The real spring is on the way, the one that all too quickly turns into summer. You know this by the birds you have to chase out of your garage:
Of course, being a thrasher, it’s a contrary little SOB. Even with the garage door wide open, we couldn’t get it to leave. I’ll try again in the morning… and it will leave even if I have to toss its mangled corpse out myself. It’s not going to nest in there and crap all over my car.
Because my car already has enough crap all over it… and it’s sad:
Meanwhile, things have gotten ever so slightly dangerous out there on the grounds of the free-range insane asylum. It seems that a cougar (and not the kind you drive or buy a drink) or other large cat has wandered into the area and has decided it really likes to snack on horses. Big V had a horse killed night before last, and another nearby farm has also lost a horse. There’s some speculation that it might be an escapee from a nearby sanctuary, since it doesn’t seem to bother cows too much. Not that the cows can relax… there are coyotes after them. A young guy helping Mrs. Fetched sighted some today, and wasn’t happy about it.
It would be nice if the wildcat came and ate the stupid bird, then ran off the coyotes before finding its way back home. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way.
FAR, any cat big enough to take down a horse is going to be pretty dangerous to people too. Yikes! Be careful, please.
ReplyDeleteA few months back, during the fall, the boy in the apartment downstairs told me he'd seen a bunch of coyotes around the dumpster out back one night when taking out his trash. He said to be careful about going back there at night. The dumpster borders on a patch of woods that reaches way back into a swamp and still more woods.
There will be plenty of abandoned dogs forming packs too, as is already happening in and around Detroit.
Good luck with the critters and with the many springs of Georgia! :)
Hi Nudge!
ReplyDeleteYeah, coyotes are more dangerous at night. If you can't get hold of a can of Mace, take one of those long-distance wasp sprays out with you if you have to go out — a snoutful of that stuff should give them other ideas.
About the cat… some dang fools are talking about going & hunting it down. Suuurrre. I hope someone has called the DNR, maybe they'll have some ideas. If it's truly a wild cat (and Mrs. Fetched got close to a freeking panther once out here), it will move on out to another part of its territory soon. If it's an escapee, which some think it is because captive cats get fed horsemeat and this one is attacking horses, it might could be trapped.
At least I got the freeking bird to fly out of the garage this morning, one less thing to deal with.
Hahahaha. Hunting the big cat! That's funny.
ReplyDeleteIn Alaska, they look askance at yahoos who come up from the lower 48 and say they want to go hunt the grizzly. Teehee. Umm, no. All you have to do is go into the woods .. they'll find you.
Good job on the bird.
I can go to the dumpster during the daylight .. that's not a problem. But now I'm wondering just how safe it will be to do some exercise walking about town, early in the morning before work, when it's still quiet out.
I think walking around town, even pre-dawn, you would have to worry more about two-legged critters than four. :-P Coyotes are mostly scavengers; unless you plan to walk at the landfill, I don't think it's likely your paths would cross.
ReplyDeleteWhat was even worse… one kid thought it might be interesting to cook it. ICK!
Heh! ha! Far, I've the same problems of birds crapping on my snowmachine! ha! Spring? What's that? Gee, we still have at least two more months of winter here!
ReplyDeleteHa! just got done feeding the fox some left over scaps. He'll just love those meatballs! ha! We have coyotes around too, but not when the wolf is hanging around... ha!
Bring your big cat up here, maybe he'll scare off the DNR guys when they dump bears off in my front yard!! ha!
You have a wolf nearby? That's cool. But that big cat might get a gasp of that -15°F air and try to come inside with you!
ReplyDeleteHi FAR,
ReplyDeleteI just talked to a cousin up here in north Alabama, and a pack of coyotes have eaten 8 of her ducks in the last couple of days. War is planned next weekend on the coyotes. I'll be on the ducks' team.
She also reported a black bear sighting on her land. Are you hearing of any in your neck of the Planet Georgia woods? North central Alabama is slightly off their beaten path, but more and more are showing up here these days.
I love the line, "not the kind you... buy a drink".
Gulland
Sounds like Far Manor is getting pretty dangerous these days. Here we see nothing more than deer and some squirrels.
ReplyDeleteThat thrasher probably heard how the Far Manor management provides shelter for so many individuals. ;-)
Hey Far! Yup, about a 150 pounder (very large) timber wolf. Usally he hangs around the house during this time of the year, since I have easy, packed downed trails for him to follow through snowshoe hare habitat..Hope hunters haven't plugged him, he has taken some of the neighbors calves when they were left abandoned when sick... Also one horse from another neighbor, that was old and (I suspect, left alone from the others) sick. I suspect, he's taken his fair share of fawns and baby snadhill cranes in the area.
ReplyDeleteWe've had reports(mostly coming from tourists) of large cats (mountain lions) in the area over the years, but I have never seen any tracks or scat. Lynx do get very large here. Bobcats abound.
I was just kidding about the DNR guys, as they are my friends and since my land boarders to a very large, vast swamp that is State owned, there are no young children in the area, there's plenty of room here to move the bear trap/trailer in the front yard and makes it very convenient (and less expensive), to do drop off pesky bear here. I might have to shoo them off the bird feeders once in awhile until they move on...Have some great pics of them!
Thanks, yooper
Gulland, I've heard of people pumping dead poultry full of antifreeze & leaving them where coyotes will find them, but I wouldn't recommend that. ;-) Yeah, we have bears, I've seen one but not near the house.
ReplyDeleteBoran, that's probably it… maybe the wren from two summers ago spread the word.
Yooper, we have bobcats here too. You can hear them at night sometimes; sounds like a woman screaming "MEOW!!!" at the top of her lungs. Good luck with the bears… I'm sure they're confused and a bit hungry…