Sparky Chilling Out
Haiku 283
Hey! Remember me?
Just popping by to say Hi!
How you all doing?
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It’s suddenly winter down here in Cape Town.
Although the sun is still warm during the day, it is decidedly chilly overnight.
Here is Sparky the squirrel on top of our fence, chilling out and warming up in the early morning sunshine.
Cape Golden Mole 1
Haiku 279
From small to smaller
They only want to survive
All life is precious
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We’d just had another of our Cape Storms, with strong winds and rain. My pool was full of leaves blown off the trees. I went round with the pool net, skimming as many of the leaves off the surface as I could.
I spotted a butterfly lying flat on the surface, wings outstretched. I thought to myself, “Well he’s gone,” but scooped him up anyway.
Cape Golden Mole 2
Then I noticed a large dark leaf, that seemed to be moving. I realised it was a mole!
The poor thing must have fallen in last night. It was exhausted, cold and barely alive, but still bravely trying to swim and survive.
I quickly scooped him up in the net also and laid it on the lawn. I made sure he was at the top so he could breathe, and went to fetch my camera.
Cape Golden Mole and Butterfly 3
When I came back, I was amazed to see that the butterfly had crawled out of the leaf mess and was wafting its wings, trying to dry off, while perching on the edge of the net.
The mole wasn’t moving at all. Poor little thing. I must have been just too late.
Still, I had an idea! Finding a small twig I pressed it gently under the mole’s forearm – and gave him CPR!
I didn’t want to actually touch him in case he sprang to life and bit me!
Cape Golden Mole and Butterfly 4
The mole was still motionless, but I don’t give up easily. I carried the net full of leaves, mole and butterfly over to a sheltered spot in my garden and emptied it out under the fir tree.
Then I tried to get the butterfly off the net. I placed the net next to the brick wall by the pool pump, and encouraged the butterfly to go onto it, but it was having none of that and turned away back to the netting. How did it even see?
So I held the net right up against a branch of the olive tree – and the butterfly stepped on to it. When I checked a short while later, he’d flown off.
Cape Golden Mole 5
Back to Mr Mole. I watched him quietly for a while, then noticed he was moving very slightly. He was still alive! Amazing!
I don’t know if you can see from the photos, but he had the most beautiful iridescent fur, with shiny colours of gold, green and violet. I think he was a Cape Golden Mole, occurring only in Sub-Saharan Africa.
I thought the best thing I could do for him, was to cover him with a few leaves, for camouflage and warmth, and just leave him be.
When I checked on him later, he’d also gone home.
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Waking up on Saturday morning, I never dreamed that a few hours later I would be giving CPR to a mole! It just goes to show; you never know what each day will bring.
White Squirrel 1
I was sitting out in my garden one morning, when I heard a splash. I looked up and saw a white thing dragging itself out of the pool. I thought at first it was a cat, then realised it was a young squirrel.
He was being chased by the resident fully grown, and much larger, grey squirrel.
White Squirrel 2
This is why the white kid had fallen in the pool on the first place – and why he looks so bedraggled in the photos, with a stringy wet tail!
I have never seen a White Squirrel before, so this was very exciting!
You probably can’t tell from these photos, but he didn’t look like an albino (no red eye), just a grey squirrel with a white coat.
White Squirrel 3
The grey squirrel continued to harry the white teenager, chasing it all over.
The white one tried to escape up the fence, but couldn’t make it and fell back down again.
I had my phone in my hand, so approached them and tried to take a photo, but they were dashing about far too quickly. So I took a few short videos. Some of the photos here are stills taken from video, which explains the poor quality.
White Squirrel 4
As I got nearer to the pair, they both suddenly stopped. (First photo) The youngster wasn’t sure what to make of me and for a moment, I seemed to be a bigger threat than the grey squirrel.
But they quickly resumed their mad chasing.
Eventually the white one managed to escape through the fence and the grey one left it.
White Squirrel 5
The grey squirrel is in the photos above, but harder to spot, which is why they aren’t usually white in the first place!
