Fauna and other natural things

[apl68]

Sounds a lot cooler than most of what I get to see, Catherder!  Our local pond doesn't freeze over, for one thing.

I did recently have a rare up-close armadillo sighting.  It's amazing how those short-legged critters can try to bound like a deer when they're running.

[Wahoo Redux]

I never realized how beautiful fungus could be unless one looks at it.

[Catherder]

Sounds a lot cooler than most of what I get to see, Catherder!  Our local pond doesn't freeze over, for one thing.

I did recently have a rare up-close armadillo sighting.  It's amazing how those short-legged critters can try to bound like a deer when they're running.

An armadillo is pretty cool!

The fox that crosses the lake is a grey fox, the one that keeps trying to dig its way into my shed is red.

[FishProf]

My cats are launching themselves at windows trying to get to squirrels on feeders.

[apl68]

Several days ago I was watching the sunset from a semi-open utility pipeline cut area behind my parents' house (they live well out of town), and saw a bat flying overhead.  I watched it pass back and forth for quite some time.  They definitely don't move like birds.  The aerobatics they make are amazing.  The only sound it made that my human ears could hear was the occasional flutter of wings.

Several days later Dad saw what he thinks might have been a pair of bears some distance down the pipeline.  He didn't have binoculars handy to make a positive identification.  Bear sightings where they live would be plausible, though.

[clean]

my father has a fish pond. He feeds the fish about 5 pm everyday.  About 510 every day a great blue heron lands a bit away and then walks to the spot that my dad feeds the fish.  Im not sure how successful he has been but I did see him with a pretty big fish earlier this week, but it was much earlier than feeding time and he was at the other end of the pond. 

[clean]

my parents live in a rural area.

While driving to civilization, I drove past 3 turkeys (toms) .
On the way home, on the other side of the road, I passed 3 pigs!  (probably yearlings, as they didnt look like they would be much bigger than 50 pounds or so.. ... (the right size for eating!!)

[Thursday's_Child]

Be wary of feral pigs, Clean.  They're highly destructive and should be killed whenever possible, but they're also known to attack humans and to carry some nasty parasites.

I didn't know my yard had deer mice - and had forgotten how much prettier than other mice they are.

[Aster]

Feral cats are both my joy and my bane.

Feral cats are so cute. Feral kittens are super cute.

But feral cats kill every other wild animal larger than an ant, so I am sad. No birds. No frogs. No squirrels. No rabbits. No lizards. No beetles. Cats are like the atomic bomb of invasive species.

Feral kittens got into my outdoor pots last week. What a mess.

[Catherder]

A few years ago a small feral cat was visiting our back door--we named her LBK for "little black kitty".  I asked the local animal shelter for advice, and they said they could take her if I could at least partially "socialize" her.  After a few weeks of my putting out food and treats, LBK would let me stroke her and check her for parasites.

Then one day she showed up during a horrible sleet storm, so I reached out and pulled her indoors. She went nuts, climbed all the walls, landing on the stove, the washer and the microwave, and finally fled out the door when I opened it.

She never came back.

[clean]

Be wary of feral pigs, Clean.  They're highly destructive and should be killed whenever possible

I used to really enjoy pig hunting, when I had a place to do it.  They can be very tasty when less than a year old... big enough to have some meat on them, fat enough to be flavorful, but not mature enough to be gamy (if male) or have piglets if female (and lose all of the fat when nursing)

[clean]

Coyote problems!!  At the Airport!!!

My last flight out of my current town was delayed because a coyote was too close to the runway!  They had to use a John Deere Tractor to chase it far enough away to not be a problem for the plane!!

Not a Big City Problem (usually, anyway!!) but coyotes are now Everywhere!!

[backatit]

Strange that - we had a BIG coyote walking down the road today. I wish I could keep the small dogs in for a few days till he makes his way out of the neighborhood (till his next round - he seems to come by every couple of weeks and he's bold as brass). I need to get them coyote vests.

[apl68]

Coyote problems!!  At the Airport!!!

My last flight out of my current town was delayed because a coyote was too close to the runway!  They had to use a John Deere Tractor to chase it far enough away to not be a problem for the plane!!

Not a Big City Problem (usually, anyway!!) but coyotes are now Everywhere!!

I've seen that happen with a plain old stray dog before.  While waiting for our flight we saw the spectacle of a guy in a pickup making several passes at it to run it off.  Don't know whether it delayed any flights.  Ours wasn't.

[FishProf]

Our new Kitten, Orestes, is a natural hunter.  This morning Smolt found him playing with a (now dead) mouse.  Impressive that he caught a mouse when he never goes outside.

Hmmm....now I need to find out where they are getting in.