My Friends
Our animal friends do not speak in our language, to teach us that love and loyalty are demonstrated by actions and not words (source Mindful Christianity). I love animals, therefore I do not eat them, wear them or use them.. but befriend them.
Friends come in all shapes and sizes. The human eye can only see between 430-770Thz. Our ears can only detect sound between 20hz-20-Khz. These ranges make up a fraction of the total sound and light frequency range. This means there is a lot going around we cannot see or hear. Now, with 16 color-receptive cones, the peacock mantis shrimp can detect ten times more color than a human, including ultraviolet light. Humans can observe 65 changes per second. Dragonflies can see at least 300 changes per second. Salmons (with 96 changes per second) and dogs (75 changes) also see faster than we do. The slower a species perceives something, the longer it takes for the animal to react to what is happening.
in a butterfly garden, the day was organized by the army related to the first deployment of my son
Animals can detect cancer, earthquakes, pregnancy and so forth. Bats can hear shapes. Plants can eat light. Bees can dance maps.. And look how we treat them on the planet... A fish named garnai can swim in water, walks on land and also flies in the sky. Seahorse couples greet each other every morning with a hug and dance. Penguins give pebbles to their love interests. Elephants can die of a broken heart if a mate dies. They refuse to eat and will lay down, shedding tears until they starve to death. Pigeons couple-up for life, long distances apart don't affect their bond. The pigeon couple remain faithful to each other until they are separated by death. And don't get me started about swans. Just because you are not capable to see hear or sense something, it does not mean it does not exist. And just because you can't communicate with animals, it does not mean they are not living beings.
2019 this little fella was exhausted. I was on my way to work when I saw him. I had an injury so I didn't walk fast. To notice this little one fighting even harder to move the choice was obvious, I stumbled back home with the little one and placed him on my littl balcony/sanctuary.
A few friends from 2024...
A few friends from 2023...
This butterfly flew in my home in 2013. We were mesmerized with each other.
Tommy the Cat & the Rat
One day I got home and saw a cat attacking a rat. I ended the fight, saved the rat and gave the cat treats.
The poor thing's ear was damaged, but after getting bread he quickly restored in spirit. I ended up going home on one boot because the other made him a fine home. Now Tommy turned out to be a neighbourhood cat. He would since that day, wait for me every day for treats. A year later I found out Tommy crossed the rainbow bridge
... and a wasp friendship
Butterfly company again
butterflies are playful and like to pose for the picture is my experience
and again
Baby Pigeon
06-06-2021 Could hardly fly and did not feed itself. So fed it a bit, gave it water and then off to the bird shelter
Ant Mourning. Watched the ant for hours as he stood by his dead friend/mate(?). Other ants passed by but (s?)he did not want to leave the dead ant behind.
I don't photograph all animals, sometimes you don't have time to think about it. Like the little crickets. I also think that swans are very intelligent. I've guided a swan crossing the road a few times and they seem to understand you. Once upon a time there was a young swan who stopped in the roadway. I said walk on, then turned to the parents who were in the water. I said call him back before he gets hit. The father reacted immediately and furiously came out of the water and so chased the young swan off the road. For example, I (2022) again accompanied a swan that was walking on a roundabout. When I said we had to speed up, those legs suddenly moved forward at a fast pace. That was such a funny sight.
Two Tiny Crickets
We all need help.
A strange screech amidst all other noises.
After an extensive search, there were two tiny, tiny crickets found in the corner of a room behind a door.
The screetching cricket was calling for his friend who could not move and had his tinys leg stuck in a cobweb.
After carefully removing the cobweb from the tiny legs, the two went their way.
Everybody wants to live.
this little cricket came to drink water (Croatia)
2021 Feb - 1th floor in Krimpen aan den IJssel. This butterfly flew towards me through an open window on the 1st floor. It was strange that at that time I was having a persistent (whatsapp HR-NL) conversation with a relative who venerates Mary. I indicated that nowhere in the bible does it say that you should pray to Mary. I have stopped making rosaries because people are using it wrong. It was one of my best-selling creations. The day my bbq arrived is the day I stopped eating meat, so I turned the bbq into a birdbath. When I got my driver's license I decided to ride my bike anyway because I became even more aware of the environment. I could have been rich and equipped with every comfort in this life, but my heart and conscience keep sending me in a different direction.. where there are treasures to be found that money cannot buy
More butterflies
Butterfly garden in Burgers' Bush Netherlands (invitation related to son's deployment)
more wasps and bumblebees
Bed & Breakfast Bird
2018 A bird, of which an ornithologist whome I spoke to later that year declared an adult bird, came to my balcony on a hot summer day. I was watering plants in my miniature garden and then myself. The bird sat on a branch and I could tell he wanted too. So I invited him and he came. Had a bath, dinner, slept in a box on the balcony and left after breakfast in the morning. The bird didn't come back, but the next new guest was waiting under the balcony....
