Danger Quest Mysteries

The View From the Fridge…

One day this week, I walked out of my home office and went into the kitchen. I poured myself another cup of coffee, and went to the refrigerator for some milk. Looking over the open refrigerator door, I glanced at this scene:

Purple jute rug… yes… antique gooseneck lamp…check… turqoise Minnesota landscape painting by Scott Hirschberg… check… After pouring the milk into my coffee cup, I returned to the fridge to put back the milk carton. The door open momentarily, I looked up to see this scene:

Peace lily… check… Byzantine-style miniature Madonna with child… check… light switch without cover…. check…

Hey, wait a minute! What’s this?

And what, or rather WHO, is this…?

Hmmm. It’s like sighting Nessie… Let’s look at some close-ups of this amazing photographic evidence:

Why it’s Schubert!! Schubert the Guinea Pig, also known as Shooby-Dooby. This, citizens, THIS, is proof of the intelligence of the cavy… Proof, that Schubert the Guinea Pig is a percentive individual, one who understands the role of the human domestic appliance known as the refrigerator. Where is his brother? There is no sign that Ludwig has reached this enlightement. Ludwig is immersed in the textbook of Introduction to Timothy Hay Studies. But Schubert… Yes, he knows the fridge contains carrots, lettuce, kale, and even cilantro. Citizens, the evidence is clear. Guinea Pigs can be geniuses when it comes to food.

(And this may explain why Shooby is so chubby.)

Schubert (left) and Ludwig (right) are taking a snooze, as they do every late morning to early afternoon. In this picture they’re lying between the hay rack and salt lick. I hooked up the salt lick diagonally like that because they kept knocking it down when set up normally. They like to push and knock things down. They knock the hay rack down several times a day. Sometimes they do it so noisily that they scare themselves and run down the lower levels of the cage.

When they nap, Schubert and Ludwig often choose to lie almost nose to nose, as in the picture. It’s very sweet, but I’m sure it is a defensive advantage to keep an eye on each other, in case one spots a hawk or Peruvian restauranteur. Also notice that they are lying at a 90 degree angle, so their two pairs of eyes look in all directions.

Yeah, I know the picture is blurry. My cheapo camera isn’t satisfactory. I’m going to have to buy a real one.