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4740. concerned - 4/18/2012 8:51:09 PM My funniest close encounter with a skunk:
I was returning home just finishing up a 3 mile run earlier this year, it was approaching twilight, and I was on part of the same driveway the wolf above used to trot past me, and I heard a sudden rustling in the undergrowth in front of me and a little to the side.
Guess what? It was a polecat at 2 O'Clock about 8 feet away from me paralleling my path. It was actually comical how it was crab-legging as if it had a stick up its butt trying to get an opportunity to set itself and spray me, but I was a little too fast for it, as I was rapidly coming up along its side.
After a few seconds, the skunk had to give it up and let me pass without odorizing me. Poor little stinker! 4741. concerned - 4/18/2012 9:01:19 PM Re. 4739 -
I'll trade my wolf for yours. Mine was obviously none too afraid of me since it had to have detected me a couple hundred of feet away, yet still approached close enough to touch with a ten foot pole. I basically froze - I didn't want to take a chance on potentially encouraging aggression in a good sized apex carnivore that obviously wasn't spooked or leery of humans. This wolf kept a constant course on the cleared roadway and a pace of a steady trot throughout, not appearing to pay special attention to me, fortunately, as it ran from my left to my right in front of me. A few seconds later, it was lost to my sight in the woods. 4742. thoughtful - 4/18/2012 10:10:43 PM I always wished i had a vid cam going when our cat learned a good lesson. We were out front at the old house working in the rock garden and the cat was outside with us. There was a turkey grazing on the lawn. I watched as the cat skulked along ever so slowly, paw step by paw step, creeping slowly toward the turkey whose back was to the cat. Closer and closer he got then he stopped, waited, wiggled his butt, wagged his tail tip and took off like a shot and batted the turkey in the butt. Scared to death the turkey took off at a dead run with the cat only inches behind.
As the turkey was running, she craned her long neck around to see what was chasing her. While not normally expressive, I swear I saw that turkey give a look like, "that little pip squeak thinks he's going to chase me!" The turkey did a u-turn and took off after the cat. When the cat realized what was happening, he practically jumped in the air, pulling a 180 and took off like a shot for the house. As he's tearing across the lawn, the turkey is gaining on him. Cat dives under the bushes, totally unaware that bushes don't stop turkeys. Turkey dives in after him. By this time, I'd reached the bushes, scared the turkey off and rescued the cat.
Score: Turkey 1, cat 0 4743. thoughtful - 4/19/2012 12:36:39 AM vonK, I wanted to say how glad I was at your desire to sip scotch and read in my library. The room was initially inspired by a library at an old victorian mansion we stayed in many years ago. They had a bottle of cognac and some snifters there and every evening we sat in the library and sipped our cognac and read. A perfect ending to a perfect day. 4744. concerned - 4/19/2012 4:25:07 PM Hi, thoughtful -
I'll never forget an episode with our family cat when I was a kid. Back then we kept our cats outdoors so they were free to roam the neighborhood. We had neighbors who always had large dogs with personality disorders, but at least they weren't the kind that made them aggressive. In fact, quite the opposite.
So, one day while I was in our back yard, I noticed the neighbor's collie racing across their back yard with our cat riding it just like a jockey with its claws dug into the dog's back! 4745. arkymalarky - 4/19/2012 10:54:22 PM I'm loving the animal/cat stories.
We have an animal mystery at our house. Something is tearing up our yard on a grand scale. Not armadillos, not moles, not deer, though we've seen a hoof print or two. After asking around and reading, we think it's wild hogs. Hopefully we'll be able to confirm it somehow soon. The yard looks like it's been hoed.
I don't guess we have wolves, but we have loads of coyotes. Our Hobo sings with them most nights. 4746. iiibbb - 4/20/2012 12:36:12 AM I just finished reading a thread somewhere about people bemoaning the way they are treated by others.
You get a tattoo to be "unique" and then get pissed because people actually treat you different.
What are they thinking?
Speaking as someone who doesn't get tattoos, or much else people do for attention. 4747. thoughtful - 4/20/2012 3:09:53 AM Cute story, concerned.
When we were married, we got a puppy and kitty together and they were reasonably friendly.
I was outside one day and the dog walked by with the entire front half of the cat in her mouth...the back half of the cat was just dangling loosely from the dogs mouth. I screamed...what did you do! The dog dropped the cat and the cat and dog were both sitting there like, what's wrong with you, lady.
I told my dad and he said they used to have a cat and dog that did the same thing...the dog carried the cat around so much that he had huge shoulder muscles and neck.
I was sorry after that I yelled because they never did it again....and it was so cute once I realized what was going on. 4748. concerned - 4/20/2012 5:51:14 PM Hi, thoughtful -
Maybe it turned out for the best, if your dog was that much more powerful than your cat, carrying it around in its mouth would make me nervous, too.
