Table of Contents
Animals
Now bear in mind that Art has always complained loudly about the way our cat, Moet, came into our lives. And - much to my dismay - he's always made sure that she's been an outdoor cat, living under the house, coming in under sufferance when I've fed her in the morning, and being put out again as soon as I've gone to work.
So it's been a real surprise that it is Art that is enthusiastic about taking on some animals at our new place. I've come to the conclusion that it's not the animals he's against - just indoor animals.
Wild Animals
The first thing that greeted us when we arrived was a flock of wild turkey. These are everywhere and turn up at regular intervals. Apparently they're very tasty - but as we don't have a gun licence (yet) I'm either going to practice hard with the archery bow, or they're going to stay.
Another surprising bird around here are wild peacocks. Not quite as many as the turkeys - but getting there. These fine specimens come and sit on the gate that leads down to our bush.
Also to be found around here are possums (which - unlike in Australia - are a pest and have a price on their heads), fantails, the odd pukeko (mainly further down the road) and the NZ bird of prey, Australasian Harrier (Kaku).
I can now also enter 'WIld Deer' I looked out of our back window the other morning to see two does. I'm not sure what type it is - but it was reasonably big!
Inherited Pets
We have, in fact, inherited two sets of pets from the same house in Howick.
Moet the Rescue Cat
The first inherited pet is Moet, our rescue cat. You'll find out more about her in our diary about the move. She's inherited from my son, who adopted her from Cats In Need Trust, in Mangere, then promptly lost her, before moving back in with us. She turned up 9 months later - and of course Mum had to take her in.
She's now well settled into her new home in the garage, and is becoming much friendlier. I do think she's missing some company though, as she's always out with us when we're in the garden. So (much to my surprise) Art has agreed to another rescue cat. Watch this space!
I can see her and out other rescue cat through the window as we speak - they are curled up together on the same chair - very sweet to see. So she has her 'special friend' now too.
Jeff and Melissa the Pekin Ducks
Jeff and Melissa are two white domestic Pekin ducks, named after my son and his girlfriend in the UK. They come from the same house as Moet, as after my youngest son Tom moved out, three young lads moved in. One loved animals - and these ducks were his. But when they moved out, he had nowhere to take them to. I volunteered to bring them to Duck Paradise. They love it here, although Jeff is a bit of a tart and keeps on leaving Melissa to join the wild ducks in the pond down the road. He comes back every evening though. This is a bit like a scene from Romeo and Juliet - you hear his quacks in the distance, then the two of them quack at each other while they run towards their joyous reunion.
New Pets
Trinity
As mentioned above, we decided that Moet needed a friend - so we found the local Animal Rescue Centre, just along the Thames coast. We wanted a young female, who wouldn't boss Moet about too much but would also hopefully be accepted by her.
We brought home 'Trinity', a pretty short-haired 8 month tabby/tortie/white cat who had been born under a woodpile. Trinity and Moet met in the driveway, when I put the cat box down for Moet to have a good sniff. All well and good - no hisses and fisticuffs. Trinity was installed in the garage, and Moet was asked to sleep in the woodshed for the night. Food was eaten and dirt boxes used overnight, so again - everything going to plan.
The next day, I opened the garage and Moet came visiting. Trinity was in the cupboard. Moet went to say hello, Trinity shot out of the cupboard and into a storage area where we couldn't see her. And this is the last I've seen of her. She's definitely in the garage (we hear her occasionally), and she comes out at night for her food and dirtbox. Moet goes in to say hello, and there haven't been any fights that we know of - but Trinity is going to need some more time. So you'll have to wait for a photo.
So I think we can safely say that everyone's happy on the Rescue Cat front!
Alpacas
One of the things I used to joke about when we bought the first section was that I wanted alpacas. Well, Hubby took me at my word. Just down the road from us is Paqocha Alpacas, owned by Caroline & Hendrik Falconer.
We went visiting, and I fell in love with the Suri breed of alpacas. These are not quite as 'fluffy' as Huacayas, which are more common. Suri have a finer fleece, and remind me a bit of thin versions of Dougal, in the Magic Roundabout.
One thing I love about alpacas is the different fleece colours. We selected two Suri boys called Guinness (he's brown) and Nuggett (white). ANd Caroline recommended an older male to act as 'big brother'. In fact we ended up with two Huacayas called Bacardi (white) and Suestada (fawn), because they're paddock mates. They arrived this afternoon, and look very at home in our newly fenced back paddock.
The Lamb
Art very glibly heads this 'The Lamb' - he's actually called 'Rambo' (a girl would have been called Ewegenie). He has settled in really well, and has decided that (a) Art must be Mum because he comes with milk and (b) Suestado must be Mum because he has a fleece. He discovered very quickly (the hard way) that Suestado doesn't come with milk!
Rambo can often be found with his head in a dustbin (that's the home we have given him out of the wind), playing with the two younger Suris, Nugget and Guinness, or cuddling up to Suestados's hind leg. Very cute.
Tom and Anonymous - the Muscovy Ducks
As the two white Pekin ducks are named after our first son and his girlfriend, I was going to make the second pair of ducks after our second son - but he has no girlfriend currently - so Mrs Muscovy will have to stay unnamed for now.
These are also 'rescue ducks' - I'm a member of a forum - www.lifestyleblock.co.nz - and one of the other contributors had to find homes for a lot of ducks and chickens very quickly. We offered a home to three muscovies - two ducks and a drake.
They duly arrived, we opened the cage, and they all disappeared into the reeds at the side of Lake Chipperfield.
A week later, two of them emerged - we have no idea what happened to the third one. We assume she is now an ex-duck. But Mr & Mrs Tom Muscovy are very happy now, and mix very well with Jeff & Melissa Pekin. The third Muscovy emerged from the swamp grass after a couple of weeks, so we now have 5 ducks.
Photos to follow….
