Wonderful Nature - Thread

[Beth3346]

Poor little raccoon was walking down the road in the rain early this morning. There are raccoons in the woods who go dumpster diving in the complex They set out no kill traps for them, but I think most raccoons are smart enough to not get caught. Apparently there are rats too, but I've never seen one. We had rats at my parent's house, from my dad feeding the birds. I opened the garage door one night (from inside the house) and there was a huge one on the table. I've also seen them on the side of the road at night.

The new neighbors called the authorities on my dad for feeding the cranes which is illegal (but to be fair, he wasn't feeding them, they would show up and eat the food later) so he stopped feeding all the birds and squirrels. They don't have rats anymore.

snitching isn't cool

still no squirrels. i saw some deer a few days ago.

[BlackCurtains]

Yesterday, when we went over the bridge, I saw a manatee take a breath. I wonder how they are doing now? The news was covering them for a while because the heat of the water killed all the seagrass and they were starving, so in a few places the Wildlife people started feeding them romaine lettuce. They're so sensitive to change in the environment - if it's too cold, they die, if it's too hot, they die. If tourists scare them and stress them out enough, they die.

I've had encounters with them in the Gulf. They're curious and if you have something shiny on you, they want to see what it is

[Artemesia's Garden]

We got a massive bucket of honey from Steve's bees today. But we forgot we had lost his main sieve set, so we have to wait for a new one to arrive in the post  These bees have adapted really well and are closest to the british black bees. Steve tries to go along with the bees rather than controlling them all the time. We have 4 hives currently. I have noticed so few butterflies and insects generally around this year. I find it really worrying.

[Taffeta]

Two new little ducklings and one new squeak toy (baby moorhen) at the ponds yesterday. The moorhen is from a later brood, its older siblings from the first brood were babysitting it, one was feeding it It's so cute when they do that.

All the little goose fluffles are now big goose adolescents with their markings starting to come in. But there is one gosling that is a lot younger than them, so I guess someone had an extra chick without us noticing

It seems that at least 12 of the original 13 goslings have survived to almost adulthood. There are a LOT of geese now around the ponds, chilling.

A baby sparrow in the garden this morning tried to take on a pigeon for some of the bread Dad put out, because he hadn't got the seed feeders up yet. You can guess who won though

The baby sparrows are small destruct-monsters though. They have no clue that they're too heavy for half the things they land on until they land on them.

[Artemesia's Garden]

The baby sparrows are small destruct-monsters though. They have no clue that they're too heavy for half the things they land on until they land on them.

I woke up to find one of my lupins broken this morning. I guess now we are down to the slimmer secondary spikes and the baby birds are a bit bigger than they were! I think they are feeding on the aphids though, which is great. I counted 12 baby sparrows altogether. When they first fledged they would line up in a row which was too cute.

[BlackCurtains]

The birds have vacated the area Or they are still here but not singing. I think it's too hot. Maybe they left because they knew the extreme heat was coming. They will go away when a tropical storm or hurricane is coming too.

[Beth3346]

i saw some ducks fly by yesterday. still no squirrels.

[Artemesia's Garden]

I just saw a goldfinch eating seeds in our front garden. We deliberately used a mesh for parking and let flowers and grasses grow through it, rather than using a solid surface. This is a direct win for me and really nice to see. Not my photo:

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[Beth3346]

so pretty! i've been seeing more birds in the yard lately now that i have a bench and can sit out in the morning. yesterday i saw what i think it a younger mockingbird. it still had some fluff. i didn't have time to take a photo before it flew off.

[katrine2309]

I have a lot of birds, living so close to the forest. There is a family of magpies living in My garden. They’ve been here for years. It’s so much fun watching them and they are so creative! I also have loads of snails, not all of them I like. Because they’re eating my flowers, but I really love the big snails with houses on their backs. The kind of snails the French cooks and eats. I have them in my garden and they are so cool!

Yesterday I saw Bambi! He was just 5 meters or so away from me. Close enough that I could see his eyes. Just watching each other, and me talking. It was a truly nice experience!

[Beth3346]

aww Bambi

yesterday morning when i let my dog out in the backyard there was a toad who appeared to be stuck in the sprinkler cover. i tried to remove the cover with a broom but it wouldn't come off. i'm afraid of toads so i didn't want to touch it. but i couldn't just leave it there to die. i went inside for a second to get my partner and when i looked out the window it was free and just sitting on the sprinkler cover. and it hopped away. i guess they can squeeze through very small places.

[BlackCurtains]

When I went to get my mail, there was a cute little jumping spider on the side of the building I had to play with it for a minute, I just love those guys.

[Artemesia's Garden]

I have been topping up the water bath three times a day due to the heat. Today I have seen Blue Tits, a Gold Finch, a pair/family of Green Finches and Blackbirds in the garden.

Post Merge: July 18, 2022, 11:47:36 PM

Last night I heard a clanging out in the garden and two hedgehogs were demolishing the cat biscuits. Two paws on the edge of the bowl, upending it into it's face. The other one was standing in the water bowl I put out, which is basically a disposable plastic food carton. I was pleased to see them looking happy and healthy. When I went out in the morning they had left crumbs and dribble all over the cat bowl and had pooped in the water. Ah well. Luckily it was easy to replace ready for Mr Cat.

Further update, and kind of relevant to all the people saying they wanted more animal themed ponies. I was looking up Glider, she has butterfly symbols. And I found that gliders are actually a thing:

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So now the name seems a little less odd.

[Taffeta]

The local canada geese came to pay us a visit last night (Tuesday). They were pulling up the clover in the strip of grass in front of our drive. This morning they were on the road island, and then at the bus stop. I'm guessing with the number that there are, it's harder to find food when its hot and the grass is all dying. They seem quite healthy though.

I think something is in the garden right now as I type. We have a mystery barrier mover, which we assume is probably a hedgehog. We've seen the pigeons do it too, but the other night one of Dad's small metal plant barriers ended up all the way onto the patio, and hooked over my petunia like they'd been playing hook a plant with it.

I often here thuds, or strange calls in the garden. I just heard a clank, so I hope that doesn't mean they've been at the barriers again.

The sparrows were sunbathing yesterday morning, but went into hiding as it got hotter. The magpie was shade hopping and looking confused by the sudden warmth.

[BlackCurtains]

There was a Mourning Dove in the tree this morning. All the other birds that would sing at dawn are either gone or not singing. I miss it.

The Mockingbirds are still here. When I got my mail the other day, one was on the electric metal case thingy, and as I walked past it stayed there, so I was very close to it. I said hello They remember faces and will recall if you've been nice or mean to them. I always try to be nice, of course. Same with crows.