Those abberations worry me.
Far too many these days.
Wildlife and you...and your gardens...and ponds..
My sister Karla has the best pictures of humminbirds... I will have to scan it, and I promisse I will... it's pics of a mama humminbird feeding the babies... we had a nest in our house in one of the fruit trees ... oh it's the most amazing thing... she spent hours outside doing it...
my dad had a "thing" for birds... he feed birds every single day... then they moved to a 14th floor apartment and somehow birds found my dad! one of the windows had a little plant box and so every morning he gave them a banana, orange and bread... The day before they moved from that apartment he put the banana out and the birds didn't come. My dad told me that the birds knew he was moving ...so cute...
Also my dad feed cats... he never really came close to them (he believed they were to be admired and free from human touch!) at one point he was buying food for 26 cats... at least 3 generations... my sister Karla (the BiologisT) is also very compassionate... funny how I am the one that likes to touch, kiss, hug and play with animals... they are so much more respectful of nature than me... lol... but I love it... wish the humminbird could come every morning to my window... love to see him... no I don't want to have animals in cages... (unless they eat my roses!!!!!!)
ok I have to confess. I HATE JAPANESE BEATTLES... and yes, I kill every single one I find... no mercy!
Noreaster,would love to have the snake in my yard package him up and send along will pay the shipping.
Peter
ge1836: The aberrations you see in that photo do not come from malnourishment or overcrowding or too many accidents with cars. Aberrations like THAT are due to pollutants in the environment, chemicals. For instance, did you know that DDT can and still does exist in the undistirbed soils upon which it was used? This despite a ban in the 1970's. Dig up the dirt, and the food chain gets totally f---ed up. It is still potent! No, birth defects like that have to do with what we humans put into the environment to rid ourselves of something or other. See, that's the effects of the "short fix". Very very sad. And its happening all over the world. Genetics are getting totally messed up in the wild. As humans, we have a choice: to do the right thing, or the most expedient thing b/c as humans, we like a quick fix. Professor Dumbledore said it best to Harry Potter: You are now faced with a decision: do the easy thing, or do the right thing. Your character will be judged upon which you choose.
I have always laid the cancers that are taking us and the animals out one by one,the birth defects, any brain malfunction ,just about all of the krap we deal with and pay for along down the road, at the door of DDT applications after WW2 and the modern fertalizers in use today,not to mention polymers.
I am old enough to remember a world with clean water and clean air.
Don't get me going on the latest food craze "Organic" what a catchword that has become, since pesticides and chemical fertalizers go anywhere they please,including evaporating and comming down with the rain we love so much for our gardens, miles away from it's original source.
We are on the same page you and I.
Unfortunatly Big business and agribusiness wants to produce a food supply that looks like it just came off the pages of a magazine or people won't buy it.
I gotta stop befor I loose it.There isn't enough room to cover the issue adaquitly.
ge: Well, we'll just have to hash it out at an RU! But yes, I am old enough too, to remember when cattle were born with only one head that didn't have an extra leg growing out of the middle of it. It IS too long to hass here, but we'll get the chance to! Come hell or high water, we will!
morrigan, hello. I haven't been posting much but was very much intrigued by this thread. I don't have a problem with deer, although they live but a mile or less down the road, there's just too many fences to jump to get to my garden. I personally have nothing against hunting deer, in fact,I think it is beneficial to the deer population. But I would have to be REALLY hungry before I could pull the trigger or let the bow fly. I'm a self confessed hypocrit in that regard. I buy meat encased in plastic. My only condition is.. take what you need and need what you take. I have noticed that the bunny population has plummeted round here. I also noticed that a feral cat has taken up residence. I haven't seen a feral cat in 20 years. He actually came within 18 inches of me last nite. Poor thing is skin and bones. He knew I had the kibble but he had to hiss anyway. I'll win him over eventually. In the mean time, Bunnies beware!!
Doesn't sound like he's catching those bunnies if he's skin and bones, Louise. Poor little guy!
