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[shereads]

A great white heron walked me to my car in the supermarket parking lot today.

It might be more accurate to say that he was headed that way, toward the grassy median to do some lizard-hunting. He was walking a few feet to my right and I slowed my pace to avoid scaring him or interfering with his plans. I had already caught my dinner and paid for it inside; my 3-foot-tall friend with the skinny legs still had to work for his.

I struck up half of a conversation. He blinked. "Dry season's here," I said. "Must be hard to find frogs." He blinked again.



Just now, I went outside with the dog and the air is scented with night-blooming jasmine.

That's my show-and-tell for today.

Your turn.

 

[doormouse]

I want what she's on

 

[Lisa Denton]

Did you say heron or heroin?

 

[she_is_my_addiction]

We had our first Fayette snowfall tonight. It was beautiful. We were like little kids again. And that added to the beauty.

 

[Guest]

A great white heron walked me to my car in the supermarket parking lot today.

It might be more accurate to say that he was headed that way, toward the grassy median to do some lizard-hunting. He was walking a few feet to my right and I slowed my pace to avoid scaring him or interfering with his plans. I had already caught my dinner and paid for it inside; my 3-foot-tall friend with the skinny legs still had to work for his.

I struck up half of a conversation. He blinked. "Dry season's here," I said. "Must be hard to find frogs." He blinked again.



Just now, I went outside with the dog and the air is scented with night-blooming jasmine.

That's my show-and-tell for today.

Your turn.

Wonderful!

I've never experienced anything quite as exotic, when it comes to birds of the feathered variety. The closest thing I get is my pyracanthus bush at the end of my garden absolutely swamped with little sparrows. They are there almost all day, every day, chirping and singing. They aren't bothered by the cats or dog, probably because they know they are in one hell of a prickly bush.

I saw a heron once, pinching fish from my Mum's pond. It wasn't there long. Poor thing, he only wanted his lunch.

Lou

 

[shereads]

My mom used to grow pyrocanthus with sparrows in it, Lou. I wonder if they're all related.

 

[Guest]

My mom used to grow pyrocanthus with sparrows in it, Lou. I wonder if they're all related.

The sparrows, the bushes, or both together?

Perhaps they come as a job lot - can't have one without the other. A bit like love and marriage. Ok, maybe not, that's just silly.

 

[shereads]

I want what she's on

Not yet. Hold out for what I'm on the day the heron talks back to me.

 

[shereads]

The sparrows, the bushes, or both together?

Perhaps they come as a job lot - can't have one without the other. A bit like love and marriage. Ok, maybe not, that's just silly.

The sparrows sprout from the pyrocanthus. It's an adaptation in response to the lack of nesting habitat. Same thing applies to great white herons. We've turned their habitat into golf courses, so they sprout fully grown from the pavement in supermarket parking lots.

Now, if we could only find out where pigeons come from.

 

[shereads]

We had our first Fayette snowfall tonight. It was beautiful. We were like little kids again. And that added to the beauty.

I want snow!

Post pictures of snow, please.

 

[Guest]

we are inundated with nature...hey! go figure!
two summers ago i was on our beach and i thought i saw some water rats in the rock wall. it was a bit frightening because they seemed really large. so, because it freaked me a bit, i had to do what every person in a horror flick does, move in closer.
when i could see them clearly, i could see that they were really wild mink. a whole litter of long, ferret looking creatures who didn't really care for me being there. after a bit of hissing they retreated but stayed in the rocks all summer. havent seen them this year but that was really pretty awesome.
i probably looked a bit silly telling them how pretty they were and if you were at a distance it might have looked like i was talking to a rock wall....hrm...

 

[shereads]

Wild mink? Cool. I forgot there was such a thing in the wild. I'll bet they clutch their coats tighter when women stare at them.

We have no minks outside of Neiman Marcus, but we have river otters. We also have rats the size of houseboats. The smart ones dress up in fuzzy outfits, puff out their cheeks, and pretend to be squirrels.

 

[Guest]

Wild mink? Cool. I forgot there was such a thing in the wild. I'll bet they clutch their coats tighter when women stare at them.

We have no minks outside of Neiman Marcus, but we have river otters. We also have rats the size of houseboats. The smart ones dress up in fuzzy outfits, puff out their cheeks, and pretend to be squirrels.

