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Goats
When you don't have boats, you get goats of roofs. I think pin-tailed whydahs are great squeaky toys, and every cat should have one. With its cute orange-red beak and fluttery long tail feathers, it’d be a lot of fun to play with. Derique doesn’t think so, but I am amused. Derique’s favorite bird is the helmeted guinea fowl; because of this his new name is Derique Havoc (get it? Der-wreak Havoc. It’s my best dad-joke so far.)
One morning a few days past, I was home early from work due to rain the night before that made us change plans. After my bath and while sucking on oranges on the back steps, I suddenly needed my binoculars to be sure of what I was seeing- yes! A new sunbird! New to me, anyway. I know it wasn’t a green-throated; unless that species sports red breasts at times, I am pretty sure I saw a Splendid Sunbird. Splendid!
Back to the front porch, I looked down to see a lizard laying eggs. That was really cool. I was confused at first why she was so still at my presence, so I approached her, both exclaiming my excitement at my discovery, and scaring her away from the nest-hole. Ooops. I
Juanita
My cute little neighbor girl. The scarf she is wearing is from Mexico. (Thanks Kelley!) hid behind the porch post so she could finish her business, but I caused her to mess up her fourth egg; as I watched her, she squeezed out the fourth on the level ground. If she hadn’t still been watching me so closely, I would have taken pictures of her replacing and packing down the dirt with her head over the three well-placed eggs.
These same lizards (when adults) make a lot of noise running across tin roofs and other fabricated surfaces, but not as much noise as squirrels. That’s how I discovered a squirrel nest in the window screen of my now seldom-used bedroom. Derique likes squirrels much better than whydahs; the squirrel is gone now.
If not for the mice and cockroaches, all the lizard/bat/squirrel/bird/spider watching reinforces the lazy point of view I have that I don’t actually have to keep my house all that clean. Maybe I will just invite in a snake. I am pretty sure Derique would say no to a cat, plus a cat would play too roughly with the whydahs (Whydah long tail, anyway? Show-offs. Dad-joke #2).
The other really cute bird I have identified (nerd! Nerd!) is the orange-cheeked
Wizon
"Wizon" (wayzon) means welcome in Mina, and this is my welcoming committee. waxbill. If I pay just a little more attention, those small, dart-like birds come in to focus.
The problem with me being an environmental volunteer is that I like the smell of pollution. Not oil fields and nuclear melt-downs, but old, gas-guzzling trucks, and mechanics’ shops with spilled oil and grease on the ground. These kinds of things remind me of hanging out and annoying Dad in his garage, and listening to him and Uncle Paul or anyone talk and talk. I just love that stuff. Fortunately I also like the smell of fresh clean air.
I was reminded of these good memories as I rode in an old truck the other hot day, hauling the last of the acacia trees to the garden. The labor and the heat made me think of Burlingame swimming pool, Flint Hills League baseball games, and Sylas and Maddies’ Ice cream… I had gari, sugar, and peanuts and called it good.
Good story for you- When I leave Derique alone in the house, he takes full advantage of the open beds. To keep him from doing this, I close the door to the bedroom and flip the front room’s mattress up. I have been closing the door to the bedroom at night, too, and until this morning I remembered that the door was closed whenever I needed to get up in the night. This morning I woke up at 2h, and remembered the door, and woke up at 6h, and forgot. I hit that door so hard I thought I would have bruises on my nose and my knees. I woke up really fast.
Kind of a random entry. That’s the end.
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pictures
I love your pictures! Can I meet Juanita when I come to visit? She is beautiful! Wait on the snake until after my visit is through, ok? I can handle all of the other critters (I think) Love you!