Good-bye to Winkie

Winkie, our little blue budgie, flew off (figuratively) to Parakeet Heaven during the night. Annie wrote a sweet tribute to the bird, which I've included below. Out of respect, the above photo is a look-alike parakeet rather than Winkie himself. The pudgy hand bears no resemblance to the hand of anyone in our family. Winkie's cage is being retired.

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It is a sad day at the Potts house.
Our dear friend, Winkie, has joined Perry in bird heaven.

Winkie became a part of the Potts family in 2001, and a short time later was affectionately nicknamed “bupid stird” by his owners. Winkie enjoyed sunning himself on the back patio, chirping loudly in the sunroom, and spraying bird seed across the dining room floor. He was a unique bird because of the simple fact that he never learned how to fly; instead, Winkie preferred staying inside his white cage where he felt safe and had easy access to his bells, food, and water.

Winkie’s cage proved to be mobile and allowed him to travel the city of St. Peter with ease. Winkie shared several long weekends with his friends Putter Grimmius and Perry Larson while the Potts family was out of town. He often returned home with tales of mischief, to which his owners could only laugh and shake their heads. It was evident that Winkie lead a happy and healthy life, and was greatly loved by his human and animal friends.

Winkie will be remembered as a sweet winged companion with a pretty song. A short service was held this morning at 823 Church Street, followed by Winkie’s burial next to the bird bath under the Linden tree in the hosta garden.

Special thanks to Larry and Jill Potts for taking such good care of Winkie throughout his life.

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One additional note: Elisabeth called to express condolences about Winkie's death. This seemed kind and thoughtful until she added that Evan has suspicions that we may have hastened the bird's demise--he accused us of Winkicide. Larry/Dad denies anything of the sort.