DAMN RATS! really when you live close to water there is no avoiding them. on the bright side, if i was ever starving....


when i was a kid we did horrid things to seagulls. wont go into details but alka seltzer in bread makes me shudder now.

we had an infestation of cormarants (sp). black duck like creatures that love to crap on everything in sight...they stand on the dock and hold their wings open to dry and swim like fish. pesky creatures. they know just when youve washed your car, so i dont bother with it much any more.

 

[rgraham666]

On my way home Saturday night, I saw a skunk. He was about twenty feet away from me. Very pretty animals. He ignored me. I didn't bother him for some strange reason.

All time favourites.

Several years ago, I went out about 3:00 in the morning, insomnia. House across the street had it's sprinkler on. As I got closer, I saw a momma raccoon and three kits. The mom was teaching the kits how to search for worms on a wet lawn. She patted the ground with her front paws. Every so often she would move them to her mouth. The kits were trying to imitate her with much less success.

I got within 20 feet of them and watched for about five minutes. Then one of the kits noticed me, ran to momma and she hissed at me. I told her she had a lovely family and backed off.

A couple of weeks later, I saw an ant dairy farm. Some ants keep herds of aphids that they milk for honeydew.

Watched for an hour. I saw the ants chase off predators, milk the aphids, herd strays back. Just like a human farm.

Very cool thing to see.

 

[she_is_my_addiction]

I want snow!

Post pictures of snow, please.

I don't have any pictures of Fayette snow, but as soon as I get my cameras developed, y'all will have some Chicago snow pics.

For now....beautiful snow

 

[ABSTRUSE]

I love this Dr. Doolittle thread.
As common as they are, deer around here still leave me in awe. I get excited if I'm driving along and they are on the side of the road or in herds off in a field.

I've seen a blue heron in the distance....striking. As well as several hawks and got a close up of a turkey buzzard once...poor ugly thing.

Skunks, despite their smell are fascinating.

Living with garter snakes is an experience too. They have amazing strength in their bodies and a common beauty in their markings.

Seeing animals in their natural environment is always so rewarding. It reminds you of what living on this planet is all about.

 

[cantdog]

private humiliation

The very last time I went out all day to hunt, late in the season, it was crunchy-cold, the boots squeaked on the snow. It had snowed two days before and moving through the spruces and firs meant that snow from the branches would cascade down on myclothes. A warmer day would have left me much wetter in consequence, but the powdery stuff just brushed off dry.

The woods were very interesting because of the fresh snow. Birds, mice, rabbit, coyote, moose, fisher, otter-- all had left their track in it, telling short stories to me wherever I went. I was distracted by the ground and its tales, which means I didn't act much like a predator. No stalking and sneaking; I just moseyed along. Over the years I found I see more animals in the woods if I move that way, casual and relaxed about what sort of noises I make.

I sat on a log and fixed a meal of chocolate and cheese, rifle across my lap, listening to the squirrels and little birds, the wind in the branches and the distant rumble of the faraway trucks on the highway.

Those little birds move in loose groups, mixed species all together. There are chickadees, fox sparrows, English sparrows, various wrens and warblers. You couldn't call them a flock, since they don't use common guards for the whole, but they travel and feed together.

As I sat there, the little birds began to gather in the branches of the spruce thicket by my log. They landed and called their mindless calls, went to the floor of the forest and back up, crossed the trail and recrossed, twittering and chirping. Gradually they approached and surrounded me.

Such a threat the predator was! How fearsome! They stood on my log, they walked along the barrel of my weapon. Two of them, at one point, were perched on my rifle barrel.

I hadn't fed them, but I felt swarmed, you know? It was eerie and delightful at once. I stood and fished my pipe and tobacco from a pocket, but they faded only a few feet, and came back even though I was smoking.

Eventually all of them ducked and fell silent. I looked up to see an owl, dead silent, pass overhead. Five minutes later they were all acting unconcerned again.

The next year I went out walking but I haven't hunted since. I don't have any idea what connection there is between the two things.

cantdog

 

[Alex De Kok]

Me and wife - hired car - Scotland. Quiet back road.

Three posts, about twelve feet tall, set about thirty feet back from the road, about twenty feet apart. On top of each post, a buzzard!

