Of late, my house in Petaling Jaya has somehow became a place for animals to hangout, seeking refuge from the crazy city. Which is rather odd, since it is rather impossible how animals are expected to survive in a city choked with haze, with no trees or natural river (or anything natural, for that matter), or not get themselves run over by crazy reckless drivers? How did they even manage to survive to come to my house?!

ok, that’s overly dramatic. But the point is, there really aren’t many creatures in this suburb other than stray cats, dogs, big-ass filthy dirty rats, fugly icky cockroaches and pesky mosquitoes.

But somehow, a rooster ended up at the back of my house. Just like that. One day, my family woke up and found it perched on the fence behind my house. And it’s been there ever since.

rooster

My mom thinks it’s “choi san” (”God of Money/Wealth” in Cantonese) since this is the Year of the Rooster, and this rooster auspiciously showed up during Chinese New Year.

The whole household (and my neighbours) have been feeding it ever since.
My mom tells me over the phone: “He seems to like rice. I think it’s his favourite food.”
I think she got herself a new pet.

Then, he started going cock-a-doodle-doo every morning from dawn till morning.
Now she tells me: “If he doesn’t leave soon, I’ll slaughter him for dinner.”
My dad wants chicken soup. My sister Tse Pei says roast chicken is better. =S

Few months back, there was no rooster. Instead, we got a kingfisher.
It was pretty, but my dad was pissed at it. ‘Cause it came to my house to prey on my dad’s precious fishies in the little pond at the front of the house.

We were trying to solve the mystery of the missing fish (”they can’t be dead lah. where are the bodies??!”) when one day the kingfisher swooped down from the jambu tree, flew right at the pond and scooped up a small fish, in one smooth sweeping motion, and flew off happily with his catch. And my dad witnessed it all. Furious that his fish got eaten up.

But it’s pretty neat to think that my house has in some ways been incorporated into the ecosystem, providing food and shelter for these creatures. smiley

Wonder what’s gonna turn up next?