Category Archives: Pets & critters

WildLife Wednesday – Screech

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P1040378bEvery time we walk into our barn the first thing we do is look for Screech, even though he hasn’t visited since last year. Last Saturday, we were tickled to see him ‘peeking’ out of his favorite cubby hole.P1040378aWe hadn’t seen Screech since last year. We thought he left to find another place to live because a guy got greedy and cut down several acres of trees in the woods near our home. (Yes, I know the guy owns the land and it’s his right to log it off, but it doesn’t change our being unhappy about it…)

We figure Screech and his Mrs. nested each year in that batch of woods. The area looks so bare and treeless with huge stumps and limbs laying dying and scattered around. We were sad to think that we may never see Screech again.

P1040389a*I apologize for the sad quality of these photos. I didn’t use a flash because I was afraid I’d frighten Screech. I took probably a dozen photos and only a couple of ones turned out clear enough to tell that Screech is an owl. I used a photo edtitor to try and clean the photos up. I made crops out of the original photos for the close-ups… P1040389b

Screech wasn’t in the barn Sunday. We’re sad he didn’t stay. My husband says that Screech is probably testing out places to visit while hunting and maybe sleep this winter. I figure he’s right. Screech must be quite traumatized from the destruction of his woodland home. He may even be testing our barn to see if it’s still safe or if it too is going to be taken away from him. Bless his heart and bless all the other critters who suffered the trauma and loss of the woodlands.

We’re happy that at least for an afternoon, we got to see Screech again and know he’s still surviving.

Wishing you all a wonderful wildlife Wednesday!

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Puppy’s got a brand new bag

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7-2-2016-toolpupyMy husband brought home a new tool bag. When he set it on the floor, Sheli climbed in it like he was staking claim to the new bag.
My husband couldn’t resist picking the bag up to see if Sheli would stay in and I couldn’t resist taking a photo.
Sheli was quite content to stay in the bag, but quickly hopped out of when my husband set it back on the floor.

Pets gotta love ’em.

Wildlife Wednesday – Napping Squirrel

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IMG_3370This is the only napping squirrel I’ve ever seen.
I’m glad it chose to nap in a tree within my line of sight.
I smile each time I look at this photo. I think it’s so cute.

Wishing you all a Wonderful Wednesday!
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*I originally posted my napping squirrel photo May 2013 in my ex-blog

Cherokee Purple Tomato

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Through the years, my brother has mentioned a tomato called a Cherokee Purple. The Cherokee Purple is a beef stake tomato, so it’s a dandy sliced up to put on a sandwich or hamburger. It sounded like it would be a good tomato to grow and eat, but I’d never seen any plants for sale around here.
This year, we found some Cherokee Purple tomato plants for sale. We bought two and planted them. They’re growing well and full of tomatoes. I’ve kept a close eye on the first tomato that began to grow and grew more larger each week. I put my glasses on it to show how large it was when I took photos of it.

I waited patiently and then…

I was so excited the other day to see that the tomato was changing color, ripening beautifully.P1030186Once again, I put my glasses on it to show how large it was. I intended to make a post about this delicious wonder and then…

Sunday, my husband and I went to the garden and saw deer tracks going down by the tomato patch and my gorgeous ripening tomato had been snacked upon. 😦P1030254I was sooo not happy, but there was no sense in getting to upset since we don’t have a fence around the garden. I took some photos and  well, our first Cherokee Purple got it’s own post after all.

Storms visited our area yesterday gave the land a good hearty drink. Our garden sure appreciated it. The tomato vines are full of tomatoes so hopefully, we’ll be able to get to one or two Cherokee Purples before the deer does.

I hope you all are having a good week.

Further Reading:
Cherokee Purple Tomato

 

 

Fan Bird Nest

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P1030106Friday afternoon we had to spend some time cleaning the back-porch ceiling fans. It would seem that birdies have decided that since the fans make handy bee-fob nurseries and it not bother the humans… then the fans should also make wonderful birdie-nest nurseries and it not bother the humans.  Unfortunately, we humans disagree and draw the line at critters nesting in spots that render our appliances useless.P1030118

We always feel sad when we disturb or destroy a nest, but sometimes, it’s necessary. To prevent the birdies from trying to nest on our fans again, we’ll keep our fans running on low for a couple weeks more or less.

Have you had issues with the feathered or furry friends trying to nest where they shouldn’t?
Do you feel sad, like we do when you have to disrupt their nesting?

Here’s wishing you a peaceful co-existence with nature.

anibrd