New Surprise Guest
I like it how they show up out of nowhere and call.
miniature world
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Love needs no words
always snuggles. above 2021 Dec. pics left below I reckon 2019
My mums cat. Doesnt like humans much so I kinda feel special as she is kind to me. She guards Mika, my childs grave, and when I asked her to do so, she did something she never did and Mika did every day. She walked up to my face and touched it gently with her paw.
Comfort after my dads funeral 2021
Friends I see almost daily
Two couples, one couple joined 2021, the other couple I have known for at least 7 years now. Collared doves are loyal, bright intelligent birds and not flock birds, they prefer to be on their own or with their mate or newly fledged young.
The little one always came to eat alone after the introduction. I didn't see the parents, but saw them flying in the air in pairs. That turned out to be a child who received flying lessons. The trembling of the wings, the high-pitched voice, clearly also a small one. This one was also introduced by the parents and now .. now there are 4. I see new babies each year now, crazy really.
Injured dove recovers
2022 Jan - One of the pigeons flew in with a closed eye. Contacted queen Billie again who arranged for her to be checked out by an avian vet the next morning.
Luckily it was Sunday so took the bird to the bird hospital in Naarden with train. The bus drove to destination every hour so I had to walk because I had missed it. I asked for directions to an old man who walked all the way to the hospital. He is alone and told that when he got up he didn't even know what day it was. Once on the way back, trains were not running so I was back late in Rotterdam. Saw a homeless person sitting on the floor with a blanket around him that I gave some money. City pigeons come in different sizes I always say.
In mid-Feb the pigeon was brought back by a sweet lady and released. The next morning I heard them all calling and the dove came to my window again. The child looked at me for a long time. Mutual love
Lief kindje
So many loveable creatures in so many forms
I was licked weekly by a visitor heehee at my old job. Veggie snacks only. duh
My sons dog who crossed the bridge. I would always get several thingies so he could choose which one to eat first
Probably poisoned Jackdaw bird
Found a child half paralyzed on my way home. Took her to the vet but while waiting for the animal ambulance she died. She was poisoned. The jackdaw bird can live up to 15 years. They are monogamous and stick together for a lifetime
Random street encounters
Little children of God
I don't forget any of my friends, no matter how small. They all walk around in my heart.
These two chickens came from a place where I worked, they were kept in the dark as entertainment for guests.
But they would be locked up in the dark in a small cage during most of the days and nights. One of the two got sick and died (at the vet), and the black one came home with me. The chickens were not replaced. Never alone. I made the reservations. If a customer indicated that 3 people wanted meat and 1 was vegetarian and wanted fish, I always wrote back: so 1 cow meat, 1 pork, 1 chicken meat and 1 fish meat?..A fish is not a plant.
Collaboration
I often come across this cat in the morning, for a few years now. The owner does not have a cat flap so the cat waits outside until the door opens. In summer, but also in winter and when it rains. When I see the cat I greet her, give her a hug and our ritual is that I ring the bell, then walk away. So it looks as if she has pressed the doorbell herself. From a distance I see the door open and the cat walk in. Pics taken in 2022.
on 04-08-2022 I found out that this cat's name is Freddie. His neighbor walked past and told me that while I was waiting for a girl to bring back a healed pigeon
The Wounded Butterfly
2018 - This was a wounded butterfly at work which I took home to recover in my tiny garden surrounded by fruit, water, shelter.
Noa & the Ocassional Balcony Snail Friends
While snailies always get water and food, after Noa's arrival Noa would get a balcony snail as guest as long as the guest wanted to stay.
The last guest was Clarabella, her house was broken so I patched it up.
Noa Piccolo
Noa loved to bathe.
Clarabella
Joined Noa after I patched her up on the balcony where I found her april 2020. She left in april 2021
(2019) When your friend complained about snails in his garden eating his veggies and proudly brings you his homegrown veggies and ya dont tell him you wanted them for your snails..
