Monkey Business

There was a monkey swinging outside my window in the cedar tree the other morning.  It was the color of creamed coffee with a white belly and a white face.  He had huge eyes the color of amber and they sparkled when he caught sight of the sun and his tail was so long it looked to be wound around the branch he was hanging from about ten times.

Amazing, really, to have monkeys living here. I’ve always been told they prefer a much warmer climate. People don’t talk about them much, yet we are certainly inconvenienced by the little pests nearly everyday. As we all know, they have a propensity for theft. The biggest mistake I ever made in respect to our monkey friends was leaving my cell phone out on the porch when I went grocery shopping the other day. It was gone when I returned home and I knew who had taken it. It turned up on the side of the road yesterday, beat up and ruined, monkey prints all over it.

The other thing they’ve been doing lately is pulling the flowers out of the pots, making a huge mess, dirt all over the place, plants uprooted. I’ve been able to salvage some by replanting them, but I’ve lost a lot more. I don’t know why they pull out the flowers. Also, we’ve had to invest in screens for all the windows and doors because they like to get in the house and then it’s hard to get them out. They are incredibly quick and clever. Catching them is a trick. They hide in closets and mess up the clothes and throw the shoes off the rack. They like to get into the kitchen pantry and open cereal boxes and crackers, making an incredible mess. The other day, I opened the refrigerator only to discover one curled up next the lettuce, shivering to death.  Poor little guy.

They would make cute pets if they didn’t have such a nasty bite and could be trained. One of my good friends made it her project last year to domesticate one. Unfortunately for her, she failed and ended up with half an ear bitten off and carpet so ruined she ended up replacing it. They may be cute but they don’t make good pets.

I have a concern regarding the monkey population – it’s growing. Not just slightly, but seriously and I’m not the only person aware of this.  I read in the local news  lately that a committee has been formed to round up monkeys to be spayed and neutered. Now this I’ve got to see! How is this going to happen? They live high up in the trees and when they make an appearance at our level, they are here for mischief.  As much as I hope this committee is successful, I don’t see how it’s going to work. I wish all of you involved in the monkey population control the best of luck. Keep us posted!

Later,

Mary Ann