Springtime was slow in coming, and now we’ve pretty much jumped straight into summer. Our flowers are wilting under the warm sun. And Maggie, my magnolia with flowers of white and a trunk of gold bloomed and lost its flowers all within a space of a week. That week I was working, and was not able to view her transformation. Well, I guess there is always next year. But beyond the budding tulips, green strawberries, unfurling ferns, and wild roses on our small piece of the Havel, we have some new nonhuman residents. Spring means more furry creatures, although not without their own difficulties.
Currently, the controversy all focuses around one unsuspecting resident here on the island. His name is Ruda, and he is a big, beautiful tabby cat. He is a bossy feline, and controls our side of the island with an iron claw. There are four other cats living on this island, but I have never seen any of them on our porch. Yet Ruda, a Corleone of a cat, comes over regularly for pets and to shit where our tomatoes grow. It is our payment for his protection.
Yet recently he has had to share his area with a slew of different wildlife. Much to his chagrin, his cat house – perched right on the edge of the water – was commandeered by a duck, who laid her eggs inside the tiny hut. She lived there for a little less than a month, until the ducklings hatched and fled the disputed territory. Ruda would have made short work of the duck eggs, but luckily Sofia found them first and put chicken wire up to stop any feline intrusions.
Yet Ruda once again found himself in the thick of it when Sofia and Irene became the keepers of two squirrel babies. These little creatures, adorable beyond all measure, were found by Sofia’s mother. They had fallen out of the nest near her apartment in Reinickendorf. On discovery, Sophia’s mother googled what to do, and found that there are not one, but three different squirrel rescue organizations existing in Berlin. Their responsibility is to nurse the babies until they are old enough, and release them back into the wild. Yet when these particular squirrels were inspected by one of the squirrel rescue organizations, they found that one had a broken foot. They suggested that Sofia’s mother either find someone who doesn’t mind taking care of squirrels, or they would have to put the little critter down. Sofia, the lover off all things with fur, quickly took up the charge and in three days, built a structure designed to hold the tiny rodents – complete with swinging bridge, and hollowed-out coconuts for the youngsters to learn to leap. They hope that the squirrels can be released from their makeshift rehab center in about three weeks. Ferdinand – the one with the broken leg – seems to be healing just fine, while Ruda stares into the Plexiglas cage for hours on end. He is either enjoying the free show, or learning the moves of his next prey.
Or perhaps he is simply trying to avoid the other half of the island. You see, Ruda is in the heart nonhuman drama from sea, land, and air. Two crows just lost their newly hatched crow-lings. They fell out of the nest, and it appears there is some foul play involved. One was found on the path to the bathrooms, apparently untouched besides the fall. The other was found on the dock, its head missing. Ruda is the intrepid hunter on the island, and it is not uncommon for him to feast on birds, fish, mice, and whatever else happens to catch his fancy. But he is desperately afraid of crows. As such, the likeliness that he would climb thirty feet to get into a crow’s nest is nigh nil. The crows are not aware of this, of course, so he has become the object of their vituperation. All day long for the past two days, they cry constantly, hoping to hear the calls of their tiny kin from below. All the while Ruda’s status has been changed to persona non-grata near the trees, for fear of the righteous fury of angry parents.
I’d imagine it has been tough this week for our lion of the island. He has been kicked out of his home, as two new furry, uneatable things have moved onto his deck, all the while he is being hunted by crows. I’m sure he’s a little stressed, but at least he has some good squirrel TV to watch.
Bodies of Water 