O_o
How blasted cute is he??
AGT & A Froggie!
America's Got Talent nite, The Engineer and I were having our usual fun. Popcorn, wine and fun TV. This week, we had a viewing companion. There he was hanging on the back patio door. So darn cute. I think he would've beat out that old gal with the red hair and Groucho Marx eyebrows that sang Kansas City.
Just When I Thought Nothing Was Going On....
On the way home from the gym today I thought to myself that nothin's going on out back right now. I haven't seen the huge flock of ducklings, nada! Well, I haven't really been out much - it's been rainy. But this morning, I went out to water the flowers, and down by the canal fence was a sizeable snapping turtle! I've seen him in the water, but this is the first time I've seen him in the yard.
Then I turned around, and there's a huge toad. I thought maybe it was dead, so I touched it with my toe and he hopped away.
And me with no camera. Oh well. Happy Monday.
Then I turned around, and there's a huge toad. I thought maybe it was dead, so I touched it with my toe and he hopped away.
And me with no camera. Oh well. Happy Monday.
Bro's Cooper's Hawk Update!
From Brother: I have good news! I called Renee at S.W.C.C yesterday when I got off work to check up on him. His blood work came back good (No poison, that was one of my main concerns) He has been moved to the flight pen, and is going to be kept for observation for two more days then released where I found him! They think he may have succumbed to the heat, multiplied by his malnourished state. (It has been quite hot here for the last week) It is apparently common for male hawks to hunt themselves very thin when the pair has young that need to be fed. The males pass off most of what they capture to the female who in turn feeds the babies and herself. He tends to go hungry in an effort to care for his family. I just hope she isn't mad at him when he returns, she is quite larger and heavier.
My Amazing Brother and a Cooper's Hawk
From my brother:
Dear Sis, I know of your love of birds so I must relay this story to you. As you know I am a huge reptile guy which in turn makes me interested in birds considering the relationship between the two, especially Raptors! We have a resident population of Cooper's Hawks (Accipiter Cooperii) in this area and being we have tons of old growth trees in our neighborhood it is a perfect hunting ground for them (They feed largely on other birds, Sparrows, Wrens, Starlings, Robins, Etc....) We have been watching a breeding pair hunt in the trees around our house for the last few months and have been very excited to watch their incredible maneuverability and prowess as aerial hunters!
They are phenomenal!
Last night I walked out the front door to go to the store and saw the male, the smaller of the two in a dead spiral towards the ground and I hollered out to Sherri "Honey, hurry the male hawk has caught something mid-air" It turned out that he was in fact injured by something and landed in the middle of the street, unable to get off the ground, by what, I have no Idea. I ran over to him and he just looked at me and started to scream at me in fear. I carefully picked him up confining his wings, talons and avoiding his beak and carried him to the house. We lined a box with an old towel and sealed him inside and punched air holes in all four sides for him to breath (He was not happy, but did not attempt to bite me, much to my surprise) I immediately called the Stanislaus Wildlife Care Center who turned out to be closed, but their mail box said "put the injured wild animal in a cardboard box, do not attempt to feed it or give it water and get it to us a.s.a.p.!!!!!!"
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Dear Sis, I know of your love of birds so I must relay this story to you. As you know I am a huge reptile guy which in turn makes me interested in birds considering the relationship between the two, especially Raptors! We have a resident population of Cooper's Hawks (Accipiter Cooperii) in this area and being we have tons of old growth trees in our neighborhood it is a perfect hunting ground for them (They feed largely on other birds, Sparrows, Wrens, Starlings, Robins, Etc....) We have been watching a breeding pair hunt in the trees around our house for the last few months and have been very excited to watch their incredible maneuverability and prowess as aerial hunters!
They are phenomenal!
Last night I walked out the front door to go to the store and saw the male, the smaller of the two in a dead spiral towards the ground and I hollered out to Sherri "Honey, hurry the male hawk has caught something mid-air" It turned out that he was in fact injured by something and landed in the middle of the street, unable to get off the ground, by what, I have no Idea. I ran over to him and he just looked at me and started to scream at me in fear. I carefully picked him up confining his wings, talons and avoiding his beak and carried him to the house. We lined a box with an old towel and sealed him inside and punched air holes in all four sides for him to breath (He was not happy, but did not attempt to bite me, much to my surprise) I immediately called the Stanislaus Wildlife Care Center who turned out to be closed, but their mail box said "put the injured wild animal in a cardboard box, do not attempt to feed it or give it water and get it to us a.s.a.p.!!!!!!"