My buddy Max
Never met a rooster as social as Max. We were pals from the first second we saw each other. Like love at first sight. The wild cranky rooster was cuddly and sweet with me and I was crazy about him. I will always love you Max.
The animals were outside in an industrial area. One day when I was not there they were all caught and gassed by the municipality.
Dumped Chickens
Dec 2021 They were shivering and closing their eyes all the time in the middle of the road. So I decided to take them home so that they could die peacefully there if necessary without hunger and cold (thought they were dying - they weren't).
But at 6 o'clock the next morning there appeared to be 1 rooster, and it crowed incessantly. Then a chicken started to crow too. So they had to go back. It's okay to cackle, but you could hear them in the gallery very loudly. Within a night chickens were dumped again.It's a place where chickens and rabbits are often dumped, but this time it's about hand-tamed purebred chickens. There is a Christian family that has a company in one of the business premises that has built a pen for the animals and provides them with water and food. Everything minimal because you don't want to attract rats.
Because these animals are so sweet and tame I kept looking for someone who could house them. Finally I found Sandra from Comité Dierennoodhulp who put me in touch with Trini from Zwerfkip En Zo. Trini came to pick them up hardly a day later, bless her soul. Now the babies will have a better life.
I was amazed how tame they really were
thanks to Trini, this chicken dump is also monitored now
My friend Pirate, the one-eyed rooster
He prefers to eat it out of your hand. If I had a yard, he'd come home with me and get a pirate eye patch. With its beautiful feathers just like the Puss in Boots fairy tale. 09-02-2022 After having enjoyed him for at least 2 years (someone dumped him, he walked around in an industrial area), I seized the opportunity when he could be placed somewhere. There he will pass his old age, with shelter every day, rest, no stray dogs or cars, not to be chased away, in a yard with other animals such as elderly hens and food every day. Love is also letting go. Love is wishing the other the very best and acting accordingly. I always made the blanket in the elfairy houses from the feathers I picked up from him (still have a bag full)
(left) Here he was pecking grain in the box. of course I told him what would happen and that I love him very very much, so not to worry. I look forward seing him in heaven when time comes. (right pic) Arrived at the peaceful yard where he will spend his old age, among females.
Another dumped creation of God
During a walk in July 2021 I came across this sweet child. We exchanged hugs and I started to wonder if she had a house. The moment I was about to start a campaign to take her in if she didn't have a home, I found out that there are people who take care of her. Among others, by the new resident of a house whose people had left the animal behind.. In Dec 2021 I finaly saw her new mum. A wonderful old lady .
7 Dec 2022 Feel gutted. My little child what has happened to you. 11 Feb 2023 (2 pics right side) she is fuller and seems to do good, we always greet nose to nose
"Can you take care of the pets?" But of course!
when I babysit your kids, you get them back spoiled and obese heehee
2023 - a guest named Roger. Will probably stay for a year until his father gets a house in order. People sometimes ask whether I'm becoming too attached to animals. No. Because I know they're going to a better place. Like Roger, he will be able to go outside as he likes (not just on the balcony) and have friends. I knew the rooster with one eye for years, but he was always chased outside. I loved that animal too, but he went to a place where he would live quietly in a yard among females and no other roosters, dogs or cars around. Love is wanting the best for the other.
Friends not Food
I never was a big meat eater so the fact that I stopped eating meat didn't change much, when I found out animal cruelty is not happening in some cases, but ALL THE TIME.
I stopped drinking milk in 2020 before corona outbreak when I learned/realized about the dairy industry. Imagine, my breakfast was ice cream for many years each day, summer and winter to cool my body down when waking up. Stopped eating candy (gelatine). For Frederiq to show up out of the blue at the exact same moment I was sad about chicken farms I considered a sign once again.
Felt so sad when I saw this picture. I would have taken the child home for sure. At the same moment dad called me "you've got a visitor". This rooster showed up and made a big impact.
You know, I always knew it was a being you ate. But I did not know the horrible conditions they were in, and the intensity of their personalities. But I always was grateful like the natives were with the bisons. Not finishing a meal, throwing it or otherwise being disrespectful is something that could always instantly turn me off someone.
My Miniature Garden
Children always make good company
Sick Pigeon makes recovery
Nov 2021 I saw this young pigeon sitting under my balcony in the evening. It seemed unable to fly and was chased by a cat. I took it home. After a few days I took her by train to Amsterdam.
