A vacuum I kind of get -- not sure about the broom and pan though. And the mail -- whew the mail. So I have a door slot and my mail lady drops the mail through the slot (makes sense yes?). On Saturday's when I'm home and the mail is delivered -- I wish I could remember to video tape it! She RUNS to the door (once she hears the screen open) and just ATTACKS the mails -- and the more the better as it floats to the ground -- some gets a bit stuck so it keeps coming. She raises up on her rear legs using her front to swat and and attack the offending intruders. And then as soon as she's sure all of the intruders have been struck down - she casually goes about her business as if nothing happened! But I'm telling you -- I feel safer just knowing she is protecting me from the mail!
If you ever need a chuckle just go to YouTube and type in funny animal antics and you'll get a boatload.
Animals are also fascinating -- they have abilities, instincts, and behaviors that are remarkable. For instance -- I heard this on NPR the other day -- did you know Crows (Raptors for those of you who were at Sisters Weekend and did Raptor Day at the Wilds!) can recognize people? No really they can. So this guy was banding them on campus and they screeched at him as he was doing it and the ones not getting banded came and screeched. Soon everywhere he walked on campus they were screeching at him -- the word got out and they got all their neighbor crows to also threaten him. So he did a study with masks and put the masks on co-eds -- and yep they recognized the mask (either that or the Dick Cheney mask terrified them!) and everywhere someone was with a mask the crows were screeching. Wonder how far away they can "talk"?
Or you read the e-mail with the dog that dug out all of her old treasures and put them on her master, just home recovering from cancer, as she slept? Or the mommy bird whose babies fell out of the nest and there was a terrible fire. She could have flown away to safety but she stayed there and protected her babies, stoically standing over them as she burned to death, saving their lives.
Well Alex isn't that brave although she did call 911 once when I was at work -- apparently she didn't like the catfood I was feeding her! And she is wicked fierce with that tail of hers, she squirms round and round trying to attach that darn thing -- keeps flicking out of the way! Protecting all of humanity from the evil of the tail.
Animals are very protective of each other as well. When we did the circus the elephants were housed under a tent in our parking lot (only female adults of course, the males are the ones you hear of escaping and harming folks). And one mother always stayed up and awake to watch over the others. I could never catch the signal but they traded watches seemlessly. Or watch geese (which should be easy -- find any body of water and you are bound to see geese!). You can spot the watcher -- while the others are eating there tends to be one alert and checking you out. Don't get too close - they can be quite upity.
While I was sitting out front on my step the birds were anxious to eat the new bird food I put out but not quite sure they trusted me. So one brave chicadee sat on the top of the shepards hook while the others slowly came out to eat. One move from that watch bird and they all scattered.
Alex the protector -- protecting me from harm of mail, tails, and -- hm out of rhymes.
And why is it dogs always love sticking their heads out of a car at 60 miles an hour but blow into their face -- youza what is that about?
And cats loved to be petted but when they are done -- boy are they done. Out come the claws. A little signal, a warning perhaps?
And what is it about pooping in the litterbox that is so exciting (or terrifying -- yep given the smell I'm sticking with terrifying!) that Alex has to TEAR through the house, up onto the window bed, down across the house to the other -- sometimes so fast she leave little dingleberries behind her. Yep those are fun to find in the dark the next morning.
When Xion (my neighbors cat who I've adopted and feed constantly!) jumps in a window, and only when the window is down, Alex attacks him through the window, tearing up her window bed, violently slapping at the pane of glass. When they greet each other through the crack in the door they sniff peacefully and then growl and carry on. But when I let her out and Xion is there -- poof they are invisible to each other. Really? After all that carrying on that is the best you can do?
I wonder what they laugh at us about?
Animals are great :-) We went to the zoo this summer ~ great fun! Watched two giraffes fighting over a small area of space. They kept knocking each other with their long necks, trying to get the other to move (or so it seemed). Neither budged ~ they kept their "hoofs" planted :-) Could have stood there all day ~ quite amusing :-) Sometimes I think our house is a zoo. 4 cats and a dog ~ some days they are amusing as well - - then there are those other days :-)
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