Uh-oh, it's on now...

A UPS truck with a large box marked ACME just pulled onto that road.

Toads little cousin...

It looks like a bud with an eye ball.

A little meat ball that comes with its own salad.

Ewww!

Looks like broccoli.

FTW.

The crows in the back yard are having a party!

Turn up the volume for the full effect. You can see how far I had to walk to get to the party--they were loud enough to distract me from reading at the table in the house with the doors and windows all closed.

It is common for crows to mob an intruder, probably a hawk or an owl, to drive it out of their territory. Usually they succeed and the "party" moves off down the road.
They can get pretty aggressive.

For the caws. ;)

That's awesome!

Conference caw.

So Benny made a frenemy this holiday season, this little dude decided to spend the night after updating my boy on what a mouth full of quills feels like.

OOOWWCH!!!!

How is Benny?

Of course he stayed, he already cleared the territory. :rolleyes:

I remember Bear coming to the door with a snoot full of quills. I started pulling them out on one side, each one leaving a drop of blood where it was. When I started doing the second side his tongue came out carefully licking the side I had done, avoiding where I hadn't.

I was lucky he had none in his mouth, unlike our asshole cat who got them everywhere.

Benny is well. He was very brave while I pulled quills. The porky is still hanging around...

Interesting side note, I gifted my deer rifle this year assuming I'd switch over to the .243 for all things varmint related. Unfortunately, the missing magazine seems to be a real bastard to replace. So if anybody has a source or a real talented smith, I'd love to hear about it. It's a Browning BLR .243 pre-1981. (Same magazine as the.308 I believe)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-Origina...YAAOSwCMVbsbFZ

:eek:

Looks like you have a fine single shot rifle.

I know right? Looks like I'll be conserving ammunition.

Yeah, a little speed reading across various gun forums indicates that Browning long ago sold off their BLR pre '81 parts inventory to a place called Midwest Gun Works. That place sold out of the magazines a decade ago. Back then they were already selling for $80 and steadily rising through to today when it's all north of $250. There are no aftermarket magazines.

The consensus seems to be that garage/estate sales are about the only place left to get them at a reasonable price, possibly even buying the rifle with 2 or more magazines and selling off the extra rifle with magazine.

Damn.

Somebody done gifted you an albatross.

Sorry to hear about Benny's encounter. But glad he came through like trooper. Good boy!!! Please give him a treat for me.

I see those pics on the web and just want to weep for the poor doggeh.

I hate those pics.

No pics from my last encounter with the local wildlife, past tense.

I set a rat trap and baited it with an almond, pre drilled a VERY firmly attached to the trigger. It's outside near a known path to the crawlspace. I have it nestled between two cinder blocks to deter the dog, but it did not keep the little towhee from his last supper.

Sadly, this is the second one lost to the dangers of my backyard jungle. The other day I found a big circle of feathers near the back gate. And a few on the trellis that goes over the gate. I'm guessing some raptor lunched there, spilling the fluffy bits as he dined.

Sorry little birdie.

You were trying to catch a Towhee with a rat trap?

I'm not sure he was trying for the towhee.

Attachment 65961

Family find a fox asleep on top of their microwave after it crept into their London home

End the hunt they said

It's a horrible tradition they said

Naw man, look at that thing, it's beautiful. I understand they stink to holy hell though.

Wildlife update, Benny and the porcupine reached detente and Pete named the porcupine, so barring destruction on his part he has been granted limited immunity.

The mouse situation took a strange turn. We had two traps tripped with no catch so I set up a maze. We then caught one mouse and lost a trap. The caught mouses' head had been chewed though... rat?

Obviously a mouse couple, when he messed up she chewed his head off. :haha:

It's the beginning of the zombie mouse apocalypse … they crave mouse brains.

We've been kicking their collective ass for a long time.

Attachment 66027

But some are fighting back with kamikaze bucks.

