I mean they had to eat didn't they, they resided with us for over two
years and we needed to assure a regular food supply so that they did
not get shot by our next door neighbour. (He had no sense of humour,
every time they paid his Koi pond a courtesy visit, he would run around
with a broomstick yelling blue murder and then he threatened to find
his old 12 bore to deal with our visitors.
Hammer and Kop were their names. Hammer was larger but Kop undoubtedly
wore the pants. They built their massive nest in our massive tree all
day every day for two years. The garden was a real mess, sticks and
stones everywhere, pieces of fabric, a child's sock, they even liked to
find faeces with which to cement the nest together, and in garden
housing a Great Dane, a Pointer , a Jack Russell and a Toy Pom, faeces
were not hard to find !!
Our loyal horticulturist shook his head menacingly, muttering all the
while under his breath, that they were nothing but bad luck but would
dutifully lay out twigs, reeds and debris for them with which they
could furnish their home.
Catering for their food requirements was another story, we purchased a
pond and a series of gold fish and guppies. We enticed some of the
noisy toads from the next door Koi Pond, and we harvested snails as an
extra delicacy for them.
And so their survival was assured, they had building materials, copious
food and the dogs were trained to ignore them, everything a breeding
pair of Hammerkops could ask for but.....
They one day suddenly and unexpectedly decided life in idyllic
suburbia was not too their liking, and left for greener pastures who
knows where.
Leaving me with a garden full of snails, a pool full of noisy bullfrogs
and a pond full of hundreds of hungry guppies !!
And so now the family knows its duties, its a full-on Snail Patrol
every early morning , and its the battle of the bullfrogs every
evening. Every evening our Loyal Horticulturist valiantly catches the
indignant bullfrogs, puts them in a box and patiently transports them
down to the Strench Trench (our affectionate term for the Matsheumhlope
River !!) on the back of his bike in a box.
(Every morning I am sure they hop determinedly back up the road to our
pond !!)
Every morning at the crack of dawn we assemble for snail patrol, but
they do not get treated as gently as the frogs I am afraid. !!
As for the guppies, well, what can I say ? Anyone need guppies ?
I hear the wind across the plain
A sound so strong - that calls my name
It's wild like the river - it's warm like the sun
Ya it's here - this is where I belong
Under the starry skies - where eagles have flown
This place is paradise - it's the place I call home
The moon on the mountains
The whisper through the trees
The waves on the water
Let nothing come between this and me
Cuz everything I want - is everything that's here
And when when we're all together - there's nothing to fear
And wherever I wander - the one thing I've learned
It's to here - I will always....always return
Funeral at Hillside Presbyterian Church at 3pm on Thursday 3/2/05.
I dont know how many people still remember her from the Theatre Club
but It would be great to see some of them at the service.
She became very restricted in her movement in the last few months,and
she had a fall on Friday night which resulted in a possible broken hip
and was admitted to the Bulawayo Central Hospital where she passed awat
on Sunday morning.
BRENDA PARTINGTON
"History teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once they have
exhausted all other alternatives."
- Abba Eban -
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
committed people can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
- Margaret Mead (1901-78) -
"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave, with the intention of
arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to
skid in sideways, champagne in one hand - strawberries in the other,
body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming WOO HOO - What
a Ride!!"
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