When I really think about that wolf incident I mentioned above, it still makes me wonder how it might have turned out differently, not in a good way, most likely. Of course it might have been somebody's big gray half wolf, but it sure didn't act much like a dog. 4749. concerned - 4/20/2012 6:04:16 PM There was the day that there was a Vietnamese potbellied pig in my back yard, too. I believe I was walking around, looking at my tree seedlings, when I noticed that I had company.
There it was, the VPBP, sniffing around about 50 feet from me and gradually wandering closer. I'm not too much on Pigology and didn't know this one from Porky, so I didn't want to let it get within chewing distance and I gradually sidled my way around the house and into the front door.
Going to the back of the house, I could see it snuffling around for a while longer, and then later, I couldn't - presumably it went into the woods surrounding my house.
Well, I called the local animal control department to report a possible missing pet pig, but they seemed almost dismissive. I was a little surprised because I would have thought there would be a lot more interest in such an atypical situation.
Over the next day or two, I followed up with them, and learned that somebody was indeed missing their pet pig, but they wouldn't tell me who, and I could get no idea if they had reported my sighting to the owner, but it didn't seem too likely that they did, to me.
That was a pity, because the following day, I caught a brief glimpse of the same VPBP in the woods in front of my house, and it didn't look like it was in very good shape. I'm afraid that the animal control people may have missed their chance to rescue this pig and that some coyotes might have had themselves a pork dinner instead. 4750. concerned - 4/20/2012 6:33:17 PM Then there's my rattlesnake handling session - with an endangered species, no less.
Perhaps I should have been warned of what might occur by the date: June 6, 2006. An omen, if ever there was one. Similarly to the Vietnamese Pot Bellied Pig episode above, I was walking around my back yard looking at some of my tree seedlings, when I noticed some movement near the base of a small evergreen I had recently planted.
Well, lo and behold, it was a full grown rattlesnake laying there tangled up in some deer netting I had draped around the fir. I don't know what ever.... possessed (think 6/6/06).... the rattlesnake to get all wrapped up in the deer netting - maybe it was chasing some prey or something, but its front half was well and truly caught in the deer netting. When it noticed my close approach, it started rattling up a storm.
I thought it over a bit, then went back to the house, got my camera and a pair of shears. I thought I would try to save the snake's bacon by cutting it free while taking a few pictures just to document it.
This thing was really wrapped up in the deer netting. To try to get it free, I had to lift it clear of the ground to get at some of the deer netting that was holding it to the tree. Finally, I was able to cut it free of the tree, but I wasn't reckless enough to try to cut it free of all the deer netting - I mighta got bit. Of course, the snake was rattling like a castenet line throughout most of it, but it finally gave up on the rattling, probably because it realized I wasn't about to eat it although I'm sure I injured its self esteem by handling it so much without its being able to do anything about it.
After getting a couple more photos , I left the poor tangled up rattler to its own devices. Coming back the next day, it was gone - hopefully it was able to eventually extricate itself from the deer netting.
I considered telling the EPA about this, but thought better of it. Considering that I determined that the rattlesnake I was messing with was an endangered species (Missasauga Rattlesnake) and that I've seen also the endangered Hines Emerald Dragonfly on my property, plus me being a certified CO2 producer, they probably would have put my entire property on lockdown and thrown me in Gitmo. 4751. arkymalarky - 4/21/2012 6:20:16 AM Aw geez.
4752. arkymalarky - 4/21/2012 6:21:34 AM Well we heard the hogs but didn't see them. Not sure what we're gonna do yet. 4753. thoughtful - 4/22/2012 1:13:51 AM "Well we heard the hogs but didn't see them. Not sure what we're gonna do yet."
I have one thing to say....roast pork!!!
:) 4754. arkymalarky - 4/22/2012 3:35:36 AM Oh yes! I've talked to my kids about it and I could get someone to come get them and smoke us some of the meat. I didn't know, but they're getting to be a real problem around here and there are no restrictions on killing them. 4755. arkymalarky - 4/28/2012 6:16:17 PM Word about the hog(s) has us busy this morning. All the neighbors are stopping by with suggestions. Funny how the rural network functions. Someone saw one in our yard at 4am and said it was black with tusks. 4756. judithathome - 4/28/2012 6:26:14 PM Good thing I quit smoking! Can you imagine if I was up there for the gathering and went out to have a quick smoke and ran into THAT!!?? 4757. arkymalarky - 4/28/2012 6:41:32 PM Haha! Stan's showing this old man where the hog was and he's going to try to trap him so maybe there won't be a hog when y'all come! I will be disappointed if I don't get to see him! And sorta disappointed if y'all don't. ;) 4758. judithathome - 4/28/2012 7:51:50 PM Take pictures!! 4759. arkymalarky - 4/29/2012 3:10:04 PM If I get half a chance I most definitely will!
A little indigo bunting hit our window and died yesterday. :(
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