When the cat's away
Over the weekend, ThingTwo and I slept out in our tent in the back garden. We didn't need the fly sheet and our tent has a mesh roof, so at night we could see the stars.
My favourite part was seeing nature unfold at dawn. We miss so much, living inside. First the stars gradually disappear and the sky turns purple. Then birds start flying quietly overhead. Busy on their commutes from roost to... where? Just a few calls at first, then a deluge, the dawn chorus begins. I don't know if I've never listened before or if it is different this year - so much birdsong. The sun takes a long time to make an appearance. The first signs are a few golden leaves in the old yucca tree catching the glancing beams from beyond the horizon. When the sun does rise, so much light flares from the tiniest sliver. The garden is bathed in gold, but then 'dawn goes down to day', and the spectacular is replaced by the familiar.
All around the world, nature has been enjoying a human-free environment. As the humans hide away the animals are at play. In Wales, a herd of Kashmiri goats have taken over the empty streets. In a zoo in Hong Kong empty of visitors, resident pandas Ying Ying and Le Le have mated successfully for the first time since they were introduced in 2010. At Yosemite National Park, coyote and deer wander among the vacant tent cabins and picnic tables. When we visited the park last November during Thanksgiving the sound of traffic was constant. In South Africa's Kruger National Park, lions enjoy the warm tarmac of usually busy roads. In Australia, a kangaroo hops down the main streets of downtown Adelaide.
While this is not unusual in our neighbourhood, I did catch this coyote out for a stroll in the early morning last week.
Incidentally, why are there Kashmiri Goats in North Wales you may well ask? Prized for their wool, Kashmiri Goats were originally imported to France in the early 19th Century, where a travelling Englishman Christopher Tower saw a herd and brought a pair home to England. His herd quickly took off and he went into business making cashmere shawls, drawing the attention of George IV. The rakish Regency monarch started his own herd at Windsor. Later that century Major General Sir Savage Mostyn was presented with two Windsor goats by Queen Victoria, and he brought them back to the Great Orme, a headland on the coast of North Wales. Ever since, the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Welsh includes a Kashmiri goat from the Royal Herd of The Great Orme, not as a mascot but as a ranking soldier (the last incumbent was a Lance Corporal). The most recent goat to hold this post is Shenkin IV, taken from the Great Orme herd in 2018.
Well, animals, your time to wander the urban jungle may be drawing to a close. Despite the warnings of a second wave, some states - e.g. Georgia, Texas - are letting the shelter in place orders expire next week. California is saying to hold on for now. Our County - Santa Clara - in collaboration with five other counties in the Bay Area has issued a new Shelter In Place order that will go into effect May 4 - 31. Today we heard the details of the order. From our point of view, the order remains pretty much unchanged - stay home if you are in a vulnerable group, everyone else stay home except to go out for food shopping, medical appointments, exercise. All private and public gatherings of any size remain prohibited beyond members from the same household or funerals attended by less than 10 people. When leaving the house everyone must continue to strictly observe social distancing, and now we are 'strongly urged to wear face coverings'. Additional businesses are being added to the list of Essential Businesses (construction is the big one, and real estate transactions can resume) and Outdoor Businesses are being allowed to open (garden centers, gardening services, car washes, and flea markets). Golf courses, skate parks, and athletic fields can open up if they comply with new protocols. I can't find the text in the order, but news outlets akeep reporting that 'sunbathing in public' will also be permitted!
My favourite part was seeing nature unfold at dawn. We miss so much, living inside. First the stars gradually disappear and the sky turns purple. Then birds start flying quietly overhead. Busy on their commutes from roost to... where? Just a few calls at first, then a deluge, the dawn chorus begins. I don't know if I've never listened before or if it is different this year - so much birdsong. The sun takes a long time to make an appearance. The first signs are a few golden leaves in the old yucca tree catching the glancing beams from beyond the horizon. When the sun does rise, so much light flares from the tiniest sliver. The garden is bathed in gold, but then 'dawn goes down to day', and the spectacular is replaced by the familiar.
All around the world, nature has been enjoying a human-free environment. As the humans hide away the animals are at play. In Wales, a herd of Kashmiri goats have taken over the empty streets. In a zoo in Hong Kong empty of visitors, resident pandas Ying Ying and Le Le have mated successfully for the first time since they were introduced in 2010. At Yosemite National Park, coyote and deer wander among the vacant tent cabins and picnic tables. When we visited the park last November during Thanksgiving the sound of traffic was constant. In South Africa's Kruger National Park, lions enjoy the warm tarmac of usually busy roads. In Australia, a kangaroo hops down the main streets of downtown Adelaide.
While this is not unusual in our neighbourhood, I did catch this coyote out for a stroll in the early morning last week.
Incidentally, why are there Kashmiri Goats in North Wales you may well ask? Prized for their wool, Kashmiri Goats were originally imported to France in the early 19th Century, where a travelling Englishman Christopher Tower saw a herd and brought a pair home to England. His herd quickly took off and he went into business making cashmere shawls, drawing the attention of George IV. The rakish Regency monarch started his own herd at Windsor. Later that century Major General Sir Savage Mostyn was presented with two Windsor goats by Queen Victoria, and he brought them back to the Great Orme, a headland on the coast of North Wales. Ever since, the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Welsh includes a Kashmiri goat from the Royal Herd of The Great Orme, not as a mascot but as a ranking soldier (the last incumbent was a Lance Corporal). The most recent goat to hold this post is Shenkin IV, taken from the Great Orme herd in 2018.
Well, animals, your time to wander the urban jungle may be drawing to a close. Despite the warnings of a second wave, some states - e.g. Georgia, Texas - are letting the shelter in place orders expire next week. California is saying to hold on for now. Our County - Santa Clara - in collaboration with five other counties in the Bay Area has issued a new Shelter In Place order that will go into effect May 4 - 31. Today we heard the details of the order. From our point of view, the order remains pretty much unchanged - stay home if you are in a vulnerable group, everyone else stay home except to go out for food shopping, medical appointments, exercise. All private and public gatherings of any size remain prohibited beyond members from the same household or funerals attended by less than 10 people. When leaving the house everyone must continue to strictly observe social distancing, and now we are 'strongly urged to wear face coverings'. Additional businesses are being added to the list of Essential Businesses (construction is the big one, and real estate transactions can resume) and Outdoor Businesses are being allowed to open (garden centers, gardening services, car washes, and flea markets). Golf courses, skate parks, and athletic fields can open up if they comply with new protocols. I can't find the text in the order, but news outlets akeep reporting that 'sunbathing in public' will also be permitted!
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