First thing this morning I drove him out there and the wonderful volunteer (Renee) said it appears to have an injury to his shoulder and they would treat him for two weeks to see if they can save him. I will keep you posted as to his progress/developments. Meanwhile his mate perches in the trees around our house calling out for him and it is very heartbreaking to listen to. Some birds are monogamous and mate for life, I don't know if Cooper's Hawks are one of them but it is quite obvious that she wants him to come home, I can hear her calling out to him as I write this e-mail and I feel so bad! Maybe they can heal him and they can be reunited soon? I certainly hope so! I will keep you posted!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Cooper's Hawk
Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia
Drunk Duck???
So..... anyone that has followed this blog must realize that I don't have much of a life. As a caregiver for two very senior parents, I don't get out much.
I have one thing that keeps me sane. My pool. It's a very small pool. The construction company that built the house "misplaced" the locale of my home, so my pool is 2 feet too narrow. To be honest, who cares? I am really the only one that uses it.
IT'S MY POOL! :)
Being that I live in a state soaked in heat and humidity, somedays it's just too much to swim during the day. I only do it on the weekends so Mom can get some excercise. It's about all she can do.
After I put my folks to bed, out to the pool I go. I take my CD player, crank some tunes, and unwind. Oftentimes, wine is involved. (Who am I kidding! It's almost always involved)! If you lived here, you too would have Cabarnet as a middle name. :(
Again, I have to say, these ducks are hilarious! I have lost my point of reference so just go with it, would ya'?
I have one thing that keeps me sane. My pool. It's a very small pool. The construction company that built the house "misplaced" the locale of my home, so my pool is 2 feet too narrow. To be honest, who cares? I am really the only one that uses it.
IT'S MY POOL! :)
Being that I live in a state soaked in heat and humidity, somedays it's just too much to swim during the day. I only do it on the weekends so Mom can get some excercise. It's about all she can do.
After I put my folks to bed, out to the pool I go. I take my CD player, crank some tunes, and unwind. Oftentimes, wine is involved. (Who am I kidding! It's almost always involved)! If you lived here, you too would have Cabarnet as a middle name. :(
Again, I have to say, these ducks are hilarious! I have lost my point of reference so just go with it, would ya'?
Canadian Beagles, Eh?
During our trip, we headed north of Toronto to see The Engineer's brother, The Teacher. (and his wife, also a teacher). I call them "The Peas" as they are two peas in a pod. Soooo different from The Engineer and I, who are two grapefruits in a paper bag. :)
Saturday night, they had some of their neighbors over....& two of them stayed for dinner. A lovely couple. The gent is a riot! I shant tell you the stories he told. They are not rated PG! J. breeds Chesterfield Beagles. We went by his house on our way out of town for his nickel tour (seriously, we all gave him a nickel!) of his unbelievable gardens and his dogs.
He has 11 at the moment. Cutie pies.....
Saturday night, they had some of their neighbors over....& two of them stayed for dinner. A lovely couple. The gent is a riot! I shant tell you the stories he told. They are not rated PG! J. breeds Chesterfield Beagles. We went by his house on our way out of town for his nickel tour (seriously, we all gave him a nickel!) of his unbelievable gardens and his dogs.
He has 11 at the moment. Cutie pies.....
Canada Geese, Eh?
I recently went to Canada to see The Engineer's family. On Canada Day, we went to one of his friend's homes on Lake St. Claire. We refer to it as "The Mansion". It's AMAZING as are the people that own the house. (Canadian's in general seem to be pretty groovy. So friendly, eh?)
We pull up, and right before my eyes is a flock of Canadian Geese. This is the closest I have been to a CG, sans the wooden one on my piano. They're freaking HUGE! I will say, they are not as friendly as Muscovy Ducks! ;)
Anyway, here they are. Cool!
We pull up, and right before my eyes is a flock of Canadian Geese. This is the closest I have been to a CG, sans the wooden one on my piano. They're freaking HUGE! I will say, they are not as friendly as Muscovy Ducks! ;)
Anyway, here they are. Cool!
Note the poo. Uhm, yeah, they poop
WAAAAAAAAAAAAY more than ducks. Ick.
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