Monday, July 24, 2006

My Family and Pampered Animals


A very bad picture, I am afraid. But I write here to tell you about the hundreds of animals that get royal treatment at my home. (Of course, hundreds is an exaggeration, but, ah well!)

My mother has made it a habit to feed sparrows on our terrace. The result, about 200 sparrows swoop in at all times of the day, eat the rice, dirty the place and create a ruckus whenever the food is all eaten up. And then there are the squirrels for whom dad has made many elaborate arrangements.

According to him, the younger ones find it difficult to get to the food. So he has put up many branches and pipes and boxes so that they can all come and perch comfortably on these to eat. The result, same as above, though the number of squirrels is lesser.

I have already written about the snakes. Thankfully, my parents have not started feeding them, though I would not be surprised if they did. All the left overs at home go to these creatures. (Ginger is too high-brow to eat left-overs. And no, I am not kidding about it. He really does not eat left overs!)

There are of course cows that would come in every day. But after ma's garden plans materialised, they stay out. Thus it was that often I would see more animals than people. It was like growing up in a farm in the middle of the town. Ah, those were the times, with My Family and Other Animals!

8 comments:

San Nakji said...

I loved that book when I was a kid! Nice reference ;o)

Nothing wrong with pampering the animals. They are very good to us, especially my friend the pig! I love squirrels, I wish we had them here...

Oh yes, yay snakes!

Abhishek Upadhyay said...

Its good that your parents care bout animals.Its very rare to see this in cities.

Deepa Bhasthi said...

Madikeri is not a city. its just a little town, though my house is a fram in the middle of the city.

Ashley said...

I am quite phobic of snakes. St. Patrick purportedly had them expelled from Ireland. Another reason I love Ireland so much....

It's nice that they feed the sparrows and squirrels. I do that at my house, too.

Vivek M said...

My mother too patronizes a variety of animals and her most recent ones are a herd of cows which stop by her home to stop for a 'drink' and some grub! she also takes care of three wonderful street dogs, crows and I found out the a couple of garden lizards too find it safe to live withing her compound...

Shiv said...

200 sparrows !
Thats quite a number..we hardly get to say one sparrow in Blr these days...

I think urs is a farm house ??

Deepa Bhasthi said...

Hello Doc! welcome and keep coming back!

No Shiv, technically mine is not a farm house. we just have land in the middle of Madikeri. So even though we are in the middle of civilisation, it looks like a village house.

Shivalingappa said...

Hi deepa

I wish i had family like u.
I am a famer now engineer but whenever i go home i firt visit our farms and work for some time which gives me immence pleasure..

U R lucky to have such environment..