{"id":25422,"date":"2024-04-22T09:28:21","date_gmt":"2024-04-22T14:28:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/?p=25422"},"modified":"2024-04-22T10:09:10","modified_gmt":"2024-04-22T15:09:10","slug":"suburban-wildlife","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/?p=25422","title":{"rendered":"WLBOTT’s Peaceable Kingdom"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Good morning, esteemed Gentleblotters, I hope all are well on this beautiful Saturday morning!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the Elders of WLBOTT<\/strong> cover a wide geographic range, I thought it might be interesting if we list our suburban wildlife sightings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Here’s a partial list for me (Austin):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

frequent:<\/strong> Armadillo, possum, squirrel, deer, hawks, buzzards\/vultures, a variety of beautiful birds, fire ants, lightening bugs<\/p>\n\n\n\n

less frequent:<\/strong> coyote, skunks, snakes (including one in the bathtub), owls, a bird nesting in one of Daniel’s shoes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

rare:<\/strong> wild turkeys, fox, scorpions<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you send me your lists, I will blott-a-tize<\/em><\/strong> your responses. You can include past urban\/suburban locations, stories of encounters, etc.<\/p>\n– UC#4<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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UC#4 – Snake in the Bathtub<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Reality<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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What the Ladies Saw<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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UC#4 – The Peaceable Kingdom of Central Texas<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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UC#1<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Most common sighting:<\/strong> crow, magpie, rabbit, various tiny songbirds that somehow survive here all winter without turning into feather covered ice-cubes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Occasional sightings:<\/strong> bluejay, brown squirrel (last seen in a cage being transported to the local golf course)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sightings we could do without:<\/strong> obnoxious neighborhood dogs<\/p>\nUC#1<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

UC#1 – The Peaceable Kingdom of Obnoxious Dogs and Golf Course Squirrels<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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One notable wildlife spotting occurred about 50 years ago when I went winter camping with a friend. I managed to get my little Datsun into the muskeg<\/strong> and dropped the wheels through the ice. We had spotted a work camp a few miles up the road on the way in (we used miles back then), so I decided to hike back there and see if they could help pull us out. Along the way, I was shadowed by a coyote who, like a typical dog, wouldn\u2019t get near unless it observed some sign of weakness, like me slipping and injuring myself. I didn\u2019t fall and eventually it got tired and went looking for something smaller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I made it to the work camp but the only person there was the cook, everyone else was on weekend leave. But we convinced him to take his jeep and drive out to our stranded car. He attached a long tow-rope to the back axel and, leaving considerable slack in the rope, took a run at it. He managed to launch the Datsun about 30\u2019 out of the icefield, and after giving him a bottle of our finest rum, he was on his way and we were again secure in the knowledge that we could get out of there alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, many years ago, I stopped at the summit of Going To The Sun Road<\/strong> in Glacier National Park in Montana. From the walkway we could see a very large grizzly roaming the grasslands. It was probably a quarter-mile away and, fortunately, didn\u2019t get any closer.<\/p>\nUC#1<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Another close encounters of the \u201cstop and change your underwear\u201d variety:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This time in my Austin Mini, in Eastern Alberta<\/strong>, I rounded a corner in a heavily wooded area and a moose <\/strong>that was about 3 times the size of the Datsun stepped out into the middle of the road and glared at me while I skidded to a stop in the loose gravel. After what seemed like an hour or so (about 10 seconds) he disappeared in an instant back into the woods. I don\u2019t think I would have actually collided with him if I didn\u2019t stop in time \u2013 I would have just driven under him.<\/p>\nUC#1<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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UC#2<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

UC#2<\/strong> has access to a significant subset of the Pacific Ocean<\/strong>, and with that comes birds, aqua-animals, and low tide critters, plus all the suburban SoCal<\/strong> wildlife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frequent:<\/strong><\/td>Less Frequent:<\/strong><\/td>Rare:<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
Bees
Crane Flies
Crows
Ducks
Gophers
Great and White Herons
Hermit Crabs
Hummingbirds
Orioles
Pelicans
Rabbits
Raccoons
Sand Flees
Sand Pipers
Sea Gulls
Sea Urchins Skunks
Turban Snails<\/td>		Beach
Squirrels
Dolphins
Garter Snakes
Plough (sp?)<\/td>		Black\/Brown Widows
Japanese Shiny Beetle
Rattle Snakes
Sea Hares
Sea Slugs
Seals
Sharks
Star Fish
Whales<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Under the “Less Frequent” category, UC#2 mentioned the “Plough”. We may have misunderstood UC#2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He may have been referring to wattled ploughbill<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The wattled ploughbill<\/strong> (Eulacestoma nigropectus) is a small bird from New Guinea<\/strong>. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Eulacestoma and family Eulacestomatidae. It is also known as the wattled shrike-tit or ploughshare tit.<\/p>\nWikipedia<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Or he may have been referring to the painting Ploughing in the Nivernais<\/strong> by Rosa Bonheur<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ploughing in the Nivernais<\/strong> (French: Labourage nivernais), also known as Oxen ploughing in Nevers or Plowing in Nivernais, is an 1849 painting by French artist Rosa Bonheur<\/strong>. It depicts two teams of oxen ploughing the land, and expresses deep commitment to the land; it may have been inspired by the opening scene of George Sand’s 1846 novel La Mare au Diable. Commissioned by the government and winner of a First Medal at the Salon in 1849, today it is held in the Mus\u00e9e d’Orsay in Paris.<\/p>\nWikipedia<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Edouard Louis Dubufe, Portrait of Rosa Bonheur 1857. Symbolic of her work as an Animali\u00e8re, the bull was painted by Bonheur herself. – Wikipedia<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Or perhaps ploughing in general….<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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UC#3<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Houston Metroplex<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Armadillos<\/strong> – buried into our yard. Animal control suggested we put moth balls in hole. We did and the critter moved to our neighbors yard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Feral hogs<\/strong> – huge problem in South Texas now. They tear up everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coyote <\/strong>– wandered through our backyard when we lived on the creek. Looked anemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Copperhead snake<\/strong> – I decapitated it and came back 10 minutes later to remove the carcass and the severed head was still moving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raccoons<\/strong> – had major raccoon problem – they ate a hole in our siding and got into our attic. Had to hire a raccoon wrangler to get him out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rat <\/strong>– we used to feed the squirrels in our backyard and a rat showed to join in the fun. Good example of bi-partisan cooperation<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Owls, herons, woodpeckers<\/p>\nUC#3<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

HousTex Peaceable Kingdom and Ship Channel Mutations<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Semi-Rural Maryland<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Foxes <\/strong>– size of dogs and run fast and have an interesting bark. Stole my sandals and talking with neighbors and doing research, apparently foxes have a shoe fetish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deer<\/strong> – both roaming and dead on the road<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bald eagles<\/strong>, hawks<\/strong>, nutria<\/strong>, fuzzy caterpillars<\/strong> , ducks<\/strong><\/p>\nUC#3<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

UC#3’s Maryland Peaceable Kingdom<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Semi-Sequiturs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Muskeg<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Muskeg is referenced in Gordon Lightfoot’s song Canadian Trilogy<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So over the mountains and over the plains
Into the Muskage and into the rain
Up to St. Lawrence on the way to Gasp\u00e9
Swingin' our hammers and drawin' our pay<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
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