I haven’t seen the white one since and can only hope he is still alive. He wasn’t a tiny baby, so had at least survived to be a teenager.
It just goes to show, that if you sit somewhere long enough, even your own garden, all sorts of amazing things will come your way!
post script: I can’t find a wiki article on white squirrels: Shocker! But I found this informative site about White Squirrels in the USA.
Sparky and the Monkey Nut 1
Haiku 239
The nutty squirrel
Executes a smash and grab
Desperate measures
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Several different squirrels come by my garden to eat the seeds I put out. Most of them know to hop right up onto the upturned green container.
Clearly this youngster hadn’t got the memo!
I watched in amazement from my seat nearby under the shade of the tree.
Sparky 2
Obviously little Sparky could smell the food, but he wasn’t sure how to get to it. Even the pigeon in the bottom left hand corner of the photo wondered what was wrong with Sparky!
The plan Sparky came up with?
Climb into the mini hedge next to the food. Scramble up inside the tangled branches. Pop out at the top end. Stretch!
Success! Grab the monkey nut. Stuff it in your mouth. Exit the scene. This proved a little harder than entering as Sparky had to push himself back up into the hedge, against gravity!
This is the action shot I got above!
Once he’d procured the monkey nut, Sparky rushed away to bury it.
When he came back for more food, he had a brainwave – and hopped up onto the container like all his mates. No problem!
Sparky 3
However, after the year we’ve just had, and the pandemic still in full swing, maybe this is what we all need. A new way of looking at things!
Either that, or embracing the crazy!
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post script: I had a mini panic attack this morning when I tried to Log in to my WP account as usual, but kept getting sent back to the Log in screen. I had already deleted my cache and cookies; something I do regularly; so Googled other options. I tried the regular window instead of using private mode; I typed in a different search address, going back to basics. Still no luck at all.
Finally, I thought to try using Firefox instead of Google Chrome.
Success!
I’m feeling pretty chuffed that I managed to sort it out myself, but I am sure this is merely a presage of things to come.
WhatsApp, that I use regularly to keep in touch with family overseas, is forcing you to accept all of Facebook’s conditions, including their having access to – and the right to use – all of your chats and photos, contacts, phone numbers etc I am not on fb and never have been. Now I have till 8th February to decide whether I am willing to give fb the rights to my whole life.
The craziness just continues!
Sparky the Squirrel Pole Dancing
Haiku 211
Sparky begs for food
Any which way he chooses
Pole dancing expert!
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Sparky the squirrel checks to see if I have any food, hanging effortlessly upside down on the grape vines.
Cheeky little rodent!
Sparky the Squirrel
Haiku 176
Sparky the squirrel
Demanding little fellow
Oi! You! Where’s me nuts?
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This cheeky chops squirrel came right up to me while I was sitting in my garden under the trees. He got up on his hind legs the better to stare at me. He wanted his nuts!
Little Monkey
Haiku 175
Stretch out and relax
Bask in the warmth of the rays
Festive sunbathing
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Many of my friends in the north may not have had a White Christmas, but I doubt you were sunbathing either!
Butterfly sunbathing
As you know, it is mid-summer here in Cape Town, at the other end of the world. So how do the locals spend the festive season?
Dragonfly sunbathing
Whether they are bird, insect or animal, you will find them stretched out and soaking up those glorious warm rays. (Though I do think the pigeon chose a rather odd place, just on the steps of our stoep!)
Pigeon sunbathing
But the past master of them all for basking in the summer heat was our very own Little Monkey.
Little Monkey Sunbathing
LM Sundog 2
Little Monkey Flat Out 1
Little Monkey stretching 1
What better way to relax?
Rescue Doggo 1 – Zorro
Chapter Three
Since I wasn’t having any luck finding a rescue dog to adopt I decided to help out at a small local shelter run by one woman at a Vets. Volunteers from here have been bringing dogs to class to socialise for many years, for free. Our own Dog Whisperer helps the dogs learn some manners so they are more likely to be adopted.
