My mother had decided to walk the 200 yards to our front gate together with the next 500 yards to the corner and return. Much too far for her these days but then you know what mothers are like! So it was decided that Liquorice and I would accompany her. (Later she realized that her walk was not 700 yards but actually that doubled!) While I balanced Ma along our rough driveway Liquorice meandered in her usual fashion following the scents of assorted rabbits, birds and possibly foxes to where ever they crossed with another scent offering greater fascination. In due course Liquorice and I met behind the front gate while Ma waited and rested. Liquorice sat while I turned the hose on just a little and holding the hose with my right hand I directed the flow of water into my cupped left hand. This is a little ritual we perform each time we pass the gate, coming or going. Liquorice always laps willingly at the cool refreshing water. Once my little darling was sated we set off to catch my mother who had by now started walking down the road as we busied ourselves behind the gate.
I looked down the street on which we were to travel and could see only the barren blackness of the bitumen road with its gravel rolled into the tar. An unrelenting sameness without distraction. For my little darling, I believed this slow walk on the bitumen would be without interest. Liquorice was her normal easily distracted self until we drew level with Ma, then my little darling totally surprised me taking measured and very formal steps, almost like the House Guard at Buckingham Palace. She walked straight and without deviation but as I have said there was nothing that I could see to distract my little darling. As usual though, Liquorice could see much more than I. Her first find on this narrow black desert was a simple white feather all of an inch long and ¾” wide with lots of fluffy down at its base. Liquorice loves feathers so this was a special find. The birds play with Liquorice or Liquorice plays with the little birdies. Possibly both. The Magpie walks toward Liquorice as she rested on the back lawn until the temptation to advance and greet him is too great. As she nears the Magpie leisurely takes flight going just above her head encouraging my little darling to chase him. This she does at her slow jogging pace until he nears the electric fence for the cows. The Magpie returns allowing Liquorice to “pursue” him back to where she started. Good exercise for my little darling. That Magpie used to play in that fashion with our Dalmatian, when she was alive, but at a more athletic pace! The Noisy Minors too “torment” and test her kindly nature as six or more will deploy themselves around Liquorice on bushes, the ground or whatever perches they can find. While the others remain silent one will twitter and ruffle its feathers until the sounds are more than Liquorice can resist. She will move toward that one only to have it fly out of reach as another will start this “ceremonial rite” behind Liquorice! Poor Lickers, as her attentions find new interest the original Noisy Minor resumes its place and waits. They keep themselves and her amused for five or ten minutes at a time. So Liquorice has an interest in feathers and those that wear them. Her love for them is possibly due to these games, just a different texture and scent or maybe since the birds collect her loose hairs for their nests then Liquorice feels entitled to collect their “garments” for her personal use. Anyway Liquorice lowered her head and without breaking stride must have breathed in its scent for when she raised her head there was this whiter than white fluffy feather stuck to the end her moist black nose! And she seemed proud of her new adornment. Possibly she “licked” it in as it was gone after a few short measured steps.
Next she found a miniature “pile” of dark yellow builders sand that probably had fallen from a backhoe working at a house down the end of the road recently. It had retained the form it landed in as few cars travel our street to flatten such things. I had not noticed this previously on our usual walks along the grassy edge to the road but since it was quite dry and “weathered” from the wind it had obviously been there for some days. However Liquorice did not miss it. A quick sniff proved to her that this pile held nothing to interest her. A look further down the road revealed two more of these yellow “piles” on the contrasting black roadway. They had not been noticed by me prior to this and would have remained invisible had not Liquorice’s interest drawn my attention to this one. At each little heap she gave another sniff however their novelty value did not outlast the first one.
