Bye Bye Billy!

This was Billy, a beautiful and lovely kitten that belonged to my best friend. He was just a small bundle of fur but he gave us so much joy and ‘allegria’. Unfortunately Billy is no more. Some horrible car driver hit him and let him die on the small path near his house.

They do hit-and-run to people, so who would care about a little kitten?

Happiness

The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that one is loved;
loved for oneself, or better yet, loved despite oneself.
Victor Hugo

This my daughter's idea of happiness: holding a little lovely dog in her arms.

And my idea of happiness is just watching her being so happy! Why can things be as simple as a child's smile???

(The little dog is called Bambi by the way. Doesn't he look a bit like a baby deer?)

A little guest

For a few weeks we had a little hedgehog in the garden. He was so sweet and lovely. We looked after him until a few days ago we found a colony of little hedgehogs in a neighbourhood’s garden we thought he belongs to so hopefully he is now reunited with his brothers and sisters. My daughter called him “Spillo” - which means “pin” in English – and she was totally devoted to him. Big tears when she had to part from him, of course!

An appeal to all drivers! Please be careful when you drive and don’t run over these little wonderful animals.

Apart from being so cute, hedgehogs are a powerful form of pest control. Did you know that a single hedgehog can keep an average garden free of pests by eating up to 200 grams of insects each night? They also keep away grass snakes, snails, rats and similar unwanted “guests”.

Meet Ivo

Please meet Ivo, my friend’s Giovanna’s donkey. He lives in a comfy stable on the Monferrato hills in Italy and he’s free to roam the fields during the day. Ivo is my daughter’s favourite “pet”. He’s the loveliest and most intelligent animal ever! Last year my friend’s old mare, Ivo’s best friend, was very ill and she was kept in a separate stable but Ivo brayed and screamed so much that they had to move him next to her to keep her company. When then she died and my friend has to apply for a special authorisation to bury the mare in her property, Ivo spent days on her “grave” grieving and it took him ages to move from that spot.

He does not like being brushed and groomed. Just at the sight of a brush he starts braying and runs away. But he likes cuddles especially from children. Vicky can do anything to him, even ride on him, and he’s always happy. Although we see him only a couple of times a year he knows her very well. She just needs to shout his name and he runs to greet her wherever she is. We will see Ivo soon in a couple of weeks when we travel to Italy. And we can hardly wait.

A hamster named Lilly...

Half-term week here in Yorkshire. Fortunately my kids can organize themselves and they are not too bored. I’d like to introduce the fifth – but not less important – member of our family…

She’s called Lilly, named after Harry Potter’s mum, and she’s the loveliest Syrian hamster in the world. My Vicky adores animals, especially dogs – the bigger the better – but our “dad” is allergic to any kind of animal fur, so we are not allowed pets. Vic was so desperate for a pet last year that we decided to get her the smallest possible one, a hamster.


I did not think it would have been possible to grow so fond of a little one like this. Even my teenage boy love her and that says everything. Lilly does not squeak at all but she makes very loud noises at night and she does not like to be in her cage very much. So when she’s awake she spends most of the time outside.



About 7-8 months ago when one night a small earthquake struck West Midlands/Wales and Yorkshire, I was still awake working on the computer and just before the tremor Lilly squeaked twice and started running around her cage like mad. A few seconds later the house began to shake and I realized she had “felt” it. I have heard that animals, dogs, horses, cows can often feel the quakes coming, but I had never heard that a little hamster could feel it too.