The bird

Winter came very early and was not like the mild winters we had the last few years. Temperatures dropped very quickly and we were not prepared at the time to cope with the cold.

Unexpectedly early, winter seems to be over. It is raining a lot and temperatures are rising. With the windows and doors open the warmer air is flowing through the house.

Zakaria doesn't mind the cold. On the contrary, when we put on the electric heating unit he complains about it being too hot. He is always playing far away from the stove and takes off his jacket whenever he thinks about it.

At night, he throws off the blankets. I tuck him in an old sleeping bag of mine with a warm blanket around it. He still finds a way to creep out of it, so we check on him a few times during the night and mostly have to adjust the covers.

Since a month or so we have the company of a bird. A blue parakeet came with Tallal, Zakaria's youngest half brother, who is working downstairs in the garage. The bird was immediately moved upstairs by Zakaria and we are not allowed to take it downstairs.

It was a depressed looking bird when we got it. It hardly moved nor make a sound. I make it fly around the house and put a small mirror into the cage. It is now a happy bird, talking to his counterpart in the mirror, bringing it food and trying to groom it.

Sometimes it jumps on top of the mirror which makes me think it is a 'he', but I do not really know.

Zakaria has got many pets living in the garden : birds of all kinds, cats, butterflies, ants, lion, crocodile, ...

The lion is living in an old bird cage and only comes at night.

The crocodile comes around when rainwater collects in the back of the garden. It is waiting there under the water surface for prey and we have to be very quiet and not throw rocks into the water. It will come out and eat us.

We cannot wait for the flowers and trees to grow again. For the time being we have to settle for rosemary and citronella.