PINE NUTS: Animals at Play
We know horses love their show jumping, and dogs love their Frisbees, but what about birds and sea otters? Well, anyone who has been to Twain Haven in the last eight years has met Huckleberry, my pet jay, who lands here on the top deck at 8am for breakfast, noon for lunch, and Happy Hour for a Beer Nut. I whistle his favorite tune, “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore,” which makes him laugh, and he waves his beak to the rhythm of the tune…
If I’m not paying attention, Huck will tap on the glass door, or jump up onto the flagstaff and wave Old Glory to get my attention. But his favorite trick takes place when I’m in the forest next door, trimming my fingernails, and casting my shadow on the forest floor, whereupon Huckleberry stations himself on a branch behind and above me, and dances his shadow atop mine. It’s enough to make a lama laugh…
But now what about sea otters? I read recently that they are stealing surfboards in Santa Cruz, not the first time either. We humans have given one of these furry surfboard robbers a number, “841” as she is a repeat offender. 841 will hang ten herself, but most of her sport is carried on at night we suspect, as she does not want to draw attention to her newfound hobby.
841, let’s call her Eglantine to give her some dignity, reminds me of a night I felt so alive while body surfing with my wife on our honeymoon at Brenneke Beach on the Island of Kauai, under a midnight Poipu full moon, when a family of dolphins joined us, almost touching us in sharing our dreamlike waves. It gives me chicken skin to think about it even today…
So we know that some animals are playful, and it behooves us to encourage such
playfulness, and bring out the very best Snoopy that they all have to offer.
And what about us playful humans? I have to believe that given the choice, all playful humans would choose to live in Nevada. Why Nevada? Well, for a number of good reasons. One, we don’t wear watches in Nevada. We eat when we’re hungry, and sleep when we’re tired. And we have Las Vegas: Mother Earth’s warmest erogenous zone, and we live by the betting line, “If the line should dip, take the dog.” Yes, money made Nevada and Nevada makes money. In Nevada parlance, “Good coaches win, great coaches cover.”
Above all, Nevada is a land of unique personalities, from eccentrics of the highest order, who will jump a water fountain on a motorcycle, to entertainment’s elite, “Viva Las Vegas!” Yes, in Nevada, divorce is an industry, and gaming an institution. In Nevada we trust everyone, but cut the cards.
In closing we have to love all those animals that are playful, particularly those two-legged animals that reside in the Great State of Nevada…
Audio: https://open.spotify.com/show/7Fhv4PrH1UuwlhbnTT23zO
