it's a zoo

My sister has a property 20 minutes out of Launceston with picturesque views over the Tamar River. Apart from a husband and two kids there is also – 1 horse, 4 sheep, 2 goats, 2 rabbits, 2 dogs,1 cat, a cockatiel and a cockatoo.

Rachel and Heidi’s visit to Tassie this weekend would not have been complete without the ‘zoo experience’, made all the more memorable by the Easter decorations that found their way around and onto various animals.

Beau, the horse, is twenty something years now, old and slow, he plods from one paddock to another. He spent the majority of his time standing next to the adjoining fence and the neighbor’s horse that they decided to open the gate and let them be together. Now his days are shared with a friend.

Waggy, wiggy, Archie and Matilda were rescued last year. As ailing or abandoned lambs their chances of survival were minimal. Matilda, especially, was not expected to live after a severe pecking from a crow. To be fair, she is a bit odd/stupid, even for a sheep. They have all grown fat and woolly, hand reared and docile they were willing participants in some Easter fun.

Crinkle and Chocolate are recent additions. A converted trampoline with ramps at either end serves as a climbing frame and a safe place to observe the goings on. They were not willing participants in some Easter fun, though my nephew did try hard to get some bunny ears on them, to no avail.

Little Bun and Ubey have their own hutches outside, Byrda the cat wanders where he will and the dogs follow whoever, wherever. Teddy, the golden lab has the dubious honour of the record for eating the most stolen bread rolls, the grand amount of 13, needless to say most of them made a reappearance soon after. Ollie is a bitser rescued from the pound, my sister thinks she is beautiful, which only goes to prove that love is blind because the rest of us think she is butt ugly. The dogs had fun wreaking havoc on the Easter decorations when we were done.

Noddy (the cockatiel) and Clancy (the cockatoo) tend to wreak havoc inside. Clancy is the newest addition to the menagerie, he has managed to peck a hole in the plaster, chew a few millimeters off the side of the kitchen cupboard and has attempted to remove the knobs from the cupboard doors as well. He likes shoelaces and toes and has no qualms about pecking them. He is loud, squawking and shrieking and keeps the dogs in line perched on the corner of their bed. He is definitely the boss.

It is chaos but of the fun and entertaining kind. There is always someone to pat and stroke, someone who will lick you or nibble or peck, someone on your shoulder or in your arms or pushed up against your legs, there is always someone to love and someone to love you back…