hrmmm...

Have you ever wondered why cats don't come in solid brown, and horses don't come in tabby? How cool would a tabby pony be? Sure, getting a cat in the colour of a frog or a horse in the colour of a butterfly has obvious associated difficulties, but why the distinction between brown and tabby?

I suppose tabby might be developed from the fact that cats are hunters and need camouflage in the wild. But then why are some of them black and white?

What purpose can black and white possibly serve? Highly visible in dimming light and forest cover, and definitely noticeable upon snow. I digress.

If cats are coloured depending on their need to predate, then, perhaps horses are coloured to reflect the fact they are not predators. But then they're still brown (sometimes) and still black and white (sometimes). I can see my argument with myself is not getting anywhere.

It suffices to say I think domestic pets have evolved diversely enough in different countries/climates/habitats/levels of luxury to not really care any more.

I came home from work today because I think I am getting the flu. Feel sorry for me :( It's taking ages to come which adds to the general anger I feel towards it.

Oh yeah, on Saturday we had a visitor in our garden. I heard a strange squawking from a close-by tree and after scrambling down our muddy back lawn and leaning on the dodgy fence that definitely should not be leaned on, I couldn't see it. But then Bex and Ants came around for lunch and Ants spotted it in the tree - a rainbow lorikeet (don't ask me how I managed to miss it).

Eventually he hopped over to the fence (as in the picture) and I  managed to get hold of him. Unfortunately I didn't plan properly and seemed not to realise that the bird, though somebody's pet, probably wouldn't like being manhandled by a stranger. I got 7 different bite-marks on my hands, with various amounts of bleeding (from pooling to profuse) before I had the sense to ask Adrian to grab me some piece of clothing from the drying rack which we had brought outside to be in the sun. He grabbed his favourite t-shirt (interestingly) and as soon as I covered the bird in it he stopped flapping and biting and squawking. I was shaking rather a lot and was desperately worried that I had hurt the bird while trying to stop it biting me. Anyway we put it in a box and Adrian took it down to the vets where it was checked over and then picked up by the SPCA. I hope its owner found it. I wasn't sure if it was the best thing to do because maybe it would have eventually just flown home anyway. But the squeaks it was making while still in the tree sounded kind of tense and anxious so maybe not. And then it might have got caught by a dog or cat or something too.

Anyway, I am hungry now, and must go and hunt some food with my distinctly non-tabby coat.