Have you seen this?
http://www.earthlings.com/earthlings/video-full.php
Its beautiful, and painful at the same time....and worth the watch.
Hope this finds you well my friend.
Nikki
Species Interaction (as seen from up high)
Posted By Guest on September 26, 2010
From the window of my lounge room I have the most magnificent view of a valley floor stretching out below. An aerial view of the property Avondale.
Looking up at the Grapeyard ... and its lounge window.
This may well be a “gentle place” but we must not confuse it with being a quiet, peaceful place; so often the interactions of the residents can be boisterous to say the least. Friday, after two days of heavy rain and snow, the sun at last shone beckoning the animals from their respective shelters. Horses 1 & 2* can be seen prancing or (horsing around) up and down, up and down, beside the pigs’ fenced area. At first the pigs were bemused at the antics of two supposedly noble steeds simulating behaviour of foals learning to operate their as-yet wobbly legs.
In the far corner of the same Pad-Dock (German pronunciation**) a donkey known to me as Charlie Brown was entertaining horse 3*** by running around in decreasing circles in the manor of a sheep dog but with nose to the ground not unlike a blood hound on scent. This constant agitation proved too much for horse 3; he had decided that he was the superior being and it was he that would do the rounding up – Game On!
Pigs are intelligent animals but can be easily fooled into thinking that cavorting around like a juvenile has merit, and with this in mind they decided to follow suit. Running (no waddling) up and down the fence line valiantly trying to keep pace with the horses tossing their heads in the air and brushing against each other. Now this can be exhausting work for large, heavy pigs. Body weight to trotter size equates to the penetration of soft soil to many centimetres. In human terms trying to walk in mud in gumboots that are reluctant to release their grip on Terra-not-so-firma. Encouraged by horses 1 & 2 they continued, albeit in short enthusiastic bursts followed by collapsed resting spells. During the respite intervals they may well have thought better of their actions. However, egged on by the horses they continued: head tossing … resting … running and bumping … resting.
Avondale … “a gentle place” … yes.
Harmonious to the extreme … yes.
Peaceful and quiet … I think not!
Vines^
(Harry’s footnotes
*Billy-Phar and Harley, **Mmmm … as per our German neighbour, ***Baldrick
^Vines – believe it or not this is not his real name – is our neighbour and Big Brother. The one who introduced himself to us by leaving 2 bottles of home-grown wine on our doorstep. The one who tends to his acre of vines up at The Grapeyard. The one who has lived “on the land” most of his life and gently nudges me in the right direction when, from the window of his lounge room, he observes me fumbling through land maintenance or additions!)
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