Saturday, January 26, 2013

Ground Clouds

Pentax 020

Another rainy day and the clouds are on the ground. Just staying inside where it’s warm and dry. My kitties are on the back porch snuggling together staying warm except Dieter who is roaming around. She my watch kitty and gets jealous if any other animal comes around that I might pet. I don’t know how I’m going to break her of this because she might get hurt picking on creatures bigger then her. Car is working again. Fixed the problem. It’s an indoor movie day.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons license.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Funny I didn’t feel like I was in a Rut

Pentax 015

My deer friend with his nose up smelling the air for female hormones. At times they will be so much into the rut they will go without eating if a females hormones are in the air. The musk gland is near their eye and will open and close as they breath. It’s more noticeable on the mule deer then the black tail deer like this one. The deer aren’t alarmed seeing me so then get rather close. This is a view from my porch or from the front door window. The views are always amazing.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons license.

Looking out the front door window

I’m always amazed at the wildlife here. They always amaze me because of how they get along with everyone. I see a fox eating from the plate of corn. Two raccoons are eating cat food and looking around only a couple feet from the fox. Dieter Kitty came walking up and is laying down on her spot of the porch where the kitties lay in a kitty pile sleeping together. When the kitties are up playing they don’t seem like they would sleep together but they do. The raccoons sometimes will arch their back and make the hair stand up until they figure out the kitties are their friends. The skunks when they are around are sort of solo creatures. They seem to get along with the other wildlife. They might stomp their feet at first but when the other kitty or raccoon of fox doesn’t back up they go about eating. I’m just amazed how I brought all the creatures together here. I heard that foxes and raccoons were enemies but I don’t see that. They all seem to get along. They get a bite to eat and watch each other. Everyone knows everyone. Because they are long lived creatures they all have grown up together from babies. The foxes come to me when I call their names. So do the kitties. The raccoons are a bit shy but will come up to me and I can sit on the porch with everyone walking around me. It’s just amazing a word I use a lot because it is simply amazing seeing them all together. Kitty eating from the same pile as the skunks and raccoons. The foxes dart in and out getting a bite then darting off. It’s such a hyper creature. The raccoons are hyper too but it takes a bit of watching them to see that. They look around and use their hands to feel for food. I was sitting out on the porch with everyone and extended my hand with one finger. The raccoon came up to me and touched my finger on all sides. I think they noticed that my finger is warm like they are. Those little hands move so fast around checking out everything. Watching the raccoons move they look slow but there is a lot going on. They always got those round ears going listening to everything going on in the forest. Each little noise needs to be explained. The female deer will admire the babies. They will come up to all babies and just stair at them. Babies have that rounded head and other animals recognize that. They cut the babies some slack. With baby deer and the pecking order of the herd the baby might get pushed out by another deer but mom will be there to protect the baby. Momma skunk will protect her babies and so will momma raccoon. Momma raccoon will give you a growl to let you know your too close to the babies even if she knows you real well. Those are her babies and for several months she’s going to be teaching them how to become a raccoon. I noticed that they do something you may learn in survival training. They will find a muddy place and dig a hole. Water will seep back into the hole and they will wet their paws or get a drink. I find small rounded holes all over the yard where they were getting water. It’s like a teaching class too. Mom will be explaining by example and the babies will gather around watching every move. It’s real cute to watch them play together also. They like climbing over each other and rolling down a hill together. Seeing them standing up is so cute. I never knew skunks stand up too to get a better view. For me watching them is like watching TV, I can do that for hours.  

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons license.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Too cold to do anything

Too cold to be doing anything outside. Todays high was 39 degrees and low this morning was 25 degrees. The yard was frozen and white from ice crystals. I almost got the Dieter in the house tonight but as I started closing the door she ran out. Well that’s closer. I’m petting them something they said I’d never be able to do. Deer are sneaking up to get the cat food. The raccoons played with the frozen water bowl and rolled it across the yard and up the hill. Saw a couple male deer pushing each other in the creek. They were splashing in the water and the antlers were clacking. They don’t hurt each other and seem to stop right before they do. When one deer quits both quit. Nice to see they have an honor code of fighting. This cold spell has hit the whole state all the way down to the ocean. Still getting a light dusting of snow higher up.

I have some new babies under the house. I believe they are a family of raccoons. I heard them crying while mom was out eating. I had a family of 5 babies last year under the house. They still come around as a group. I’ve watched them grow up and learn to be raccoons. This should be an interesting year. Now I see why the skunks were chased off from under the house because of the babies.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons license.