My day in the Big Easy wasn't that easy

Powerful thunderstorms began early in the morning, causing me a bit of stress. But I already had my heart set on spending the day at the aquarium and shopping. In an effort to quiet the voice of reason insisting I stay home, I made sure I had my ipad and iphone—two wonderful distractions. Besides, Double D was driving. By the time we approached the Bonnet Carre Spillway, the rain was coming down like a monsoon. Double D slowed to 35mph, put the flashers on, then reached over and muted the radio. When he did that, I knew we were in trouble. Here's a short clip:

By God's good grace we made it. Double D dropped me off near a pavilion across the street from the aquarium. Scattered about were some unsavory looking characters. And they were all staring at me. The stares made me nervous and self-conscious. I quickly assessed the situation and decided to make a mad dash to the River Walk Mall, several football fields away, knowing my perfectly coiffed hair would be ruined. Good thing I left Bertha at home. Double D had offered me his umbrella, but I didn't want to carry it around all day. Bad move. Soaked to the bone, I made it to the mall where I wandered around for 2 hours, wet and miserable. All the stores had the same touristy crap, so I got something to eat at the food court, then bought an umbrella to make my way back to the aquarium. By the time I made my exit with the newly purchased umbrella, the rain stopped. Of course! Nothing too exciting photography-wise, but I managed to get these with my phone:

Parakeet Pointe was easily the highlight of the day.

They were attracted to my purse for some reason. :/

Give it up lady. I know you've got the goods!

Double D picked me up on Royal Street five hours later. My bones ached and I was still damp, but felt better knowing we were going home. All was well until I went to the mailbox and retrieved a letter from the Louisiana Dept. of Revenue. Apparently they did not receive one of our tax payments and say we owe them more money. Trying to get through their phone labyrinth has been an exercise in futility, so I sent an email hoping it can get rectified that way. Ugh!!!

Born Free?

At dusk yesterday I was passing through the living room and out of the corner of my eye noticed a flash of bright yellow from our large window. On the fence sat a bright yellow bird, much larger than the American Goldfinch. Curiosity ensued because the goldfinches have been gone a couple of days now, so I started getting very excited that an exotic species had found its way into my yard. The light was low so my photos weren't great, but enough to make an I.D. Imagine my surprise when Double D and I determined that this was most likely someone's pet parakeet.

I hoped the bird would return again in brighter light. I had my camera ready to go this morning, and sure enough, there was my new friend, hungrily eating at one of the feeders. The conditions were cloudy, and not wanting to frighten him, I chose to shoot these without a tripod. I think the shots came out pretty good for a relatively slow shutter, hand held. Isn't he cute?!

I was about 3' away when I took some of these shots, so I'm pretty confident this is someone's pet.

I considered posting him on our neighborhood Facebook page, but decided that Charlie is probably happier out in the wild being free. The mockingbird chased him away from the feeders this morning, but he came right back. I think he deserves freedom and will do just fine. And even if he doesn't live as long outside the cage, at least he is able to live the way that God intended. What do you think?