I contacted one of the volunteers, S, and arranged to meet her at puppy class one Saturday morning. I didn’t usually go to the Saturday class with Little Monkey, as it was often more hectic than the Wednesday classes and the dogs were bigger and less controlled, but this was the puppy class, so I thought it should be fine.
Rescue Doggo 2 – Peaches
I met S on the dog field and she’d brought along a one year old white Border Collie cross, Peaches, for me to take care of, as well as four young puppies. Other volunteers came to class and took charge of a puppy each. S went again to the afternoon class, with four more puppies. The shelter had recently rescued a pregnant dog just before she gave birth – to eleven puppies!!
I made friends with Peaches, who was anxious and unsocialised. The other dogs picked up on her anxiety and tried to sort her out. She was scared of the dogs, but would run up behind them and bite them on the bum! I spent a lot of time running round after her, correcting her behaviour and sorting out little altercations. She eventually started to listen to me and calm down a bit.
In the meantime the four young puppies were running rampant and the volunteers didn’t seem to know what to do. At one point the ring-leader puppy ran across the road of the quiet cul-de-sac, with the other puppies following it!
So I ran after them, but round to one side, to get ahead of them and herd them back to the field. Fortunately, our Dog Trainer saw them too and came to help. We got them back in the group, but the bossy puppy was still full of it, so I sorted him out with a power down; ie I made him lie down and be still, only for a few seconds, but it calms the pup down.
At the end of class I had run all over the field and had a face like a very ripe tomato, but S still looked cool as a cucumber! But it had been fun and the dogs had learnt to socialise a little better.
Rescue Doggo 3 – Buster
The next week I got Buster, a two year old male. Though he was smaller in size and quite sociable with the other dogs, he was full of energy and untrained. It is hard trying to get a dog to listen to you when it doesn’t know you at all; they run back to the volunteer that they do know. So again I did a lot of running around the field.
The week after that I got Rascals, also a two year old, but much larger, very energetic and very strong. Again, this dog was OK with the other dogs, but had no manners. We were doing ‘downs’ which is hard enough to do with your own dog, but nearly impossible with this kind of dog. I got Rascals down, but then had to help a young kid next to me who was dealing with one of the boisterous puppies. So I got Rascals down, then the puppy, by which time Rascals was wanting to get back up . . .
The next day my arms were sore and I couldn’t understand why, till I remembered this!
Adoption Day
Rescue Doggos 4 – Adoption Day
After morning dog class the volunteers took the dogs to an Adoption Day at a local garden nursery every fortnight. I went along a few times to support them. I took treats for the dogs and gave them some attention and of course made donations.
I wanted to see Cream, Peaches’ sister. She was supposedly smaller and calmer. I made friends with Cream and stroked her while I chatted to the volunteer who held the lead. The girl said, “Cream doesn’t like strangers.” Well, we were getting along just fine!
Rescue Doggo 5 – Cream
An incident happened while I was there. S had been walking Cherie, an anxious, unbalanced dog, out on the Green Belt, in an effort to calm her down. When S came back with Cherie and tried to join the other dogs, they all instantly started barking and lunging. There was pandemonium! Buster got loose and went straight for Cherie.
I always try to keep out of things, but clearly help was needed here! I dropped my bag on the table, told a few dogs to “Stop that!” (and they listened) as I went to sort Buster out, stopped him going for Cherie, grabbed his lead and handed it back to the young girl, then turned back to sort out the other dogs.
It is always surprising just how quickly a group of dogs can become a wild pack, but they can just as quickly subside again, if you sort them out with a calm positive energy.
Now the volunteers at the adoption drive were mostly teenage girls, I think doing some sort of community service for school. They didn’t know too much about dealing with difficult dogs, but they were there and they did their best.
At Home
Rescue Doggo 6 – Speckles
I took one of the calmer puppies, Speckles, home for the day once, just to see if he would be a match for us. It is better to have an older established dog already in your home if you adopt a puppy, to show it the ropes and keep it in check. However, I thought this was a confident pup that I might cope with.
