Wednesday, March 10, 2010

TERRITORIES


The mother of all monkey battles broke out today.
There were monkeys standing on tip toes upon every rooftop for miles around ....
They dipped, bobbed and barked at a strange troop that dared to overstep the invisible line between two territories.
As I carved in the courtyard I was aware of monkey missiles flying over my head. From house top to garage to tree top and back again, howling with rage. Mothers held their babies close as the aliens approached.
All in my household were armed with water pistols in case the enemy troop tried to harm "our" troop.
I had to smile ..... we all have our territories.

45 comments:

  1. aw, i could use some monkeys cavorting over my head!! how interesting to have their company.
    thanks for catching Nonno so quickly this morning. quietness sometimes is good, sometimes, too much. maybe spring will bring all sorts of emergence to me!

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  2. ...you've got monkeys....


    ...we get crows :-(

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  3. Hilarious, can't fathom the monkies flying all around. Hahahaha, thanks for sharing, stay armed!

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  4. I am just laughing so hard Robyn, it is so alien to me to have monkeys around! your stories just tickle me and it all sounds like such an interesting adventure! would love to see your angel btw!

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  5. Africa - I get such enjoyment out of your reports Robyn. It opens a whole new world! How can you tell "your" monkeys from the "other" monkeys?

    Have you ever done a carving of a monkey?

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  6. There are battlefields everywhere...so amazing you and family are armed with water pistols!! I'm trying to wrap my brain around the picture of these battle grounds, the noise and the flying missiles...I'm in major awe!

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  7. Holy Mackerel!
    This sounds half fascinatingly fun and half rather terrifying. I know Edward would need a sedative to make it through the day!!

    Gosh, I do love monkeys!

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  8. Although I am afraid of monkeys, I can sympathize with the territorial protection. I would not like them swinging overhead. We have ground squirrels and chipmunks who do the same all day everywhere.

    Hope you don't have to fend off the intruders with your water pistols.

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  9. I'm smiling at the thought of you with your water pistol at the ready. Actually I'm taken with the idea that someone I know through this online medium could be living such a different life from mine. Squirrels are the only animal I see on a regular basis in my yard. Monkeys seem so exotic...not to you I suppose.

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  10. I've not been posting or commenting much lately as I am doing some office work for a little while but I could not let this go without saying it all seems a little surreal these monkey adventures of yours.

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  11. How wild! So interesting to see how our environments are so different, depending on where we live on the planet.

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  12. ewe screaming monkeys...makes me shiver! glad to hear you are working away.

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  13. love your story...must be such a unique and comical experience to have that ruckus going on while you are working!
    i have been chatting with a bullie breeder who is expecting so we are closing in...

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  14. dear robyn, would that a water pistol would solve all the problems in so. africa! and other places ,too! think how simple life could be! lyle

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  15. Boundaries and turf wars; mothers with babies; guns; images we have seen elsewhere. Evolution happens in some areas and misses the mark in others.. me pondering all this.

    ah Robyn, what a life you have.. JT

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  16. It all sounds like such an adventure to me in my monkey-less country! I wonder what the monkey tribe thinks of you being in 'their' terrirtory?

    Would love to see what you were carving....

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  17. I think I am glad only to have peacock battles on the roof and not monkeys! Although a friend once described them as large birds wearing ski boots as they make such a noise landing on our tin roof.
    Glad to hear you are back carving.

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  18. funny how our own territories differ so much-- yours has exotic animals that we only see in zoos-- and I have the regular old squirrels and blue jays-- I am battling crows lately-- I love to put peanuts in the shell out for the squirrels and blue jays and watch them swoop and dance around trying to get their share-- and gangs of the big black bullies flock down and stand around like a horde daring the others to come around. I would not mind a few of them but they come in a huge bunch--and take over. It must be so much fun to watch your monkeys.

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  19. 'OUR' possums say Hallo to your monkeys!

