Saturday, July 16, 2005

New Life in the forest

This morning was great watching mom and her to babies having  snack. The kids were exploring the world with such happiness. Every things new and fresh to them, they want to see every thing and run just to have fun. The forest is coming alive. First it's one then two then dozens of squirrels. The young one that seem to need the most energy because of the energy use by playing games like chase or climb the tree and run back down. The older squirrels are more calm and just interested in eating. Momma turkey and her three little babies are here briefly as they make their daily rounds. Slowly more and more birds come into the area celebrating the morning. 
 
I new there was a pregnant mother skunk around here ready to give birth. Well, she did over night under the house. As a matter of fact they are right under my bedroom door and wall. I can hear the little ones, they sound like little birds chirping. If it's like the other skunk families I've seen born this year there should be at least six young.
 
It's going to be another hot bad air day according to the news. You couldn't tell that by the squirrels playing outside at this time. Later today if it's going to be like the rest of the week, when the heat is on the forest seems to stop. For now it's great watching all the life of the forest.

Tuesday, July 12, 2005

Buddy didn't show up until 12:30 AM

To hot to be outside. The house hasn't warmed up yet since I have it closed up. They said it's going to get to 103 degrees down in the valley. Lucky I'm under the trees where it's cooler but not to much today. It's 79 degrees in the house and a oven outside. I just turned on the fire scanner to listen if there is any fires.
 
Most of the deer showed up just after sunset, even the mother and her two babies. Every one loves a baby deer. They were more interested in running and exploring the world then eating. Still I waited outside getting eaten by mosquitoes so I would move fast to swat them. The girls showed up first then the mother with the kids. Then slowly the rest of the boys drifted in except Big Buddy. I went to bed early but woke up at 12:30 AM just in time to catch a little "Conan" in HDTV not that I could see it that way but could see the frame size. I noticed the porch light was on. When I went to the door Big Buddy was there with his son Little Buddy. I went outside and encouraged Buddy to eat. I put out two pounds of corn which he walked over to as soon as I put it down. When he was first hurt he was very stand offish but now he is more tolerant of me. He ate most of the two pound of corn then went off to the alfalfa. I'm very glad he's keeping his weight on and eating even though he is limping and his leg is very swollen where the break is.

Monday, July 11, 2005

Had to sit with Buddy

Last night as the deer came through, I've been trying to help Buddy recover from his broken foot. The other deer were trying to push him out of the way and get to what ever Buddy was eating. I sat out there to protect him and to encourage him to eat and drink.  His break is very swollen up and big as his foot. At least Buddy is trusting me more again since I was keeping the other deer away from him.
 
The skunks have been getting out of hand. Just to many skunks. The momma skunk is ready to have kids, either that or she is really big. I put out some steak parts and those guys went to town on it, fighting fiercely over the steak fat.
 
Well the squirrels are looking at me funny since I ran out of sun flower seeds. Off to the feed store.

Sunday, July 10, 2005

Nice warm relaxing day

Saw a mother deer this morning with two fawns but she still looked pregnant. The fawns were having such a good time running and bucking while mom looked on. There's nothing more happier then a baby deer. Later on after a couple cups of coffee I noticed Little Buddy laying out in the yard. It's late afternoon now and the only critters outside are the baby squirrels eating and having fun chasing each other. It's that time of the day and here comes the turkeys on their tour of the property. They come down and eat and lay around about 3 o'clock each day. Momma turkey and her three kids should be coming around. It's like clock work every day when every one shows up. The only ones I don't like showing up are the pigeons. They make it so I have to wash my car daily.
 
I saw Big Buddy later night and he seemed to be doing okay. Still limping with a broken foot. I cut up at least 10 pounds of green apple and they are all gone today. I noticed Big Buddy and his two kids really went over then last night.
 
Well it's time to put out the nights feeding for the kids. The turkeys seem to get bothered by the incoming pigeons. When they take off they scare the squirrels which grab hold of what ever they are on.

