Remembering Peanut's love of Lunch (search on "progression" to read how Peanut progressively took over our lunch — although the entries are out of order), when Harley first moved in we invited him to eat with us. Oh, we didn't expect Harley to eat what we ate, but we figured he'd enjoy eating at the same time that we did.

As it turns out, Harley totally wants to eat what we eat, as long as that includes cheese. Harley's favorite meals are pasta with cheese sprinkled on top, and salad with cheese mixed in. His favorite cheese is a nice, sharp cheddar, but Parmesan is pretty good, too.

Should birds eat cheese? Not so much. First, they're lactose intolerant, and second, cheese is a high-fat food that — like seeds — is best eaten in moderation. But Harley doesn't seem to care, and he's very quickly Mind Controlled Bruce into sharing his meals with him. You know, any meals with cheese.

And unlike most fruits and vegetables, which he squishes around in his beak, drinks, and drops, Harley actually swallows cheese. Quickly. Which has helped Bruce lose a bit of weight, since Harley is quite capable of inhaling the cheese sprinkled on top faster than Bruce can eat the food it's sprinkled on.

I've also been eating less cheese than I used to. While I'm not as weak as Bruce is, I still feel the weight of Harley's stare while I'm eating it. Gone are the days when cheese-and-crackers was my favorite, easy meal to eat with Peanut sleeping in one hand. Now it's a furtive snack, gulped down with my back to the bird, a little guilty for being so mean.