http://www.westsoundwildlife.org/wildlife/patientstories/PS_TrashCanOpossum.html
This message was edited Sep 17, 2012 8:29 AM
Your Neck of the Woods Chat Summer # 2 Count Down to Fall
There is an Allegheny Wood Rat whose tail is furry, but not bushy.
http://users.dickinson.edu/~wright/TeamWoodrat/woodratID/
Don't know what a muskrat tail looks like...not a skunk although I once mistook one for a feral cat until it got closer and I moved out of its foraging path. To me, baby coons look like well, coons. And possums are way too light colored to be called dark. And it would be fairly far from water to be a muskrat or even otter...
So, my vote goes for young ground hog because of "roundness" and its being out and about in the day and crossing open ground to cover.
I try to remember that like major storms and floods, occasionally birds of prey can "distribute" critters we usually don't see if they loose their grip! as well as the havaheart relocators. I reckon our local golf course has an overpopulation of groundhogs, etc as in one day of being out and about I overheard three different people recommend that as a "perfect relocation destination"!! Yikes.
This message was edited Sep 17, 2012 10:59 AM
FORE!!! They would make new kinds of hazards.
Jan, I just burst out laughing thinking of a bird dropping a rat on my head as I'm gardening outside.
It definitely wasn't grey, so possum (opposum?) is probably out.
I'm thinking that rat is a possibility (shudder), but the tail was *short,* skinny and non-bushy (but possibly furry). Both the allegheny and norway rats seem to have long tails. And their bodies are different from what I observed. Rats have long-ish bodies, whereas the animal I saw was compact, almost cylindrical.
It had the color and round shape of a mole, so that's still a possibility.
I have seen a raccoon in my neighborhood, so it shouldn't surprise me that we have other small mammals. But honestly, I'd rather have garden snakes...
Thank you all for brainstorming with me! I'm going to be extra cautious out there this week.
Well, Teri--
As far as a short tail--do not exclude that this critter may have lost a part of its tail
in a trap, in a mishap or in a fight with another animal...
Come here rain....come on. I saw a forecast for up to 4 inches of rain in my area. Not ideal by any means. Let's just hope for a slow drizzle to start, let the ground soften and soak.
Agreed. Wouldn't it be great if we could have it rain at our command?
Well if you have to monetary resources I believe you can schedule and command it.
Heehee. But a nice soaking rain is ideal. Hubby just asked if I put the windows up on the car. Oh, yes, but it doesn't matter cuz there is a leak somewhere when it rains hard. He has tried to trace it. Hopefully it won't rain from that direction.
How was the wedding?
Great. Things have to go pretty wrong for a wedding not to be fun. It was a shame I couldn't stay longer at the swap. Great event, I really had no idea what to expect.
Now we have to clean up the event sticky...
Spring swap is...and at your place Jan?
Yeppers!!! The Saturday after Mother's Day. I'll start the threads for that in early April. I am only 2 miles from the Delaware Memorial bridge in Pennsville, NJ. Already praying for a super, duper weather day like we had at Sally's.
It poured here during the night.
I was driving home from work - going north and passed through about 10 minutes of fury as the storm was heading south. Wind and blinding rain - couldn't see at all. Amazing that there were no accidents along the way, and commute was one of the easiest that I've had in a long time. Made it from DC to Leesburg in 1 hour flat! Gardens got a nice soaking too, and I didn't lose power. I never much thought about storms one way or the other until that horrible one in July. Now I cringe every time I hear the weather reports forecasting severe rain or tornadoes - puts a different perspective on it. The storm yesterday had no impact at Aspen Hill, what a relief!
Glad to hear that! DH's school had called off all after school activities and sent out an automated call for parents to make arrangements to pick their kids up as soon as school finished. They followed the lead of a nearby public school system. We had a few branches down, but nothing major.
Quote from aspenhill :
... I never much thought about storms one way or the other until that horrible one in July. Now I cringe every time I hear the weather reports forecasting severe rain or tornadoes - puts a different perspective on it.
As we talked at the recent swap, I could tell how traumatic that storm was for you, Terri. I,m glad that you can acknowledge that fear as there seems such embarassment about being 'afraid' of anything big or small. Too much stoicism/denial keeps us separated from those many moments in a life that put us in perspective. Your heightened sense of awareness around high winds and storms is now better than any weather channel alerts which many people do not take seriously or dismiss if the predicted danger doesn't materialize.
Also, I resonate with your sadness at loosing a tree and taking out another because of proximity to house...and your adjustment to new patterns of light and shadow around you. Glad that angel statue Chantell posted on the prayer request thread for dear Becky is there for you.
My 'fear thing' (well one of them!) around storms, etc is not hearing that people are okay, so I am very grateful for those who check in after a major storm or quake moves through.
