So, feral cats are a big thing here. Really big. There is a big family of cats (khatulim as I just learned on Rosetta Stone) that live in the park next to this complex. Someone from this building feeds them every night. They are so well fed that they actually don't all eat at once. Unlike 'Shloma' and 'Mordecry' (Hebrew names I gave them so they don't feel so out of place here). At first I wondered if anything was being done about the feral cat problem, and it turns out that every cat with a notch cut out of its ear has been spayed or neutered and then released to the street. So, they are whittling away at the problem. But then I noticed that in spite of this being a rather dense city, probably about 4 times the population of Washington DC, which has a huge rat/mouse problem, I wasn't seeing any of either...until I did see one dead mouse ot the walking path near the beach. Instead you see cats at the park, cats at the market, cats in the street, and the funniest is to see cats at the beach. Man, I think Mordecry would love it there. Although he is never setting foot outside the house other than the balcony. I have to say that I prefer cats wandering around to raccoons, squirrels, or other rodents.
Speaking of rodents, the bats use the complex pool as a landing strip as soon as night falls. One by one they do a fly by, briefing skimming off the top of the water before taking off into the night air once more. Over and over the bats take a circular path, dipping and flying. It's a very entertaining show and according to a neighbor, they do not take a detour even if you are swimming in the pool. Hopefully chlorine kills rabies...
I haven't posted for a few days because our free internet access wasn't working over the weekend. On Saturday (Shabbat) I walked miles and miles...through tree- and cafe-lined streets, along the beach, through the port, and back around through a park and several neighborhoods before heading home.
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