Thursday, July 07, 2005

Another Momma Skunk showed up today

Yes another mother skunk was on the porch enjoying popcorn and sunflower seeds. She's getting ready to give birth. I can see that some of the other skunks born a couple month ago are getting rather bi about the size of a gray squirrel. That will make three families of skunks that are living around here. Watching pushing and shoving but not really fighting but just trying to get the most food. Life is a challenge for the little guys. And no they don't go spraying everything that comes their way. You need to have to really piss them off, like your planning to eat them or something. Other that they are rather gentle in their actions. Like I noticed in the squirrels they all don't look a like, there is minor differences in the fir and the spots on the fir.
 
My Big Buddy broke his back leg. I think he stepped in a gopher hole and his foot fell in. He's still getting around but not to fast. I feel so sorry for him and I've been trying to get help but no one will help. The local "Animal Control" wants to kill him. UC Davis Veterinary University says they don't do deer. If you go to their web site you will see how they are rescuing a horse with a helicopter. I thing the picture is more for there ego then the care of animals. They will take care of a dogs and cats cardiac system but not a deer. Goes to show you when your a Republican you play God with who lives and who dies.
 
It's amazing that pet owners spend millions each year on their pet which I don't believe in, we outlawed slavery a 150 years ago. I guess it part of the capitalist system, this is mine and you can't have it. Sort of like how some people have their marriages. Just a gathering of toys to prove how successful you are.
 
I can see how the European invasion of the Americas and the way they treated the Native Americans as they were animal. Well the tables are turning, the conquers will be conquered and we will be the looses. If You look at history you will see that this has happened over and over. No one country has lasted forever and never will.

Monday, June 20, 2005

Cute baby skunks

It's been the first time I've seen baby skunks. I've seen al the other babies in this forest and this year is the first for baby skunks. No raccoons yet. No baby deer yet but I know they are coming. Last night put out a couple bags of microwave popcorn. I must have spent a couple hours watching them eat the popcorn.

There is a lot of groups of quails but no babies yet. Going to have to get some pictures of them this year. They are small and fast so they are hard to get pictures of.

Cutting that tree down yesterday did me in. I was supprized at how fast it came apart. Nothing like sharp manly tools.

It feel like a Hitchcock movie with all the pigeons that are coming around. There must be at least a 100 of them outside.

They say there isn't going to be anymore rain. I just can handle setting up the trees that fall over.

No cherries this year the rain got them all.

Well time for my next cup of coffee and then it's outside. Have to pick up a couple bags of grain for the birds. The poor turkeys are missing out because of the pigeons

One other thing, a skunk or something was eating the scraps I put out from the chicken I had but they broke my Vision frying pan. It was my favorite glass frying pan for baking in.

Thursday, June 16, 2005

Summer and it's going to rain

It's one of those days again where I don't want to get out of bed. Feed the kids some time around 7:00 AM and again around 10:00AM. Momma and her kids just stopped by. The chicks are getting so big so quick. The skunk family is growing rather fast too. I've been noticing a lot of baby squirrels the last few days. I watched one that was on the picnic table and was looking for a way down. He ran back and forth on the table top looking for the shortest distance down. He took a leap of faith and jumped to the seat of the table and went through the same process looking for the shortest distance down.
 
The "Black Headed Grosbeak's are getting big enough to feed themselves but momma bird still feeds them. They look almost the same size as an adult but the coloring is lighter to blend into the back ground of the forest. The kids are more brown and have a orange stripe on their heads. The parents don't have the orange strip and have black feathers with a brilliant orange color on their bodies.
 
I watched Mister Stinkers come in last night at sunset. He walked up the old road and down to the creek. I thought he was going to just walk up the creek and to the house. He ducked into the thick forest under brush. Later I saw him walking up the hill. I don't even go up that hill since it's so over grown.
 
Wow, this is interesting. Their are three young Grosbeak's and one is all black with a brown head. The way they are traveling as a group, it looks like they are all from the same family.
 
The other day I was watching a more aggressive pigeon on the porch. Usually they don't come on the porch but this one did. I thought he was going to choke on the sunflower seeds. It seems he would crack the seeds but was so hungry he wouldn't finish taking off the husk and swallowed the whole thing. Usually the pigeons just seeing me they will take off but this one didn't care. He just looked at me and kept eating.
 
Well it look's like I'm going to have to get dressed and head to town soon even though I could just as well sit here looking out the door and watching the birds and squirrels feeding.

Thursday, June 09, 2005

Oh' Man Could the day get any worse?

