Soul Mates

Is your partner your Soul Mate? I know mine is. We were destined to meet as he used to go to the same places as me but on different nights, and when he was stationed abroad, the guy in the queue in front of him picked my letter out of the correspondence box. How it all came about though was an ad in the local paper for a ‘Soul Mate’ and I answered. The rest is history.

It’s surprising how many animals in the wild mate for life. I found this list of some of them.

albatross

bald eagles

barn owls

beavers

black vultures

condors

coyotes

cranes

French angel fish

gibbon apes

golden eagles

ospreys

penguins

pigeons

prairie voles

red tailed hawks

swans

termites

turtle doves

wolves

I knew about swans, wolves, owls, penguins, and cranes,

 but angel fish and termites?

In our back garden, we have a variety of birds as regular visitors. We had a pair of pigeons we nicknamed Portly and Breast because they were so fat. They had young who grew equally chubby, but we believe the parents have now expired. There is also a dovecot a few properties away, and the doves come into our garden frequently too.

The year my Dad died, my sister, brother and I adopted a swan on Mum’s behalf for her birthday. Every year she was due to receive a newsletter reporting his progress, whereabouts and whether he had found a mate. Sadly after the second year, there seemed to be no trace of him. She was bitterly disappointed, so to compensate we keep her informed of the swans here and have watched several pairs raise their families over the years. When I was in NZ, all swans I saw were black and I made a special calendar for her that year which included photos of them.

On our walks in the evenings sometimes we see a pair of barn owls. As to whether they are a mating pair we don’t know, but they are fascinating to watch as they swoop noiselessly over the waterways for their supper. It’s surprising the area they cover. I have a beautiful picture of an owl on a mirrored background, and my Mum did a tapestry of one for me.

Obviously we don’t see the larger birds of prey here, though we visited a bird sanctuary once and a pair of hand reared golden eagles returned to site to music as the Grand Finale to their displays. Fabulous stuff, these huge birds flying gracefully towards you with wingspans of more than 6 feet. Wow.

I have three prints of wolves hanging in my back hall. Nothing expensive, but these pictures show their intelligence and beauty. I cried when Two Socks in Dances With Wolves was killed, having no escape due to the Sioux Indians on one side of the hill and soldiers shooting at him on the other. I have the four hour version of the film plus the soundtrack. Sadly, the person I lent the book to never gave it back.

Hubby and I come from totally different backgrounds, yet we like similar things, including a lot of species that mate for life, and have pictures or ornaments of such dotted around the house. As a couple, we compliment each other and know our strengths and weaknesses. We work well as a team, and if we have a problem, discuss the options and find a solution together. We are practical and resourceful, make the most of what we have, waste very little and are comfortable with each other, like that old pair of slippers I mentioned a few posts ago (the slushy one). We don’t agree on everything, but can see each other’s point of view. About fifteen years ago we did our star charts and discovered them to be opposites. This isn’t surprising as there are 6 months between us, so the stars would have subsequently moved position accordingly thus being a reflection of each other.

He’s my best friend as well as husband and partner. I cannot imagine my life without him in it.

Advertisement