It struck me as funny, this morning; T-Boy was on my shoulder, my dog Creeker at my heels in the kitchen, as Baby The Cat was passing through from her morning inspection of the aviary.... Baby glared at Creeker as she always does, and tiptoed blithely past him. With the cat entering the kitchen, it was my cue to bring T-Boy back into "T-Boy's Funhouse", as I have come to think of it -- so there were the four of us, passing one another in the doorway. I would have loved to capture the moment; although that would have been impossible, anyway, positioned as I was, in the center of the traffic. It occurred to me at that moment, that there has come to be a certain rhythm to things here - if no apparent rhyme. 

For all the initial tension and worrying over how the household living arrangements would be managed; first, whether Creeker could adapt to peaceable living with Baby, and then the same concerns about the cat and T-Boy, the cockatoo. The five other dogs besides Creeker have long since accepted T-Boy. and the cat is not much concerned about any of them. It's a somewhat complicated society we have here;  comprised of four species and nine individual temperaments, each with its own "special needs". 

Being a cat, Baby is pretty much only interested in the comfort of Baby, and has shown no signs of any inclination to stalk the bird. 

Creeker and Baby have "an understanding", and I have realized that it is the cat who dominates, in that relationship.

So, we have come to a workable, if somewhat complex choreography, wherein the bird and cat are kept separate, but neither is entirely restricted to one area or another.  

And for all the tranquility that has been achieved, at last, every day, it seems, holds new and exciting adventures. 

For instance, when I went out to get the hose for T-Boy's shower, I was startled to see a HUGE gopher snake coiled up against the wall next to the door. Creeker went crazy. I yelled at Creek to back off.  The dogs in the back yard (I have closed the little gate) began barking their heads off. BJ, the free-roaming dog, came running up from the fields. T-Boy began shrieking in response to the noise.

 

I got the snake-getting pole, but found not the stamina to capture the snake, so I chose instead to squirt him with the hose. He made the most intriguing dance, standing almost half his length up vertical, biting at the stream of water. Oh! for a camera THEN!!

 

The snake made no sign of disappearing, so I decided to continue on with my intended task. I proceeded to bring Creeker inside; the noise in the back yard ceased, and T stopped shrieking. The shower process has become virtually stress-free, and for the first time, today, he actually did the wing-flapping shower dance. I am pleased!

 

The snake is still in the yard. As long as he does not come inside, it's OK with me.

Just another day in the country.