Stop to look at beautiful buzzards, pull car off road, drop front wheel into pothole!

I'm glad that at least I had collision insurance for the hire car, because I'm not sure they believed how it got the dent

Alex

 

[cantdog]

On the way to Burlington my friend and I left the main road, route 2, to cut through the woods up by Oquossoc and Rangeley and come into New Hampshire by another road for a change.

We stopped the car and got out to watch a very pregnant moose by the side of the road. Over the winter, salt had collected in the ditch and she was spraddled to reach her head down to it. Moose are generally contemptuously unconcerned about house apes, and this one was no exception. Awkwardly placed as she was, she didn't allow us to move her off the salt lick, even though we slowly approached to a rather close vantage point.

Except on the islands, where they are generally protected, deer are much more alarmed by humans in the area. You can still find yourself among them from time to time, though.

That's the advantage of living here in this poor place with its foul climate. You can't be more than an hour from real woods. The figure was twenty minutes when I was ten, but development follows the roads and the paper companies will deforest a place, if they can.



The buzzards do, of course, migrate out. But before the change in the climate here, they never came this far north at all, sher.

Our herons are the same as the ones we always had. We have only the great blue. You can see them very close if you are canoeing on the streams. They will let you pass within ten yards if you seem to be hugging the opposite bank. American bitterns, too. Harriers, owls, eagles, osprey, falcons, hawks, ducks, geese, partridges, loons. But the turkeys and the buzzards are a new thing.

cantdog

 

[shereads]

On my way home Saturday night, I saw a skunk. He was about twenty feet away from me. Very pretty animals. He ignored me. I didn't bother him for some strange reason.

All time favourites.

Several years ago, I went out about 3:00 in the morning, insomnia. House across the street had it's sprinkler on. As I got closer, I saw a momma raccoon and three kits. The mom was teaching the kits how to search for worms on a wet lawn. She patted the ground with her front paws. Every so often she would move them to her mouth. The kits were trying to imitate her with much less success.

I got within 20 feet of them and watched for about five minutes. Then one of the kits noticed me, ran to momma and she hissed at me. I told her she had a lovely family and backed off.

A couple of weeks later, I saw an ant dairy farm. Some ants keep herds of aphids that they milk for honeydew.

Watched for an hour. I saw the ants chase off predators, milk the aphids, herd strays back. Just like a human farm.

Very cool thing to see.

Watch your shoes when you're around raccoons, rg. They steal shoes. I don't know why.

 

[shereads]

Me and wife - hired car - Scotland. Quiet back road.

Three posts, about twelve feet tall, set about thirty feet back from the road, about twenty feet apart. On top of each post, a buzzard!

Stop to look at beautiful buzzards, pull car off road, drop front wheel into pothole!

I'm glad that at least I had collision insurance for the hire car, because I'm not sure they believed how it got the dent

Alex

Never startle a buzzard, ADK. I'm told by people who know buzzard lore that if they're startled and need to leave the ground quickly, they'll, erm, eliminate ballast by, uh, becoming bulemic. Temporarily. A utilitarian bird, the buzzard. Low on charm. Very much on the "B" list for cocktail parties.

 

[TheEarl]

The sparrows sprout from the pyrocanthus. It's an adaptation in response to the lack of nesting habitat. Same thing applies to great white herons. We've turned their habitat into golf courses, so they sprout fully grown from the pavement in supermarket parking lots.

Now, if we could only find out where pigeons come from.

Nelson's Column.

The Earl

 

[Guest]

Yesterday I saw pigeon poop splat on a bald man's head. Of course he used his fingers to find out wtf.

Perdita

(Good one, Earl, about Nelson's column.)

 

[she_is_my_addiction]

Yesterday I saw pigeon poop splat on a bald man's head. Of course he used his fingers to find out wtf.

Perdita

(Good one, Earl, about Nelson's column.)

'dita, what would you like for Xxx-mas?

I think I missed you on my list.

 

[rgraham666]

Watch your shoes when you're around raccoons, rg. They steal shoes. I don't know why.

Probably for the same reason my bunny loves my shoes. My footware is tasty and chewable.

Especially after I've been wearing them, all stinky and sweaty then. No accounting for taste.