PU or Pee-Yew

A stinky backyard visitor this morning -

Perhaps, the “walk of shame” since it was around 9ish…

Shoo! Scat! Scram!

Um, seems we have a cat now…

This was an odd site to see first thing in the morning because we do NOT have a cat!

Believe this is one of the many cats we’ve seen down at one of the neighbors houses off Pritchard.

I’d sic Ms. Trixie after it but worried she’d get her butt kicked, alas.

A Mole In A Hole

We found, and rescued, this Eastern Mole yesterday in one of the post hole holes we dug last week -

There's no mistaken this dude with it's velvety gray fur, tiny, tiny eyes, pointed snout and almost invisible ears.

They spend almost their entire lives underground, tunneling and feeding on insects and earthworms, so us seeing this one was pretty unusual.

Kinda cute for a rodent.

A Visiting Quartet

We had 4 visitors this morning!

They were on guard but not too skittish and seemed relaxed, as they slowly poked around and nibbled here and there.  They lingered for a while, then slowly worked their way out of site, over the hill -

No gardens or flowers for them to raid today; so today they were welcomed guests.

An Unexpected Garage Find

**** WARNING ****  

**** Graphic Images Below ****

**** May Offend The Squeamish and The Weenies ****

The following story and pics reminds me of a knock-knock joke my dad once told.  You'll see the connection soon enough -

Knock-knock

Who's there?

Ether

Ether who?

Ether bunny!

Knock-knock

Who's there?

Mora

Mora who?

Mora ether bunnies!

Knock-knock

Who's there?

Cargo

Cargo who?

Cargo beep-beep and run-over all the ether bunnies!

Gotta luv a good dad joke.

This is an interesting one, and let's be honest, kinda cool too.

I felt a little bit like Dr. Louis Leakey.  You know, the pioneer Kenyan-British paleoanthropologist famous for discovering the fossil remains of ancient hominids in East Africa, upon discovering this dude...

Although, the below remains were discovered in a corner of my garage, not in East Africa and technically not a hominid, it should still qualify as a unique find AND there was no digging required.

Honestly, it's the weirdest thing.  I have no idea how long this critter was there and I can tell you that at NO point did I ever smell anything foul or bad and I walk in and out of my house through the garage constantly.

Without looking ahead at the other pics, care to take a guess at what this poor animal was, that I found in a corner of my garage behind a box?!

Guessing the critter made it's way in the garage when I had the door open and was out mowing the lawn or working in the yard and got trapped in there.  Clearly it's been there a while or perhaps the high heat and humidity we had in July and August helped move along the decomposition process.

Flipping it over, I can clearly see it was a rabbit, and I'd say a young one at that -

Works great as a coaster, sitting on the living room end table. I'm kidding...it's really on the coffee table!!

A sad and unfortunate demise.

Wile E. Coyote's Return

My coyote friend was back yesterday afternoon!

Seems to be focused on the neighbors chickens and why not?!  Chicken is yummy!

What was a tad concerning about this visit was the time of day.  It was around 5:00PMish AND the neighbor who owns the chickens, well their kids were out in their driveway screaming and playing.  However, that didn't seem to sway the coyote at all...

She's looking in the direction of the kids in the first pic below -

Waited a bit, then still headed towards the chicken coop in their back yard AND very soon after the chickens erupted.  So much so, that the neighbor next to me came out on her back deck and looked in the direction of the squawking chickens (too overgrown for them to see the coop or much in that direction) -

I remained on the deck, camera in hand, and patiently waited and sure enough she trotted up the side yard, with no chicken dinner - foiled again, towards the street and crossed -

Then headed straight back into the wooded area behind those homes -

What you didn't see was me darting room-to-room, from the back deck, to the kitchen bathroom window, then to the dining room window at the front of the house and all in an effort to capture the few so-so pictures above.

And that my friends was the highlight of my day!

To The Victor Go The Spoils!

I've been having a terrible time with chipmunks digging into the base and roots of SO many of my plant this year!  I'm not sure what they're after, perhaps even eating the bulbs or plant roots?!  I don't recall this being so drastic in years past but they're constantly doing it, even redoing it when I fix the damage they've done, GRRR!

Here are just a couple examples -

Well, I FINALLY caught one of the culprits today - my persistence paid off!  This is a youngster that was doing damage and making a mess in the flower beds and potted plants in the pool area -

If there's one, there's two and more, so the battle rages on...

Grrrr! Snarl! Fear Me!

The saying goes, "curiosity killed the cat", a proverb used to warn of the dangers of unnecessary investigation or experimentation...

Well, this cutie is not a cat, nor was it killed but his curiosity got him trapped at some point last night.