And, my reminder to myself and others, get some new wiper blades as this hot hot summer has really dried them out!
Hi Terri, Glad that storm passed you by with no issues. I love storms, the wildness of them, wind, lightening and all. But I quite often think that we have never had any problems because of them. No damage, no trees falling on us nothing bad has ever happened and that is why I can sit back and see a big storm and think WOW isn't this great.
Ric has out the chain saw today. He limbed up some of the Everygreens on the road side of the group in preparation for some new shade loving bushes and plants. Took out the dying Blue Spruce boy that made a big hole. Even dead branches fill up space.
Boy that wind was brutal rain hard thencthe whole thing done by dinnertime. I was expecting a whole night of storms
I think the entire area is a little jumpy after that late June storm we got this year. I'm with you holly I love storms, lightning wind rain the whole nine.
Fortunately I think we got enough of the slow drizzle type rain that the erosion wasn't too severe. After checking all my recent swap plants only a wood poppy from happy that I placed on a hill was gripping on for life and an ajuga from Terri ssg that i planted at the exit of downspout for soil retention. Probably could use a lot more there but I hesitate to plant more.
I remember coming home in an airplane and running though a storm. You could see the lighting out over the clouds and the air turbulence made the plane feel like a roller coaster. I though it was fun. My friends though they were going to die.
It rained a couple of days ago here thunder, lightning after a long cloudy drizzle. I'm not use to digging anymore, I'm a little wore out from digging and forking up Sunchokes.
Industrial equipment might make this part of gardening fun but I ain't John Henry ,and I will be at it a few days.
Well anyway, lot's of roots and tomatoes the past few days.
The Sunchokes"
Well how about the new baby at the Washington zoo!
I've flown in a plane several times ,not bad, but you wouldn't get me on a roller coaster!!!
juhur, what do you do with your sunchokes? I dig mine, bag them , and then forget them in the extra fridge all winter and summer. Now its time to dig more LOL
Nice moist garden today so I got things planted and moved. So much pruning I never got to this summer...ugh
Plane over roller coaster here. Esp when my DH is Pilot in command! I trust him!
Mine tend to break down in the fridge sooo I bag them in our handy dandy air dry mesh bags and set them in an open box.( they stay like potatoes for me ,even though I have never seen that recommended).
As far as food I mostly grind them into mush and add mix them with my mashed potatoes. Every so often they get used for thin sliced tiny ,added to oriental stir fry ,cold additive. Like the kitchen chopper thing.
I hear they keep five years in the fridge if dried properly (my difficulty) perhaps you might know if that is true?lol
okay I gotcha, I'm on hold till then^_^
Guess what i found today on my grassless patch in the middle of my front lawn?
Don't remember where we all chatted about holes in out lawns....but here are mine--brand new...
At least--I know they were not there last week as I mowed my lawn.
I got a 2' long stick and pushed it into the hole (on the left) and it went ALL the way in!!!
Maybe, at that point, it made a turn? The other hole was not that deep--at least not measuring by my stick.
I did what i always do. Stuck a good-sized rag, soaked in Ammonia, into each hole.
Will see what's up tomorrow....
Gita
German Gerbils lol!!!! Yeah I know I'm suppose to be hold.
How odd Gita.
juhur, give me five years- Half my bag is moldy and the other half sprouting, after 12 mo in fridge.
sallyg;That's what has twice happened to mine , not as easy to dry properly as one might be told or read to believe.
Gitagal; I hate those things when they catch my heel or toe, My comments aren't for ears We get the usual moles that just hill up tunnels as they burrow, only those burrows get soggy some years and your foot sinks into them, You have be careful not to twist something when those are soft ground sabotaging, beside the plants they tend to destroy.Grrrrr!!
Juhur---
I do not have any Moles here--never have--in 43 years. Soil is too dense.
What are German gerbils? Or were you being funny???? I have never seen these kind of holes before--
right out in the open on my lawn.
I live in a development--and do not have much wildlife here--except Squirrels, Chipmunks, a rabbit or two--
and a mouse--now and then.
Twice in the 43 years--I have known the presence of a Ground Hog. I believe I had one this past summer--but the Ammonia rags
stopped that critter--and I never saw it again.
This one has me stumped! We had a big discussion about holes like this in a lawn--but I forgot what Thread it was on.
Too many to go and find.
Help me out here.....Who had the holes???? Gita
I wasn't exactly being funny, although it was meant as light humor , There is in fact a creature(rodent) that is brown like a chipmunk about the same as a large field mouse that is referred to commonly as a German Gerbil because Germany and central Europe is where they come from just like Gerbils and Hamsters. They are European rodents ,they do get loose, and sometimes you might see some of them .
They burrow just like that if those holes are about the size of a large old time silver dollar, that or chipmunks looks real similar.