Last week we had a chipmunk running all along the stone wall doing what sounds to me like a distress call. He did it from 5am 'til 8pm non-stop. We were thinking it was a baby looking for it's mother. Maybe the mom got 'et. Anyway, 5am this morning, he's out there again. It's a hollow 'bark', now - earlier this morning it was more of a high pitched squeal. It just breaks your heart to hear him out there calling, and calling. Any ideas or suggestions?
oh oh... that early in the day???? looking for a mate????
my turtles are inside today... and separated... they need a break from each other I think... Cocoa bit Nestle 2 days ago and I had to separate them... yesterday they stayed outside all day ... but since today is so cloudy I have them inside... don't know if I am doing a good thing or not... my cute babies... so darn cute!
Hey all: The chipmunk sounds like it could either be a young'un calling for a lost Mom, or a Mom in distress because something has happened to her litter. Only way to know is to go out and inspect around the area. Esp. look for flies buzzing around a certain area, a tip-off that someone is dead or dying. As for the 'feral' cat, if s/he was TRULY feral, you would not have gotten within 18" of him/her. And since s/he is skin and bones, it seems more likely that s/he has been either lost for a little bit, or was dumped. Skin and bones = one of three things: the two mention above (they don't really know how to fend for themselves and it is true! An inside cat may not know how to hunt for food, only for fun!) OR s/he is sick and in need of some medical attention. Did you notice any discharge from eyes/nose?
You could set a non-lethal trap for the chipmunk and get him/her to a wildlife rehabber in your area if you see nothing else amiss, just to be sure that this one is ok. They will ask you to release her/him back at your place if they find nothing wrong - or rather, they SHOULD ask you to do that.
Are Nestle and Cocoa both males? That's usually why they will bite. Otherwise, the males mounts the female and grabs hold of the carapace right there in front above her head, and can cause minor damage to the shell, which will usually self-repair!
Nestle is a she... and Cocoa is a he... and I had originally 4 males and Nestle... they all bit each other's tails... so sad...
I separated Nestle and Cocoa last year because poor Cocoa was loosing his tail and actually bleeding bad one day... I honestly believed he was going to die... did n't eat for a few days etc... his tail is actually growing again I think... his shell sheds really nicely and he is so light... don't know it that is normal... I usually give them both a good polish with a shell cream every other week... Nestle is heavier and her shell is not as new as Cocoa... but they seem to be in good health... they eat their turtle food and sometimes lettuce... they like brocolli... so cute...
You should get rid of the lettuce, subsititute kale or chicory; broccolie is good, and make sure there is some animal protein in there, like earthworms, or frozen (thawed) smelts, cantaloupe, apples. Painteds are omnivores with an emphasis on fish and small fry. And do this in addition to a good turtle food, like Tetramin Reptamin Floating turtle sticks, to be sure they get their minerals and vitamins. Sunlight is very important for that UV blast!
they get dried shrimp... from tetra - and I spray calcium in their water and food once a week... yeah, they get light every day since they live in my bedroom window and I have a reptile lamp for them for the gray days of winter... I will definitely try apples and cantaloupe... thanks!
Thanks morrigan. I guess I'll wait it out and let nature take it's coarse (exactly what I said last week when this happened). I didn't think he/she would feel the loss for this long.
Kassia - you're 'kids' sound like normal siblings to me! lol
Kassia: UVA and UVb do not pass through glass! So, outdoors safely when you can or you can invest in a simple bulb that provides the right dose of full spectrum light! A good petstore assistant (if such a one exists) can guide you appropriately.
Morri, I think my feral cat is an abandoned house cat. Tonite he let me scratch his ears. So I took a good look while up close and personal. Ears clean, teeth clean, no runny nose just very skinny. A truly feral cat would never let me touch him. At least not without months of slow progression. He's a smart one though! Never enters the back yard where the dogs are. He stays out front where the bunnies are.
I have a stray that I like and feed, but he/she is still afraid of me. I would consider taking it in. Would immediately go to the vet since I have a cat and don't want to take a chance with any diseases, etc.
I've named him Osee. O.C. Orange Cat. He just left 5 puncture wounds in my hand. I guess nobody told him to not bite the hand that feeds you. He has some issues to work through ;)
Ummm..should I beware of any diseases from a cat bite??