He acted like a big toughie but he was too darn adorable to take seriously.

I propped open the cage door first thing this morning to let him work up the courage to scoot on his way and at his leisure.

Opossums are super beneficial to have around, as they help control populations of ticks, which can carry Lyme disease, and they also consume other pests like slugs, snails, and insects, they're a valuable part of the ecosystem.

Till we meet again my friend.

This One Could Have Been A Stinker!

Here is precisely the concern I had with channeling Carl Spackle and moving forward with the olde homestead deportations, Mr. Skunk!

I knew it was inevitable that a skunk would wind up getting caught in one of my traps if I kept it set and baited overnight, so WAHLAH, and my own fault!

I heard something in the trap last night when I put Trixie out to do her business, so I grabbed my flashlight and went to investigate. DRAT!  Wouldn't you know it, a skunk!

He was oblivious to my presence and was focused on trying to escape, but then again I didn't announce my arrival.  He was gnawing on the sides of the trap and I was able to get the below pic showing his very healthy and sharp teeth -

I didn't want to leave him in there any longer than he'd already been in there and certainly not overnight either.

The nice thing about the older Hav-a-heart traps in they have solid doors on both ends, which let me easily walk to the trap without Mr. Skunk seeing me.  I was then able to flip the metal brackets holding the doors closed and by the time I made it back into the house, he was already out and making a beeline for the neighbors shed and he did NOT spray!

With all these animal related posting recently, I'm feeling like a mix of Marlin Perkins (Mutual of Omaha)\Jack Hannah (zookeeper and director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium)\Steve Irwin-esk (Australian environmentalist, conservationist and zookeeper)

CRIKEY!

More Car Ride Fun!

What a nice surprise, a "twofer"!

Seems the word is out here at the olde homestead that I'm offering fun, adventure filled car rides.

They're stacked and queued and rearing to go!

Please keep in mind, if they all had respected the boundaries, I wouldn't have channeled Carl Spackler (Caddyshack (1980))!

Car Ride Fun!

Came home yesterday to my pepper plants destroyed, GRRR!  Something, I believe squirrels are to blame, got in the raised bed and dug up some plants, ate the tops off others and they were looking great and starting to take off.

SO THIS MEANS WAR!

I immediately broke out all my traps and set them in various spots around my gardens. We had oodles of squirrels in the fall and the same this spring, so it didn't take long to reap my rewards!

This youngster ventured in this AM, I watched him, and went for a ride with me to work - 

This super skittish adult was waiting for me when I got home from work and went for a ride shortly thereafter -

The traps have all be rebaited and reset.

Rodent deportations are underway!

MMYGA - Make My Yard Great Again!!

Oh, It's On!

DOH!

Well well well, look who went for his first car ride yesterday...

Early Morning Surprise Visitor

I had a unique and gorgeous visitor this morning, a coyote!

It was early this AM and I was drinking my coffee by my slider, taking in the peaceful and undisturbed morning, when this beauty appeared, WOW!

I spotted her making her way up towards my fence, which gave me just enough time to run and grab my good camera to snap these pics.  I don't believe she knew I was there watching her, perhaps why she came SO close.

She looked a bit nervous or maybe just in the zone in search of food.  I'm guessing she has a litter of pups somewhere and is on the prowl for a meal. I was hoping she'd catch one of the many wild rabbits I have eating my flowers but not while I was watching anyway.  I'm guessing she was following her nose and headed off towards my neighbors chicken pens!  Sure enough, it wasn't a minute or so later and the chickens starting fussing and carrying on.

It was a very nice way to start my day!

#Blessed

Bag It!

I'm trying a different approach this spring to discourage and run off the dreaded house sparrows...

Instead of stuffing the hole with a plastic bag, as I've done in the past, I opted to cover the entire bird house with the plastic bag.  This allows me to tie the bag nice and snug. Stuffing the bag in the hole works too but the sparrows pull and tug on it trying to get in and often times pulled it out but NO more with this approach.  Also, they don't seem to know what it is or like the bag and therefore they're no longer perching on the roof and hanging around.  This seems to have chased them off, HORRAY!

The sparrow claiming these two bird houses as their own end up chasing off the Bluebirds.  Yes, now no birds can take up residence in them today but I will remove the bags in a couple weeks and monitor to see who comes poking around.  Fingers crossed it'll be the Bluebirds.  The Bluebird is one of my favorite birds, hands down - there is NO comparison.  Sparrows on the other hand, well I despise them and would prefer they NOT be here at all and the last thing I want is them nesting in these boxes and raising more.

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Surveying - The Human's View

So this dude!

