I Don't Feel Like Dancing

No sir, no dancin' today.

 Older sneak capture by hubby of me kipping with a kitty back when we had a couch

A least I am not the only one curling up undercover these days. Our grey old lady Mudgie cat is good company and keeps up with the play. She's a lovely muesels who has lots to say. She is the most diverse communicative cat we've known. Her vocal range is quite big considering wild house cats barely meow and even our previous pets did not have such a range.

When we first got her she needed a home free of other cats, an especially calm environment and few people. Her two owners were leaving, one to LA, USA and one to a retirement home. She was petrified of builders or guys who looked like builders, or people with ladders. Every time someone new would come near the driveway she would run and hide and so I needed to help her with her fear. I would pat and calm her just before she bolted or afterwards, although it took over a year before she stopped being as afraid of new people. She would have the worse nightmares as well. Kitty dreams that would have her wake up petrified and angry. Sometimes jumping a foot into the air from sleep.  

Mudgie and her swanndri (NZ classic farming & bush shirt in plaid) 

She still likes to occasionally hide from builders & tradies when they come too close, but otherwise she will calmly sit where I am or sleep by me. Meows plaintively when I am gone looking around for me in a way hubby asserts sounds like him calling me too. Seems like she has adopted me as her primary human and in helping her with her fear I helped myself to adapt. I too had a fear of certain people coming to the house after an assault. I couldn't run and hide in a wardrobe or hole in the ground. So helping her face her very distinct fear I helped recover in part from my own. We were both a calm touchstone for each other. Now her in her heyday with kidney issues & weight loss and me with my illness we are helping each other again. She is keeping me company while I have a bad migraine. Even with the cat like yoga and cuddles.

I Don't Feel Like Dancin' - Scissor Sisters

Wake up in the morning with a head like 'What ya done?'

This used to be the life but I don't need another one

Good luck cuttin' nothin', carryin' on, you wear them gowns

So how come I feel so lonely when you're up gettin' down?

So I play along when I hear that favorite song

I'm gonna be the one who gets it right

You better know when you're swingin' 'round the room

Looks like magic's solely yours tonight

But I don't feel like dancin' when the old Joanna plays

My heart could take a chance, but my two feet can't find a way

You think that I could muster up a little soft-shoe gentle sway

But I don't feel like dancin', no sir, no dancin' today

Don't feel like dancin', dancin'

Even if I find nothin' better to do

Don't feel like dancin', dancin'

Why'd you break it down when I'm not in the mood?

Don't feel like dancin', dancin'

Rather be home with no one if I can't get down with you...

Cities come and cities go just like the old empires

When all you do is change your clothes and call that versatile

You got so many colors make a blind man so confused

Then why can't I keep up when you're the only thing I lose?

So I'll just pretend that I know which way to bend

And I'm gonna tell the whole world that you're mine

Just please understand when I see you clap your hands

If you stick around I'm sure that you'll be fine

But I don't feel like dancin' when the old Joanna plays

My heart could take a chance, but my two feet can't find a way

You think that I could muster up a little soft-shoe gentle sway

But I don't feel like dancin', no sir, no dancin' today

Don't feel like dancin', dancin'

Even if I find nothin' better to do

Don't feel like dancin', dancin'

Why'd you break it down when I'm not in the mood?

Don't feel like dancin', dancin'

Rather be home with no one if I can't get down with you...

You can't make me dance around

But your two-step makes my chest pound

Just lay me down

As you float away into the shimmer light...

But I don't feel like dancin' when the old Joanna plays

My heart could take a chance, but my two feet can't find a way

You think that I could muster up a little soft-shoe gentle sway

But I don't feel like dancin', no sir, no dancin' today

Don't feel like dancin', dancin'

Even if I find nothin' better to do

Don't feel like dancin', dancin'

Why'd you break it down when I'm not in the mood?

Don't feel like dancin', dancin'

Rather be home with no one if I can't get down with you...

I don't feel like dancin', dancin'

Even if I find nothin' better to do

Don't feel like dancin', dancin'

Why'd you break it down when I'm not in the mood?

Don't feel like dancin', dancin'

Rather be home with no one if I can't get down with you...

