My student keeps an aviary in our garden. It is a fairly small and unintimidating structure and I quite enjoy the soothing coo from the doves and the pleasant cheeps from the finches. Not so for all of us.Ivy, the matriarch of Braveheart is quite flustered by the birds. She can't even walk by without stopping to stare or give the bottom portion of the aviary a few licks. Sometimes she will sit out there for hours just watching them. She is intrigued by the birds. She has very little self control in their presence.
Not only does she stare at the aviary and lick at it, she will also not allow the others to come near it. Not that anyone dares to challenge her. Getting into a physical battle with a Dachshund is rarely worth it. Particularly when it comes to their claim on birds or some other small game. Thankfully, everyone else seems happy to enjoy the birds from a distance which keeps things peaceful.
Try as I might, I cannot understand her fascination. Of course I am aware that these are her natural instincts and that she can't help herself, however, I can't imagine why she finds them so interesting. It's not just birds either, at one time there was a rabbit in a neighboring yard and she could not resist peeking through the holes in the old fence, staring at the rabbits, hoping that one might venture over a little too close... they never did. She has even gone so far as to leave the yard in search of the rabbit, or bird, or cat.... At one time, not long ago there was an old shed to the side of our home, Ivy destroyed the entire bottom of the shed allowing herself inside to hunt for....something. When the shed was finally torn down, rat droppings confirmed her suspicions.
It is no surprise that she finds the birds more interesting than Sensei. A Pekingese rarely worries oneself about such things, we are certainly not going to expend any physical energy on it, that would be a waste of time and effort. What I question is why the others don't share the same intensity towards these things as Ivy. The others here of similar heritage simply walk by the aviary completely ignoring the structure. Perhaps each one of them has their own level of interest and intensity for such things. Although clearly they are all interested in the squirrels, every one of them, except of course, myself.
In a way, Sensei admires their dedication and devotion to to their "work". On the other hand, I also feel as though their time and energy could be better spent on more worthwhile things. To each his own I suppose.
