backyard critters

[Provoked]

Not "sweet" then. No, not at all.

In fact remembering this story (from almost 20 years ago) reminded me how strange it was... At the time it seemed so important to protect the backyard critters - Yet I was also eating and wearing, (and using) other animals without a care!

This vegan thing really makes you unfold your past in a different mindset... Who I was? Who I thought I was? Looking back I was a pretty hardcore speciesist! But thank goodness for enlightenment and circumstances that permit us to grow!

[JasperKat]

My MIL bought us a cool bird feeder for XMas and I've been enjoying the feathered visitors to our yard. Sprocket has been enjoying the fat squirrels that come to check out the feeder, he goes cuckoo bananas chasing them. We've started banging on the door before we let the dogs out to startle the squirrels, sometimes they're so engrossed in the bird seed that they don't see the pooches.

My neighbor told me that we're likely to get rats because of the bird food, has anyone had this problem? I've never seen them in our garbage cans (only one of which has a lid).

-JK

[Dugan]

We used to get mice. We kept bags of seed inside plastic trash cans (like Rubbermaid) with the lids secured by bungee cords, inside the usually closed garage.

[squirrel]

Originally Posted by Dugan

We kept bags of seed inside plastic trash cans (like Rubbermaid) with the lids secured by bungee cords, inside the usually closed garage.

We do this, too. I've never seen anything other than birds and squirrels, but our feeder is at the far end of the yard, so I have to see clearly with binoculars.
Our squirrels are so bold, I'll go out into the yard to chase them away, and the minute my back is turned to walk back to the house, they run right back to it. Our dogs go bananas, too. And I'm talking big bananas, not tiny bananas.

[JasperKat]

I think he was saying that the seed that falls on the ground will attract rats, not the stored seed. That's actually in the house, so if that's the concern, I'm gold!

-JK

[Dugan]

Squirrels are virtually unstoppable, the greys, anyway. I remember (but can't find) a (bbc, maybe?) documentary about squirrels that included video footage of a squirrel negotiating what amounted to an agility course.

[squirrel]

[Dugan]

While out snowshoeing last night we heard several coyotes singing. Dugan boomed out a guard bark, that was the last we heard of them.

[vegematic]

This morning, all at once, I had goldfinches, black-capped chickadees, dark-eyed juncos, blue jays, and a pair of cardinals at my feeders. Very colorful flock!
-vegematic

[squirrel]

That must have been loud with those territorials. lol

[Flower]

We have several foxes that live in the woods in the back of our house. They drive Emma & Rowan nuts at night when it's nice out & we have the windows open. They can be noisy! I miss seeing all of the animals now that it's winter, although I did see a fox one morning on my way to work. This summer after we moved here, I did a blog post about the critters in our back yard.

[quagga]

Originally Posted by Dugan

While out snowshoeing last night we heard several coyotes singing. Dugan boomed out a guard bark, that was the last we heard of them.

Killjoy.

[vegematic]

Oh, quagga that made me snort right out loud.
-vegematic

[Dugan]

3 hawks spotted on the highway portion of my commute. Two roosted, another gliding over the roadway.

Quagga, I agree. It's rare we hear that many coyotes that close - there were maybe 5? Definitely 3 distinct voices. I'm not good with judging distance by sound but it wasn't the usual distant sound.

[Provoked]

After a little time on FB - reading about all the misfortunate ones - What a reprieve hearing about the coyotes, foxes, birds, squirrels and other free critters!