I have picked up a few birds like a coot who had been hit. They all never came back because they quickly put animals to sleep. At Billie pigeons receive all the care and love. So to her I brought the pigeon.
Billie Savage affectionately calls the pigeons skypuppies. She loves them like Rutzen loves sharks. She is able to instill a love for them and make them visible how they are, peaceful birds that need to be taken care of too.
What is a stringfoot pigeon?
June 2022 Rotterdam (and many other big cities) is full off stringfoot pigeons. Never heard of such a thing before I met queen Billie (Savage). These birds suffer badly. The tangle gets tighter and tighter until circulation is cut off and flesh rots away. Now when I am able to catch one they are off to a pigeon nurse.
Read more about it here and here
May 2022 No stringfoot but an injured young one, found her in a corner of the subway. The pigeon underneath I picked off the street on June 26th .
04-08-2022 this child was shivering and kept sitting down. I gave her to an angel from The Hague where she is being cared for. Seems to have lost her foot
the temporary housing
I had once bought the house for Michaela, because she liked to sit on the balcony. She died before she could ever sit in the cottage. Now the house has already provided temporary shelter for 3 pigeons
More birdies
City pigeons defecate 14 kilos per year per pigeon. I lured those pigeons away from my balcony and feed them daily 5 meters away. I'm not going to scrub my balcony for half an hour a day because the other being can't control his anus.
inconsolable mother
My father was sick, I was cleaning the house. A cat kept me company. I fed her and soon she took her children too
The father of the family was always watching. Within a few days the whole family was visiting and there was happiness. Until one morning I heard the mother cry very loudly. I came out and saw one of her kids with the guts out, dead. As if something had taken a bite out of her belly. All the other children were gone and daddy cat was gone too. The mother was inconsolable.
Muscovy ducks
One day I spotted 5 km away, a female Muscovy duck sitting alone along the water's edge every time. The local residents know the male duck (pic above) and gave him the name Jaap. I made a poster with a call for more information about the female. When she's alone, I'll introduce them to each other was my plan
Nobody responded (summer 2021).
Jan 2022. The female is no longer alone and a foundation is busy looking to find a nice home for Jaap
04-08-2022, Jaap is still alone on the waterfront
Oct 2022, Jaap is joined by a duck and goose who also seem to be alone for some days now. It would be awesome if these 3 really stick at each others side
Man met zwanen in Capelle die geen zwanen voedt maar zijn ego
- 15.10.2023 Niet iedereen die je een dier ziet aaien zijn dierenvrienden. Zo was ik na maanden weer op locatie en zag ik tot 2x toe Jaap niet. Een man die daar zwanen stond te voederen vroeg ik of hij wist waar de eend was. Hij was geïrriteerd dat ik ernaar vroeg, want "hij heeft vleugels en hij kan toch vliegen" en "dit is pas bijzonder", terwijl hij de zwanen aaide. Als je dieren eten geeft is dat niet bijzonder, er is geen makkelijker manier vrienden te maken met dieren dan met eten. En er is niets schadelijker voor de vogels dan hompen brood. En een dier dat mogelijk ziek of gewond is omdat hij niet is waar hij al jaren is, is voor een dierenvriend interessanter dan een stel gezonde dieren.
Crow Friends
Each crow lives in its own territory, some have been living in the same trees for 10 years. People don't realize that. Often people think they are my crows but nothing is mine, they are their own. They fly free as they should. And I don't teach them tricks. I know a lot of crows but there are 2 that are special to me and I know both between 7 and 10 years. Like the one with white spot on the leg. You have people who say that crows bring bad luck. That's what they say about black cats too. But crows see a broad energy field around you that also relates to things you have no control over. They can announce a message. Case of don't shoot the messenger.
Listen to animals
Infernal noise this morning, crows, magpies, pigeons, blackbirds, finches, everyone came to watch. So I thought hey maybe a cat in action and a nest nearby, so I jumped outside. But on the spot I found a dead pigeon. The birds took note and flew away. Too bad a wood pigeon, probably even the one that has been around for so long and that I saw braving the storm in a tree. Why this is interesting to report: because animals communicate with each other. And they might need your help. If you see deviant behavior, you should always take a look. A cry for help is always a universal cry. When you drown, you don't care if you are rescued by a human or a dolphin.