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  20. talk about a glimpse into another reality...what a 'wild' story...the photo is gorgeous

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  21. i have such wonderful memories of great spontaneous water fights with my husband while doing some renovating in a house in Boston; and with a little blond boy from England so adorable (i was in college and he would knock on my door and ask if i could come out and play--which i did do for him often ... from water pistol to outside hose to inside faucet sprayer... etc... water balloons... so funny. His mother would just laugh at us.

    the monkeys will be coming around asking for "arms" ie water pistols soon to cool off with on a hot day.

    THANDA

    thanks for the smile

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  22. love your blog - the Kuba photos really knocked me out - there is something Matisse - like there.

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  23. I'm dying to know what they hurl at each other. Only seagull mobs here in town and an occasional cat and squirrel stand off. Always an event as they are so noisy. I'm wondering what it sounds like at your place right now.

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  24. The ever protective mums looking after their little ones .... and your family looking out for your monkey family. Love it! I be they made a racket!!!

    Thanks for sharing this with us, made me smile.

    Jacky xox

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  25. Oh my! Must have been quite a scene and noisy too! Hope you were out of range of the missiles! What a good idea to have water pistols - must get me one for my kitchen intruders!!

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  26. Heh, heh. Cool. The water pistols are a great idea.

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  27. Thanks for sharing your monkey stories! I first discovered you with one of your monkey stories - how they come to visit when you go out to carve. Monkey battles - who knew? Love the water pistols. And, yes, all do have that My territory thing going on. smiling. Hope the aliens went back to their territory....

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  28. I'm so enjoying everyone's comments. Leslie the same troop has been here since we moved in so I've got to know them pretty well. The Bull monkeys change every now and then and new babies keep coming but otherwise it is the same troop.

    Monkeys can be scary I suppose but these ones know I'm safe. We respect each other :-)
    Its when they are challenged and are afraid that they might be a bit unpredictable.

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  29. As Lyle commented, if only all problems could be solved with a water pistol. Pssssst...

    Lucky Dip Lisa, I feel for the monkeys since we humans are squeezing them out of their territory. I would say they think quite a lot of me since they know where to come when they are starving in Winter. I have many touching stories of trust that would bring a tear to your eye.

    Squirrels, Blue Jays, Chipmunks, Racoons, Possums ..... we all have our exotic animals.

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  30. Annie, Ha haaa .... let me clarify that the monkeys were the missiles flying through the air. They weren't throwing things .... I don't think.

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  31. All is quiet on the Western Front, Renee. In fact it is unusually quiet. I havn't seen a monkey since yesterdays battle.

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  32. This must have been the best kind of entertainment. wish I was there!!

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  33. No one else I know can say that they have monkeys in their garden for entertainment. What a hoot. Have they ever tried to get your tools? My dog, Mishka, used to take my gloves or hand tools when I would put them down. He was a young pup then. He is no longer with me. Do your dogs ever get after the monkeys?

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  34. Wow - it must have been intense and exciting and terrifying. My heart goes out to the mommy monkeys and their babies.

    Did they manage to chase the invaders away?

    Did you have to help?

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  35. Oh, I LOVE this post. Mothers are the same in any skin.
    What a sight to see!
    We get hummingbirds,,does that count?
    :-D

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  36. je me suis servie de google traduction pour mieux comprendre l'histoire des singes..
    et la traduction était pire que tous les singeries..
    mais très rigolote!!!

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  37. It is always enlighting to go to others blogs and find our worlds are so different yet the same . I would never wake up to monkey fights in the desert of AZ USA, but Yes a have to ward of my dogs as they fight for my attentions as I create.

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  38. Whew - just checked back in to make sure YOUR monkeys were back in THEIR home.

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  39. What a lovely courtyard your sounds like, filled with wood shavings and monkeys. I love this story. roxanne

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  40. I'm trying to imagine chipmunks going at it here in my neighborhood...doesn't have the same drama as monkeys somehow!

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  41. I bet they are so amusing to watch.

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  42. Wow! Monkeys really? That is too cool. Probably much more fun to watch than the squirrels in my neighborhood! Well, the squirrels are fun, but monkeys... wow!

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  43. so who won?

    did they need your back up?

    what did they use for ammo?

    how intriguing!

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