A magical place

I met a baby pig (4 days old, black) and a baby rabbit (2 days old, grey, eyes still closed) on Tuesday afternoon. They snuffled and wriggled and made us fall completely in love with them. We went to a farm, after work. And there, on the hill, live a whole menagerie, including the li’l pig (and his brothers and sisters) and the li’l rabbit (and her, presumably numerous knowing bunny’s reputations, brothers and sisters), with a cow, a sheep, multiple other pigs (pink, black, and a combination), several chickens and a whole bunch of dogs of all sizes. And some humans, many of the smaller variety (the lovely man who runs it, takes in abandoned children, see here.)

It is right there, in the middle of The City Beneath the Mountain, in Tamboerskloof, a wealthy suburb, this farm. Really. Apparently the very pretty cow (she’s one of those blessed with a beautiful toffee-coloured coat and long, luscious eyelashes) is often found wandering around, four blocks down in the busy streets of the city. I’m sure she goes down just for a browse of the shops, and maybe a chocolate croissant from Jardine. I would, if I were her.

Apparently people bring their food waste, and city children, to feed the animals (they eat the food, not the children) and interact, a li’l piece of the country, on everybody’s doorstep. There is a real risk, unfortunately, that all these creatures living harmoniously together may be kicked off. There’s a legal wrangle going on between government (backed, I would imagine, by some real estate agents rubbing their hands in glee, their eyes glinting with greed) and Andre, the lovely man.

It’d be a great pity if a place doing such amazing things were to disappear, wouldn’t it? Where would Lovely Brown Cow go for her croissants?