Animal tales

Do you want the good news or the bad news first?

There are some snippets about my life here that involve animals in one way or another, which I've been meaning to post. Mostly anecdotal, to help paint the picture of my experience here in Miahuatlàn... But I'm going to go ahead and get the bad (and most recent) story out of the way first.

Yesterday I arrived home to my apartment for my "lunch hour," (which is technically a break from 2-4pm, but works about to be a full hour at home when transport and waiting for buses is taken into consideration). It was sunny and warm outside, so I went straight to the door of my balcony to open the door and get some air flowing. I also wanted to check on my yoga mat, which had gotten soaked over the weekend when excessive rain caused water to come in under the balcony door into my living room. As I was repositioning the yoga mat to allow it to get the sun's rays, I suddenly saw that there was a little black bird lying in the far corner. It was definitely dead.

My first thought was, "who can I call to help me get rid of this??" But there was no Dad and no Fritz anywhere close enough to realistically call. : ) I briefly considered the punky teenage boy who lives across the hall, but immediately discarded that option (he's usually too hung over to do much of anything, anyway!) I eventually mustered up the courage/stomach to get it into a little cardboard box, which I closed and wrapped in a bunch of plastic bags, and put it in the garbage. I then proceeded to wash my hands excessively. Thankfully this morning they pick up the garbage (I bring it down to the end of the driveway), I have never been so happy for a garbage day!!

So on to happier tales...

Our apartment building has a pet, a German Shepherd named Madonna (I'm pretty sure as in the mother of Jesus, and not the world-famous pop star). She looks scary and barks a bit when people arrive, so she's a pretty good watch dog. But she's actually a big baby (as many dogs are), and loves for you to throw rocks for her to fetch. Her home base is on the landing between the 1st and 2nd floor of our building, so when I come down the stairs she is usually waiting there, with a few of her favorite rocks around her. I say "Buenos dìas, Madonna" and then she jumps up and runs out into the driveway, hoping I'll toss a rock for her to chase...This reminds me of Heidi, our German Shepherd in Florida, who would carry around a coffee mug like a doofus. They're not the smartest breed, eh?

Some of our neighbors have more interesting pets. My first few nights I heard so many strange noises, and I couldn't figure out what was making some of them. Directly next door, our neighbors have a huge stone wall, but from my balcony I can see over the top, and I was finally able to answer some of my questions. They have all sorts of fowl: chickens (including a few roosters, a sound that I know only too well!); a gaggle or so of turkeys; and some other types of (presumably edible) birds that I don't recognize. Maybe some sort of Mexican pheasants or partridges? It's impossible to describe the cacophony that results when all these birds get riled up (which usually gets Madonna and the other neighborhood dogs all excited)...