Gita: FWIW, I have these same holes in my very dense yard, here and there. I have lots and lost of chipmunks, and I tend to think they are from them. Might be from snakes, though, I suppose.
I feel terrible for ssgardener and the animals she must face as she tries to garden. Poor lady.....even though I have spent most of my life living in rural areas where it would seem that lots of animals reside and a resident such as myself should see lots of them, thankfully I have been fortunate enough to usually miss any that are really scary.
I hadn't read this thread for some time, so really enjoyed hearing everyone's input on trying to guess the critter at ssgardener's house. Strangest thing I have witnessed here was an albino skunk lolling across my front yard some years back. There are some who don't believe I saw it, but I know what I saw.
As for the infamous 2012 storm.....I am married to man who is much like you others who love storms. He usually goes out of the screen porch and watches them. The evening this particular storm came through, he did as always, but returned in a short while saying that he got scared. I took it to be a joke until the next day when experiencing and hearing of the terrible damage to our area. For weeks when leaving home there was evidence of something major having happened, with many downed trees a good time later. John called the destruction something similar to a war zone at the time. Amazing for sure!!!
Seeing that it is Friday once again, I would like to wish each of you a very wonderful weekend. Take good care all and happy gardening.
Ruby
Well---
The mystery of my holes has been solved! And--NO animal was responsible for it--but the BG&E crew.
They could have let me know--before i went to all kinds of extremes to find out what dug my holes...
They are digging across the street to locate the gas and electric lines--as the street light I fought so hard
to have installed will be done this week. Our County Councilman, David Marks, is an awesome man!
He cares so much for his community and domain. Besides--he lives in the circle behind me.
I approached him and he OK'd it i no time flat. I just had to go to EVERY house in this block and
have everyone sign the "petition" to have this light installed.
I have lived here for 43 years--and out whole block has been pitch dark all these years.
SO! The BG&E (Baltimore Gas and Electric) that are digging up everything across the street,
had come on my side to see where the gas lines go. They smelled some gas near a Verizon "hole"
and called in to have someone come and check it out. Besides, they drilled 2 holes identical to mine right next to the
Verizon hole (with a silly little lid over it) to check for gas leaking. They suspected that Verizon,
who had been here a few days ago, damaged something in the hole and caused the gas smell.
They were saying that Verizon always messes things up. Must not be very well-trained technicians
.....
So this woman in a gas service van comes around to the back and asks me if I was having any gas problems.
I say "NO!"--and she says: "But I have a ticket that you called in with a gas problem!"...I still say--NO!
So she walks around and sprays that awful red paint all over my grass and sidewalk. I HATE that! She said she had to....
It is still there--3 years later!!!! Besides--right there in the median were 2 holes--just like the ones I saw on my lawn.
I walked across the street and asked the guys working on the lines for the street light if they had called it in??
The foreman said--"Yes!"--because they had smelled gas. Seems they had drilled all 4 holes to check for gas smell.
And here I had written to the UMD garden advice line to see what they think dug the holes.
Their guess was Voles or Chipmunks. I totally disagree! What Chipmunk would dig a hole 18" straight down?????
In a way--All's well that ends well! BUT--It would have been nice if they had left a note that they drilled 2 holes
into my front lawn earlier.....
Pulled my Ammonia soaked rags out of the 2 holes and was glad there was no critters to blame...
Gita
What an unexpected solution! Funny that I have holes like that all over our yard -- but I'm sure it isn't the gas company!
A H,HA!!! They were "digging machine animals" tee hee ^_^
You can tell it's Friday I 'm feeling younger and more odd than ever.
Tell UMD_Terp we have found "verizonia rodensis augerii" at Gita's. (WB) cartoons
More terrestrial than extra terrestrial perhaps (terrestris verizonia rodensis augerii) Only be careful if they are from Orion or Alpha Centurea they have ray gun features.!! GOODNESS vaporized by a mouse, imagine !!!
It could be looked at as a gas, green, of category ,a few of them.
(Verizonius Gassiaous )
(Makesyourgreeniousdissapearous)
Okay it's raining outside and I am through now, Silly aren't I ? Little boredom
I know I am behind the times------but I do not know what you all are talking about...
Now--using my intelligentius nogginius--I am assuming you are talking about a new species of plant.. How exciting!!!
Lets see----it is a Verizon Rodent that runs an auger with gas???????? Easy--peazy!
Oh--I am SOOO smarteous--it makes Gitaeousii Happiousii.....
There is an unusual new plant I see across the street. A very bright orange with white striping.
All of a sudden--there is whole row of these plants! Just amazing!
The plant is broader on the bottom and has a white striping near the top.
Almost looks like a Cone Flower......I believe it is called Trafficiousi warningeum rubberii.