Animal farm deserted ... and repopulated

I have started feeling very lonely in my little far-flung cottage on this side of the world.

Last week I woke up in peace and quiet, which is not a usualy state of affairs over here as usually from around 6 am the resident Egyptian geese would start what could euphemistically be called their "raucous" taunting of the neighbouring avian family, boisterous hadeedah-chasing and general stomping all over the roof and dive bombing the ducks.

Suddenly the geese were gone. No WWF-style wrestling on the front lawn with the geese from next door. My stoep was no longer covered in geese poo. There was no midnightly stomping on the roof.

Their depature followed the pouty-protest of the bunnies who left after I moved the lettuce from the vegetable garden to the safer confounds of the kitchen window sill.

The little swallow family who lived on the stoep is also gone, but in all fairness to them they do this every year and didn't exactly leave in a hessy fit over lettuce or for some unfathomable geese-reason.

I do have very bad news for them and am a little fearful that the swallows will not return. Last summer when their little family suddenly doubled in size they constructed a second story to their swallow nest on my stoep. They might however have cut some corners as the last ferocious winter storm all but destroyed this part of their nest. The rest is, however, still in perfect condition. Not bad for spit and mud.

I glued the remnants of the second story together and put it on the stoep for them, should they return, as a gesture of goodwill and do hope that they will not think it was destroyed during a rowdy dinner party involving impromptu star-gazing and errant bubbly corks. (No really, it was the storm). Am worried that they won't like the smell of glue though. Or maybe they will.

Feeling slightly deserted by my animal friends I was gazing across my little garden when suddenly I saw a yellow mongoose. First thought it might be a rat. (It was early ok?) But came home in the afternoon to find Mr. Mongoose stretched out on the stoep in the sun.

I sat down. Gave him some apple. He seemed to like it even though there was a lot of suspicious sniffing of the glued-nest. Explained about the geese and the bunnies.

Not to seem too ungrateful I added that I am very much aware that the crazy little bird who flies around the house and pecks at the windows was still around, as were the owls and the crazy ducks. But, I explained, nobody can be good friends with an owl and frankly the ducks were slightly stupid.
The little bird, well... words fail me mostly.

Then I read in the paper that the people from the state vet caught a rabid meerkat in Despatch. I phoned my friend who is a vet in Cape Town. My enquiry was mostly met with laughter. Must add that mongoose looked a bit laid-back to be rabid.

The next morning I woke up to a stoep covered in poo, one hell of a noise on the front porch and some ferocious Hadeedah chasing. A slightly shocked mongoose looked at me from where he undoubtedly ran for safety.

"The geese are back," I said to him. "They were here first before me or you. So there is really not much we can do about it."

He nodded - but that might just be because he was earlier trying to lick the empty Pinotage bottle of the other day. "Sniff the nest if you are feeling rabid," I said. "Welcome back geese," I added.

They just left another number 2 on the stoep and went to fight with the hadeedahs on the lawn. All is well again over here. In fact it is almost like living in Cape Town.

P.S. In a gesture of reconcilliation have planted two new lettuces for the bunnies. They returned last night.