Tell someone that you live in the south of Joburg and you’re met with a startled expression shortly followed by a pity-eyed stare closely followed by “Ag shame!”
I live in the suburbs. More specifically, in a suburb south of the south of Joburg. Now that’s south! It’s a lovely area with farmland 100 metres just that way. But where I live is still a suburb – we have neighbours in close proximity. So why oh why…am I hearing the baaaaa sounds of sheep coming from one of the neighbours’ yards?
Granted, it’s only one sheep that is baaaa’ing, but we’re not that far south that sheep is a common sight in peoples’ yards! Property sizes here are not larger than 1000 square metres!
After initially thinking that someone was not happy with their garden service company and opted for the cheaper and presumably more effective sheep-grass-cutting device, Che spoilt it all by saying that particular animal is probably destined for the food table at a celebration in the not too distant future! How it got here I have no idea and would love to know since all our neighbours drive SUVs, sedans and two-door coupes! Not exactly sheep carrying vehicles. Maybe they used the quad-bike trailer.
Across the road we have a rooster whose internal clock is confused by the city lights and crows at all hours of the day and night. Naively I thought that they only crowed in the morning to wake people up according to my old story books. It seems like they lied!
At odd times of the day I get frightened witless by the sudden loud and raucous call of the Hadeda Ibis’ when they take flight from the neighbour’s tall pine tree they use as a roost.
Once a day the neighbourhood dogs start to howl when the ice cream truck’s music can be heard, usually when it’s still 5 kilometres away, and they carry on howling until the sound of the music is no longer heard, usually then the slowly moving kombi has passed and is 5 kilometers away or more.
Then we have the preferably softer sounds of birds chirping and the miaowing of cats.
So there’s the baaaaa and the cockle-doodle-doo, the haa-daa-daa, the a-woooooo, the miaow and the chirrup-chirrup.
You may have deduced that for those of us living in the south (and further south) of Joburg thoughts of telling blatant untruths about the location of one’s home are entertained.
BUT….
Where else would your neighbours’ keep sheep in their yards?
Featured image credits – Free Picture: Mountain Sheep ID: 185624 © Stephen Beaumont | Dreamstime Stock Photos
Oh my goodness! I used to live in what the newspapers like to call “The plush tree-lined northern suburbs,” and our next door neighbour, who had been brought up on a farm, had a pot bellied pig, two extremely yappy dogs, a host of clucking Silkie hens and a couple of roosters which crowed at all hours of the day and night. Of course the Hadadas were always around, sounding like witches cackling as they flew overhead, as well as a couple of Egyptian geese who used to honk from a nearby rooftop very early every morning. I really didn’t miss the cacophony when we eventually sold and moved down to the coast. Peace, perfect peace at last. 🙂
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Oh my! That must’ve been noisy, not to mention that it’s initially surprising because of the incongruity of the situation! Well, the neighbours are busy with a braai, but all I smell is chicken and not mutton/lamb. I haven’t heard the baaaa of the sheep since yesterday evening. I wonder what’s become of him…