SOOOO Hows your new cat friend Ocee. If your feeding him he'll stay.LOL
It breaks my heart that people just drop cats and dogs off.
Is there a Humaine Shelter nearby? perhaps they will take him in.He should have been surrendered there in the first place.
Hope he calms down and trusts you and becomes your pet.
Make sure you keep that cat bite clean, Louise. 75% of all cat bites become infected(50% of dog bites, 99% of human bites). Put triple antibiotic on it as much as possible to help.
I'm sure Ocee didn't mean any offense. Just wanted to let you know he makes his own decisions.
I know the feeling, Sherrie. I didn't have to stay at the hospital, but return three days in a row for the IV. I guess I shouldn't have waited until I saw the red line going up my arm! Dah!
Is it a full bite or a "play" bite? I get little punctures/scratches from my cat and I just scrub them real hard. But a full bite (which I got when a dog decided to descend upon me holding my cat while outside) is dangerous -- I was told by a vet that any time you get a cat bite you need to go to the hospital for a shot to make sure it doesn't get infected.
I'd say go to the hospital and get that shot. May be too late, but they can look at it and see if it is going to be a problem.
Here's a visitor we had this morning sitting on our deck. Took the pic thru the kitchen window.
Here he is looking quite innocent. I've been flushing the wounds with hydrogen peroxide and putting the antibiotic cream on. I think I will visit the doctor in the morning though.
Can you get rabies from cats?
Good Louise. He sure is a cutie.
Jen - Great shot. Cooper's or sharp-shinned?
ID on bird forum said Cooper's.
Yes. That's why we vaccinate our pets.
Cute cat, Weeze. Nice shot, Jen.
I just saw a cool spider on one of my purple flower plants. I can't access the picture right now, but it looks just like this one: white with pink smudges on the abdomen: http://bugguide.net/node/view/16424. I think ti was hunting a bee when I saw it. Pretty neat.
Cats can carry rabies, but he's not rabid. He was mewing for his breakfast this morning.
Jen, does your hawk have a beige belly? I've noticed one around here but haven't been able to make an ID. It looks very similar to yours.
Morrigan - this is a wonderful, interesting thread! Your knowledge is so helpful to us all. Our farm gets just about the same list of wildlife that John posted already, so I won't repeat the list. We are situated in the middle of about 10,000 undeveloped acres of forest and various watersheds, so we see and hear a LOT of critters. Around 3:00 a.m. last night during the storms, we heard a lone coyote or possibly a wolf just behind us in the land that was just logged. There has been a debate for the last couple of years about the possibility that it is a wolf. Generally, when we have coyotes, they are in packs, and this guy is a bit taller than most coyotes. Many of us have seen it, but we really don't know. The call last night was not typical for coyotes, but we know that wolves are not common here. So, the debate goes on and we have no certainty.
As to the deer, Victor knows I'm on the other side of this issue. I love our deer, and so far, they have limited their dining to our wild strawberries and blueberries all over our meadow. We have a nice vista up through the meadow and we love to see them and the moose come into our meadow.
I am trying VERY hard to cohabit with the garter snakes, but I, too, would like it if they would wear dogtags so I wouldn't be startled by them. Whenever you have as many stone walls and a stone fireplace as we have, you just can't avoid having snakes in them. You just hope that the "guest sitting on the snake on the stone wall by the BBQ pit" incident isn't a part of every BBQ!! Once was enough! LOL
"they have limited their dining to our wild strawberries and blueberries"
That's why you're on the other side of the issue, Louise! And with coyotes and possibly wolves in the area, the deer will not be anywhere near the levels they are here. Please send a few coyote or wolves.
LOL, Victor! I really do understand your dilemma. I just have a different situation (so far) that allows me to appreciate the wild life a bit more. If I lived next door to you, I'm sure I'd be luring them over to your pond and patio area and away from my gardens! LOL ... Actually, I'D be over there whenever you turned your head. It's so pretty!
Creamy white belly/chest
ok, finally got the picture of the white crab spider Misumena vatia