It's been raining for a day and raining real good. I woke up early to turn off my computer after defragging it last night. Then I noticed the computer has locked up. Re-starting the computer the dreaded "CHECK SUM ERROR." No problem, I'll deal with it in the morning. Well waking up at a normal time and watching the baby chicks and mom. I feed the other turkeys and squirrels then went back inside, not looking outside in great detail. After a few cups of coffee I returned to feeding the squirrels. That's when I noticed the fig tree had fallen over. My road is completely blocked. I'm going to imply some of my climbing skills and a little physics to try to stand it back up. I'm going to have to have to sacrifice some of the branches to lighten the load. Well, guess it's time to dig out the webbing and carabineers
 
Pictures to follow....

Saturday, June 04, 2005

Had Enough for Today

Had enough poison oak, bugs, pokes, sticks and scrapes. So tired feeling so drained. Time to get on my back and if I stay awake long enough to watch the news. But, for right now falling over is the plan. Question, If a Bob falls over in a forest and no one is around to hears it, did Bob really fall over?

Thursday, June 02, 2005

Pictures from the forest


Mr. Stinkers
The Stinker family came by last night again. The little guys were trying to get the pecking order but Mom was the top skunk and they couldn't get close enough to her. I blocked off a way under the house but I think the family of skunks have moved in. I had sealed the hole where a drain pipe comes out from under the house with foam. They eat or clawed their way through the foam. I don't want to seal the hole right now since dead skunks under the house would smell worse then skunks spraying on each other.


Little flower from the under forest. These flowers are very delicate. The seem to pop up after all that rain has come for the year. The little flowers don't stay out very long but the color I find very pleasant.


Wild Peas. They are small but still they are wild natural peas. You could be hiking along a miss these peas since they blend into the back ground and are not in big groves. I missed them many times as I walked past them dozens of times.


Left overs from the mining days. 3/4" cables
Not sure what I'm going to do with them since they are big and heavy and don't fit into a trash bag.

Well, I feel like I got it again, poison oak! My arms and face is itching. Even my fingers itch. It feel like it's in my right eye too. I'll find out more when I wake up tomorrow. If I wake up and have scratched al night or my skin has red bumps then I'll know how bad it is. Sneaky stuff, it doesn't show up for a couple days after it settles in. Think I'll take another cool shower with lots of soap.

Also, going to have to wash all my cloths so I don't contaminate myself further. Well, time to wash and watch the news. Take the weight off my dogs, back and what ever is aching.

The first baby chicks

While sitting here today scanning some slides, the first 3 babies turkeys came by with momma turkey. The daughters of this same mother were all excited. The males wanted to check to see if they were their offspring but the daughters were protecting the mother. I can't tell which one is a male turkey yet but it seems the males can. They don't like any competition in male turkeys so they like to kill off the young. I have to say it's another exciting day for me here in the forest. Since they stopped here today they will be coming back every day after this unless something happens to them. Mom has to teach them where and what to eat. I noticed that with the skunks too. There was two young deer with pregnant mom here this morning. The males didn't want to share but I could see the youngsters wanted to come down and see me. They remembered me from last year and remembered our hand signals. It sounds crazy to name wild animals but I do and they seem to respond to their names too. What a great day, sunny and warm out and I'm inside scanning slides. Guess I'm going to have to get out there and work up a manly sweat and try to get another case of poison oak.

Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Cutest thing I've seen so far

I saw a black and white tail moving in front of the door. When I got to the door it was six baby skunks and momma skunk. The babies all kept close to mom but wanted to see what the world had to offer. They were so small even smaller then a young squirrel that mom would let run out of the nest. Seeing all my steps covered with little black and white bodies was one of the exciting moments of living here in the forest. They were scared off by the boys Big Buddy, Mr. B, and Stumpy my friendly deer that visit most every day. Since they seem to like the dark I'm thinking that they will be back later. As far as I could tell they ran under my tool shed. Don't know if they are living there but if they are that makes working in the shed a little tricky. Going to have to walk lightly. Still This has to be one of the high light of  living here like when I saw the family of raccoons come through.