A little further on with the same measured steps Liquorice was intently watching a spot on the road a few feet ahead of us. As we gradually drew closer her head moved from side to side but still staring at something. It proved to be a line of reddish colored ants crossing the road. They were only 3/8ths of an inch long however their movement and activity caught the imagination of my little darling. She did not stop, only taking another sample of their scents and kept watching them with a backward glance until they disappeared from her view. When Liquorice looked ahead once more there were several little greenish duck poops arranged as though a group had taken flight together and lightened their load to gain altitude quickly. The ducks that waddle around our paddocks interest Liquorice especially now that most pairs parade around with their ducklings! She does not interfere and they do not seem to mind her presence, unless circumstance finds either surprised by the sudden and unduly close proximity of the other. On those occasions the male will feign injury, flapping a single wing wildly, quacking noisily and running in an erratic manner as though in great pain. He does this to attract the attention of the predator while his family makes good their escape in the opposite direction. Liquorice is not interested with the seemingly easy meal or tender ducklings but looks on with enormous concern at the drake’s apparent difficulties. My little darling has a compassion for all the creatures within her realm. These fresh duck poops also required her attention with a quick sampling for added enjoyment. This she accomplished without adjusting the stately movements by which means she walked along with us.
Another prize came into view! I saw this one too and that made me curiously proud although it was only another feather, this time larger, one and a half inches wide and the feathered section about four inches long. This one Liquorice scooped into her mouth with practiced ease, quill end out, and walked happily and proudly with her head and trophy held high. I told Ma of each little “find” as we walked or we spoke of the sights Ma had not noticed as we drive past in the car. Our conversation was soon interrupted with my little darling going “aaarrrrrRRKKKKK!” several times in quick succession while moving her massive head and neck into the oddest angles. I surmised that the feather had become caught in her throat so I released my hold on Ma’s arm, squatted and opened Liquorice’s mouth. Sure enough that feather had become stuck to the rear of my little darling’s tongue and she was unable to dislodge it. It was stuck fast, almost glued. It required several attempts, which could not have been pleasant for her, however I removed the annoyance. That did interfere with the rhythmic steps that had so marked my little darling’s journey thus far. And Liquorice was not impressed as I tossed her feather aside. She looked after it forlornly as we resumed our walk.
Next item for Liquorice to focus on was a small Gecko, a brown lizard about four inches long that moved from our path as we approached. Liquorice watched carefully as it disappeared off the edge of the road and into the grass. Whether it was sunning itself, although it was not yet hot, or like the ants simply going about the day’s chores I cannot judge but this tiny lizard chose to be elsewhere with our approach.
Liquorice was not blind to the various birdlife around us such as the white egrets that follow the cows around when they graze, the purple waterfowl with their staccato movements among the ducks or the green Grass Parrots feeding happily by the fence lines. Even the Topknot Pigeons that were perched high on the electricity above us were noted by my little darling. She even acknowledged Frangus and Muni, the two young calves a neighbor’s son has been raising on the “bucket”, standing by the fence with a glance that said “Can’t stop to chat, got to take the oldies for a walk!”
I was becoming quite interested in the discoveries Liquorice was making and curious as to the nature of the next. And the next one was a surprise indeed for Liquorice located on that black surface a black object that excited her. She quickly picked it up with a triumphant air before I could identify this mystery item. Once more we stopped and again my hand went into her mouth as Liquorice was not prepared to share. What was this treasure you ask. A rare and delectable find indeed. It was a desiccated frog, flattened by a car’s tyre and left to dry in the sun just for my little darling to find! Tasty and crunchy, it was the highlight of her journey!
As we neared the corner there was the distinctive droppings of a Currawong, a crow-like bird that displays a large white circular patch on each wing as it flies. They are also pig-headed by nature and somewhat lacking in intelligence. They eat the wild olives that grow in our area. These are nothing like store-bought olives but tiny “fruit” one quarter inch diameter containing a seed that measures barely less. Basically a skin-covered seed without any flesh and the Currawong’s droppings are a mass of these seeds “glued” together. My guess is that Liquorice has sampled them before for they held no allure for her.
I was amazed at all the little finds and treasures that my little darling’s keen eye had found along this barren bit of bitumen. All things that I would never had known existed had not Liquorice’s actions drew my focus to them. And that was only the outward trip!
Arthur Witten
Liquorice – Any more sun-dried frogs?