Rescue Doggo 7 – Speckles
When I picked him up I weighed him, then realised he was going to grow too big for me, as he was already 17 kg at only 6 months. Also, on our first walk we came across two large, calm huskies and he was all for challenging them. If he hadn’t been on the lead I am sure he would have run across the road and tried to sort them out! This was a pup with attitude; far more than I was looking for. But he did have a couple of nice long walks and a fun day out of the kennels. And great news, he has since been adopted by a family with an older larger dog, where he is very happy. All the other puppies have since been adopted too, as well as Peaches and Cream.
Rescue Doggo 8 – Speckles
Thereafter I took a dog to the Wednesday morning class, where I knew the other dogs better. I was given Zorro many times. He was about six years old and larger than Little Monkey, but quite a nice dog and willing to please. He had issues with other male dogs and a few tiffs broke out, which I handled. I even took Zorro to my house a few times, which he loved. All dogs in a shelter just want to belong to a family.
Rescue Doggo 9 – Zorro
When I brought him home the first time, instead of running round the garden sniffing all the exciting new smells like any other dog, he stuck by me and wouldn’t let me out of his sight.
So why didn’t I keep this dog? He obviously loved being with us.
At nearly 27 kg he was just too big and strong for me. (You might be able to see this from the photo below where he is sitting on Little Monkey’s mat in the kitchen.) Also, he had quite a mixed-up personality; while he would fight with the male dogs, he was also anxious.
Rescue Doggo 10 – Zorro
He attached to me so quickly that this alone could lead to problems down the line. He would have separation anxiety and want me all to himself, so might be iffy with guests or males.
All I can do for an anxious dog like that is be calm and patient. I ignored him when he was staring at me, but stroked him when he finally relaxed and had a little snooze. The next day I was exhausted.
If you think I am being too picky here, even our Dog Trainer said Zorro was not the dog for me. It is vital to get the right dog for yourself and your circumstances. I am looking for something a lot easier this time around.
Anyway, Zorro had a great time at our house and some nice long walks; all better than sitting in kennels all day.
Rescue Doggo 11 – Zorro
I asked the shelter for different dogs to take to class; smaller, with less behavioural problems, but they kept giving me Zorro. They even suggested larger, younger dogs, because they knew I could handle them! But just because I can handle difficult dogs, does not mean I want to, as I kept telling them.
I always had a long wait at the shelter when I went to pick up a dog, and again on the return. The final time I went, I waited half an hour. However, the woman in charge was out at the animal hospital with sick kittens. By now I would miss dog class anyway, so I went home.
I reassessed the situation and realised I was spending a long time driving around fetching and returning a dog; a total 25 to 30 km. I was also exhausted afterwards and spent the next day recovering. So I decided to give it a break for now.
Rescue Doggo 12 – Zorro
At Dog Class
One really great thing about being back at dog class was the amazing greeting I received from the dogs themselves. After Little Monkey died, I hadn’t been for several months. One after another the dogs would come up to me to say hello, in their own unique fashion.
I would look down and suddenly notice that a dog had left its owner and come to stand quietly in front of me sideways on. I stroked them and chatted to them, then they trotted away to be about their business. At some point each dog noticed me and came to welcome me back into the pack. No-one told them to do this.
Even the dogs that did not normally interact much with people came to stand quietly in front of me and let me pet them.
This was an awesome welcome back into the pack.
I can’t tell you how much this helped to heal my broken heart.
Shaggy Dog Little Monkey 1
Cows 1
Haiku 161
How did you get there?
The grass is always greener
On the other side
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Cows 2
I spotted this little chap desperately trying to join his mate on the other side of the fence.
Unfortunately for him there was a wire across the bottom half and he just couldn’t figure out why he wouldn’t fit through.
Cows 3
Later on I saw that he had walked round the end of the fence and managed to join his friend.
Common Squirrel Monkey 1
Haiku 156
Intelligent eyes
Tiny little finger nails
What are you thinking?
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Common Squirrel Monkey 2
This little chap is a Common squirrel monkey found at the World of Birds wildlife sanctuary in Hout Bay, Cape Town. He is different to the ones I usually show, which are Black-capped squirrel monkeys.
Either way, they are all full of mischief and very cute.
Mad Cap Dog 