

filling the air.

Oh how they pound,

raising the sound,

o'er hill and dale,

telling their tale.

Gaily they ring

while people sing

songs of good cheer,

Christmas is here.

Merry, Merry, Merry, Merry Christmas,

Merry, Merry, Merry, Merry Christmas.

On on they send,

on without end,

their joyful tone

to every home.

Ding dong ding... dong!

Northwest Parrots Fund Holiday Auction

Northwest Parrots Fund, a 501(c)3 nonprofit charity registered in the State of Washington, is launching its first annual Holiday Auction to support its mission of Saving Parrots One Parrot At A Time. Donations will be featured on this blog, and bids will be accepted until December 15th. On that date the highest bidders for each item will be awarded their prizes.

For our first auction item, we are pleased to offer a Prevue Hendryx Signature Series Small Dometop Wrought Iron Bird Cage, Model No. 3161. Condition is Like New. Color is called Coco.

Features:

Signature Series collection
Pull-out bottom grille and tray for quick and easy cleaning
Rounded corner seed guard helps contain mess
Solid cup doors help keep seeds from falling outside of the cage
Cage wall between the lower grate and lower tray
Triple cups inside for storing plenty of food, water and treats
Cup door locks prevent birds from opening the cup doors
Easy-rolling casters allow the cage to be moved from room to room or indoors / outdoors
Construction material: Powder coated metal

Specifications:

Interior dimensions: 37" H x 18.8" W x 18.8" L
Exterior dimensions: 54.5" H x 20" W x 20" L
Bar spacing: 5/8"
Wire gauge: 9 and 12

This Prevue Hendryx cage comes with several perches, cups, and accessories.

Starting Bid: $100

Because of the size, this Prevue Hendryx cage is available for Seattle pickup only. Please email your bids and contact info to

michaelostrogorsky@northwestparrots.org

How to Catch a Parrot

How to Catch a Parrot. In Three Easy Steps:

Take One Box

Add Bait

Introduce Parrot

Piece of Cake!

No Timneh African Grey parrots named Tillie were injured in the filming of this demonstration.

Playing With Fire: Mexican Cannoli

Cannoli are Sicilian pastry desserts. The singular is cannolo, meaning little tube. Cannoli originated in Sicily and are an essential part of Sicilian cuisine. In Italy they are commonly known as cannoli siciliani, Sicilian cannoli. Traditionally, cannoli consist of tube-shaped shells of fried pastry dough, filled with a sweet, creamy filling usually containing ricotta.

If you're a fan of cannoli, like we are, you might like to try this sweet and spicy variety we call Mexican Cannoli. Quick and easy to make. Sweet and spicy as you can stand to make it. We prefer mascarpone rather than ricotta.

Ingredients

Flat Bread or Tortilla Shells

Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce

Mascarpone, Ricotta, or other sweet cream cheese filling

Spread the flatbread or tortilla with a generous helping of ricotta, mascarpone, or other sweet cream cheese filling.

Unless you like playing with fire, one chipotle pepper per cannoli should be sufficient.

Roll the flatbread (you might need toothpicks to keep them rolled), chill, and eat. Or just eat the damn thing! Keep a fire extinguisher handy.

Bon Appetit!

Norwegian Blue Parrot

Monty Python's Flying Circus debuted on BBC-TV October 5, 1969. One of their most infamous sketches was the Ex-Parrot sketch featuring the Norwegian Blue Parrot, Episode 8 of Season 1, airing December 7, 1969.

The Pittsburgh Pirates and The Pirate Parrot

Celebrating the Pittsburgh Parrots, er Pirates, winning their first Major League Baseball playoff game since 1992, after beating the Cincinnati Reds in a one game playoff. The Pirates are the only major league sports team in any league with a parrot as a mascot, first hatched at Three Rivers Stadium in 1979. We're pretty sure the P on Pittsburgh baseball caps stands for Parrot.

Coffee. Parrot. Coffee. Handcrafted 100% Parrot Friendly Coffee

We are thrilled to introduce our new venture, Coffee Parrot Coffee, a coffee micro-roaster featuring our very own handcrafted 100% Parrot Friendly Red Tail Brand coffee:

Like this shirt? Click on image to get your own

Up until now TheParrotCafe.com has been working with, and is still working with, a custom organic coffee roaster located in Eastern Washington's Spokane Valley to produce our 100% parrot friendly coffees. But we have always had the goal, ever since we entered the coffee biz a century ago, to roast our own coffee. We were thrilled this past summer to finally acquire our very own coffee roaster, a Behmor 1600.

Our goal as a specialty micro-coffee roaster is to produce 100% parrot friendly coffee blends under our Red Tail Brand label. We are striving to produce the finest organic, shade grown, fair trade coffee blends on the market. To this end we introduce our first breakfast blend called Zygodactyl Blend, a medium body Full City roast combining the finest organic, shade grown, fair trade Ethiopian and Brazilian coffees available, in homage to both the birthplace of coffee and the New World home of the most endangered parrots in the world including the Hyacinth macaw.

Ethiopia Nigusse Lemma Limu

Broad dark chocolate flavors, clean, sweet strawberry tones. This coffee is grown in the Deru Mountains in an area of western Ethiopia called Limu. This is a full natural coffee but is especially clean, uniformly roasted and gentle. With an elevation of 1850-2000 meters this is the highest altitude farm in Limu. There are a number of varietals growing on the farm with natural springs running throughout. The farm is owned and operated by the Nigusse Lemma family which has been in the coffee business for 60 years. The farm is covered in old growth shade trees and has an abundance of natural springs. There are multiple varietals growing on the farm, but many have not been classified, typical for Ethiopia. They operate their own dry-huller and use full natural processing methods by drying the cherries on raised beds.

Brazil Fazenda Santa Ines

Very sweet, bright coffee with hints of lemon and clove. Delicate texture and layered, complex taste. Fazenda Santa Ines is located in the municipality of Carmo de Minas in southern Minas Gerais at the foot of the Mantiqueira mountains. When the farm was acquired by the Sertao Group in 1979 it was already planted in coffee. Soon thereafter work began on planting more fields, building new concrete drying patios, and installing a washer, dryer, and processing machine. The Sertao Group is highly committed to environmental conservation, witnessed by the fact that it has preserved a large area of native forest on the property and protects all the mountain springs and creeks as well as the vegetation along their banks. Because of the topography, harvesting at Fazenda Santa Ines has always been done by hand, the cherries being collected on a cloth. This precaution is taken so that the coffee will not be contaminated or lose its quality. Once they are picked, the cherries are taken to Fazenda do Sertao, another partner in the Sertao Group, where they are washed, pulped, and spread out, always with a view to obtaining a high-quality product.

You can purchase our Zygodactyl Blend and other fine coffee, tea, and parrotphernalia by visiting our online coffee shop TheParrotCafe.com. All proceeds benefit Northwest Parrots Fund, a 501(c)3 nonprofit charity registered in the State of Washington working to save parrots, one parrot at a time.