Dear FML
Charlie wrote:
>You mean your ferret learned the word "no"?  I'm impressed.  The only
>things mine seem to understand are "snacks for everyone" (at which they
>come running) and "bed time" (at which they run the other way.)
>Also, have you ever tried riding a bike with a fert in your jacket?  Whole
>new experience!
 
To answer Charlie's question publicly: Yes, living in Amsterdam we often
ride on a bicycle.  Stinky was not aware of her first rides, because she
was asleep.  When she noticed, what was going on outside my coat, she went
mad with excitement and I had to stop every 200 metres, or so, to calm her
down.  I figured the speed of the wind, carrying so many smells, was a bit
overpowering.
 
But by now she has learned.  She sits patiently on my shoulder or neck with
her nose in the wind, until we stop to get off.  Nowadays she rarely sleeps
on short cycle trips and only hides inside my clothes, when the weather is
not to her liking.  Then she selfishly leaves me to face the elements alone.
 
Don't worry folk, when cycling, Stinky is on a very short leash and cannot
fall or jump.  Sometimes she climbs onto the handle bar, or onto the
bicycle light, where she sits like the angel on a Rolls, or like the figure
head on a boat.  Nose turned up.  Friends advised me to build something for
her on the very front of my bike, since that is where she likes to sit.
 
The children we pass look at Stinky in amazement.  They are inclined to
dump their furbies in the nearest canal (in Amsterdam never very far) and
drag their parents off to the pet shop for a fuzzy instead.  They all want
a pet you can take on the bike and hide in your clothes.  Words of warning
about the terrible naughtiness of ferrets do not discourage children.
 
greetings
Patrick Faas
 
p.s.  The answers I got to my question as to how deep ferrets burrow varied
from "probably very deep" to "only a few inches".  Is this because there is
so much difference between ferrets?  Are there distinct genetic groups with
specific characteristics?  This last question also relates to the
intelligence of ferrets, about which there is a lot of contradictory
information too.
[Posted in FML issue 2890]