Saturday, May 28, 2005

Don't scare a skunk

Well, my Big Buddy and Stumpy was outside having a snack when I decided I'll give them a little more to eat. Soon as I opened the door the skunk started freaking out. I think it was because there were two skunks out the one the porch and one next to the planter, a half oak barrel. Scaring the skunk on the porch got him running to hide but he came in contact with the other skunk. An invasion of food territory. Well, the little guys started screaming and the next thing I knew there was this distinct odor. Not bad as skunks go but one of them did go. Funny how living in the forest and how you get used to odors like skunks. The screaming chased off the deer. Well they all will be back some time over though the night.
 
I got some pictures of the one skunk at sunset. It was the big tailed skunk. Usually the skunks never fight or if they see me they just run off. Then again, the first year I was here there was a cat that wanted to mate with the skunk but the skunk didn't want any part of it.
 
Can't believe the traffic going to Tahoe. There must have been three miles of traffic backed up just coming into Placerville. Yes the fruit cakes are on the road. Why is it on a holiday people just think they can do anything. Driving at unbelievable speeds on the roads. Yesterday a car changed lanes into a motorcycle. The motorcycle crashed into the center divider and killed the driver. Lot of one car accidents too. Those always amaze me why one car would just flip over or run off the road.

Monday, May 23, 2005

Singing in the Rain

Nothing like the deer making fun of you


I'm singing in the rain...


Last night was great with the almost full moon. The light came through the sky light and window and I could make out the trees almost like day light. Went to bed early did to much yesterday. It's always that way, do to much and take two or three days to recover. Some times it might even take months to recover if I do one minor movement wrong. Terrible getting old when your mind still fells so young.

The last couple days have been sunny and warm. Sure beats the rainy days but it's all a part of life so you just need to get dressed up and experience the weather. If you don't it's like only experiencing part of life.

Haven't seen so many quail here before. They are doing real good this year. The turkeys and squirrels are having a great time too. What I get a real kick out of is the Black headed grosbeaks.

Well, better fill the seed bags for the finch's and get ready to go to the doctors office.

Wednesday, May 18, 2005

Rain and Wet Skunks

Sprinkled all day and was dark out. Couldn't get moving since it was so gray out just wanted to sleep or at least stay under the covers. It's pouring tonight and I have two wet skunks on the porch. It's worse then a wet dog their hair gets all matted down and not the usual standing up. Feeling sorry for the little guys I put a bag of microwave popcorn out for them. They just love popcorn, don't know if it's the grease on the corn or what. They go at it like jocks eating steaks without their hands. The popcorn is to big for their mouth so they have to chew it to smaller pieces. It's almost like they are attacking the popcorn they way they hop around. Their bodies remind me of a miniature bears. There's a woman back east that sells de-gland skunks and says they make great pets. I'm not one to keep any animal a prisoner for my enjoyment. People that own pets do just that own like they used to own people a 150 years ago. I don't agree with hunters because of their mind set. It the adrenalin rush of chasing and killing something that can't fight back. I guess they might be the same ones that keep their wives in place and own dogs and children and other living things. It might be fun to hunt the hunters with tranquilizer darts. Tie them to the front of your grill as you drive your trophy home. Could you imagine the reaction of a hunter waking up tied to the front of a car on the freeway. Seems like it would be a fair game, a catch and release program. Sneaking up on the sneakers.

