The adventures of DaddyBird and Kangayayaroo as they move from the United Arab Emirates to Shanghai, China, and venture to explore the Eastern hemisphere from there.
Here is Oliver’s latest feat of entertaining silliness. It is amazing what can be accomplished with a few balls and a laundry basket.
I started filming this because he was looking at the string on the side of the basket and clearly thinking about how to get it off or what to do with it. It quickly turned into a whole different game, however. Notice that it is not really about the balls. He can get to them when ever he wants. Once they are out of the basket they are no longer of interest. It is all about the basket. And, Bert just quietly looks on.
First, let me assert that I did not allow this to happen. I just grabbed the camera and took the pictures.
He isn’t doing this just because it’s cool. (Sorry, couldn’t resist.) He is in search of curry leaves which are usually kept in that drawer. And, if he can’t get to curry leaves, maybe the spinach in the container above would do.
I’ve had cats with unusual food preferences before. Oliver thinks cat food is okay. Cooked meat, not so interesting. Raw chicken seems to be high on his list, however, and fish, which he can’t have for medical reasons. But, the biggies are bread and green leafy vegetables. I discovered this when I gave him a broccoli leaf thinking he would play with it and he gobbled it down. If we give him a slice of bread he tosses it around like it’s a mouse. He chews on it, too, and it is soon spread all over the floor. Messiest toy, but entertaining to watch. It is even better if he can steal something (remnants of being a street cat), so I discovered chili peppers all over the floor recently.
Oliver loves to chew on cardboard. He also likes to get up on top of the kitchen cabinets. Once caught in the act and the camera is on, he puts on his innocent face.
Oliver has calmed down greatly (post-neutering). He still has a loud voice, but he isn’t constantly using it. He is much happier and so are we. He is getting back to his old self – playing fetch and running around after Bert. He still gets a bit wound up in the evenings when Bert wants to nap and Oliver is bored and wants to be entertained, but we are counting our blessings. Whew!
Posted by Kanga.
I managed to catch this butterfly on video this morning. Please excuse the unsteadiness of it. I was looking into the sun, so was not able to see if I was aiming it correctly or not.
Friday we drove to Fujairah to see the bull butting competition that is held every Friday afternoon. It was pretty entertaining and I hope you enjoy these videos.
We don’t know all the details on how this is scored and how the winner is determined, but it seems fairly simple. Two bulls are placed in an arena and they butt heads. Fairly bloodless and quite entertaining since each bout is different. It has been going on for hundreds of years. It was first introduced to the region by the Portuguese.
The bulls are tied up outside the arena until it is their turn to compete. As you can see, they dig holes, stomping and snorting while they wait. These were directly behind where I was standing, so you will hear them in the background of the videos.
The arena is simply a large sandy area. The fences have only recently been added. There is a chain link fence around the outside and a metal railing inside that and most of the spectators stand behind the metal railing. You will notice, however, that there are several people (including children) sitting or standing in the arena. We happened to be at one of the corners where the bulls enter/leave, so you will see a few closeups as they pass by.
The men who handle (and try to control) the bulls are barefoot. One is armed only with a long riding crop. There is a rope around each bull’s neck which they use to pull the bulls apart and lead them. The bulls all have rings in their noses and before and after the bouts they are lead using a rope that is threaded through that ring. There are no rodeo clowns and no riders on cutting horses.
This first video is a fairly straightforward bout. Not too many surprises.
This second video shows a bit of a stalemate with the bulls standing still head to head. It turns into a bit of a tug of war toward the end.
This last video is the most exciting. Keep your eyes on the spotted bull.
How did we find out about this spectacle? Another expats blog – Focus on Fujairah and it was written up in TimeOut Dubai, a local entertainment guide magazine.
We attempted to see this event last year – see previous post – but it was canceled that day.
I posted this to YouTube a while back, but hadn’t posted it here, until now. This is a daily ritual. Oliver doesn’t like it much when DaddyBird tries to do this, so it is my specialty, apparently. He usually likes to stretch toward and touch door hinges, light switches and other things at his new eye level, but, of course, not when the camera is rolling.
As you can see, the cats are being very helpful getting DaddyBird packed. Where is he going you ask? To Monaco, where else? And, yes, Oliver, Bert and I are left behind, green with envy. Okay, I’m the only one who is envious. Oliver and Bert are just freaked out.
This is a business trip. DaddyBird is representing Shufflegazine at a trade conference. Hopefully, he will have a little time to get out and about and take a few pictures for us.
I haven’t quite finished posting the pictures from KL, so there may be a mishmash of posts in the next week or so.
Clearly, it was peacock mating season because every peacock in the place was strutting his stuff. This one puts on quite a show, but the hen seems unmoved.
Living the Travel Channel 