Monday, May 23, 2016

It's an ex-Hoopoe



Remember when I wrote all about how I'd wanted to see a Hoopoe since I was a kid? Well, the kitties gave me that chance...

just not really the way I'd hoped.

Not to be outdone, Pippin's first mammalian kill. As I was off to Mass on Sunday, he came dashing in with something in his mouth. I got it away from him,


and it was this little shrew.

I thought, OK, a snake yesterday and a shrew today, we're done. But then I went out to get some more firewood in the evening, and found the Hoopoe.

Dang.


Nature Girl Sadface.



~

6 comments:

Eugene said...

Hilary is it a sin not to like cats?

Hilary Jane Margaret White said...

No. It's a sign of an unbalanced mind.

Eugene said...

I guess my wife would agree with you

jd said...

I think I saw a Hoopoe once beside a stream
in Switzerland & have since associated the sight
with my Mother because I was distributing some
of her ashes into the stream (I know, bad) when
I spotted it. Have never sighted another except in
a painting belonging to her best friend, which I
was to inherit on her friend's passing. It must have
been worth some money because it never came
to me even though another one which also had
my name specified on the back as recipient, did.

Hilary Jane Margaret White said...

Oh dear, what a very sad story. But strangely beautiful too. I'm sorry about your mum; very much so. The way you told it reminded me of a folk tale or something out of mythology. I wonder if there are any myths attached to hoopoes. I will look it up. And I am working on a new painting of Santa Scolastica and will now have to put a hoopoe in as a background bird.

Anonymous said...

Cats are not a part of the wildlife food chain... and can do a LOT of damage if left outdoors. Cats are domestic animals & thus are meant to be kept indoors. And no, they don't "want to go outside". The desire to go outdoors is something they learn by being let outdoors. Cats that are kept indoors have no desire. And cats can be trained to not want to go outside anymore, simply by never allowing them to do such ever again. For the sake of the wildlife in your area, please keep your cat inside.