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The old proverb is true. In a cat's eye, everything belongs to cats. That includes, well, everything - including your sink. What has a certain use for us may be interpreted as useful in an altogether different way by our feline friends.  So it is with that useful household item, the sink.  Cats love them - but for very different reasons to us.  Prepared to be bemused and amused at the same time.  The words are related - we need no better excuse. So, because they can so can we - welcome to the world of cats in sinks.

They may always be quite certain what they are doing there themselves, as Phoebe the gorgeous Persian here seems to be indicating with that rather sullen but perplexed look on her face.  Perhaps that old Moroccan saying is true, after all - you cannot teach an old cat to dance.

The National Bird of two countries - Zimbabwe and Zambia – the African Fish Eagle is a bird that, with its gorgeous snow white head, once seen is never forgotten.

The Eagle is found in most parts of the continent – as long as you are south of the edge of the Sahara Desert.  Also known as the African Sea Eagle it is found anywhere near where there is water containing fish.  It has a distinctive call which immediately identifies it, but what really stands out is its magnificent plumage.

Sometimes it is simply play, at others it is in deadly earnest.  Yet when animals fight there is something that draws us to watch despite the potential fatal outcome.  Perhaps it appears to something visceral and basic in our instincts - or perhaps we just like to watch a good old fashioned tooth and claw fight.

The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses - behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights. Muhammad Ali 

Cats. If you are owned by one or more of them you will already have discovered that if someone is having their photograph taken, then it just isn’t a photograph without the cat being in it as well. After all, if you are going to own humans you may as well share with the world. Yet even when it is simply a picture of your lounge, garden or bedroom (or someone or something getting more attention than it deserves) it just isn’t the same without the cat being in it too. At least that’s what they seem to think! This isn’t simple photobombing – this is ownership.



That which is best eaten cold...
So, how do you go about getting your revenge? Easy. Simply turn the tables and capture kitty when he or she is least expecting it. Don't worry - there will be no love lost, but watch your back in the future!

One day Jarbas Agnelli was reading his newspaper when he saw a picture of birds on electric wires which immediately fascinated him.. He noticed that the positions of the birds looked like a pice of musical notation.  He set about recreating the melody based on where the birds were perched.

He contacted the photographer who had taken the original picture who was also intrigued by the music.  He informed his Editor and the whole idea was turned in to a story in the newspaper.  Agnelli, spurred on, then created this animation with the photo, the music and the score.

There is absolutely no Photoshop involved here - the melody is created from the exact positions of the birds on the wires.  It's a lovely little tune, too!

Dogs on logs? There may seem little point to a series of pictures of dogs atop big pieces of wood - but perhaps that is exactly the point. And why not? Cats at least have the lol variety - dogs seem a little left out. Above, Pio has spotted something in the water.  Is it a fish?  Who can say but we can perhaps guess what happened next... So - over to the rest of our canine buddies.

Some dogs will look cute anywhere, but add a log in to the mix and the cute factor goes stratospheric.  Although Hula doesn't look terribly happy on the log you can rest assured he was helped safely back to the ground!

From the sublime to, well - make up your own mind.  Hula may not known quite what to do with his log (stay on it or run!) and neither, we suspect, does Killer.  However, he certainly looks immensely happy to have found it though (we will take a look at what dogs do to logs, once they have discovered them, a little later...).

Sydney does the two log tree (although one, long as it is, hardly qualifies as a log, but...).  What is it with dogs, logs and water?  Well, nine out of ten for effort, Sydney! I wonder if he knows that properly trained, a man can be dog's best friend?

Matilda is quite happy to keep her feet dry but if a log is there it does have to be climbed - simply because it is there.  Some say that dogs laugh, but with their tail.  That being said - isn't that a huge grin on Matilda's face?  If not - how would you describe it?

No, Libby we said dogs on logs not dog logs on. Always has to be one....

This young pup gets the two log trick right first time and shows up his elders at a young age.  Wait, though, where's the water?  Disqualified!

Jasper is a canny character though - logs have their uses on those long summer walks. Plus, he can be quietly smug about the fact that four legs are better than two by going where most humans would not tread.

Sometimes, though, speed can be of the essence.

Other times, just being still is best.  Cooper knows a good photo opportunity when he see one.  Some people says that on occasion dogs are almost human (although if they could talk, wouldn't that take some of the fun out of sharing your life with one?).  However, that could be classified as something of an insult.

Clear off!  You don't count!

That's better - even though in the case of Marla here, we might still have to play guess the species...

Dogs can get very possessive about their logs.  Whenever they see one, they get all mine, mine, mine.  The size of the log is irrelevant.  Ownership is everything.

Really, really possessive.

So, why this fascination with logs?  Well, that's not rocket science.  After all, dogs love to...

...chew....

..and chew.....


...and chew!

The National Bird of two countries - Zimbabwe and Zambia – the African Fish Eagle is a bird that, with its gorgeous snow white head, once seen is never forgotten.

The Eagle is found in most parts of the continent – as long as you are south of the edge of the Sahara Desert.  Also known as the African Sea Eagle it is found anywhere near where there is water containing fish.  It has a distinctive call which immediately identifies it, but what really stands out is its magnificent plumage.

It feeds mostly on fish – as the name suggests – but will also feed on other birds that feed and nest near water, such as flamingos.  It is also a well known kleptoparasite.  What that means is that it will steal prey from other birds – including its own species.  After all, why do all the hard work when you can just take your meal ready made and delivered?


It is a large bird with the female being bigger than the male.  She will typically weigh in at about eight pounds with the males reaching only around five and a half.  The males have a wing span of six feet while the female span reaching an enormous eight feet.  A very distinct bird, the mostly brown body and black wings are topped off with a beautiful snow white head and breast.  The tails too are typically white with the beak yellow with a black tip.  Overall, the bird has a particularly patrician look about it.

Like many species of birds the African Fish Eagle, once it finds a mate, stays loyal for life.  Breeding happens in the dry season when the level of water in the lakes is low and fish easier to catch.  The birds like to have more than one home and will often maintain multiple nesting sites, choosing the one that is most suitable each year.  The nest are used again and again and so grow very large with some of them reaching six feet across and four feet deep.

Once breeding is commenced the female will lay up to three eggs and she will be the one responsible for the incubation of the eggs. However, the male will (perhaps reluctantly) take his turn and allow his mate to go and hunt.  This is necessary as the incubation of the eggs lasts up to forty five days – if the male were to abandon the nest during this period the female would starve and the eggs would never hatch.

However, the male and female of this species will share equally anything that they catch so this would not happen.  Perhaps the female leaves the nest simply to stretch her wings.  After all, forty five days is a long time to sit in the same place.

The birds will very seldom raise all three chicks.  The eggs hatch a few days apart from each other and the older hatchling – given the advantage that a few days give it – usually kills the other chicks as they hatch.  After around seventy days the chick can feed itself and begins to leave the nest a few weeks after that.

The African FIsh Eagle hunts by perching in a tree above the waterline.  Once is spies a fish it will swoop down and snatch it from the water.  If by chance the fish is too heavy for it to lift in to the skies it will drag it across the water to the shore.  Fish are not the only food that the African Sea Eagle hunts – it will take waterfowl, turtles and baby crocodiles too – not to mention anything it can steal from its hapless neighbours.  Goliath Herons (yes, they are big) will lose a fair percentage of their catch to this Eagle.

Although they will hunt at any time of the day, they are early risers and prefer to get it out of the way by ten in the morning at the latest.  A beautiful and distinctive bird, the African Fish Eagle is not endangered at the moment.  It serves as another reminder of the beauties of Africa and the diversity of its animals.