Last week burglar bars were installed in my bedroom/living room windows. To be honest with you I have felt like they were more like bars to keep me inside than burglars out!

I have said to Buche that while they might keep the baboons out, I could never get out my windows now. Nothing more than a foot and leg would fit through. Don’t get me wrong I understand why Peter and Jetske installed them. I have had a set on my kitchen window all this time. It is nice to know that no one can get inside unless they come through the front door.

However after today I need to adjust that perspective. For those of you who have been following my post since I began it last August you will remember me documenting my first weekend at Peter’s Place (https://cheryljdalziel.com/2012/09/30/sunday-in-botswana/). It was Botswana Independence Weekend and Peter & Jetske had decamped to visit family in South Africa. Other than Tanyala and the animals, I was the only other resident in the place.

That weekend, still suffering the effects of the 48 hour long journey from PEI to Gaborone, I also had to contend with burglars. The four footed kind! Well, it turns out today is a repeat! Once again Peter and Jetske have deserted me and my tiny apartment is jammed packed with animals. From the time they departed this morning at 5:00 am my apartment has been the center of focus for all three resident animals. While this is nothing new…I sent a ransom text message to Jetske the other evening as Gabby the cat and Dottie the dog were still in my rooms at 10 pm after being there almost the entire evening.

What is different today is with Jetske & Peter gone not even a closed door came keep my furry friends out. My poor parents and I were skyping this evening and our conversation was interrupted many times as there was a constant flux of animals. When they couldn’t arrive or depart through the closed front door, they immediately sought entry via the open windows. I have had to clear everything off of the window sill and the small table that sits in front of the window as nothing is safe when these friends are determined to enter!

Washing up my breakfast dishes this morning truly was an ordeal! My kitchen sink space is a very tiny alcove and with two cats and a dog completely under foot it was certainly a challenge equivalent to an obstacle course. Even the kitty, Cleo who seldom comes close to Gabby or Dottie was firmly ensconced smack dab in the middle of my kitchen floor. It took a desperate treasure hunt to turn up the treats container so that I could bribe all of them to leave my apartment for at least a few minutes.

I have no doubt sleeping tonight will be like trying to sleep in the middle of a three ring circus…oh well, that is the price that you pay when you love animals that aren’t even your own. Plus, I will extract my pound of flesh out of Peter & Jetske for doing pet sitting service 🙂