Attachment 66028

I've been slightly worried about the apparent absence of our visiting Badgers.
Due to overnight rain I didn't set up my camera for a couple of weeks and when I did finally have a chance to do so it only recorded foxes.
Last night I decided to change the switch off time from 0315 to 0400 to see if that would help.
As is often the way of these things a Badger put in a welcome appearance well before midnight but a Muntjac dropped in as well at 0326.
They have paid occasional visits in the past but I was pleased to see this image this morning.

Attachment 66049

Have you ever heard one bark?

Yes, quite often. In the dead of night you can hear them up in the woods.
It's a fairly high pitched yap which carries for some distance. Opinion seems to be divided as to why they do it.
One school of thought says they do it for no apparent reason but it is sometimes suggested they are seeking a mate.

Incidentally, the Muntjac pictured is quite big for the species and I'd say that it was about the height of a large Airedale Terrier.
Very often they are fairly unremarkable and don't draw attention to themselves.

I learned something new today. https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildl...s/muntjac-deer

I was going to tell you I was pretty sure that wasn't a badger. ;)

I knew about the muntjac...

...I did not know Britain had them.

Blew m'mind a li'l bit.

According to one site I looked at earlier, there's about 40,000 in the UK which surprised me.
They're a timid creature so I've never quite understood why they draw so much attention to themselves by their lengthy barking sessions.
Mind you, the place isn't exactly alive with timber wolves so perhaps they do it out of force of habit.

I read wolves howl to let the world know where they are. If you're a friend I'm here, if you're a foe stay away from here. Maybe the deer do something like that.

They have one thing in common...
Uh, two things in common, they all have six legs.

Compare the ASPCA vs the SPCA, two completely different critters.
ASPCA ~ big bucks and guilt trips. SPCA ~ caring for animals.

The RSPCA has done sterling work since 1824 but in recent years seems to have lost its way.
It was warned by the Charity Commission to put its house in order after an over generous payment to its departing acting Chief Executive.
The Society has had eight Chief Executives in eleven years, so make of that what you will.

I can pick up the TV guide and the chances are that there will be a series about the RSPCA in the schedules.
The lads and lasses who do the job at the sharp end are hard working and dedicated. They deserve better leadership.

Link

Link

Thou shall not pass...

For porkypines every day is a bad hair day.


When I hear the word porcupine, or see one, I think of Family Feud. The question was 'Fill in the blank, pork _____.' And the guy responded with "Cupine."

Got too much money laying around?

Get bit:

Attachment 66125

I woulda flipped them that 25 cents and wished them the best o' luck.

I read somewhere that rattlesnake anti-venom is $20,000 per dose. And you might need up to half a dozen doses, depending on the bite.

You gotta change your attitude now your a homeowner with seizable assets.
Up in MA they have a cute setup where if you can't pay your hospital bill the state will pay it for you. That's because they have a soft spot in their heart for corporations. Of course they will seek repayment from you, with all the power of the state. That's a lot.:borg:

Greatest health system in the world!

At $462, 'Special Services' seems to be an absolute bargain.

I just noticed he was in the hospital for five days, must have been serious.

Not for the first time, the difference between US and UK date formats caught me out.
I thought it was five months. IE 7th April 2015 to 7th September 2015.

Heh heh, for 5 months that would be a bargain. :)

Ya know how ya save up for that once-in-a-lifetime vacay, get on the beach, go for the beach selfie, and some asshole in the background photobombs ya?

Attachment 66166

Man, I hate when that happens.

Well played.

It's Australian. It is therefore capable of killing you without reason or notice.



Link

:smack:

Da Fox...

Fond as I am of wildlife, I do wish that the local foxes would carry out their nocturnal activities with less noise.

The last few weeks the night has been rent with vulpine screams. It has sounded like mass murder in progress. :eek:

That said, there was a particularly handsome fox on the front lawn at 0530 today.

I'm not sure if this is the same animal, but the camera caught this visitor in the back garden last night.

The date is incorrect as the camera had been without batteries for a couple of days which upset some of the settings.

Attachment 66275