"Stay the Course" of at least 50 grit

Nature these last few years we have come up with some new quotes by the administration and the war. "Stay the course," and "Mission Accomplished are two of the most recognizable. What is bad is they are becoming common place words that don't mean much. "Stay the Course," seems to mean, we are going to cut off our noses despite our faces no matter how wrong we are. The Republican agenda is some thing not what's good for the country but what's good for a few of the top 1% of the rich. Going into Iraq was like kicking a dog while he was down, there was no weapons of mass destruction or WMD as we now use it as slang. Mission Accomplisished means we go the oil and you don't. Even Greenspan is using "Stay the Course" for the economy even though it's been going down hill since Bush took office. The Russian President was right when he said you call yourself democratic when a court appoints the president. We don't know how much graft there was in the second Bush election because there wasn't a paper trail and it seems like pulling teeth to get a paper trail. The Republicans didn't want a paper trail because they didn't want to loose. It's to bad that the today's Republicans have the I.Q. of hand balls in the way they voted. If the Republicans would have said that there agenda is to break the unions and make most of the people of the united stated live below the poverty line similar to how it was in the 1800's. Where the company used you until you died. Now with United Airlines passing off their pension plan to the government it's going to be a rush by the other corporations to follow to stay competitive at the cost of the tax payers and at the expense of the pensioners. Out of the five years Bush has been in office we haven't met the need of jobs per month. Which was 350,000 new jobs per month. Inflation is another one of my beefs. When inflation is higher then what you get back from your savings your a looser. The numbers might say your making money because of the interest but when you take in the fact the negative part of inflation your going backwards. When Bush say's he wants to support the troops and then cuts their pay, medical services, close down the VA hospitals. It's so amazing how misinformed the American people are worried more about gay marriage then the security of the country or the solvency of social security. If the people would have known that Bush was going to cut their social security I don't think Bush would be president or the puppet of the corporate world. United Airlines is a dead dog and should start be dismantled selling off the planes and terminals to pay for the pensions of it's workers. The no child left behind should be no rich child left behind. The clean air act is how to confuse people to make more money while people choke down more chemicals. They blame smokers for lung cancer but it's more the environment that is killing you.

Monday, May 16, 2005

More Rian

Rained yesterday and all night. So far today it's just overcast. The squirrels must know something that the weather service doesn't because they are eating like it's going to rain for several days where they won't be able to gather food for days. Then again the squirrels are like dogs in a way, you can feed them to they explode. I should give them more credit then that because they do eat seeds then go off and eat greens. Same with the turkeys, they don't just eat grain but bugs and greens. My lawn is growing to fast for them to keep it trimmed down. Most of the time it's well manicured.
 
I sat outside with the squirrels while they came up on the porch a few feet from me. It still amazes me the variety of the squirrels, in that they are all gray squirrels but each one is just a little different. From the shape of their nose to their eye brows. There colors very widely from light colored to a dark gray. The younger ones are like puppies with a more fuzzy body hair. They have longer black hairs which seems to make up their color. Take out their black hairs and you'd have white squirrels.
 
The suns out again for a few minutes. The pigeons are hanging out in the trees waiting for the squirrels to leave. The turkeys are the only one that get close to the squirrels while eating. A siren went off some where in town and the squirrels scrambled to the trees. The turkeys started gobbling every time the siren whined.
 
Well better get ready to go to the doctors. Seems when I step outside there is always something to do. Just one more thing, always just one more thing.

Friday, May 13, 2005

Jumping Squirrels

I slept in today when I was a woken by a squirrel. He was running into and up the door just past the window. I've heard the little guys scratch on the door to get my attention but this was a first. I have to tell you I'm always amazed at something here.
 
Today was a good day for turkey watching too. This one male is so shy. He still thinks he's small like his sisters which were all here too. Was a good day for deer watching too. Friend sat with me for an hour or so. Bullwinkle a young deer about two years old has a well developing rack. You can see he's young by his narrow body and nose. They are have little things you can notice to tell how old they are or how's in charge. Like Big Buddy is the one to watch out for the rest of the group. The quail are some what the same. One of the males will be up high while the rest will be looking for food, always in pairs. I like seeing the pairs of doves walking together. I know they do greave if their mate dies because I've seen that when I was down south. They will go around just like the other one is there so I felt it was like a period of sadness for the bird.
 

 
Want to hear something scary? I seen one of our elected Republicans using Michael Crittians new novel as fact about global warming. Yes that's "right" using a science fiction novel as truth. This goes along with the same people that bring you "Creationism" and Intelligent Design." This country is going backwards as far as intelligence is going. Why are the jobs going over seas? It's because we have people that read a sci-fi book and take it as fact. The worst thing about that is here's someone in a highly elected position preaching how sci-fi book is for real. Makes you wonder if the people that take the Bible word for word, totally out of contacts because they only read one line at a time as fact instead of science. When the founding fathers used the word "God" in the language at the time it was a group of people called free thinkers. They believed that there was some one that gave the universe a push and that was about that.
 
The matter in Kansas that is going on is a bunch of morons trying to get the bible in the science classes. What's real sick is that they will most likely win and we are going to have a generation of idiots. Smiling and blessing you without a clue voting for the republicans because someone told them to. Just like the past two elections with it's wedge issues..
 