I noticed this squirrel just sitting atop one of my deck posts, contently eating an acorn, without a care or worry.

All in all not that unusual, except the post is some 20 feet tall.  Yes it's a squirrel and they perform at heights far greater, so it's not the height that surprised me but rather that there isn't a tree with 50 feet of my deck and there is nothing on my deck that would remotely even attract any critter. Just SO weird to me.

How and why this dude chose this spot to hang out and snack puzzles me.  Perhaps, a dare or lost a bet to the other squirrels maybe?!

A wide shot pic to show just how odd a spot this was -

Of course I bolted out the slider, once I had taken my pics, to scare the dude and see what it's escape plan was.  Well, I swear that SOB was just toying with me sitting up there and pretty sure he flipped me off before calming and easily crawling down the outside of the post, under the fence and off it went.  Also, if I'm not mistaken, the dude was smirking the whole time too.

Curses...

Enjoying Some Downtime

This dude was relaxing and chilling, lazing in the sun on that Boxelder tree limb.  Perhaps, wondering about the upcoming winter, how cold it will be and if he's amassed enough nuts to get him through till spring.  Or maybe he's just trying to recall where he stashed all the acorns and hickory nuts throughout my lawn and gardens and flower beds.

There was no skittishness or rushing and bebopping, as most squirrels do, just contentment and some shuteye.

I watched him as I washed the dishes and he laid there as content as could be.

What The Buck!

Peeked out my kitchen window yesterday morning and saw the rear end of a dear making it's way into the property behind me, just behind my old chicken coop.  So, I darted and grabbed my Canon camera and was able to get only one picture taken, see above.  *Apologies for the yucky background of this pic...

Turns out it was a buck, see his antlers?!  Which might explain why he seemed to be in somewhat of a hurry and not interested in slowing or stopping, rather he was headed somewhere.  After all, we're in the midst of deer mating season here in Massachusetts, so I'm guessing his focus was on one thing and one thing only.

Off into the brush and wetlands he went.

It's GO Time!

Another fall chore completed!

The setting of mouse traps in the pool house and the garage.

With the colder weather moving in, mice and other rodents are also trying to move in.

The dirty, destructive vermin are NOT wanted or welcome here.

They don't stand a chance...

Caught Yeah (Pics)!

Here are a few pics that Emilie took back in April of some of the critters who call my little piece of heaven their home too - 

She has a good eye with the camera!

 

It's Peach Season!

My peach tree is loaded with peaches!  So much so that the added weight have some of the branches drooping close to the ground, even though I pruned the tree to be able to walk and mow beneath said limbs without any issues.

Unfortunately, the tree has some sort of fungus, which it has had for years now and it also affects the fruit too.  Many rot and mold up on the tree, some have spot damage, etc.  However, that being said, the peaches are still delicious!

As you might imagine the local critters do not care about a blemish or bruise or mold, nope.  They are still drawn to and seem to come out of the woodwork to feast on the fruit that falls.

The deer, however, have no problems eating both the peaches while still on the tree and the tender ends of the tree limbs, see pic below, as they're the perfect height -

At the same time as the peaches are ripening, areas of my lawn and veggie gardens show signs of a skunk.  Plus I've seen it out there when I let Trixie out at night to do her business.  It takes off running when the light comes on and I step out on the back deck.

It's out there digging for grubs, so I welcome it's presence and the removal of as many grubs as it can gorge on.  However, what I do NOT like is when it digs for said grubs in my lawn because it destroys the lawn and makes a mess -

And not to mention that the darn skunk is pooping EVERYWHERE, gross -

Also, I've been watching a woodchuck sneak over from the neighbors yard, through my fence, to grab a peach and dart back over to and under the shed.  I've come to learn that peaches are a woodchucks kryptonite, so it's time to take advantage of this fact and set my traps!

Tuesday evening I bait and set my trap but instead of waking up on Wednesday morning to a trapped woodchuck, I instead woke to a trapped skunk, alas!

I didn't want to mess with the trap and skunk, so I simply propped open the traps door and the skunk eventually made it's way out, through the fence and under the neighbors shed -

I'm not dismayed and still wanting to take advantage of the peaches, so I reset my trap Wednesday afternoon around 4ish, and now we wait!

Just over an hour later when I emerge from my shower what do my wandering eyes see but Mr. woodchuck trapped - 

Being freshly showered and hungry myself I contemplated on whether to deal with it then or wait until morning.  Since woodchucks are gross - their poop anyway, I opted for an evening drive -

And YES, as you might have guessed, this SOB left me a present in my trunk, well actually 4 smelly and wet and gross present pieces, GROSS and PU!

One problem solved...