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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (April 27, 2016)
4 Wednesday, April 27, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon A 25-year friendship with a macaw By Jim Anderson Correspondent Leslie Newbold — who you will eventually meet if you shop at Melvin’s — has a fancy for parrots and started collecting and learning about them when she was in her early 20s. She’s traveled to Nicaragua, Costa Rica, the Yucatan and other tropical climes searching for and get- ting to know parrots, and she actually saw a rare and mag- nificent male resplendent Quetzal in the Monte Verde Rainforest. She had an aviary once that housed two sun con- ners, two Indian ringneck parakeets, an African and a Timneh gray parrot, a laven- der-headed Amazon, a double yellow-headed-Amazon, a Mulucaan cockatoo, a lesser sulphur-crested cockatoo, a Goffin’s cockatoo and a black headed cirque, and has had — for over 25 years — Gomez, a blue and gold macaw. I was convinced from the onset that Gomez was a he and thusly named it Gomez Adams. Macaws have large and powerful beaks and are brightly colored. They are zygodactyl, which means that they have two toes in front as well as in back of each claw. They are intelligent and social birds who mate for life, and that life expectancy in the wild can be over sixty years in the making. This is the way Leslie remembers her 25-year-long friendship with her macaw: “I first met Gomez in a Seattle, Washington, pet shop called Wings of the World. The macaw was 12 weeks old and Outlaws golfers play at Mallard Creek By Rongi Yost Correspondent PHOTO BY LESLIE NEWBOLD Gomez, a macaw of great beauty and a faithful friend. I was five months pregnant with my son Dallas. “Even the multiple pin feathers and wild look in the macaw’s eyes couldn’t keep me from wanting to bring Gomez home. Well, $999 dol- lars later, I walked out of the store with it in an animal car- rier braced for the long drive back to Tumalo, through the dark and the rain that was so persistent on that drive, we created a bond that has now lasted 25 years. “A bit of a twist to this story; I was convinced from the onset that Gomez was a he and thusly named it Gomez Adams. Eighteen years later I was proven wrong on that one, when she laid her first of many eggs! Boy did I feel silly.” Gomez was not taken from the wild, but hatched in captivity. “She has trusted me through everything and has always let me know when I made her uncomfortable,” Lelie said. “The gentle nudg- ing and nips have been, for the most part, innocent. She is playful and animated at home with us; new things to try all the time. My goal is to try to get her feeling safe on the handlebars of my blue cruiser bicycle. I think she would love it out in the sun with the wind ruffling her blue and gold feathers.” The boys golf team fin- ished last out of 10 teams at the tournament held at Mallard Creek in Sweet Home on Tuesday, April 19, with a team score of 491. Junction City took top honors with a score of 365, followed by Sutherlin, who carded a 388. Cascade took third (395), and Cottage Grove took fourth with 398. The course was full of hazards, which the boys seemed to find on a regular basis. The lakes, streams, and many natural areas wet with high grass were tough to han- dle. One player lost 14 balls in the round and Coach Bill Mitchell stated that another lost even more. Austin Lake carded a 52 on the front nine and lowered his score by four strokes on the back nine to finish with a score of 100. Lake drove the ball well, but struggled on the greens. Andrew Mayes was the bright spot in the day for the Outlaws and had another good showing for his first year in golf and finished with a 59/54/113, and had two pars in the round. “Andrew (a freshman) is playing better than anyone on the team, and he’s never played competitive golf until this year,” said Mitchell. “He’s hitting the ball more consistently and putting bet- ter. He’s usually the first one to practice, and I’m liking his effort.” Kade Owen carded a 66/64/130 and Patrick Dingemen scored 79/69/148. Wyatt Hernandez rounded out the scores with an 88/66/154. Mitchell said, “We’re hav- ing a rough year. It’s hard to find a silver lining with these scores.” The Outlaws were sched- uled to play at Meadow Lakes in Prineville on Monday, April 25. They will finish out their week with a tournament at Broken Top on Friday.