Hearing the nominee of Bush's from Texas the woman who thinks that raping the earth is just fine. When it comes to the earth and making money there must be defective genes in republicans to think they can destroy the earth and still be able to live on it. I don't know if it's that they are waiting for some sort of scientist to fix it all. Come up with some sort of cleaner called "Nuke Away." When the air becomes more deadly then smoking cigarettes like in Los Angeles rush hour traffic. From a study I heard some years ago, they said, "driving in rush hour traffic is like smoking 4 packs a day." The cover up of using diesel fuel and how much it pollutes has been covered up for so many years by the trucking and truck manufactures.
 
What is this world coming to? A bunch of apathetic people that don't care about anything but their own back yard. 

Tuesday, May 10, 2005

Watching a squirrel make a nest.

I don't see this to often but when I do it's real neat. Theirs a squirrel stripping bark from a cut down apple tree. As she pulls of long strips and hold them in her mouth she stops and reworks the pieces turning thing into long stringy parts to the nest. I've seen them also cutting fine blades of grass sorting them all out to 1 1/2 inches long. The strips she's cutting today look like they are around six to eight inches.
 
Since it looks like it's going to rain again, it throws off the critters timing. When the clouds come over they think it's getting dark and need to eat for the evening. When the sun comes out it's time to play.
 
Well, the clouds are really coming in now. It's a real dark gray sky and it doesn't look like it's going to be a outdoor day. I wanted to do some weed eating but that looks like it's going to have to be put off. Same with the foundation fix, the ground is to wet and muddy. It's only in the 50's today. I noticed that there is a lot of cherries on the ground because of the rain. It's been too windy for the fruit to stay on the branches. If things keep going like they are there won't be any fruit this year.
 
The turkeys are walking down the road thinking it's going to get dark soon. I've been able to gauge what time it is by watching the wild life and where they are moving during the day. Right now it looks like it would be around 7:30 PM on a normal day. Some times I like dressing up nice and warm and getting outside. Being cold is okay but cold and wet is another. There was a day when it didn't matter to me but getting old and slow moving makes staying inside seems the thing to do.
 
It's turning into a feeding frenzy for the smaller birds. The jays and pigeons and out in force. When I see them eating like there's no tomorrow then I know that the rain will be here soon and maybe for a long time. They say it's going to be in the 80's later this week but you couldn't tell that from the way it looks now. I'd be taking pictures but there is not enough light even using 800 ASA film.
 
Looking out the window I can see things are getting wet. No down pour, yet. This winter has thrown a lot of curves. Hot where you can be out in shorts then rain then hot again. Some of the weeds are almost full grown while others have just started. Well better check the NOAA website and see what's going to happen. Yesterday they had tornado warnings out and had some funnel clouds. I missed most of that real bad weather mainly because it went around me.

Monday, May 09, 2005

All weather all the time

Dark, rainy and want to sleep but I had to go down the hill to the doctors. What a journey this was. Rain, hail , fire brimstone, funnel clouds. There was a brief period that it wasn't raining but for the most part it rained. Saw a couple cars on the side of the road that smacked into each other. One was on the side of the hill going the wrong way. Right at that time was when I hit a squall line so I guess they got caught off guard and smacked into each other. Like the rain hit and one bone head slammed on the breaks forgetting people were behind them.

Hand has lost it's numbness after the cortisone shot. I feel the cortisone part as a stiffness but the lidocaine wore off. It'll be a couple days before I start having better hand function.
__________________________________________________________________

Back at home.
The deer stopped by. Big Buddy, Stumpy and one guy last year was big buck on campus and now has a limp and Marty Feldman eyes. I thought he was going to die he was in such bad shape. One of his eyes last year was closed and his antler were knocked off. It looked like he dislocated his front left leg but it's seem to heal sort of well. Still he has a limp. Don't think he's going to be that same scrappy young thing he was last year.

It's nice having it stay light so late but today it just was one of those days. It just had a red dark fade to night.

24
Only two more episodes left. What city will get blown up! Let see the little places I used to see around Los Angeles that are suppose to be else where. Still, the series has a lot of great tension. The best way to see 24 is to rent the whole series and watch them all at one time. You don't even want to pause the DVD play to take a pee.