Kiwi As Pets

It is no myth that pets are good for the soul & help relieve stress & isolation.  A long standing tradition is for humans to be empathetic & need some companionship, even if that companion is just waiting for you to feed them in the morning & night... no I am not talking about marriage.

Dan the goat man, from Purakaunui, takes his pet goat Alex around Potato Point to go camping.  Photo: Stephen Jaquiery, full article: Otago Daily Times  Alex Kidd the goat, has been house-trained, car-trained and boat-trained and to Dan not much different than owning a dog.  Often they will head out camping together or go on walks through the town.

NZ has a lot of sheep, they outnumber the population to a large degree to the point NZ often has the highest density of sheep per unit area in the world.  For 130 years, sheep farming was the country's most important agricultural industry, but it was overtaken by dairy farming in 1987.  So having sheep also as pets was a common tradition.  Lambs often display entertaining bouncing skills as they leap and frolic.  So giving them the opportunity to bounce some more & encouraging them with a large sheep sized trampoline is where they get to develop those skills to bouncy castle levels of glee.

The NZ police are increasing the furry fellows with some camera loving companions, including Snickers the cat who has his own instagram account.

As well as Tia who has joined the team in Porirua. Alternative article link: NZ Herald.

 

Who is stepping into big shoes as Constable Elliot, the police guinea pig commanded respect and love of the locals.  Quite appropriate as the police can have stressful jobs and often need to interact with the community they protect. It helps to have a furry greeting at the door.

Snickers manning the front desk.

There are animals you seek to protect & visit often but you do not own them and leave them to be wild but supported.  The Department of Conservation NZ, DoC, offers protection for a variety of native animals across NZ and keeps an eye and open live stream on the albatross nesting colony.

Rangers check the weight & health of the chicks, offer support in times of water stress and record new births to assess the colony health & numbers.  Albatross mothers & fathers take turns with feeding & on the nest with the chick until they are big enough to be on their own.  Shown above is Ranger Mike helping mother and chick cool down during a rather hot period as heat stress could kill them.

Then there are the times when you cannot have a pet, do not feel the need for one but an animal has chosen to attach itself to you as you may be the one needed.

How a duck fell in love with a bloke from Te Kuiti by Newshub

Paul has formed an unlikely bond with Pete the duck when the paradise shelduck laid eyes on him and decided he was the one.  "I don't know what it is, he's quite protective over me," he told The Project.  "If anyone else comes near me, particularly women, he has a go at them."  To which one of the presenters mentioned, "Paradise ducks, well known fact, mate for life. Paul face it, you are married".

It is these kinds of connections I save to show hubby, because humour and an occasional smile is also good for the soul.  So for a mental cuddle, here is how the relationship of one gay goose and a bisexual swan was the loving relationship of a lifetime.

Excerpt from the BBC article, (follow link for further info):
It all started around 1990 when a black swan named Henrietta flew in to the Waimanu lagoon, located in a small town on New Zealand's Kapiti Coast.  Due to a damaged wing, she was unable to fly with the other swans and was often alone until a few years later when a white goose named Thomas arrived.  The duo quickly formed a bond and Thomas was very protective of Henrietta, even scaring off any humans or dogs that came near her.  But after 18 blissful years together, a new young female swan entered the equation and was often spotted with Henrietta. No one thought much of it, assuming that they were both females.  The shocker came when the new swan laid an egg. It turned out that Henrietta was in fact a male swan who had mated with the new female swan.
"It's very hard to establish the gender of mature black swans," said Michael Peryer, the tour guide at the Waikanae Estuary where the lagoon is located.  "So it turned out in fact that Thomas and Henrietta - who was really a Henry - had 18 happy gay years together."  They stayed together for many years after that and Thomas helped raise the signets.  Only when Henry died did Thomas go on to have his own offspring with another goose and when Thomas died he was buried beside his Henry.

 

  BBC Article on Thomas, Henry and Henrietta

Tribute to Thomas life, epitaph by New Zealand performer Pinky Agnew inscribed on his tombstone:

Here lies Thomas, the great-hearted goose,

Nestled near Henry, in their final roost,

Here where they raised young, and found sanctuary,

Somewhere above us, these great souls fly free.